Sacramento Republic fans make home games ‘a horrible, horrible place’ for opponents
Late in Sacramento Republic’s home opener two weeks ago, a scene unfolded that would be unusual almost anywhere else in USL play. Republic was tied 1-1 with El Paso in the second half when an El Paso player flicked the ball toward his own net and it evaded the keeper. The ball clearly went over the goal line but the officials didn’t see it that way.
And then the fans let the officials know what they thought of their vision.
With a reported attendance of 11,569, Republic fans unleashed on the official. When the din settled down, a single fan loudly and profanely told the officials they should have their vision checked.
In a league where some teams draw fewer than 1,000 fans per game, Sacramento Republic has established one of the best homefield advantages in soccer. The Quails home their fans unleash a similar cacophony for Sunday’s home game with Tulsa. Afternoon games can often feature more calm crowds, but even a relatively small and quiet Sacramento crowd dwarfs the fans that show up in spots like Atlanta, Los Angeles and Charleston.
Lee Desmond, a defender who joined Sacramento from Ireland in the offseason, said he did his research before joining the Republic.
“That was part of the reason why I joined here because you know,” he said. “Although I’m new here, I know a lot about the USL. I’ve been following it, you know, the last five or six years. So I was well aware of the Sacramento crowd. I couldn’t believe how it was two weeks ago (against El Paso). … I know it was probably only six, seven thousand people. But it felt like there was maybe 15 or 20 (thousand). So yeah, we noticed that as players and it’s a big help.”
Not every team in the USL enjoys that kind of support. In 2021, five teams averaged less than 1,000 fans a game; eight averaged fewer than 2,000 fans per game. Sacramento was third in USL attendance with an average of 6,926 fans despite playing in front of very few fans the first few games of the season because of attendance restrictions.
Duke Lacroix, 28, has played for five USL teams. He’s well aware of Sacramento’s advantage but he says the league seems to be gaining fans elsewhere as teams invest in better, larger stadiums.
“It’s definitely a huge, disproportionate amount between where you go in the country, but it’s definitely changing,” he said. “Since my first time in the league, there are a lot more teams with a lot more fans.”
Rodrigo Lopez, nicknamed RoRo, has watched the Sacramento crowds grow during his three stints with the club. He says the Quails’ fans “set the standard in the USL.” But he’s also visited Sacramento as an opposing player – as has Lacroix – and the crowd can have an impact on the visiting team.
“When you go play away in a hostile environment with the good fan base and everyone screaming against you, I think it it gets to you a little bit,” Lopez said. “Obviously, there’s a couple players that know how to deal with it that are probably better than others, but you know, as a team, I think it affects them.”
Coach Mark Briggs smiles when he talks about the crowd. Before the start of the 2021 season, Briggs asked for the home supporters to “make it hell” for the visiting teams. He watched fans ride the opposing teams and the officials even in a season where Sacramento struggled at home.
“That’s how you create a horrible, horrible place for teams to come,” Briggs said.
Yes, the players have some work to do Sunday against Tulsa. It’s on the fans to bring the electricity, but it’s on the Republic players to give them something to cheer for.
“When this place is loud, when this place is rocking, there’s no place like it,” Briggs said. “It’s our job as players to get the environment excited to get the environment loud. And then the fans, they’re our 12th man. We need them every week. We need them loud and we need them behind us and we need them, quite frankly, giving the opposition s---.”