During MLS opening weekend, over 500 LAFC Supporters converged on Seattle for the Club’s first game in history. Around downtown Seattle, chants of "LAFC" echoed the streets and bars, as the Black & Gold faithful made their presence known.
To join those Supporters, one fan in particular went the extra mile, or maybe we should say extra 9,119 miles. Spending over 20 hours on an airplane from Melbourne, Australia, to Auckland, New Zealand, across the Pacific to Los Angeles, and then up to Seattle, Brendann wasn’t going to miss history.
Following LAFC’s historic first win against the Sounders, I got a chance to chat with Brendann about his trip:
How did you become an LAFC fan?
"I’ve been a part of the Black Army since 2012. I came over here on holidays with my partner. Being an Australian, I love sport. Put me at a sporting event and I’m in heaven. I went to a Chivas USA against LA Galaxy game, I was in town and was like you know what I’ll go see a game. At that game, David Beckham was playing for Galaxy and I’m not the biggest Beckham fan, so I decided I was going to go for the underdog. I was in the active area with their main supporters. I stayed in contact with some members of the Black Army. So when Chivas USA died, I know LA needs a team the represents LA. The moment LAFC got announced, I was like 'Yup.' What LAFC announced they were going to be doing, to me, represents what LA is. That community, that family, is what LA is to me."
How do you keep tabs on LAFC in Australia?
"Twitter and Instagram. All the social media. Whomever runs the social media is doing a great job in my view. All the teams back home in Australia need to learn what you guys have been doing."
How far in advance did you plan the trip?
"I’ve been planning it since LAFC was announced. To me, going to the first game is history in the making. I knew I had to do it. It wasn’t until last July that I booked the flights. I took a massive risk. Going by the past four seasons, MLS started the season the first two weekends in March. Put full leave at work 18 months ago when it opened up at work. First two weekends in March, I’m taking them off."
Tell me about the flights you had to take.
At 4pm Friday Australia time. I was jumping on a flight out of Australia that went to Auckland, New Zealand first. Hour later, I was in Auckland. Then flew Auckland to LA. That whole flight was almost 16 hours. Got here to LA, stayed with a friend on Friday night. I landed here 4pm Friday LA time, so I didn’t lose any time on the flight, which is perfect. Saturday morning, got up, had a shower, and went straight to LA with a backpack. Had a 12:30p Delta flight to Seattle, to get up in Seattle around 3p. I happened to be on the same flight as Christian from LAFC. Ran into him at the airport, I looked around and went ‘Black & Gold’ and went over to talk to him. Started talking to him and he was like ‘yeah, I work for LAFC.’ I told him I was flying in from Australia and he was like ‘What? You came from Australia? What? No. You can’t have come from Australia.'”
At what point of the trip did it set in what you were doing?
"To be honest, I don’t think it’s fully set in yet. As I was saying on Twitter yesterday, to me it feels like a dream. The fact that the first game has come and gone, it’s still a dream to me. One of those where you do ‘Did that really happen? Am I really here? Did I witness our first game?’ Did I even witness our first goal? Did I even witness our first win?’"
What was it like hanging out with Supporters?
"It was absolutely amazing. It’s something I haven’t in a long time, even back home in Australia. With our clubs back home in Australia, our leagues killing off what was done this weekend with the active fans. Having front of house staff mingle with fans, having the owners mingle with fans, you don’t see that back in Australia anymore. The league’s slowly dying, just because they don’t know how to run it properly like you guys do over here.
"I was at the hotel with everyone. I was in the march with everyone. It took me back to the good old days of losing my voice and not caring. Meeting new people everywhere you go and as you’re walking in. You’ll put your arm around a guy during a chant, it’s like I don’t know this guy from a bar of soap. This is some random guy that, I don’t know his name or who he is, but together as we’re chanting along we’ve got our arms together, jumping around, and all of that."
What was your reaction to the first goal in Club history?
"Pure elation. I think I ended up going three rows forward in celebration, right over people. As soon as that goal went in, I’m hugging people, racing down to the people in front of me. I saw a friend in front of me a few rows deep, ran to hug him in just pure elation."
What was your reaction the final whistle?
"For the last 10 minutes, I was biting my fingernails. When we had, what was it, six corners in a row, and Tyler Miller just kept stopping them. I’m sitting there going, ‘Don’t let this happen. Don’t let this happen.’ And then three minutes stoppage time comes up, I was pacing back and forth going, ‘We only need three more minutes. Just three more minutes.’ Yes, Seattle were down to 10 men, but that’s when they’re at their most dangerous. And at the moment that final whistle went, it was tears all around. In the stands, there were tears like, ‘This actually happened. We’ve actually done this.’ Pure emotions just went out from everyone. Even from myself."
Will you be traveling to see anymore LAFC games this season?
"I’ve already told my partner in Australia that if we make the final, I’m flying out. I don’t care. If we make the final, I’m flying out."
After following LAFC from afar for so long, what did seeing the Club in person mean to you?
"It’s been a trip of a lifetime. I’ve been talking to my friends back home, ‘There all like, how’s it been, what’s going?’ To tell them, think about 10 years ago in the A-League, it’s what it is over here. Other friends back home, one of them is a Chicago Fire fan, and he’s been riling me up and all that. And I can throw it back at him saying, ‘We won our first game, you can’t say anything about that.’ Knowing that when I get back to Australia, I’ll be trying to convert some of them saying, ‘Come to LA. Come watch an LAFC game.’"
