Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg
Audio By Carbonatix
The team’s typically boisterous official fan club was noticeably silent and serene during Inter Miami’s most recent game Sunday night.
While the game marked Miami’s first victory at their new home, Nu Stadium, the main supporters’ section was void of its usual pomp and circumstance. No giant pink flags flying on wobbly poles, no banners unfurled between outstretched arms, and no percussion section meant the stadium was bereft of its joyous commotion. According to chants heard during the game, the team’s fan club, La Familia, was protesting the team’s alleged unappreciative attitude toward its fans.
Fans were heard chanting, “jugadores respite a la hinchada,” which translates to, “players, respect the fans.”
It’s safe to say the honeymoon phase is over at Nu Stadium.
The split stems from soccer tradition. Even stretching down to 10-year-old youth leagues where the only fans are moms and dads, it’s customary for players to cap a game by going to clap for the fans and thank them for their support. It’s considered a basic unspoken rule of the game, and team managers have often been seen reprimanding players on the field who fail to adhere on their own accord.
It’s basically the equivalent of professional football, basketball, or baseball players totally ignoring fans as they walk past them to and from the locker rooms. Inter Miami’s main players, like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Rodrigo De Paul, and several others, have notably skipped this tradition in the first five matches in the new stadium that opened in early April.
During the game, Messi and De Paul could be seen yelling back at fans as they chanted, demanding respect from players. Messi, who throughout his career has been seen as a calm presence on the field, was seen offering what some would call a sarcastic clap of appreciation to the fans during the chants.
De Paul, on the other hand, is known for his brashness on and off the field. He responded by pointing to the star above Inter Miami’s crest, earned for the club’s first MLS Cup trophy last season. Many took that to be a snarky clap back at the team, as if to say, “you should be grateful and cheering for us given our accomplishments.”
