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| Fans Lose Soccer Team, Then Build Their Own | Fans Lose Soccer Team, Then Build Their Own |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| TAMPERE, Finland — When the referee’s whistle sounded at the end of the first half on Saturday, Juha Kumara’s hamstring ached so badly that he took himself out of the game and limped into the stands. | TAMPERE, Finland — When the referee’s whistle sounded at the end of the first half on Saturday, Juha Kumara’s hamstring ached so badly that he took himself out of the game and limped into the stands. |
| Not to the bench, mind you. As a former spectator himself, Mr. Kumara was accustomed to watching from the stands. Strangest of all, though, was that there was a fan section at all. This particular soccer match was being held deep in the minor leagues of Finnish soccer, where normally no more than a dozen people bother to watch. | Not to the bench, mind you. As a former spectator himself, Mr. Kumara was accustomed to watching from the stands. Strangest of all, though, was that there was a fan section at all. This particular soccer match was being held deep in the minor leagues of Finnish soccer, where normally no more than a dozen people bother to watch. |
| Yet the crowd of 200 on the sidelines rollicked and roared enthusiastically with every good play, wearing blue-green scarves around their necks and holding up an elaborate display of team posters and a giant banner that required a dozen fans to manage. | Yet the crowd of 200 on the sidelines rollicked and roared enthusiastically with every good play, wearing blue-green scarves around their necks and holding up an elaborate display of team posters and a giant banner that required a dozen fans to manage. |
| “We have the best fans in town,” said the coach, Mika Suonsyrja. “If you have two of them, they will start singing.” | “We have the best fans in town,” said the coach, Mika Suonsyrja. “If you have two of them, they will start singing.” |
| That song is the sound of revenge in Tampere (pronounced tom-per-AY), a city nearly 100 miles north of Helsinki. The fans here once supported one of the best teams in the country, Tampere United. But it was expelled by the Football Association of Finland from the premier division in 2011 over an allegation of laundering money that led to a still-unproven suspicion of fixing matches. | That song is the sound of revenge in Tampere (pronounced tom-per-AY), a city nearly 100 miles north of Helsinki. The fans here once supported one of the best teams in the country, Tampere United. But it was expelled by the Football Association of Finland from the premier division in 2011 over an allegation of laundering money that led to a still-unproven suspicion of fixing matches. |
| Unwilling to face life without a soccer team, the fans got together and decided to assemble a new one, TamU-K, an abbreviation for the original team, plus the K for kannattaja, the Finnish word for “supporter.” | |
| At this point, it helps to explain the structure of soccer in Finland. As in most countries outside the United States, the league is made up of seven divisions, a premier stratum and six lower levels. Every year, the best teams in a division are promoted to the next level, the worst, demoted. | At this point, it helps to explain the structure of soccer in Finland. As in most countries outside the United States, the league is made up of seven divisions, a premier stratum and six lower levels. Every year, the best teams in a division are promoted to the next level, the worst, demoted. |
| While Tampere United was a fixture in the premier division, TamU-K had to start at rock bottom in a rec league. The team members vowed to make it back to the top, but even they are a little surprised at how fast they have climbed the ladder. | While Tampere United was a fixture in the premier division, TamU-K had to start at rock bottom in a rec league. The team members vowed to make it back to the top, but even they are a little surprised at how fast they have climbed the ladder. |
| That first year, one problem immediately presented itself. There were no players, and only two weeks to prepare for the opening game. So friends were called, and they put on their cleats. Other fans showed up with soccer gear in case they were needed. Anyone with a blue shirt could play. | That first year, one problem immediately presented itself. There were no players, and only two weeks to prepare for the opening game. So friends were called, and they put on their cleats. Other fans showed up with soccer gear in case they were needed. Anyone with a blue shirt could play. |
| The team won that first game with a goal in the final minute, in front of two dozen fans screaming and yelling on the gravel next to the goal. That was no fluke. When TamU-K entered the competitive league in 2012, in the sixth division, it won an astonishing 13 games, losing only twice and tying once, earning a promotion. | The team won that first game with a goal in the final minute, in front of two dozen fans screaming and yelling on the gravel next to the goal. That was no fluke. When TamU-K entered the competitive league in 2012, in the sixth division, it won an astonishing 13 games, losing only twice and tying once, earning a promotion. |
| The next year, in the fifth division, now with a few “real” players on the roster, the team won 20 games, lost 1 and tied 1, earning another promotion. | The next year, in the fifth division, now with a few “real” players on the roster, the team won 20 games, lost 1 and tied 1, earning another promotion. |
