Sac Republic, Capital's New Soccer Team, Has Already Won a Battalion of Fans

By Joe Rubin

There is a lot that's impressive about the new professional soccer team in the state capital, the Sacramento Republic FC. First of all, there are the sold-out matches — 20,000-plus fans have consistently jammed the team's temporary home, a football stadium at Sacramento City College.

To put that in perspective, that's twice as many fans as the more established San Jose Earthquakes have been averaging. And the Earthquakes play in the MLS, a league a notch above the scrappy USL in which Sacramento plays.

The play on the field has been impressive, too. Coach Preki Radosavljevic, a former MLS star who also played in the English Premier League, has his squad near the top of the standings. The team is playing controlled soccer with bursts of scoring attacks.

But most impressive is the seemingly instant culture that has sprung up around the team, which debuted in April. The boldest example of that spirit is the team’s unofficial booster club, the Tower Bridge Battalion Borrowing traditions from Latin American, European and African fans, the battalion, about a thousand-strong, stands, signs and chants all game long. The group's members are young, mostly in their 20s, and although the language can be rough (the F-word is frequently sprinkled into their fight songs), the overall spirit is good-natured and playful.

Players say they love playing in front of the battalion, which is named for a vertical lift bridge across the Sacramento River. When Sac Republic scores, players rush to the corner of the stadium where the booster club sits, pump their fists and dance to one of the brigade’s standards, “Glory, Glory, Sacramento.”

The team’s goalie, Dominik Jakubek, says the Tower Bridge Battalion gives the team energy late in games. “All that screaming and yelling sends adrenaline, fire through your body.”

Sac Republic has aspirations of jumping leagues and becoming an MLS expansion team. Since they are outdrawing most MLS teams this early on, that would seem a good bet. But Brian Trainer,  one of the founders of the battalion, says, “It's more about the community and the camaraderie of Sacramento getting together and having a great time, versus building a top-notch championship professional team. Obviously, that is what we want, but it’s not the only goal."

The team’s owner, Warren Smith, says the secret to the team’s early success at the box office is soccer's popularity in Sacramento. Youth soccer leagues in Sacramento are so popular they are practically a rite of passage for both boys and girls. “The average high school graduate has played seven years of organized soccer,” says Smith. “They’re familiar with it. And that is one of the first indicators that they will buy a ticket."

Many in the battalion are avid players too, like Ana Garza, who says, “I grew up watching soccer. I grew up listening to soccer, I grew up with a soccer ball in my crib.”

Crowds at Sac Republic games are actually about to get dramatically lower in Sacramento. But that’s not because demand is easing. The field that the team’s been playing on is built for football. Last week they moved into a new, much smaller, 8,000-seat stadium — built especially for soccer. Good luck getting a ticket: The remainder of the season is mostly sold out.