For half an hour Saturday night, Lawrence freshman Anthony Frei and the other soccer diehards in sections 102 and 103 of Arrowhead Stadium sang, chanted and danced to the beat of bass and snare drums to support the Kansas City Wizards, who were in the midst of a fierce battle to take control of their first playoff game in three years.

In the 35th minute Davy Arnaud’s audacious free kick found its way past a diving Brad Guzan and rippled the back of the Chivas USA net. The 450 fans in the section of Arrowhead known as the Cauldron sent trash bags full of confetti and 120 blue-and-white checkered flags to the sky. They were rejoicing what would be the decisive goal in a 1-0 Wizards victory.

“Whenever a goal is scored it’s pandemonium,” Frei said. “There’s a huge amount of joy. In football, basketball and other sports your team scores at regular intervals. It’s all of that packed down into the one moment you are all waiting for.”

After his strike, Arnaud made his way toward the blue and white concentration of Cauldron supporters among the sea of empty orange seats. He joined in celebration with the fans who have supported the team throughout an incredible start to the season and a nearly disastrous finish.

Regular fan support for the Wizards outside the Cauldron has been hard to come by, making its contributions even more valuable. While Chiefs games pack an average of 72,969 fans into Arrowhead stadium, the Wizards managed to attract only 11,586 per game in 2007. The pitiful crowds gave the team the unenviable distinction of being the worst draw in MLS.

Arnaud is one of a group of players, including midfielder Kerry Zavagnin and defender Jimmy Conrad, who recognize the Cauldron’s supporters on a regular basis.

“You know they mean a lot to us,” Arnaud said. “They have a smaller core group of fans maybe than other markets, but they’re passionate. They come out every week and support us, and we try and show some love back to them sometimes.”

Pre-game Festivities

For the Cauldron, preparations began more than three hours prior to game time. George Hanson and the other members of Wings of a Sparrow, the group that organizes the Cauldron tailgate, gathered around Hanson’s RV and tents in Arrowhead lot C10 to fire up two huge grills.

Before each home game, the group provides traditional tailgating offerings like chili and racks of ribs, as well as entrees based on Kansas City’s opponent, for $5 a person. On Saturday that entree was roasted goat in honor of Chivas USA. But most fans seemed content to knock back solo cups full of Guinness and Mac’s Beer, which are on tap courtesy of Kansas City’s Embassy Bistro, while enjoying more time-honored foods.

The diversity and welcoming nature of the group was apparent as fans welcomed anyone and everyone drawn in by the smell of smoked meat. From grizzled veterans of the team’s inaugural 1996 season, to high school and college-age fans, to parents with children, the wide range of Wizards fans was obvious.

Hanson said it didn’t matter if fans came from Iowa or Johnson County or Raytown, Mo., like he did. “We all get together we all have one thing in common and that’s to see our team.”

As kickoff approached, fans clad in blue and white jerseys and team scarves abandoned barbeque and beer for checkered flags, banners, chants and drums. Spurred on by the resounding beat of a bass drum, Cauldron members — young and old, male and female, wielding flags — marched into the stadium, chanting (in between drum beats) in unison: “We are *boom, boom* KC Wiz *boom-boom, boom-boom*

The Thrill of Victory

The Cauldron prides itself on the level of noise it generates in support of the Wizards each game. On Saturday, members of the Cauldron belted out a nearly constant stream of comical, and many times vulgar, chants and songs. They proclaimed their unquestioned status as Wizards fans and derided opposing players and referees for shortcomings, imagined or not.

“What we bring is the home field advantage, the constant barrage of noise, singing, chanting, clapping and drumming,” Robert Houghton, Cauldron president, said. “It gets into the head of the opponents, hopefully throwing them off their game, while at the same time getting behind our team.”

Those efforts were rewarded with a narrow, hard-fought Wizards’ victory that gives the team hope for a prolonged playoff run. As stoppage time ended, it didn’t take long for blue-and-white smoke bombs to fill the air with the smell of sulfur as the Cauldron continued the string of chants barely broken for the previous 90 minutes. Supporters hoisted flags once more and reveled in the fact that their first playoff berth since 2004 was off to a nearly perfect start.

As to whether its antics directly contributed to the playoff win, Wizards coaches and players, including Arnaud and Zavagnin, made their way to sections 102 and 103 after time expired to reciprocate the Cauldron’s support. Zavagnin even donated his sweat-soaked game jersey to one delighted fan in the front row.

“We play in a stadium that is way oversized for the kind of crowds that we get,” Zavagnin said. “Game in and game out, they are the most vocal of anyone in the stadium and their passion for the game shows. We have a good rapport with them. We appreciate their support and to share wins with them is a good feeling because they are there in the good times and the bad.”

Outlook

For now, times are most definitely good for the Cauldron and the Wizards. The MLS Cup is an attainable goal despite an inconsistent regular season. The Cauldron has grown exponentially this year. Signs suggest it won’t slow anytime soon as a soccer-obsessed Hispanic fan base continues to warm to MLS.

Based on the efforts of dedicated soccer advocates like Hanson and Houghton, supporter groups like the Cauldron will continue to develop fans like Frei, who found an enthusiasm in something fresh and exciting. For Frei, the Cauldron’s community of fans and provider of crucial stadium atmosphere is simple.

“It’s sort of our own little paradise here in Kansas,” he said.