It’s Miami week and Allianz Field is sold out to the max, ready to host a lot of people attending a Minnesota United match for the very first time. Here’s what that means for everyone in the Wonderwall:
We’ve known since the schedule was released that a LOT of Messi fans, maybe Miami fans but not necessarily, would be coming to this game. We asked the team to expand the standing rule against wearing away team gear to include all Messi jerseys — Argentina, Barcelona, PSG, Newell's Old Boys, whoever — but that’s not going to happen. People in Miami jerseys will be asked to cover up, but policing everything else has been deemed too logistically difficult.
So we’re assuming that there will be at least some folks in our section that aren’t there to support Minnesota. That sucks. If you’re mad about this, you’re not alone, but we bring Allianz to life come hell or high water.
What we’re not going to tolerate is anyone looking to start trouble.
Everyone with tickets in the Wonderwall agrees to abide by the code of conduct outlined on our website as well as the broader MLS fan code of conduct. If you see behavior that violates either code, text the team’s help line at 763-888-8892. We don’t want anyone trying to enforce these and potentially ending up in a bad situation. Take care of yourself, take care of your people, let the team take care of everyone else.
The team has said the text line is by far the best way to get a situation resolved and that they will be paying close attention to the line during this match. That said, temper your expectations of a response to borderline issues:
“Hey, these four people have Messi PSG jerseys on and booed the Minnesota starters” = pretty unlikely that the team is going to do anything.
“Hey, these four people all have Messi’s face tattooed on their ass and won’t stop pulling down their pants” = definitely going to get a response.
So what can you do other than texting the help line if there’s an issue?
Show up to the stadium early and make sure the bottom half of sections 21, 22, and 23 are one unbroken block of Minnesota fans. Then do what we do best: Get loud, get rowdy, and support Minnesota United with all your heart. It sucks that we may have to deal with Miami fans in the Wonderwall, but together we’ll render them as irrelevant as their team will be when Messi retires.
We’ll also have volunteers from each of the SGs wearing captains’ arm bands. If you have questions, smaller issues to bring up, just want a second set of eyes on something, they are there for you. Mr. Rogers told us to look for the helpers; ours have neon green arm bands, you can’t miss ‘em.
Remember: The kind of folks we’re expecting to be in the sections aren’t hardcore Miami ultras; those don’t exist. They’re probably just people who want to see Messi, live in the area, and don’t know about supporters culture. This is a great chance to show casual soccer fans across the region how we make Allianz Field come to life and how much it matters to the boys in black and blue.
Messi’s probably never coming back here, but some of the people he draws in might; don’t be an asshole for no reason.
TL;DR: Get to Allianz early and fill in the lower areas of sections 21-23. Be loud as hell and ignore anyone not cheering along. Don’t start shit and text the team at 763-888-8892 if someone else is trying to. Sing Wonderwall. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon, basking in the sun and the glow of three big points.
