There are a lot of cultural events that bring people together in Detroit. From the Thanksgiving Parade to the Detroit Auto Show and the Marche du Nain Rouge. The varied immigrant communities across the region have their festivals, too, Italian, Greek, German, and more. Recently, a new culture has put down roots in Detroit. The football or futbol culture has been gaining steam since the 1970s, but only with the arrival of Detroit City FC in 2012 has it put down serious roots in the community.
To grow that community and attract a broader fan base, the club has engaged in an annual friendly game against a team based outside the United States. Visitors have included St. Pauli from Germany, Venezia from Italy, and Glentoran from Ireland. More recently, international opponents have come from Liga MX. FC Juarez, Pumas, Atlas, and Necaxa have made the long journey north to Keyworth Stadium.
Why are Liga MX teams coming to Detroit? Liga MX is actually the most popular soccer league in the United States. Every team in Mexico’s top flight has a big following across the country. That was clear last week at Keyworth. The DCFC supporters have a reputation for bringing noise, smoke, and atmosphere, but this was a rare occasion when a large number of fans from the other team brought some noise. The green and white Santos fans made plenty of noise and even had smoke to match their hosts. It made for a vibrant, colorful scene reminiscent of the best grounds around the world, if on a smaller scale.
Liga MX teams are also more willing to play on Keyworth’s artificial surface than teams from elsewhere. For them it is about connecting with their supporters, welcoming the culture of Mexican football into the United States. With a built in fan base, Santos Laguna or any other Liga MX team would be guaranteed to have fans. Clubs that come to Detroit typically have a meet and greet session before the game to deepen their connections here in Detroit.
From the Detroit City point of view, these games bring in a good crowd. Keyworth was packed last week. There were jerseys representing clubs across Liga MX, Europe, and even North America among the crowd. The food trucks did a brisk business. The club even set up a wrestling ring in the concession area and had a local group stage an exhibition that incorporated another type of performance popular on both sides of the Rio Grande.
As for the game, Santos won 1-0 on a first half goal by Emmanuel Echeverria. He broke through the DCFC back line and beat goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva. DCFC Coach Danny Dichio rested a number of regular players and included several players from DCFC’s reserve team. Santos also substituted liberally, using their entire roster on a hot, humid evening. The teams contested every ball and delivered some crunching tackles that had both sets of supporters roaring.
While Santos, and other Liga MX teams that come to Detroit benefit from playing a challenging game as part of their preseason preparations, DCFC benefits from a big crowd and a great atmosphere. DCFC will be hoping that some of those locally based Santos supporters enjoyed themselves at Keyworth enough to adopt Detroit City as their home away from home team when Santos games aren’t quite as easy to attend. They would certainly be a welcome addition to festive environment that surrounds a typical DCFC home game.
