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A history of the Ultras movement in North America



1971, Shea Stadium, Queens, New York. A 20 feet long banner reading "Ultras Tito Mets" is displayed for the first time at a game by a group of young Italo-Americans from the Queens, led by the recently immigrated Giuseppe "Peppino" Masci, a former memeber of the Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni, of Sampdoria Genoa. Having been drawn by the similarity between Sampdoria and NY Mets colors, Masci and two other recently emigrated Genoans, formed an Ultras group around the Mets, recruitng several other Italo-Americans from their neighborhood.

Using flares and loud chants, they immediately attracted attention and sympathy from other Mets fans and by the end of the season the group numbered more than 50 members.
In 1972 they also started following the New York Jets, (American) football team, because at the time, the Jets were also using the Shea Stadium for home matches. Creating an incandescent atmosphere, more and more young fans of the Mets or the Jets joined them. Also in 1973, inspired by the UTM's accomplishments two Roman immigrants, fans of Lazio, display the “Ultra’ Yankees” banner at the old Yankee Stadium. Drawing support from the Bronx, the UY also start increasing their numbers, a rivalry between the two groups starting to grow. The UY, like their rivals, start supporting a football team, the New York Giants, also because of their usage of the stadium in which the ultra group was active, the Yankee Stadium.

1974. First away matches for the UTM. The “Ultras Tito Mets” travel for away matches in Philadelphia, causing trouble on each trip and attracting a lot of media and public attention. The UY follow the example and travel to Boston, devastating the train station and several shops in the city. The ultra’ movement gains even more spotlight. Feeling “invaded” by the New York ultra’ groups, young Phillies fans form the “Ultras Phillies”, and copy the New York groups in their behavior, using flares, flags, scarves and loud chanting in the stadium. The trend quickly travels to Boston, an “Olde Towne Ultras” banner appearing at the Red Sox matches.

Until 1975, the New York ultras groups avoided participating at soccer matches, despite participating at baseball and American football at the same time, mainly because the low popularity of European football, as the New York Ultras always sought good exposure. But with the signing of Pele, by the New York Cosmos, both the UTM and UY attempted to impose themselves as the Cosmos’ ultra group. Both traveled to Downing Stadium, on Randall’s Island on match days, and violence occurred very often. Eventually the Ultras Tito Mets, settled in the North Stand, while the Ultra’ Yankees, settled for the South one, both groups creating a great atmosphere at the Cosmos’ home games, atmosphere sometimes eclipsed tough by clashes between the two rival groups. Also in ’75, as the New York Giants ended their stay at the Yankee stadium, they were in talks of moving at the Shea (they did move in OTL), home of the Mets and Jets, but strong protests from both the UTM and the UY, prevented the move, the Giants returning eventually to the Yankee stadium, as the UY demanded. The two ultra’ groups were becoming more and more strong and influential.

Violence continued to escalate, clashes occurring at every Yankees-Mets exhibition game. Also the Boston and Philadelphia ultra groups started consolidating properly “greeting” the New Yorkers every time the Mets or the Yankees played in their cities. Also, the UTM and UY started travelling farther for away games. The UTM travelled to St Louis, Miami Pittsburgh and Chicago in 1976 and 1977, while the UY to Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore and Milwaukee, during these years. As the New York ultras “visited” these cities, always creating trouble, the local youth, were emulating the UTM or the UY, creating their own ultra groups.

In 1978, after serious clashes between the UY and UTM, after a Yankees-Mets exhibition match, resulting in 5 injured fans and two injured policemen, any Yankees-Mets or Mets-Yankees exhibition match was banned. Later that year, travelling for away matches was banned. The UTM-UY battlefield moved to the Downing Stadium, where after a full scale battle before a home match of the Cosmos, the UTM were expelled from Randall’s Island, as the UY claimed to be the sole ultra’ group of the NY Cosmos. The UTM quickly reoriented itself, participating at the games of the New York Apollo soccer team, which was playing in the American League Soccer, a parallel poorer soccer league, while the UY remained to support the Cosmos in the NASL (North American Soccer League), the wealthier and more popular league.

Although becoming a target of the authorities, the ultra’ groups continued their growth across America. Originally formed around baseball, the younger non-New Yorker ultra’ groups started copying the UTM and UY, in supporting the local American Football and in some cases even soccer teams, the American ultra’ groups not viewing themselves only as sports fans but as heroic defenders of their cities, a new breed of patriots, ready to fight for their city.

The last two years of the decade saw a small change in the ultra’ mentality of America. Because of the authorities’ efforts to stop this growing movement, the UTM and UY were the first to adapt this new climate, starting to travel incognito, wearing regular clothes instead of wearing their teams colors and chanting out loud. This change was inspired from the British “Casuals”, although at home games they continued to use the Italian inspired chants, flares and choreographies. By the end of the decade, the New York ultra' groups numbered several hundred members at home games, and less than 100 at away matches, depending on the distance, while outside New York, the strongest brigades were in Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Cities like Chicago, Miami, Pittsburg and other cities with MLB teams were still at the beginning, but were showing lots of promise.
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