Meeting The first Ao's in 2007 & The blono story

My former roommate (Veach) and I had been big soccer fans.  We played the game and had watched the USMNT when we could.  When we met in 2000 we took a trips to see the Chicago Fire and the USMNT up the road on Chicago when we could.  US Soccer support was varied and inconsistent at best.  Our first international match was the 2003 USAvPoland match in Chicago at Soldier Field.  Our dads came with us and it was an experience.  Not a positive one however for US Soccer support.  The stadium which was about 80% capacity was, of course in Chicago, mostly all Poland fans.  Drove us nuts not to mention we felt like complete foreigners just 2 hours from our house.  Fast forward many soccer matches later and we arrived at the 2007 friendly vs Brazil.  Another match with a majority of anti-US support.  Uncle Sam's Army occupied the South end of Soldier Field but there was a new group in the North end.  A small group of US Soccer supporters dressed in blue who were by far the noisiest group of fans in the entire stadium.  Despite a fairly respectable 2-4 loss, these guys were unrelenting in their enthusiasm for US Soccer.  No joke I remember Veach and I remarked often throughout the match at their fervor and envied their organization!  As we headed home for Normal IL that night we pulled off I-55 at Naperville (I think) for dinner at Wendy's.  As we pulled up we noticed the same green and yellow bus that we noticed outside Soldier Field, and obviously concluded they could have been fellow fans.  Sure enough the same small group of young fans dressed in the blue shirts shuffled into the restaurant.  We told them we admired their intensity throughout the match and asked where they were from.  When they told us they were 'the Outlaws from Nebraska' it suddenly all made sense, a light bulb turned on.  Veach and I were witnessing a new, refreshing and supremely organized group of US Soccer fans.  Who else would organize a charter bus to drive all the way in from Nebraska to Chicago for a FRIENDLY!  As we got back on I-55 and headed south their bus flew past us beating what we assumed was a non-stop trip back to Nebraska.  We couldn't believe that level of commitment! After that we were hooked.  I had been fortunate enough to bump in to the American Outlaws a few more times in Chicago and they continued to amaze me.  When it was discovered that we had enough fans in Bloomington Normal we didn't hesitate to join up and start a chapter.

I took the picture below before the start of the Brazil friendly as a shot of contrast, to show how out numbered this small group of fans (in blue) were nestled in amongst thousands of Brazil fans.  Little did I know how big the AO's would become.   -ck