Another Union Omaha match has come and gone, but there was something different about this one. Union Omaha has traditionally had great attendance. In 2021 they averaged 3177, and in 2022 their average grew to 3407. That is a year over year growth of .07 % and ranked in the top half of the league. However this season their attendance has taken a bit of a back turn, only averaging 2311. Big issues with weather and a venue change for the first two matches really put a damper on the attendance totals this season. On Saturday it was a return to the status quo for UO. With 3524 fans showing up and cheering Omaha onto a man short 4-1 victory.
Tailgating was once again in full swing for the supporters groups and other pockets of fans. With a strong tailgating culture present again inside the parking lot at Werner Park. Hanging out in the lot pre-match across from the Parliament tailgate really tested the willpower I had to not go over and have some fantastic food as I had already eaten and didn’t want to overeat. But the reviews that people gave told me that once again Parliament knocked it out of the park. It was good to see the Switchbacks Unified team fans and coaches walking the grounds and taking in the sights before the match. The crowd grew steadily in the parking lot until it was time to head into the stadium.
The pre-match atmosphere was as good as expected for as big of a match as this was. With the standing filling up a few minutes before the National Anthem. The starting lineup callouts showed what we were in for as the noise steadily built up until kickoff.
JP Scearce gave Union Omaha the lead early in the first half and the crowd was intense. With the possibility of defeating a very solid Richmond side the whole crowd was buzzing. Watching the broadcast back on TV further cemented this point as the noise was peaking the microphones around the park to the point I thought they were going to be blown out. The only thing that builds comradery better than victory is adversity, which came shortly after with lets call it what it was, a complete and utter dive in the box giving Richmond a penalty. From there on the entire crowd was into this match more than I’ve seen in quite some time. With the entre crowd now voicing their displeasure in each and every bad call of the night. The amount of bad calls giving each and every person inside the stadium the opportunity to speak up and join the voices already present. I would even venture to say that the sending off of two Omaha players on some pretty bad calls brought everyone’s loudest voices out and with a crowd like us behind them there was no way Omaha was losing this match.
With the Unified match coming up right after the first team match there was more supporters sticking around to support our Unified team to another victory and we were treated to some absolute quality soccer. I am happy to report that the numbers seemed higher than the last match which is a trend that I hope to have continue from here on out.
This was a solid outing to build on for the supporters of Union Omaha. With a return to attendance figures we saw from the past couple seasons it has set Omaha back on the right track to get back into the top 3 for attendance and to recreate “Fortress Werner”. The team performs better with this crowd at their best and that was indicated by the absolute manhandling the team put on a very good Richmond side. Lets keep this momentum going and bring that big energy on July 29th when Tormenta comes back to town. Absolutely great work by all of the fans and supporters and I hope to see this continue.
Who Gives A Hoot? 