Written by Michael Haffner
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Jodi Picoult once wrote, “Home is not a place, but rather, the people you love.”
The St. Louligans have a long history of cheering on the different levels of soccer in St. Louis. Moving from stadium to stadium while rooting for teams and intimidating opponents for 13 years, they have been forced to live a sort of vagabond life. There have been highs and lows along their long journey, but the group continues to persevere and grow wherever they raise their flags. Now, they have a new place where their traveling home has settled, and it’s a name that surprises them more than anyone: Louligan Street.
“It’s still surprising to me to get interviewed on KMOV,” Mitch Morice admits with a smile. It’s easy to understand his sense of disbelief since they once started with less than 100 and then grew to between 50-800 Louligans in the corner at the Fenton Soccer Park. Now, there are more than the group can count at CITYPARK.
It’s a testament to the people who make up the group and their history of hosting tailgates, street parties, and events where everyone is invited. You don’t have to be a Louligan when you show up at Louligan Street before a St. Louis CITY SC match, but you just might walk away as one after celebrating with this group of what Mitch lovingly describes as a bunch of “silly idiots.”
Finding Their Voice
In 2010, Athletic Club (AC) St. Louis kicked off their short-lived campaign, serving as the first professional soccer team in St. Louis since the St. Louis Stars ended in 1977. Mitch recounts how there were around seven small groups attending the matches at the Soccer Park. “It was disorganized, and people were chanting against each other. It was chaos. And after one ugly game, Brad [DeMunbrun] and I were at the top of the stands and looked at each other and thought about how we can fix this.” The two became the connective threads to unify the groups. “They don't talk to each other, but they all talk to us.”
A new flag rose. The skull and crossbones logo of The Louligans was inspired by the Bundesliga 2 club supporters, FC St. Pauli. As Mitch explains, “It was a way to signify that we were going to do things on our own.” AC St. Louis folded after just one season, which led them to move to cheer on the St. Louis Lions, led by St. Louis Steamers’ legend, Tony Glavin. This was followed shortly by a call from another soccer legend, Steve Pecher. St. Louis FC brought the return of professional soccer and the Louligans to the Soccer Park.
“When we asked for our old section back, the team said absolutely not.” Mitch’s disappointment quickly turned to excitement when he heard why. “I want to put you by the scoreboard, so when people watch replays, they see you all go nuts.”
This was the start of what fans would later see years later during the successful inaugural season for CITY 2 in MLS Next Pro and last year at CITYPARK. The drums set the beat. The flags wave throughout. The colored smoke leads the way into the stadium. “We were building. People would come out and see us and learn more about us from the podcast.” This is SiLLy! – a name inspired by a conversation about not taking themselves or the sport too seriously – is one of the group’s podcasts that still continues today. He goes on to explain, “It was in those days that the group really found their following.”
From Silly to Serious Fun
The group built many of the traditions and chants that have evolved to work with Fleur de Noise’s chants at St. Louis CITY SC today. Seeing how other groups functioned in rival cities over the years, they were always mindful of making sure to include specific elements that made sense for St. Louis. “Authenticity is such an important part of supporter culture.” One of the initial chants that was developed years ago that is still used today is “Shoot It!” set to the tune of “Tequila!” “The City Shoot Boys are a little subset of us that would just make clever signs and were always tongue-in-cheek,” explains Mitch. “Singing ‘Shoot It!’ was their way of having fun that just caught on.”
Another long tradition has been to play a charity soccer match on the first Saturday of the year in the cold as a fundraiser for St. Louis Area Food Bank. The first year they hosted it, there were three to five inches of snow on the field. “It was awful, but people were playing with a beer in hand,” Mitch jokes. In January of 2023, they continued the tradition, but this time they moved it to Marquette Park where St. Louis CITY SC installed a neighborhood futsal court. The annual event is always open to anyone who wants to play or just watch a bunch of supporters blend the siLLy with the philanthropic.
Their philanthropy is evident throughout the year. Before CITY matches at their Street Parties, the group raises money for local charities in what they call the “Charity du Jour.” One of these groups they give annually to is in remembrance of an original founder, Casey Blick, who died of colon cancer. By the end of this season, the Charity du Jour program raised $60,249 for local charities. Some of the many organizations they have helped this year include The Trevor Project, Gateway to Hope, Metro Trans Umbrella Group, The Women’s Safe House, and SPENSA.
As the group’s exposure has increased, so have their efforts. At the first home match against Charlotte FC, The Louligans honored the history of soccer in St. Louis by leading the creation of a magnificent tifo. The massive centerpiece read, “Meet Me in St. Louis” “Meet Me at the Park” adorned with the years 1764 and 2023. Flanked on each side were tall skinny banners that read “In Our History” and “In Our Blood.” That wasn’t the only massive showing of support that day. At the tailgate, the group sold 1,100 scarves in a matter of hours. “The city of St. Louis said that they guesstimated there were 3-4,000 people at our street party that day and that was probably low.”
“There were several of us that have been along for the ride for a long time, and we just kind of stood there, arm in arm at that first match in the stadium and said, this is unbelievable.” As Mitch nostalgically reminisces, “We have come a long way from the drunken idiots yelling at the Soccer Park.”
Now, they can add having their name on a street sign to the list of moments that have surprised the leaders of the group – the sign was being installed at the same time as Mitch shared stories from the past and looked to the future. They can officially say that you can find the Louligan Tailgate Trailer parked every home match alongside the Schlafly Tap Room on their very own street.
It may be a new place, but it feels like home because of the familiar faces and the new faces that have turned a street into a place for anyone to show up and act silly. You can always find your home on Louligan Street.
