Smoke fills the air but it is not nearly as intoxicating or inescapable as the screams echoing from inside it. It's a stifling hot day in Detroit and there is nothing anyone can do to stop raging masses of people from losing control. A few expletives may ring out and the shouting only grows louder among the sirens blaring.

It is sheer chaos. Pandemonium. Frenzy.

But really, it is just another day at a Detroit City Football Club match. No, this isn't the football that you're thinking of. This is what its fans call "real football" – the world's football. Yes, it is what us Americans call "soccer."

In its first year in existence, Detroit City FC and its fans have burst onto the sports scene in Detroit with gusto and an exciting atmosphere like no other.

"Basically, we're just instilling a counter culture of American fan-based sports," said Gene Butcher of Waterford, a City FC super fan. "American fans typically sit down, maybe clap every once in a while when the jumbotron tells them to clap. We pretty much stand up, clap, cheer, bang on drums for a straight 90 minutes. Even before and after."

Nicknamed "Le Rouge", City FC fans, players and owners are excited about keeping the pride of Detroit itself as well. The name "Le Rouge" harkens back to Detroit's French settlement roots and the official logo of the team is a maroon and gold illustration of the famous Spirit of Detroit statue on Woodward Avenue. Fans gather before and after games at various bars and businesses to actively and purposefully support the hidden business gems of Detroit.

Yet, the real party is at the games. For $5 per ticket, over 1,700 fans have already packed the stands at Cass Tech High School for a single game. The more enthusiastic types like Butcher completely take over the Cass Tech away stands and put on a show like no other.

"It's just the energy and excitement," said Tom Codum, 49, of Midland. "I think that the fans have a blast to come and see it."

With 21 different chants and songs like "Sing for you City" and "Long Live Detroit City", fans are handed chant sheets heading into the stands to follow along. Although a few might be R-rated, everyone is in high spirits and always goes home happy, win or lose.

"Everyone makes their own fun," said Roger Paz, who recently moved back to southwest Detroit after living in Brooklyn, New York for years. "Everyone makes their banners, everyone is jumping up and down. You feel like you're apart of it. You're not just a customer."

A semi-pro team that traditionally acts more as a home for college athletes to stay sharp in the summer, City FC has somehow resurfaced a soccer culture that has been relatively underground for a long time while getting outsiders excited about coming back to the city.

Now that City FC was on the brink of a division title in its first year and gearing up for the playoffs, soccer is alive and well along Grand River Avenue just north of 1-75. However long it lasts, the loyal following of fans are already with this team until the end.

Detroit City FC gallery 15 Gallery: Detroit City FC gallery

From the grounds of Detroit

To the average person, starting up a semi-pro soccer team in a city where businesses are hard to sustain and professional sports teams like the Detroit Lions and Tigers are just walking distance away, the whole idea sounds crazy.

For Sean Mann, it was a challenge worth accepting. As the owner of the recreational Detroit City Futbol League, Mann has been bringing soccer to hundreds of residents in Detroit at the recreational level since 2010.

"There is just about as much emphasis on drinking as soccer," Mann said about his successful co-ed league. "Most people in the league have very little to no experience with the game. It's more just about having the neighborhoods get together."

But after the league grew to about 800 participants from 28 neighborhoods in the city, Mann began meeting with three other individuals from the league that eventually became part owners of City FC.

Alex Wright, Ben Steffans, David Dwaihy and Todd Kropp began bouncing ideas around with Mann during games and at bars to dream up some kind of team that people would be willing to watch within the city.

It wasn't a naïve dream that was meant to suddenly erase the Hockeytown moniker from Detroit and replace it with "Soccertown" (because, let's face it,"Footballtown" would be way too confusing). Simply, Mann and his future business buddies saw that, by the success of the community league, there were people in Detroit that actually enjoyed soccer all along.

"Not only was it a way to meet each other through the league, but the success of that league really made us think, 'Hey, there is an underserviced market for soccer in this region,'" Mann said.

The market for a soccer team also extended outside of Mann's recreation league, as a handful of soccer support groups were already present in the Metro Detroit area. Groups like the Northern Guard Supporters and Motor City Supporters seemed to give further reason that perhaps introducing a team to the city of Detroit would have a good enough reception to make it worth trying.

After visiting some other teams around the country and taking with some of those owners, Mann got the ball rolling and it hasn't slowed down since.

"This time last year, we were kind of torn with the idea," Mann said. "We kind of jumped into it. It's been an adventure and its all happened really quickly. We've all put a lot of personal time into pulling this off."

Mission Not Impossible

It's one thing to talk about getting a team together and another to actually make one. With the owners using various connections, the owners found Michigan State men's soccer assistant coach Kylie Stannard and approached him about taking the head spot for City FC.

Stannard was instantly sold.

"I love the mission that Detroit City has as far as being in the city of Detroit," Stannard said. "Reaching out to the young professionals in downtown Detroit, sports fans of all kinds, the different ethnic communities in Detroit. (The owners) have been doing a lot of great work."