| Saturday was TamU-K’s first home game of the 2014 season, in the fourth division. If the team earns another promotion at the end of the year, it will be in the third division — which is exactly what the most zealous fans chanted at a bar before the match. | Saturday was TamU-K’s first home game of the 2014 season, in the fourth division. If the team earns another promotion at the end of the year, it will be in the third division — which is exactly what the most zealous fans chanted at a bar before the match. |
| “With TamU, we’re going to the third division,” they sang, adding for good measure, “There’s nothing the Football Association can do!” | “With TamU, we’re going to the third division,” they sang, adding for good measure, “There’s nothing the Football Association can do!” |
| Tampere, the country’s third largest city, is the Pittsburgh of Finland — its skyline is punctuated by the smokestacks of abandoned paper mills, while a techie youth culture has taken root in the old downtown. In surveys, Tampere routinely tops the list of best places to live. | Tampere, the country’s third largest city, is the Pittsburgh of Finland — its skyline is punctuated by the smokestacks of abandoned paper mills, while a techie youth culture has taken root in the old downtown. In surveys, Tampere routinely tops the list of best places to live. |
| On Friday, the night before the match, TamU-K tapped into the city’s vibrant night life, hosting a “support night” with four Finnish bands to raise money and try to increase attendance at the game. It was expensive to organize, and the club needed to sell 205 tickets at $18 each to make back their outlay. | On Friday, the night before the match, TamU-K tapped into the city’s vibrant night life, hosting a “support night” with four Finnish bands to raise money and try to increase attendance at the game. It was expensive to organize, and the club needed to sell 205 tickets at $18 each to make back their outlay. |
| As the second band, which included two TamU-K supporters, played the team’s unofficial anthem (“This City Is Ours”), dozens of fans held their soccer scarves over their heads and rushed the stage. Then the club’s chairman took a break from selling tickets and ran over to the floor to grab the vice chairman. | As the second band, which included two TamU-K supporters, played the team’s unofficial anthem (“This City Is Ours”), dozens of fans held their soccer scarves over their heads and rushed the stage. Then the club’s chairman took a break from selling tickets and ran over to the floor to grab the vice chairman. |
| “We broke even!” yelled the chairman, Heikki Wilen. | “We broke even!” yelled the chairman, Heikki Wilen. |
| “We broke even?” the vice chairman, Antti Niemisto, yelled back. They hugged, laughing as the band blared. | “We broke even?” the vice chairman, Antti Niemisto, yelled back. They hugged, laughing as the band blared. |
| A lot of happy surprises seem to arrive on the fly like that. As TamU-K started winning, more fans showed up. In its first playoff game , in the fall of 2012, the ragtag team drew 400 people. | A lot of happy surprises seem to arrive on the fly like that. As TamU-K started winning, more fans showed up. In its first playoff game , in the fall of 2012, the ragtag team drew 400 people. |
| It is not just the numbers of fans, but their spirit that sets the team apart. “I don’t have any other friends, basically,” said a fan named Given, who was adamant that his real name not be used. “I don’t know what I’d be doing without this community.” | It is not just the numbers of fans, but their spirit that sets the team apart. “I don’t have any other friends, basically,” said a fan named Given, who was adamant that his real name not be used. “I don’t know what I’d be doing without this community.” |
| “The singing, the shouting, everybody is scared to play badly,” said the goalkeeper, Ilkka Innola, trying to explain the crowd’s effect. | “The singing, the shouting, everybody is scared to play badly,” said the goalkeeper, Ilkka Innola, trying to explain the crowd’s effect. |
| In another playoff game in fall 2013, Mr. Kumara, the player with the hamstring injury, found a different reason to take off his uniform. When he knew TamU-K was going to win and earn a promotion, he stripped off his uniform in jubilation and streaked around the field. | In another playoff game in fall 2013, Mr. Kumara, the player with the hamstring injury, found a different reason to take off his uniform. When he knew TamU-K was going to win and earn a promotion, he stripped off his uniform in jubilation and streaked around the field. |
| “I didn’t plan for that,” he said. “It just happened.” | “I didn’t plan for that,” he said. “It just happened.” |
| In its game on Saturday, TamU-K won easily, 6-0. For some of the new players, accustomed to life in the lower minor leagues, the cheers were the first they had ever heard. While the fans draped their arms around each other and chanted in unison for 90 minutes, they dreamed of the day that they would be back in the best league in the country. | In its game on Saturday, TamU-K won easily, 6-0. For some of the new players, accustomed to life in the lower minor leagues, the cheers were the first they had ever heard. While the fans draped their arms around each other and chanted in unison for 90 minutes, they dreamed of the day that they would be back in the best league in the country. |
| “I don’t know if it’s realistic,” Mr. Suonsyrja said, “but it’s the only thing we should aim for.” | “I don’t know if it’s realistic,” Mr. Suonsyrja said, “but it’s the only thing we should aim for.” |
| For TamU-K’s fans, though, you get the feeling the journey is more important than the end. | For TamU-K’s fans, though, you get the feeling the journey is more important than the end. |