From Moston to MoTown: A Fan's Journey

At the end of May, FC United headed to the USA for our international friendly against Detroit City. FC United fan Edmund Barrett shares his journey, taking in the sites, the music, the football, a few beers and a spot of urban farming. Enjoy.

"Sometime in 2015 the friendly with Detroit was announced and I immediately knew I wanted to go. It’s an interesting club, city steeped in history and with all sorts of parallels with Manchester. A group of us discussed travel options, one or two dropping out along the way due to potential visa issues or opting for St Pauli’s Antira fan tournament in Hamburg on the same weekend. In the end, we were seven, getting a good deal via one of the group member’s job. The 6 or so months passed extremely quickly, and after much anticipation we suddenly found ourselves at Ringway airport early one morning.

We arrived in Detroit late on the Thursday and were struck by how big it is. Many residents may have moved away in search of work, but the suburbs are still seemingly endless. We had a house on a duck farm on the edge of the city in the direction of Grosse Point. Driving there we saw how many streets featured abandoned houses, some had even been razed, leaving fields right in the city. On our street most of the houses were still inhabited but it still had a slight country feel - old trucks on drives, wooden houses from the 1920s, ancient trees humming with birds.

On the first night, we went drinking in the neighbourhood. The US has a huge craft beer culture, eventually we moved on to cheaper beer like PBR and Labatt’s, but for the first couple of nights we treated ourselves to IPAs, stouts and baseball beer. We even bumped into a few Detroit City fans too who told us stories about the clubs short history and formation.

Even for a Thursday night the bars were pretty full. More shocking, despite the high fines if caught, it was evident many drinkers in the bars were then driving home. An almost complete lack of public transport, as well as few police in sparsely populated inner city neighbourhoods, means a worrying number of people take the risk.



On the second day, after mountains of pancakes, we headed to "Downtown". Our first destination was Hitsville USA, the home of Motown. The tour was excellent, and getting to sing in the studio used by the likes of Stevie Wonder and The Supremes was a wonderful moment. What impressed most though was how the company was run.

Inspired by the processes from the local Ford factory, a production line for stars was created, honing singing skills, songs and choreography. This was all achieved with talent from the local neighbourhood and built up from scratch without the help or influence of the other companies that dominated the industry, and based on an anti-discriminatory stance. I’m not sure our back four can move like the Four Tops or have the international reach, but there was plenty to inspire in relation to FC and DIY spirit, independence and inclusiveness.

In the afternoon we visited the baseball ground and then went drinking in the bars. The beer was excellent again, although Downtown has become hip and so was a little bland, inhabited almost exclusively by people in retro glasses with designer tattoos.

A complete opposite is the DCFCs newly adopted neighbourhood of Hamtramck, a town separate but surrounded by Detroit. After a hearty breakfast and a trip to see a carpark (a multi-storey situated in an ornate old theatre) at the Michigan Building, we caught a taxi to Fowling where the rest of the FC United fans were mingling with the Detroit faithful. The Detroit club had organised a good choice of events for the day, and the huge warehouse bar was no exception. We drank a few beers and then it was time for the march.

Detroit’s ultras then led us all to the ground, accompanied by singing, smoke bombs and flags. The ground itself was lovely. Very American in style, it has two stands with wooden "bleacher" benches. Behind one goal there was a beer stand, as well as local Italian and Polish food. Behind the other goal there is just a wall and then the train track. During the match, a number of freight trains passed by hooting their horns - it reminded me of the baseball stadium in Brewster’s Millions.



The Northern Guard took up most of one side, with the approximately 70-100 FC fans on the opposite side, a small red section in another wise bordeaux coloured terrace. With their drums and organised singing, Northern Guard won’t be to everyone’s tastes but they were loud all match. We managed the odd song but struggled in the heat.

The players seemed to be suffering too. We went a goal down and despite the pulling level, we looked sluggish. Detroit taking the lead again came as no surprise. Margy, looking very smart in aviators, cropped hair and Ralph Lauren polo shirt, at one stage exploded with rage at how Detroit were dominating the game. This appeared to do the trick, as two fine goals before half-time put us in the lead with three goals to two. I spent the second half mostly chatting to people, so saw less of the action. Detroit got a late equaliser though, which was probably deserved. After the final whistle the players and fans mingled on the pitch together, rounding off a nice afternoon.



We had sort of planned to go to the after party at some stage, but wanted to see Hamtramck first. The two crazy freaks from the first night bumped into us in the ground and offered to show us some bars. We started off in one without windows called The Painted Lady. It was so dark that i needed a full minute for my eyes to adjust enough to be able to locate the bar. The place was pure America. Low lighting and metal beer signs, Creedence and the Stones playing on the jukebox, people playing pool and ice cold beakers of light draught beer on sale. We had a few pints and then were taken to Kelly’s, an Irish/biker/rock place with that rare thing in the US - a beer garden!



Whilst sitting outside, we got chatting to some more Detroit fans from the area. The subject got onto urban farming (a recent occurrence made possible through the space won following such a dramatic decrease in Detroit’s population). Despite keeping my eyes peeled I’d not seen one so far. As it turned out though, our new friends ran one just around the corner! They offered to show us it.

Whilst there was still some daylight, we took a look at what they grow (and from which the local community can help themselves), what’s still planned and their cool old truck. With the ice box still full of beers, their neighbours came out too, and we sat out on a bench, talking about Hamtramck, DCFC, the MLS and singing along to old soul and country tunes till the early hours of the morning.

The next day we headed off for Chicago, another great city including the famous old baseball ground Wrigley Field. Somehow though Detroit’s space and the nice people we met meant that the Motor City remained our favourite.

Thanks to DCFC and their fans for providing an excuse to visit and for the hospitality!"