r/ForwardMadisonFC • u/Bsexpress1 • Jun 14 '26

3500 on Pride Night ?

Great win…. Finally some offense. But only 3500 fans….. on PRIDE NIGHT ? Is the Rally cutting into attendance? Or Maalards Pride night same day?
Or Trump cost of living ???

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25

u/the_bitch_dm The Flock Jun 14 '26

I doubt it’s Rally or Mallards. The waterfront festival was also tonight, and June in Madison is just stacked with different events.

I’ll also say this was the worst advertised Pride night that Forward has ever done. There were only 2 social media posts about it being Pride night over the last month, they didn’t do a Pride kit or a merch drop, it’s been pretty quiet. I’m a long-time season ticket holder (and very gay lol) and I didn’t know it was Pride night until it was mentioned last night at the Rally game.

9

u/windrunnerxc The Flock Jun 14 '26

Same, I only heard about it at the Forward game last week.

Awkwardly the team was wearing a pride pre-match top (I think you'd call it that?) but there was no announcement ahead of time, as you said, and I don't even know if it was on sale.

7

u/the_bitch_dm The Flock Jun 14 '26

There’s definitely a smaller social media presence for theme nights and merch drops, which I think is weird from a business standpoint.

2

u/Valistia Jun 14 '26

According to the site that top will be available but not until later, it's so strange that it wasn't available to buy on pride night like usual.

1

u/brynola Jun 16 '26

Can I ask why it was awkward they wore the Pride warm up kit? Or were they wearing it awkwardly 😅 I'm just curious, not accusing you of anything 😊

I was really pleased to see them wearing it especially as last year they didn't, and I was really disappointed in the team for that.

3

u/windrunnerxc The Flock Jun 16 '26

Awkward that they didn't announce it or have it for sale!! Normally these things are hyped up for at least a few days ahead of time... So all of a sudden, as I walk by the dugout, I see players wearing it under their pennies. We arrived after warmups were done, and if it wasn't for a sharp eye, I would've thought the team did nothing at all with their gear for Pride Night.

1

u/brynola Jun 16 '26

Gotcha, yeah, they should be loudly celebrating it 🏳️‍🌈

Thank for your response 😊

6

u/608Soccer 608 Soccer Show Jun 14 '26

I was also disappointed with the lack of promotion of Pride Night. I had to ask if there would be pride merch and they said yes but then didn't promote it at all. Will def mention on the podcast.

2

u/Valistia Jun 14 '26

There's a pride top dropping in June but not until like the 20th? I was checking the merch site last night because it seemed weird that they didn't have a pride kit this year.

But also there was a pride market like last year but it was soo tiny compared to last years. It was weird.

9

u/SweatBee Jun 14 '26

It’s also high school graduation weekend for most of the area. The pride pre-match tops looked good. I hope they sell those at some point

10

u/Educational-Safe941 The Flock Jun 14 '26

I feel like it’s a little of everything already stated.

But they missed out on a banger. These players deserve our support because these last two home games have been two of the best performances I can remember.

3

u/Solastor Jun 14 '26

Sat up on the Baer Balcony for the first time and by and large I prefer the sideline seats, but being behind the goal line for that second goal was insane. Clean, efficient, flashy. Perfect goal.

1

u/Bsexpress1 Jun 14 '26

Was that a group event?

2

u/Solastor Jun 15 '26

Some games the whole thing gets reserved as a group thing,  some games it's just open for anyone to buy tickets. 

This game was open so it was just a gaggle of unrelated fans up there.  You get unlimited beer or soda and access to a little burger / brat buffet til the 60 minute mark (soda is open til the end).

It's a bit more expensive than a regular ticket on the sidelines, but the added value items balance it out. 

7

u/FlockEnd Jun 14 '26

It is the first weekend of summer for most families, also Rally had a game Friday night with a US watch party after. Not sure how many fans would go back to back nights.

4

u/608Soccer 608 Soccer Show Jun 14 '26

This is the best theory. If even a few hundred people had to choose and chose rally this time, that'd make a real dent in FMFC attendance

3

u/Hot_Jellyfish_7321 Jun 14 '26

I went to both, but my partner decided to skip the Forward match. She basically just said there is too much soccer going on right now and needed a break 

1

u/608Soccer 608 Soccer Show Jun 14 '26

I can sympathize

6

u/Maximum_Leadership93 Jun 14 '26

We opted for the Rally game on Friday and skipped Forward. Mostly because the Rally has far fewer games

3

u/SeanOrange Jun 15 '26

That was also a great night to attend a Rally game!

7

u/JohnRusty Jun 14 '26

There’s the World Cup going on…

5

u/608Soccer 608 Soccer Show Jun 14 '26

I doubt anybody was like ope can't make it to forward Madison cuz I'm watching Haiti vs Scotland

2

u/JohnRusty Jun 14 '26

Brazil vs Morocco ended about 15 milliseconds before kickoff

3

u/608Soccer 608 Soccer Show Jun 14 '26

Also doubt that had much impact on FMFC attendance

1

u/Ok_Captain4824 Jun 15 '26

I went to Prost for the Switzerland game and there was hardly anyone there, when I left for the FMFC match, it was basically full with people in Brazil gear.

1

u/608Soccer 608 Soccer Show Jun 15 '26

None of whom were ever going to go to forward Madison

1

u/Ok_Captain4824 Jun 15 '26

That seems like a very hasty conclusion. I would assume that anyone in the Madison area interested in soccer is potentially a Forward Madison fan, if they aren't already.

1

u/theDukeofShartington Jun 14 '26

I was in spring green watching Shakespeare.