Like the owners, Stannard thought the time was right to bring a new soccer culture back into the heart of Detroit.

"Just having a brand new team in Detroit is special," Stannard said. "There is a lot of talent in Michigan and the Detroit area. So I knew we could be competitive right off the bat."

With Stannard on board and bringing on assistant coach Cale Wassermann, the next step was finding players.

Early in the spring, 31-year-old Craig Hearn was just as excited as anyone when he heard that there was going to be a semi-pro soccer team playing in the heart of Detroit. Although he did not expect much, Hearn was ready to be a supporter.

"I've been dying to see soccer in Detroit for years," Hearn said. "I always said that if any team comes to Detroit, I'm going to be a season ticket holder. Whether it would be good, bad, or ugly, I'm going to go out and watch."

But instead of following through and getting season tickets, Hearn is instead on the field playing for the very team he was excited about watching.

"One of the owners, he is actually a friend of mine, I played soccer with him for years," Hearn said. "He called me up and said, 'Come try out and see what happens.' So I went and tried out and made the team."

Hearn is not the only one enjoying one last crack at the sport he loves. David Dwaihy, one of the team's owners, has also suited up again. A 31-year-old high school teacher at University Liggett in Grosse Pointe Woods, Dwaihy is overwhelmed from both an ownership and player level.

"I think the initial number that Sean (Mann) threw out as sort of a goal for attendance by the end of the season was to have 500 (fans) at each game," Dwaihy said. "We all kind of thought, 'Well, we could maybe see that happening.'"

The reception was more than any of the players could have expected when taking the field at Cass Tech for its first game. Over 1,000 fans were in the stands watching – already exceeding the owners' attendance goal for the end of the season.

"I don't know where they came from, but we're glad they're here," Dwaihy said.

Not only did they come, they came hungry.

Keith Lough is a 24-year-old graduate of Northwood University who plays midfield for City FC. Originally from Scotland, the 24-year-old was like most of the players by not expecting much from the crowd – especially for a first-year program.

Considering how big soccer is in his native Europe and the overall lack of success the sport has had trying to catch on in America, Lough's doubts were understandable.

"I thought it was going to be typical soccer in America," Lough said. "Where you get 50 people on the sidelines and they're not really paying attention to the game."

Once Lough saw a bigger crowd than he's ever played in front of on the state side, he was pleasantly surprised.

"I'll tell you one thing, it's crazy playing here at Cass Tech," Lough said. "These guys give you an extra step. It's amazing."

Fan Friendly Fun

Could you imagine going to the bar after a Tigers' game to share a couple of cold ones with Justin Verlander or Prince Fielder? Unless you are VIP, you can forget about that fantasy.

To the City FC players, all of the fans are considered VIPs. It is tradition after every game that the FC fans decide on a bar to head to after the game. To show some appreciation, the players will meet up at the bar with fans to share drinks, stories, and build new friendships.

For the fans like Butcher and Paz, that kind of treatment is second to none.

"First of all, I don't know of a whole lot of teams where you actually hang out with the players after the game," Butcher said. "We're texting each other, calling each other, emailing each other non-stop all throughout the week. There's a lot of players here and we have a really good relationship – almost a personal relationship – with a lot of the players here."

Because of Lough's Scottish roots, fans immediately gave him his own chant that exclaims, "give that man a haggis", referring to a traditional Scottish dish. What Lough didn't know is that the fans had every intention of going the extra distance to follow through on the chant.

"Last week, one of the supporters came up to me and said, 'I'll be right back,'" Lough said. "I was like, why? He said 'I've got Haggis.' I didn't think he was telling the truth. About thirty minutes later, he came back and he had a haggis. We cooked it up in the bar and we had the haggis."

Each player and fan seems to have its own unique story as the relationships continue to grow off the field. Nothing is forced – or expensive for that matter.

"Nothing against the more corporate big leagues," Paz said. "Honestly, their tickets are so pricey. This is five bucks to get in to see Detroit City FC. The prices are so high in all of the other sports that, when you get there, you're just sipping on a soda and you're eating some expensive hotdog. Here, it's just do it yourself."

The players even make time for the younger crowd, taking time to sign autographs for their younger fans on the field after games.

Thirteen-year-old Vivian of Royal Oak, a regular at City FC games, was all smiles as players took time signing her team photo after a game she had just watched from the stands.

With her face painted red on one side and gold on the other, and a Le Rouge scarf around her neck, it is safe to say that City FC is getting future generations excited about soccer in Detroit in a positive way.

"It was pretty crazy," Vivian said about her first City FC game she attended in the spring. "Especially with all of the super fans ... they're very enthusiastic. They love soccer and they love to be here."

If things continue to progress as quickly and surprisingly as it all has and the support remains, Detroit City FC could be around for fans to love for a long time.

"The supporters here are off the Richter scale," Paz said. "They're crazy. I have friends in Portland who will check in through Facebook. They're like, 'What the hell is going on in Detroit? You guys are crazy.' We're having more fun than anyone is supposed to have with a minor league team. We support them so wholeheartedly."