Guest Post: My First Two Matches

Second in a series of guest posts by Tony Preston. Read Part I here.

“Are you joining a cult?”  That is what my wife said to me as we were walking out of the bar before the Muskegon match and people were setting off smoke bombs in the parking lot before the march to the match and before the police asked them to stop.  I assured her that it was not a cult and not to worry.  We listened to Sarge’s pre-game pep talk and marched to the match and stood with the Northern Guard and sang and chanted along and had a great time.  We also went to the US Open Cup match against the Bucks and had another great time.

I’ll admit one of my biggest concerns when I was buying season tickets was the fact that my wife wanted me to get one for her too.  My concern was that my wife knows very little about soccer and she was concerned about standing for a full 90 minutes, and I wanted the full experience and to be all in and stand with the Northern Guard.  She told me not to worry and if she didn’t like it I could just find some of my friends to go with me and they could use her season ticket.  My wife is also extremely shy, and as a result does not like being in large groups of people she does not know especially if they are in her personal space.  This is why for our first match we stood by the edge of the group and when it is time for Tetris she walks away from the group.  What ended up happening was my perfect outcome, where she loves the singing and chanting and says that it makes the match seem to fly by even when it ends in PKs three hours after kickoff.  Now she says I need to convince some of my friends to come to the matches with us but they are on their own for tickets because she plans on being there as well.

If anyone is reading this and considering going to your first Detroit City FC match, do it. You will not regret it.  If you are considering standing with the Northern Guard – whether you have been to a few matches and sat across the field from them or are going to your first match and want the full experience – but are worried you will not be accepted, don’t worry about it. My wife and I have had no issues, and from what I’ve seen everyone is more than welcome.  If you are worried about knowing the songs and chants there are multiple place you can find them online, and they are pretty easy to pick up, and they are catchy so you might start singing them in your head while sitting at work. Just know there will be profanity and there will be smoke.  I can’t wait to see everyone at Keyworth and if you see me and my wife at a game feel free to say hi.