Leader of Loons fan club shares what to expect this soccer season

[OASIS, "WONDERWALL"] Because maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me

And after all,

NINA MOINI: It's a great song. A lot of us know it. But if you've ever been to a Minnesota United FC match at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, this song Wonderwall probably comes to mind. It's played and sung by fans after every win from the state's professional soccer team, and the singing is led by a Loons fan group with nearly 1,000 members. They're called Dark Clouds, and they're the largest group of organized fans Minnesota United FC has.

The team's season kickoff is this Saturday against Los Angeles FC. So here with a preview of the season is Dark Clouds Vice President Nick Moore. Nick, Thanks for taking the time this afternoon.

NICK MOORE: Yeah, thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: I must say, I have covered stories at Allianz Field, and I've covered the team, but I've never been to a match and heard this. Can you tell me about Dark Clouds? Which has been around since 2004 and how they got started.

NICK MOORE: Yeah, for sure. 21 years is very exciting. We actually started previous to the team even being known as Minnesota United. Back then it was called Minnesota Thunder. We played up in Blaine, Minnesota. And as the team grew, obviously our group grew. And it was just kind of born out of the passion for the sport.

And obviously, as most groups start, starts very small. And then as our team got better, we won some championships early on. And then as we moved to MLS, got even bigger. And now we have beautiful Allianz Stadium to have incredible atmospheres at. And it's a lot of fun.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, what do you think has kept this group going for 21 years, like you mentioned?

NICK MOORE: Yeah, for sure. It's been interesting. One of the things with sports that's very easy is you have that kind of instant rallying cry, and we all kind of can become fans together. And I think one really exciting thing that supporters do specifically with all soccer, not just in Minnesota but around the country, is we find that bond that takes that typical fan, and we take that energy out of our match day.

Obviously on match days-- and you definitely need to come do a game sometime because there is a lot of energy, but we find a way to take that and help out our communities with a lot of our volunteer work that we do and fundraising things that we do all at the same time. So it kind of-- and obviously we have our match days that are a very easy points on the calendar to say, hey, I'm going to see 1,000 of my closest friends or a couple thousand-- whatever's in the Stadium-- and then we find cool ways to make some positive change in our community, too, at the same time.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and Nick, why, again, is Wonderwall so closely tied to the team? Can you explain that connection?

NICK MOORE: Oh yeah, we could be here for a little bit, but it--

NINA MOINI: It's the whole show.

NICK MOORE: Yeah, it started with our-- it started when we were playing in Blaine with one of our previous coaches in the lower League. He-- Carl Craig is his name. He still lives locally, I believe, so he may be listening, but he after a win sang the song to the team after a win. And somehow our fans saw a video of that-- our group saw video of that-- and then we started singing that after wins kind of organically. And then that has really grown into what it has now with the team amplifying it.

And then it's really cool because during the win, the song will start like it did here on the radio and then it'll cut and then it's just the entire stadium singing. And it's one of the coolest traditions in all of sports. So it's really fun.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and it's kind of one of those songs where you're like, wait, I already know the words. Why do I know the words to this? Because it's just been so prevalent in culture. But, Nick, since I got you here, I do want to ask, as such a super fan, I want to take a look at this season kicking off on Saturday. Can you talk about some of the new players and what's exciting to you about this team this season?

NICK MOORE: Yeah, for sure. So yeah, we've been-- we kind of have had a full turnover with a lot of the office staff and the front office staff, I should say. Going into last season, we didn't have a head coach, which was very interesting. And so this is going to be Eric Ramsey's first full season with a full offseason to build the team kind of in the way that he wants. And we've had some new young signings from France and another player from South Korea. That should be exciting to watch.

And so there's a lot of good feelings kind of moving in. Obviously, you want to make it all the way to the championship and win a championship. But with the beginning of the season we had last year, it felt like we have some positives to take into this coming season.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. What are your hopes for the newer coach, Eric Ramsay, who's been around, like you said, since the middle of last season? Are you liking what you're seeing leadership-wise from him?

NICK MOORE: Yeah, definitely. Definitely on the field. I mean, like I said, he stepped into a pretty interesting situation last year on a sporting side. So to have the success that he had last year and to continue that with building it in his own vision will be exciting to see kind of move forward. This is the first really full year with a new coach that the Loons have ever had, so that's exciting in and of itself.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, so there's some unknowns and some excitement around that anticipation and also anticipation for the game that Minnesota United's going to play against Miami's team, I understand, because that's where soccer legend Lionel Messi plays. So that match is going to be all the way in May. Are people already excited for that, or what does that mean to you fans?

NICK MOORE: Yeah, it's something that we've talked about the possibility of happening. I will say that it will be exciting to have somebody like that play here. I know a couple of my favorite players have been in-- come to the-- MLS and have come through Allianz. One really cool thing that our team is-- that the front office of Minnesota United was-- committed to early was keeping that match at Allianz Field and not moving it somewhere, which is really great.

Allianz, if you've never been, is a very intimate venue. You can get up close and personal to the players. You are very close to everything that's happening, no matter where you're sitting. And so just getting to watch one of arguably the best players of all time will be exciting. It'll be interesting to see, but it'll also be fun to cheer against him as well at the same time.

NINA MOINI: Well, and explain why they might move it. Just for Messi?

NICK MOORE: Yeah. I mean, he's a big enough draw. I mean, if the team can sell more tickets, then you couldn't fault them for that. But we could move it to a Stadium that-- US Bank stadium, for example-- that will seat far more people.

NINA MOINI: But the vibes, you're saying-- the vibes aren't exactly the same because Allianz is so meaningful.

NICK MOORE: Absolutely. It's such a great--

NINA MOINI: Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.

NICK MOORE: I was going to say it's also just such a great place to watch soccer, because you are so intimate and so much closer, even though there's still about 20,000 people there.

NINA MOINI: Absolutely. And I feel like soccer just has grown over the years, probably since your group started. I mean, just so much more popularity, so many people playing. But if people are checking out, maybe their first game this year-- their first match at Allianz-- what tips do you have for people? What's the experience?

NICK MOORE: Yeah, for sure. I mean, the supporter section is usually going to be the entryway for people because it is the lowest-cost entry point. If you're going to hang out with us in the supporter section, get ready to sing. We sing and chant throughout the entire 90 minutes. And you can check out-- we have a mobile app and you can check out our website. We have all the words. And actually the team will put up the words as we're singing throughout the song on one of the side scoreboards.

If you want to wave a flag, you can grab flags. We always have extra flags. Those will always be waving for all 90 minutes. And there's tons of ways to come in and get really involved and be a super fan.

NINA MOINI: Awesome. But number one, learn those Wonderwall lyrics. All right, Nick, thank you so much. Have a fun season.

NICK MOORE: Yeah, thanks.

NINA MOINI: All right. That was Minnesota United FC Dark Clouds fan club President Nick Moore. Thanks to Nick for joining us. Thank you all for joining us. I'm Nina Moini. Thanks for listening to Minnesota Now. We'll see you back here tomorrow at noon.

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