Monday, January 19, 2009

St. Louis fans make voices heard

St. Louis fans make voices heard


ST. LOUIS -- Thursday's MLS SuperDraft crowd didn't disappoint. With hundreds of fans out in support of their teams, there was one team that stood above the rest. Donned in Seattle scarves, shouts of "All we want is a team to call our own," echoed through the ballroom, as well in the halls.

The group calling from a team was St. Louis' Eads Brigade. With St. Louis up for an expansion MLS club, they made sure their voices were heard.

"We've got a great soccer history in St. Louis," fan Patrick Madigan said. "We've been trying to get into the league for a while now."

The fans even brought their own banner, a sign that read: "We've jumped through every hoop. St. Louis in MLS now. Garber what are you waiting for?"

"I think [Commissioner Don Garber] heard us," Madigan said. "It's great that they draw attention to the fans. We're happy to be here to support the MLS draft." Kansas City, just a few hours down the road, also had a number of fans in the crowd. George Shook and Bobby Poole donned Kansas City jerseys, while posing for pictures with the Wizards' top pick -- Matt Besler.

"The draft is so close to home, we had to be here," George Shook said. "We wanted to drive down and support our players. I think we have 12 or so fans here. We were hoping to have more, but it is a Thursday."

Besler said he wouldn't have missed it.

"I went to the draft in 2003 in Kansas City when they opened the doors to fans," he said. "It's progressed so much since then."

Along with fans, many college high school coaches came out to support the players. They wore their team colors, jersey, scarves and hats with pride, as they watched the four-hour event.

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