Whether they helped bring down Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, led marches against their club’s owners at Chelsea or pushed back against plans to commercialize football, fans are a powerful force in the game. And while their protests are not as grand as some tifos, the fight they fuel is more than just a fad — it’s an important part of soccer’s history.
In Oakland, fans gathered in the stadium parking lot for Thursday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians and tried out a new way of expressing displeasure with team ownership. They wore black, hung hundreds of “SELL” flags and ate free tacos in what amounted to a pregame party. And while some ducked into the stadium, others stayed outside in their regular spots in the right-field bleachers. Among them, Will MacNeil, better known as “Right Field Will.”
He had come to the Galaxy home game with his family and friends but remained outside Dignity Health Sports Park for the entire match because of the team’s silence over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Southern California’s Latino communities. While he did not want to stifle their enjoyment of the game, he wanted to make clear that he was against the raids and the club’s silence on the issue. He was also worried about the long-term effect of ICE on the region’s families, children and businesses. “There is no good reason for the club to not speak up,” he said.