Midnight Riders (MLS supporters association)

Midnight Riders

Team New England Revolution
Established 1995
Membership 500+
President Fran Harrington
Website midnightriders.com

The Midnight Riders is the independent supporters group for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. The name refers to the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The main aim of the Midnight Riders “is to form a network of supporters such that (they) can meet, watch, travel to, and discuss games, and have a collective voice for supporters' interests with Revolution management.” [1] The Midnight Riders are viewed as “the most passionate Revolution followers”, [2] have been around since the inception of the league, and are known for their use of chants, singing, drums, and banners to show their support for the team and lead others in doing so. The main colors worn amongst The Midnight Riders are dark blue and white (often jerseys of New England Revolution players). The majority of The Midnight Riders sit in the north stand of the stadium (sections 142 and 143) and have a banner hanging across the front of this section identifying it as "The Fort.” In addition to their game time activities The Midnight Riders are responsible for hosting and participating in charitable events, organizing road trips to away games, hosting an annual “Meet the Coach” event, and awarding an annual “Man of the Year” award. [3]


The Fort

The majority of the Midnight Riders occupy Section 143 of Gillette Stadium, the section behind the goal at the north end of the stadium, which they have nicknamed "The Fort". The Fort is a general admission section and draws its name from the revolutionary theme which runs through the team and independent supporters' associations.

The Fort is open to all supporters of the New England Revolution who want to support their team by singing, chanting, shouting, standing, waving flags, and doing so in the company of other like-minded fans. The other Revolution supporters groups the Rev Army and The Rebellion also stand in The Fort.

Midnight Riders Man of the Year

The Midnight Riders annually present an award to the New England player deemed most valuable to the team. The award is voted on by the membership. At the conclusion of every game, members are able to vote online for that game's Man of the Match. At the final home game of the regular season, those votes are tallied and the award is presented by the Board of the Organization to the winning player. Taylor Twellman is the winningest player, having been presented the award four times between 2002 and 2007.

Year Player Position[4]
1996 Argentina Alberto "Beto" Naveda Midfield
1997 Italy Walter Zenga Goalkeeper
1998 Netherlands Edwin Gorter Midfield
1999 United States Dan Calichman Defender
2000 United States Rusty Pierce Defender
2001 Brazil Catê Midfielder
2002 United States Taylor Twellman Forward
2003 United States Taylor Twellman Forward
2004 United States Clint Dempsey Midfielder
2005 United States Taylor Twellman Forward
2006 Wales Andy Dorman Midfielder
2007 United States Taylor Twellman Forward
2008 United States Matt Reis Goalkeeper
2009 Grenada Shalrie Joseph Midfielder
2010 Grenada Shalrie Joseph Midfielder
2011 United States Benny Feilhaber Midfielder
2012 United States Lee Nguyen Midfielder
2013 Portugal José Gonçalves Defender
2014 United States Lee Nguyen Midfielder
2015 United States Charlie Davies Forward

References

  1. ↑ 2002 About Us, The Midnight Riders Official Homepage. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
  2. ↑ Frank Dell'Apa (August 17, 1999). "He won't get burned again". The Boston Globe. p. C7.
  3. ↑ Emlyn Lewis (November 10, 2005). "On Becoming a Club and Winning a Championship". Soccer New England. p. C7.
  4. ↑ "Midnight Riders Man of the Year". Retrieved 15 November 2012.
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