FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On November 23, 2014, 1,250 New England Revolution fans paraded into Red Bull Arena chanting “When the Revs go marching in,” as the Revs prepared to take on the New York Red Bulls in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship. This vivacious group of supporters cheered the Revs to a 2-1 victory in a daunting venue for all visiting clubs.
The Revs have found much success at Gillette Stadium recently, now unbeaten in 10 straight home games, and must find the same success on the road as they will once again march into Red Bull Arena on Saturday with another crowd of traveling supporters behind them.
"It's a tremendous boost. We love it when our fans are able to travel to our away games. It gives us another sense of support,” midfielder and captain Lee Nguyen said. “It feels like there's an extra boost out there, like a 12th man. It is huge and it does help us. We're looking forward to going out there and having our home supporters come out there and help us out."
Nguyen was part of that 2014 squad, who were forever changed by the outpouring of support on that November day in Harrison, New Jersey.
“You love going to an away game, but you feel like your support is there. It meant a lot to us in [the] '14 [Eastern Conference Championship] and really was something that you can tell was something that most guys on that field that day remember well. Now, we just have to make sure we make more memories and try to get them involved in the game like we did in '14,” head coach Jay Heaps said.
Images from that day perfectly capture the players and Heaps running to the side of the field where their fans stood strong in the rafters to thank them for their support in a thrilling and monumental win; the Revs made their supporters’ trip worth it that day.
With approximately 1,000 traveling fans packing into Red Bull Arena for this Saturday’s match, players like Antonio Delamea simply want to make their trip a memorable one.
“They're very good here in [The Fort] cheering for us,” Delamea said. “I’m really looking forward for them to be there and I hope we can celebrate this victory together. It's up to us to give our all on the field and to pay back to them."
History has a way of repeating itself. If the Revolution’s traveling supporters bring the noise the way they did back in 2014, they may be chanting once again.
I want to be in that number, when the Revs go marching in!
