I don’t need to explain the Dark Clouds, except possibly to explain their name, which makes more sense when you realize the group began as fans of the Minnesota Thunder. I don’t need to explain them because you can’t miss them, if you go to a match. They’re the group parked pregame outside the stadium with the huge grill and the free beer; they’re the group that’s sitting in the other set of stands at the game, making noise and generally raising hell. The scoreboard? They built it. They run it. (Indeed, one of the simple joys of a Stars game is watching part of the group run down to the scoreboard to add a number after a goal, an activity they undertake with unbridled joy and occasional tripping and falling.)

The atmosphere at Stars games is almost entirely down to them. And so last night, I talked with Dark Clouds representatives Ben Pfutzenreuter and Jim Crist, to try to get a sense of what the group is up to this year and what makes the Dark Clouds keep coming back.

Q: What are you excited about for this year?

Ben: Last season, we had one of the best results on the field that you can have in order to create a compelling story for why you should be a fan of the Stars. Obviously a lot of people’s first response to finding out that we have a soccer team is “Oh, well, what’s the quality of play?” and these hilarious questions of “Oh, do you play on the team?” So I’m really excited to say that we have a team that’s holding a title that we just won and have a lot of momentum coming out of last season. I’m excited to see how this club can grow their fan base, and hopefully how that can bring some more people in to what we’re doing as a supporters group for the club.

Jim: We had really good growth last year as a supporters club. I’m excited to see with some of the things that we’re doing, like bringing in Surly [to provide free beer at home games] and putting a focus on more of merchandise and gameday tifo displays. [NOTE: Here’s a short explanation of the term “tifo”.] I’m excited to see what that can do as far as bringing new people into the group. I’m also excited that we have a core of twelve or so players who were around last year, so I’m excited to see how they progress as a team. A lot of teams went out and strengthened themselves, but I’m excited to see how these guys go out and prove themselves against the competition.

Q: What’s the big plan for Saturday and the Dome Opener?

Ben: What we’ve started to do with Surly and them giving us beer is great, and we’re going to continue that, so we’re really excited for people to come out to the pre-match experience with all of the free beer that we’re going to be giving out. In addition to that, there’s the tifo piece. Tifo is common in soccer, it’s creating these big banners and otherwise creating experience that you can’t really find in any other American sport. And we’ve created what should be at this time the largest tifo in the NASL. We’re really excited to unfurl that and create an experience that’s unparalleled in Minnesota sports and hopefully within the league.

Jim: There’s another Jim besides myself, and we are going to have trivia down at the Local on Saturday morning. It’s something that we normally do in conjunction with the Premier League games, but that’s going to be at 9:00 on Saturday. And then we’ll be heading over to the Dome and starting to tailgate. It could end up being a really long day for us…We’ll probably be going around harassing people to come over and hang out with us and get to know us.

Q: Why? Why become superfans of a second-division soccer team?

Ben: I think the answer’s twofold. I think the biggest reason is that it’s a better time. The kind of fandom that we have is really, really damn fun. It’s way more animated, it’s way more engaged. I think the best analog is contemporary Minnesota sports is probably Gopher hockey. You’re really loud and you really do make a difference with what’s happening on the field. Colloquially, it’s called the twelfth man. There are eleven players on the field, but a good crowd can be that twelfth man for a team. You really feel it when you’re in the supporters’ section at a soccer game – particularly in Minnesota, where I think we do a really good job of engaging players on the field. We do it through jeers and heckling, but we pride ourselves on not being vulgar. We do a really good job of getting a rise out of players.

In addition to that, I think we can probably get an MLS team here. We’ve had people from MLS come in and say that we’re a primary market. I think with what’s happening with the new stadium, there’s certainly not an inevitability, but the potential’s better than ever and we have an awesome track record of supporting professional soccer efforts here in this state. If you look at how we did in the original NASL era, we were in the top tier of attendance there and we were pulling 30,000 people to a game. That competes with what Seattle does right now in the MLS. It’s not going to be the same as the original NASL, but we have huge potential here. And it’s fun to be on the ground floor for that. That’s what’s really exciting.

Jim: A big part of my belief in putting all of this work into a supporters group is, one of the main ways that we can help this sport grow in this country is just supporting the team that you have at a local level. Going out, and making as much noise for it, and doing whatever you can to support it. I’ve been all around the world watching soccer. I’ve been to World Cups, I’ve been to Anfield, and it’s great, but it takes it to another level when you’re cheering on your home team players from your city.  You know that you’re creating history instead of jumping into or latching on to existing history that somebody else has created. That’s a big part of it for me.

Ben: I think what’s so intoxicating for a lot of Americans who go abroad to watch soccer – be it Manchester United, be it Inter – there’s a real connection between the fans and that team. I think that really resonates with people, and what that really is about is being a fan of where you’re from. I think being a fan of Minnesota creates a connection so much deeper than you can have with another team in this sport. I think once people come to games, they really figure that out.

Q: Do you ever think about suggesting to the club, “You know, we provide the atmosphere around here – the least you can do is let us in free?”

Ben: I think we’re all too committed. We actually want to help the club out. I’m more than happy to pay for tickets. I’m willing to pay for just about anything, because I really do believe in the Stars as a team and what they’re doing, and I know finances are a huge part of being a successful club. I’m more than happy to contribute in that way.

Jim: In order for the team to find successful ownership, they need to show potential buyers that they have a strong fanbase. Through purchasing season tickets, I feel like I’m doing that. Don’t get me wrong, I went to my fair share of Thunder games mooching off friends or whatever. But the club came to us last year, and they told us that if you want this to happen, you have to buy into it.

I think that there are different ways in which the club rewards us for our dedication to the team. Like last year, when Ben and I were in Fort Lauderdale, we were able to drink beer out of the Soccer Bowl after the team won it. I feel like we get a certain level of appreciation back from the club, both at the front office level and from the players. Getting free stuff is a good deal, but if it’s something I believe in, I’m going to buy into it.

Q: For somebody who is uninvolved with the Dark Clouds, and is maybe a little intimidates when they show up and there’s a whole group of people who seem to know each other, what’s the best way for somebody uninvolved to get involved?

Ben: I had never been to a Stars game before last year. And oddly enough, now I’m on the board of the Dark Clouds. I found the best way to get involved was to scream really loud and take the free beer they’re offering. I did those two things, and pretty much immediately I felt right at home. Any subculture, especially one as peculiar as being a soccer fan in America, is going to be odd from the outside looking in. But we are trying to be inclusive and inviting and really friendly. We’re even pretty nice to the opposing team’s players (laughter). We try and be super inviting. If it ever feels intimidating, just come and yell with us and you’ll realize it’s a pretty friendly atmosphere.

Jim: We have a giant grill up at the NSC that anybody can use. If you want to get to know us, bring some Kramarczuk’s and throw them on the grill and just hang out and say hi. Like Ben said, take the free beer.

Q: Anything you want to promote?

Ben: Facebook’s our primary hub. If you want to find out what we’re doing, or if you just want to find out what it’s like being a fan of division two soccer, go to facebook.com/MNDarkClouds.

Jim: There’s a fantastic picture on our Facebook page right now of a Scottish gentleman who has a costume for the Dome Opener. I would definitely recommend that people go to our Facebook page and check this out, because not only is it a costume of the Loch Ness Monster, but he’s a Scottish man with a really loud voice. It’s brilliant.