As the NWSL final opens Saturday in San Jose, Calif., supporters of the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC arrive with more than scarves and signs — they bring a sustained culture of songs and chants that helps define the match-day experience.
Washington’s vocal contingent has been planning all season. The Spirit Squadron, one of the club’s main supporter groups, has been rehearsing a varied repertoire to roll out from the stands: a snare-driven goal chant set to the tune of “The Animals Went in Two by Two,” a jubilant refrain that ends with “You’re my favorite soccer team!” and a politically tinged call-and-response they launch in the 51st minute called “Free D.C.” That chant nods to the long-running push for D.C. statehood and grew out of tensions earlier this year when federal authorities assumed control of the district’s police and National Guard troops were deployed to the city, according to Squadron president Meredith Bartley.
Supporters also borrow from global soccer traditions. When the crowd needs a lift, Spirit fans sometimes break into an English-style “let’s pretend we scored” chant, a playful tactic used in stadiums abroad.
Gotham FC’s backers have similarly adapted U.K. terrace songs. A standout example is a local reworking of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Inspired by Manchester United supporters’ rendition at Old Trafford, Gotham fans transformed the tune into “Gotham Roads” in 2023 as a regional anthem. Marge Liguori, who leads the Cloud 9 supporters group, says she suggested using the song because it evokes a sense of home and community; she also credits her own Manchester United fandom for the idea.
That feeling of belonging helps explain why singing matters at sporting events. Max Jack, an ethnomusicologist and anthropologist at Indiana University who studies sports music, says chants let fans process the emotional ups and downs of a match together. He describes the effect as a kind of “stranger intimacy” — a temporary but powerful social bond that many people don’t access in everyday life.
The connection reaches players as well. After Gotham won the 2023 NWSL title, fans serenaded defender Mandy Freeman as she approached the stands; she wiped away tears and embraced supporters over the rail. Those moments — small, personal exchanges between players and crowds — reinforce why clubs value vocal backing. “When we hear them chanting, we know that they are at our backs pushing us to victory,” Gotham FC vice president of communications Jeff Greer said.
Washington’s organization makes a point of noting the impact, too. Home matches at Audi Field are known for their high-energy atmosphere. Spirit director of communications Ben Kessler says players often credit “Rowdy Audi” as a de facto 12th player, and he attributes much of that advantage to the creativity and volume of the supporters’ chants.
On Saturday, as the teams take the field in San Jose, those chants and songs will be part of the contest — not just noise in the stands, but a living expression of community support, local identity and the deep, shared emotions that make soccer matches feel like much more than a game.