On Tuesday, June 6, I convinced my mother to take me to the fourth round game of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup of the Philadelphia Union versus the Richmond Kickers, a low ranking team in the USL. Some people have asked me why I wanted to go. After all, the stadium was nearly empty.

It made me think about why I wanted to be there and what it means to be a fan.

Although the Richmond Kickers may not be the best team, I always like to see the Union play, whether it is the MLS finals or a training session.

These extra games can be exciting, and there can be upsets such as what happened when the New England Revolution played against Louisville F.C. You can’t take anything for granted in soccer. These games can go to penalty shots, which is what happened when Columbus Crew played the Chicago Fire Those penalty shots stayed even all the way to the keepers’ shots. Or they can be one-sided. There can also be plenty of goals scored, as occurred on Tuesday. In case you missed it, the Union scored five goals, with four in the first half. I never get tired of dooping.

The other reason I like going to these games is you get to see some of the young players try to impress the coaches and the fans. Watching Anthony Fontana, Derrick Jones, and Michee Ngalina play was great. I was especially excited to cheer Michee on, since I have never seen him play before, and he is only 18 years old. It was nice seeing these players on the field with more experienced players like Ilsinho, Haris Medunjanin and David Accam (who scored his first goal at Talen Energy Stadium for the Union off a penalty shot).

There can be special, unexpected moments at these games. My favorite vendors, the Cow and the Curd, Chickie-and-Pete’s and P.J. Whelihan’s, were open (surprisingly) and they still had some outside games open in Toyota Plaza.

I was impressed by the 10 or so really dedicated Richmond Kicker fans, dressed in red, who made the trip up. It was really funny when the Sons of Ben noticed that these Richmond fans were moving their seats up and chanted: “Hey Richmond, those aren’t your seats.” I found myself singing along with the Sons of Ben. (By the way, the Sons of Ben always show up). I even found myself sitting in front of the Hometown Hero and his family.

Going to these extra, non-MLS games makes me feel like a true fan. I often see comments from people who say that the Union are terrible and that they will not watch or go to the games in protest. Although it is okay to criticize your team (I do that frequently, often very loudly, at the games), I have never felt that the Boys in Blue did not try their best to win. We all know that players tend to play better when their families are in town (such as with Ilsinho).

Sure, I am a happier fan when my team is doing well. When they win it is so exciting. But, it goes both ways. Teams do better when there is a crowd behind them cheering them on. Those days and nights are full of energy.

But those different types of nights – when the stadium is almost empty and the game is not important to their standing – can still be cool.

If and when the Philadelphia Union turn it around, I am proud that I was one of the few that bothered to show on a random Tuesday night when I had school the next day.