Christopher Belac for The New York Times

In case you missed it, there was a party going on in the New York Red Bulls supporters section this season. A collection of drums, megaphones, smoke bombs, flags, and hundreds of passionate fans make up what is known as the South Ward, populated by the Red Bulls’ most boisterous proponents. And for 90 minutes of every Red Bulls home game, they create one of the most festive and vociferous atmospheres in American soccer.

The South Ward won’t get to unleash itself again in Harrison, N.J., this season even if unless the Red Bulls win a road playoff game at Los Angeles Thursday night and advance to another round of the Major League Soccer playoffs, but it has already enjoyed quite a year.

The history of supporters groups began in 1995 with the founding of the Empire Supporters Club. For years they stood alone behind the goal at the old Giants Stadium, the lone bastion of die-hard support for the MetroStars, then eventually the Red Bulls. When the team moved into the soccer-friendly confines of Red Bull Arena in 2010, a new addition to the South Ward, the Viking Army, was born. And the fun was ratcheted up a notch.

“Basically it started with Ralph ‘Chupi’ Garcia wearing his horns in Section 101,” said Benny Lopez, Viking Army member. “We made a Viking vinyl banner, and we just started growing. We started a facebook page and people were liking it like crazy and we were having a lot of fun. We were with ESC at the time, but eventually it got to a point where the club got so big that we couldn’t be in the same bar as them, so we decided to move here.”

The “here” that Lopez is referring to is Catas, a tapas bar and restaurant, which on game day becomes the official home of the Viking Army. Ruben Dominguez, Catas’s owner and Red Bulls season ticket holder, welcomes the Viking Army with open arms.



“A big part of this is our boy Ruben here, him opening up the place to us and letting us pretty much run the place,” said Viking Army member, Ralph ‘Chupi’ Garcia. “We’re not restricted. Not that we get to tear up the place, but we get to do our chanting, our drums, our megaphone and all that.”

Three hours before kickoff of the Red Bulls’ playoff game against the Galaxy last Sunday, there was not an open seat at the bar. And nearly every seat that was occupied was done so by someone in a Red Bulls or Viking Army scarf. Everyone seemed to know each other in what was one giant, eclectic, pro-Red Bulls family. If “Cheers” had a rowdier, eccentric, soccer-bar counterpart, Catas was it.

“You could come in with a gorilla suit, speaking Chinese, and we’ll give you a beer and say ‘come on let’s have some fun,’” said Viking Army member, Kevin Webster. “We’re not trying to say we want to be this, or we want to be that, we just want to be us. That’s why we appeal to everybody.”

That attitude has created a rambunctious pre-game party at Catas. Lopez, and whoever else wants to grab the megaphone, lead the Viking Army in chant after chant as they consume their pints. The songs are sung in English, Spanish and even Italian. Half being pro-Red Bulls, the other half being anti-whoever the opponent is that day.

The Viking Army has created a unique style of support, not quite British, not quite Latin, and not quite Italian. And for the Viking Army, it suits them just fine.

“We call it World Cup-style support,” said Lopez. “You could bring your girlfriend, you could bring your wife, you could bring your kids. It’s a little more fun.”

That fun is on full display 30 minutes to kickoff when the Viking Army gathers in front of Catas, and begins the march to the stadium, along with the rest of the South Ward. As the singing and chanting commence, flares and smoke bombs start to appear. Although the massive clouds of smoke hide them from view, hundreds participate in what has become a staple for the South Ward. Whether they can be seen through the smoke, they are certainly heard in unison.

“I think people like seeing the march. Especially when we stop in front of the stadium we always get a big circle of people watching us,” said Viking Army member, Adam Guttmann. “Being a supporter isn’t for everybody, but I think the normal fan at least appreciates the atmosphere.”

For Sunday’s playoff game against the Galaxy, with many seats left empty in Red Bull Arena, the three sections that make up the South Ward were nearly filled to capacity. But by the sound of it, you might think they filled six or seven sections.

“We look like five hundred even if we’re one hundred,” said Lopez. “If we’re five hundred, we look like three thousand.”

The South Ward sings the obligatory soccer songs with lyrics that cater to the Red Bulls, but it has also put a unique spin on several popular songs including, “Wipeout” and “Winter Wonderland,” with lyrics not fit to print. And then there is “Tequila,” originally performed by The Champs, popularized by Pee Wee Herman, and adopted by the South Ward as a tribute to Red Bulls midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy.

This creativity is part of all the fun, but it serves a greater goal. As much as the teams on the field are trying to top one another, so are their respective supporters groups.

“We’re in competition with Seattle, we’re in competition with Timber’s Army,” said Lopez. “We want to show them who the best supporters in the world are.”

That competition requires a high level of dedication.

“That’s supporters culture. It’s about putting this team in front of pretty much everything else that we do,” said Guttmann. “We have a banner that says ‘Red Bull New York, Kids, Wife, In That Order.’”