Stephanie Horney remembers exactly where she was after the Blast defeated Milwaukee to win the Major Indoor Soccer League title in 2003: on a 14-hour bus ride from Wisconsin to Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.
But Horney, a 62-year-old resident of Parkville, wasn?t alone that night. She was among a group of 60 of the team?s most devoted supporters ? The Detonators. The team?s fan club chartered a bus for the 1,600-mile round trip, with the bus arriving at the airport just in time for the fans to cheer their favorite soccer players as they deplaned.
“Blast fans are kind of a unique bunch,” Horney said. “If you?re a member of the fan club, you get to know the players on a personal level. You get to know their families, their wives and their children.”
Horney and The Detonators? latest trip didn?t take nearly as long as that journey five years ago. Horney was among 54 fans who paid $55 for a round-trip bus ticket and admission to attend the Blast?s series-clinching victory over the New Jersey Ironmen in Newark on Saturday.
“It was kind of hard finding some busses,” Vickie Dulko, the fan club?s president, said. “We made it up with one bus of 54 people. Most of them were fan club members. It was a nice trip.”
The Detonators? presence in the crowd of 4,000 did not go unnoticed at Prudential Center. Their boisterous cheers negated the Ironmen?s home-field advantage. New Jersey?s fans had to be reminded by the public address system that Prudential Center was “their house.”
The Detonators returned to Baltimore happy, as forward Aduato Neto scored the decisive goal in a 6-4 victory with two minutes, 20 seconds remaining.
“We couldn?t ask for more,” Neto said after the victory. “They?re probably the best fans in the league and they showed it today.”
In fact, the Blast?s fans have been showing it all season. The Blast averaged 7,229 fans for their 15 home games this season, marking the fourth straight season the team has lead the league in attendance. The Blast (21-11) could draw its biggest crowd of the season on Wednesday night at 7, when it hosts Milwaukee (22-8) at 1st Mariner Arena in the first game of a two-game semifinal. Game Two is set for Sunday afternoon at 3 at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, which could be invaded by fans cheering for the visiting team.
“Trying to get busses is just a little tight right now. It seems like nobody has busses,” Dulko said. “We?d love to go up, but it?s a long trip.”
