La Barra Brava
Encyclopedia
| La Barra Brava | |
| Motto | Muerte O Gloria |
| Team | D.C. United D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... |
| Location | Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
| Established | 1995 |
| Website | Barra-Brava.com |
La Barra Brava is an independent supporters' group for Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
's D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
and the United States. It was founded in 1995 by Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
fans in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area, mostly Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
n immigrants in support of original United players Marco Etcheverry
Marco Etcheverry
Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas is a retired Bolivian footballer, considered one of the greatest Bolivian players of all time.-Career:...
and Jaime Moreno
Jaime Moreno
Jaime Moreno Morales is a former Bolivian footballer now serving as Youth Academy Technical Training Coach for D.C. United in Major League Soccer, and as the head coach of D.C. United's U-23 side....
.
Since then, the group has expanded and all have been welcomed, while the group has remained closely identified with its South American roots. Members currently stand and sing in RFK Stadium's sections 135, 136, 137, 138, 233, 234 and 235 and tailgates are held in Lot 8. La Barra was founded by Oscar Zambrana and is led by Oscar and a group of "Elders".
La Barra Brava runs several events and programs for members and all United fans throughout the year. They sponsor away-game viewing parties, road trips to away matches and popular charity raffles that have raised thousands of dollars. They also maintain relationships with fan organizations world-wide, particularly with the Nottingham Forest Supporters Southwest/M5 Branch. La Barra Brava publishes at least 3 articles on United and soccer per week on their website.
Within MLS, the Barra is known for its drumming, including the famous "Drum Circles" at halftime and after home matches. In 2005, La Barra Brava received extensive media coverage when suspended United playmaker Christian Gomez
Christian Gómez
Christian Gómez is an Argentine footballer currently playing for Nueva Chicago.-Argentina:Gómez began playing professional soccer at the age of 17 with Argentine club Nueva Chicago, which was at the time playing in the second division. He played with the team from 1991 to 1996, appearing in 155...
joined the Barra at road game in NJ and played a bass drum during the second half to support his teammates.
Numerous references have been made by the media regarding La Barra Brava. On several occasions, when games at RFK are shown on national television via ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
or ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, announcers will mention how La Barra Brava contribute to United's impressive home record. Tony Kornheiser
Tony Kornheiser
Anthony Irwin "Tony" Kornheiser is an American sportswriter and former columnist for The Washington Post, as well as a radio and television talk show host...
has also used La Barra Brava as his stereotypical example of what he thinks typical DC United fans are like.
La Barra Brava are often called the craziest fans in the MLS for their antics.
In 2006 the Barras expanded their events beyond the MLS season attending several of the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
home games at the Verizon Center
Verizon Center
Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications, and has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies...
. However, their presence at the arena was met with mixed reviews from ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
fans.