Soccer fans have intensity

By Cecile Nguyen

Sports fans are generally a crazy bunch, but soccer fans are just a different breed altogether.

At the San Jose Earthquakes' season finale on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium, the 1906 Ultras, one of the main Quakes fan groups, created a larger than life poster of team owner Lew Wolff, who was in attendance.

The Ultras also created a sign that read "Lew is God."

Wolff was treated to a raucous round of applause from fans when he was handing out the team Most Valuable Player and other awards. It was a stark contrast to when he was greeted by boos during an Oakland A's 40th anniversary celebration late in their season.

The Quakes players themselves said that the loud fans at Buck Shaw helped fuel the team's win.

"It was crazy," Santa Clara alumnus Ryan Cochrane said of the fans during the Quakes' last match of the season. "You could definitely hear the crowd when those flags started going. It was a good atmosphere."

Cochrane was referring to enthusiastic fans who act as unofficial cheerleaders and run around the stadium with large flags to pump up the crowd after a Quakes goal.

Following the game, these fans and the Ultras led a song that praised the greatness of the Quakes.

Quakes fans also ignited flares after the game, filling Buck Shaw with clouds of orange smoke.

A scene like this would be common at an international soccer match.

International soccer fans are known to be passionate and to express this dedication through songs and chants.

This tradition was not lost to Quakes fans. Throughout the game, one side of the stadium would cheer "Earth!" to which the other side of Buck Shaw responded loudly "Quakes!"

You would never see sports fans do anything like this at a football, basketball or hockey game.

The most organized thing non-soccer fans do is the wave.

Oakland Raiders fans in themselves are passionate and sometimes just downright crazy.

Golden State Warriors followers, who stay devoted to their team hopeless season after hopeless season.

San Jose Sharks fans are just plain loud. The games become almost deafening come playoff time. Ear plugs are even distributed at home games.

But can you imagine these fans singing, chanting and running around just being crazy?

Nope, just soccer fans.

Even in as far from an international soccer scene as Buck Shaw Stadium.