We mentioned this morning that despite Detroit's troubles, there are plenty of things in the city to cheer about.
One of those things is the Detroit City Futbol Club.
The team just completed an undefeated regular season thanks to skilled players and an enthusiastic fan base who loudly cheer on the team they call "Le Rouge."
The fans are not "hooligans," those people are violent. But the "Northern Guard" (as they are known) do like to set off smoke bombs when the team scores.
Model D's Matthew Lewis describes the scene where the Cass Tech football field becomes 'the pitch' for "Le Rouge":
A good portion of the regular crowd belongs to Le Rouge's main supporter group, the Northern Guard, which sits on the west side of the field in a grandstand marked with a sign that warns of adult language, constant noise, and smoke bombs. If you want to sit on that side of the field, you must be prepared to be an active participant in the rowdy cheering.
Here's the Guard in action:
http://youtu.be/HLu5tghj5ck
Detroit's team is mostly made up of college players who don't get paid and can maintain their NCAA eligibility.
The team is part of the National Premiere Soccer League - a "fourth tier" team to Major League Soccer -"think Double-A in baseball" is how the team's coach described the League to the Detroit Free Press.
Major League Soccer has 19 teams. The NPSL has 59, and the Detroit City Futbol Club is at the top of the heap. They went 10-0-0 in their division (the Great Lakes Division). Now it's on to the playoffs.
Model D's Matthew Lewis tells us when we can catch those games:
Up next, the NPSL Great Lakes divisional playoffs at Cass Tech this weekend. Tickets are $15 and get you into both games on Saturday and the division championship game on Sunday. Here's the schedule: semifinals, Saturday, July 13: Game 1: #1 Detroit City FC vs. #4 AFC Cleveland 5 p.m. Game 2: #2 FC Buffalo v. #3 Erie Admirals (starts 30 minutes after Game 1) The two winners play Sunday, July 14. Kick-off is 3 p.m. Come on out and shout "City 'til I die!" untils it echoes across the corridor.
