United by CITY: The Tifos
Written by: Michael Haffner
For the final home match of the season, all of the players and coaching staff received bricks as gifts from the Supporter Groups. While that may not seem like the best gift to receive, this was ultimately more than just a brick. This gift carried a special meaning that’s rooted in the history of St. Louis and now in this team.
To understand the significance of the brick to St. Louis, you have to journey back to its roots dating back to the 1800s. The rich, red clay deposits created by the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers led to over 50 clay mines scattered throughout the city, each one manufacturing bricks that were not just used in and around the city but shipped across the United States. And so, St. Louis has since become known as “Brick City.”
At that final match of the regular season on October 21, 2023, leaders from each of the Supporter Groups handed out bricks adorned with a plaque stating, “Supporter’s Player of the Year” and “Supporter’s Personnel of the Year.” The Groups didn’t want to acknowledge just one person since the entire team contributed to building something special in their inaugural year that will last a lifetime.
As one of the leaders of STL Santos, Carlos Glynias Restrepo knew about the significance of the “Bricksgiving” moment that was going to happen following that final match – but he also knew he wanted to turn around and create a tifo to honor the first home playoff match. The only problem was that he had a week to accomplish it. Thankfully, he had an idea that built upon this gift that symbolized love and solidarity.
This is the story – in his words – of designing the tifo for the St. Louis CITY SC match versus Sporting KC at CITYPARK on October 29, 2023.
Letting Our Collective Voice Be Heard
Throughout the season, the Supporter Section had heard time and time again how loud they were. From the players in post-match interviews to national MLS commentators, everyone agreed that CITYPARK became the place that Lutz Pfannenstiel had always hoped for: a place where visiting teams were afraid to enter. When Carlos thought of building on the significance of bricks, this praise rang loud and clear in his ears and the other members of Santos.
“I think it was Matt Doyle [MLS journalist] who called St. Louis “a wall of sound.” It’s such an amazing quote. So, we knew we didn't have time to pull up something really elaborate. But between the bricks and that quote, we didn’t need it to be elaborate. Our collective group talked [STL Santos] and thought to bring these two things together. Throughout the season, we were a wall of sound. We were loud, distracting players. Hopefully, we helped the outcome of some games.”
The Heart of the Supporter Section
The heart is a universal symbol that cultures across the world recognize and embrace. There’s the Claddagh Ring in Ireland. The French made the heart one of the four suits now common in playing cards. The “I (Heart) NY” logo dates back to 1976. And of course, the heart symbol is synonymous with Valentine’s Day. But for many in the Latino community, another heart stands tall. It might be attributed to a clumsy and unlikely hero in cheap spandex, but at the center of that costume is a symbol that showed kids you can achieve anything with a good heart and a little bit of heroism. Or as many people say today, “not all heroes wear capes.”
“The yellow heart with the STL is a fun graphic that represents the Latino love for our city. There’s a show from our childhood called El Chapulín Colorado (English: The Red Grasshopper). He's a very noble hero that doesn’t use violence. He wears an outfit with a big heart and his initials CH in the center of it. It’s not uncommon to see around the world a yellow heart with that city’s initials. We started using it to show others in the Latino community our love for St. Louis.”
The Entire Community Lending a Hand
Just as the bricks came together on the tifo, so too did the larger soccer community. So many from throughout St. Louis contributed to creating a simple but poignant symbol of St. Louis pride. From painting the tifo at St. James the Greater – a place that has a lot of history in the city – to local businesses stopping by to drop off doughnuts and pizza for contributors working all day, the final piece of art was a labor of love. But what brought the personal touch that Carlos and the rest of STL Santos wanted was the inclusion of everyone that helped make CITYPARK a continuous wall of sound in 2023.
“We have this chance to thank our players and thank our fans. If we're going to thank our fans, why don’t we make them part of it? So, we had a big two-day party and invited people to sign it. Fans could leave their mark on this amazing season. We were just so grateful that so many people showed up. Over 400 people came with their kids and family to sign it.”
“As a fan, you can never control what's going to happen in soccer. You can cheer, but sometimes that's not enough. But what we can control is how we bring people together and showcase our love.”
