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Fans were told to show up early (7:15 pm to be exact) to this past weekend's home match against the Seattle Sounders, as there was a pregame message from Mike Petke. What occurred though, was the Red Bull corporation embracing the teams past while joining the South Ward in making a statement in the NY Soccer Wars.
First, here's the pregame video package put together featuring a voice over by Mike Petke & highlights of the New York Red Bulls and the unfurling of some special banners, along with a cameo by yours truly at the 1:22 mark (guy with the scarf below the banner).
In addition to the video & banners, the South Ward got in on the act with a 2 part tifo (see tweet below). The Tifo first looks like a painting of Red Bull Arena with "Our Home", then opens to reveal the text "Our hearts bleed red for our home" with the now popular hash tag #NYisRed.
South Ward (New York Redbulls) #mls #tifo #nyrb #rbny #football #futbol #soccer #empireofsoccer pic.twitter.com/2gNCWiMJMu
— Casually Obsessed (@AmericanCasual1) September 21, 2014
The tifo was luckily timed given that NYC FC DP David Villa, Coach Jason Kreis, and Sporting Director Claudio Reyna, were in attendance.
With the family of @NYCFC watching the match!!!! Red bull-Seattle!!! @CReynaNYCFC @JasonKreis @victor_onate pic.twitter.com/agUKpoqmv3
— David Villa (@Guaje7Villa) September 21, 2014
They got a good show with the Red Bulls taking advantage of the Sounders who rested players after an Added Extra Time US Open Cup final, not to mention that they got to see what a real soccer stadium looks like.