A protest in the stands

WHEN MAJOR League Soccer (MLS) teams the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA meet during the season, passions and tempers are usually running high, on the field and off.

Chivas USA, the American counterpart to Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Las Chivas) of the Mexican league, has three former Fire players in its ranks, and there's a longstanding rivalry between Chicago Fire and Mexican international player Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who played for Las Chivas' rival, Club America.

However, when the two sides met on August 2 at Toyota Park in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, all friendly rivalry was pushed to the back burner as the match was overshadowed by the racist behavior of Monterrey Security guards towards the Fire's largest Latino supporters' group, Sector Latino (SL).

SL is just one of many groups that make up the passionate supporters seated in "Section 8," the area behind goal at all Chicago Fire home games. What makes SL unique among this group is its large Latino base and the strong South American-influenced style that it brings to the stands, as well as its energetic drum-and-chant circles following the matches.

Unfortunately, these drum-and-chant circles and the fact that SL fans are young and Latino led to some stadium security guards deeming them "troublemakers" and "gang-bangers" (despite SL's strongly anti-gang stance).

Since SL was founded in 2005, its members have had many run-ins with security, but the events of August 2 moved from just beyond harassment to blatantly racist intimidation and abuse.

The match started with Sector Latino members taking up their usual spot in the front of section 117, which was added at the beginning of the season as an extension of the supporters' section 118. Section 117 and 118 are labeled as "general admission" seating. However, the club still sold numbered seating tickets for section 117, and Monterrey decided to remove SL from the front of the section, despite protests.

While being forcefully removed from the section, members of SL attempted to reason with Monterrey employees and find a solution to the problem. Instead, Monterrey security guards hurled racist slurs against the group, referring to the fans as "spics" and "wetbacks." One fan was thrown to the ground by a guard, breaking his finger. Another says that security stole his camera as he was filming the event.

NEWS OF the events quickly spread among the Fire faithful, and in the days following the events, the board members of Section 8 Chicago drafted a list of demands and actions to request from the club.

Included among the demands was that Monterrey Security be removed from the supporters' sections and/or a new security plan be drafted for the sections 117 and 118 that would minimize contact between supporters and security. Similar solutions are in place in New York City and Washington, D.C., where supporters have also faced abuse from stadium security.

In the days following the Fire-Chivas game, meetings were organized to discuss future actions to ensure that such treatment of fans never happens again. Representatives of Section 8 and SL met with representatives of the Chicago Fire, including acting president Javier Leon. Leon urged members of SL to meet with representatives of Monterrey Security, but that was rejected, since complaints had been made in the past with no improvement in the situation.

At a sit-down discussion between members of the Fire organization, Village of Bridgeview officials and the head of the stadium, the club then tried to offer a "solution" where members of Sector Latino could have the chance to meet Cuauhtémoc Blanco. The fans felt as though instead of actually dealing with the issue of racism, they were instead being "bought off" with the chance to meet a celebrity player. The offer was refused by Sector Latino.

Instead of moving forward to find a real solution, however, the Fire organization informed fans of "new rules" in place for Toyota Park, including a ban on flags on poles, time restraints for when instruments are allowed in the supporters' section--along with other rules aimed at limiting the activities of supporters' groups inside and outside the stadium.

But the idea that fans can suffer racist abuse and then be penalized for confronting it outraged Fire fans. A protest was organized for the following home game.

The many supporters' groups from Section 8 decided on a half-game of silence and large anti-racist banners. In addition to the banners, hundreds of SL shirts were printed, to be given away to anyone at the game willing to show solidarity with their fellow fans.

The day of the next Fire home game began with a sense of solidarity among Section 8 fans. Supporters filled the parking lot before the game, passing out flyers explaining the situation and giving away T-shirts to those who wanted to join in the protest.

Shortly before kickoff, the section marched to the stadium together. Once inside, the usual scene--of large flags being waved, people singing over a drum section and capos leading the crowd--was completely different. Sections 117 and 118 were silent. The usual sea of Fire jerseys was replaced with hundreds of Sector Latino shirts, and the beer and food vendors walked up and down each aisle without finding any customers.

For the game's first period, the crowd was silent, except for the 50 traveling fans who came to support the opposing team D.C. United. D.C. fans, however, showed respect to the protest by chanting "Section 8" and "Sector Latino."

After supporters lifted the banners to cover large parts of the section, however, Monterrey guards moved into the stands to confiscate them. The guards were met with loud boos, from not only those in the section, but around the stadium. Security later said that the banners would not be returned, because they were not pre-approved before entering the stadium.

Following the stealing of the banners, the crowd once again became silent, until the members of Sector Latino, seated in the middle of the supporters' section, stood and began to sing for the team. The rest of the section however, remained silent and seated, letting Sector Latino show the Fire organization and the rest of the fans in the stadium what their group provides to the team and to the atmosphere in the stadium.

The rest of Section 8 joined the members of SL following the start of the second half, and once again, Toyota Park was filled with the noise and atmosphere so many have come to love at Fire home games.

IN THE days following the protest, response was mixed from the public--and, unfortunately, from Fire players themselves. In the comments section on the Chicago Tribune Web site, racist comments, including one decrying "gang members" in Sector Latino, were posted. One of the most hurtful comments came from Fire player Cuauhtémoc Blanco, whose personal bodyguard is the founder of Monterrey Security, and who told the Tribune that fans were drunk and abusive.

Fortunately, not all of the responses were negative. The Timber Army, supporters of the Portland Timbers, hung a banner in support of Sector Latino at their following match, which read: "Todos Somos Sector Latino. TA/S8 "(We Are all Sector Latino). In addition, many Fire fans from outside Section 8, passed along messages of support.

The actions of solidarity helped Fire fans keep moving forward, and more discussions and meetings have been held to discuss the fans' next plan of action. In response, the Fire organization contacted the Section 8 board with a request for future meetings and activities to correct the situation.

Fans are hopeful that a solution can be reached this time around--one that addresses the issue of racism and repeals the new rules put in place to punish those who came forward with complaints. But fans are also ready for further protests if necessary. The key to success will be passion, principle, solidarity and support--all of which are deeply rooted among the members of Section 8.