Sam's Army
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sam's Army was an unofficial supporters' group for the
United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...
. The name of the group derives from
Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
, a
national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...
of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and the Scottish supporters' group the
Tartan Army The Tartan Army are fans of the Scotland national football team. They have won awards from several organisations for their friendly behaviour and charitable work. They have also been criticised at times for aspects of their behaviour, however, ...
. Sam's Army debuted at a 1995
U.S. Cup The U.S. Cup (also known as the USA Cup, United States Cup and the Nike U.S. Cup) was a Association football, soccer competition held annually in the United States from 1992 to 2000, except for the World Cup years of 1994 and 1998. The tourna ...
game following the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
. In 2010 there were more than 14,000 members of Sam's Army, and the organization reported having members around the world. Sam's Army was known for wearing all red and usually standing behind a goal during United States national team matches. George Vecsey of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' described Sam's Army as, "a relative handful of goofy characters in red outfits... who follow the American team around the globe."
The American Outlaws The American Outlaws (abbreviation: AO) are an unofficial supporters' group for the United States men's national soccer team and United States women's national soccer team and have been described as "a raucous group of U.S. supporters" by ESP ...
are now the dominant U.S. soccer supporters' group and Sam's Army is now defunct.


History

Sam's Army was co-founded by Mark Spacone and John Wright. Spacone met Mark Wheeler, who ran a World Cup website, and decided that they should create a United States national team fan club. Wheeler left to go overseas and Wright stepped in as the other co-founder. Together they laid the groundwork for Sam's Army using Wheeler's website. According to the Sam's Army website, Sam's Army was inspired by the Scotland national team's supporter group, the
Tartan Army The Tartan Army are fans of the Scotland national football team. They have won awards from several organisations for their friendly behaviour and charitable work. They have also been criticised at times for aspects of their behaviour, however, ...
, which they felt was an ideal to aim for as a supporter group. Sam's Army's first organized debut was at a
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
vs.
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
U.S. Cup The U.S. Cup (also known as the USA Cup, United States Cup and the Nike U.S. Cup) was a Association football, soccer competition held annually in the United States from 1992 to 2000, except for the World Cup years of 1994 and 1998. The tourna ...
match on June 11, 1995, at
Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...
; after winning that year's U.S. Cup, the United States' coach
Steve Sampson Mark Stephen Sampson (born January 19, 1957) is an American soccer coach. He is also the former head coach of both the United States men's national team and the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Collegiate career Sampson attended UCL ...
called the group "the best fans in the country right now for the game of soccer", and
Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander Lalas (; born June 1, 1970) is an American former soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where ...
threw the group his jersey in celebration of their U.S. Cup victory and to show his thanks for their support. The group originated due to a lack of an organized soccer supporters' club in the United States. Sam's Army notified fans by e-mail during the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
to let them know which bars would be showing the United States team's World Cup matches. Over 4,000 Sam's Army members gathered at
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...
to watch the United States play Germany in the 2002 World Cup. George Vecsey of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' noted that Sam's Army followed the United States team wherever they went for qualifying matches in 2004. At the United States team's opening game of the
2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
in group play against England, there were an estimated 8,000 members of Sam's Army in the stands, and Sam's Army chanted U-S-A! after each save made by
Tim Howard Timothy Matthew Howard (born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the part-owner of club Dagenham & Redbridge as well as an international ambassador in the United States for Premie ...
, the American
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. Tim Struby of ''
ESPN the Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue, with the cover line "NEXT.," was published on March 11, 1998 (cover date March 23, 1998), and featured K ...
'' noted in May 2010 that Sam's Army continues to grow in size, and on June 11, 2010, Sam's Army and the American Outlaws appeared on a segment of ''
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', where they gave
the finger "The finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, flipping the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning t ...
to
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...
after he gave them the finger.


Behavior

Sam's Army was known for wearing red to matches. The group's chants are commonly
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
in English and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
due to the number of soccer fans coming from the
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
community. They usually stand in seatings behind one of the goals, due to complaints from early games that they blocked people who wanted to sit down and watch the game. Sam's Army fans often utilize drummers in their chants, and there are chant leaders who lead the group for the duration of the game. They normally stand with other United States national team supporters' groups, including
the American Outlaws The American Outlaws (abbreviation: AO) are an unofficial supporters' group for the United States men's national soccer team and United States women's national soccer team and have been described as "a raucous group of U.S. supporters" by ESP ...
. Sam's Army also produced a bi-monthly fanzine, 'Bookable Offense' which started in 1995. Each issue, which ran between 16 and 30 pages, was distributed by mail to group members. The fanzine, written by Wheeler and Spacone, also included articles on the newly formed Major League Soccer with references and information on burgeoning MLS Supporters clubs.


See also

*
The American Outlaws The American Outlaws (abbreviation: AO) are an unofficial supporters' group for the United States men's national soccer team and United States women's national soccer team and have been described as "a raucous group of U.S. supporters" by ESP ...
*
United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...


References


External links


Official Website
{{United States men's national soccer team 1995 establishments in the United States Sports organizations established in 1995 Association football supporters' associations United States men's national soccer team Uncle Sam