Empire Supporters Club
First. Last. Forever.
The founders, leaders, and characters who built ESC — and the one man with lifetime membership.
Kevin McAllister is the founder of the Empire Supporters Club. A veteran of the anti-racist skinhead and RASH (Red and Anarchist Skinheads) scene, McAllister brought UK-style supporter culture to New York soccer at a time when American soccer was still figuring out what fan culture even looked like.
He saw the potential for a dedicated supporters group at New York Centaurs games in 1995, and when MLS launched in 1996, he made sure ESC was ready.
"The thing that I'm most proud of is that it left the ESC with a point of view that was very open-minded and accepting... That continues to be one of the stronger principles of the ESC." — Kevin McAllister
Brad Miles is a long-time ESC member and one of the key figures in maintaining the group's identity through the MetroStars-to-Red-Bulls transition. His voice has been part of the Section 101 soundtrack for decades.
Tommy Miles was instrumental in shaping ESC's political identity. He spoke clearly about the group's anti-fascist founding:
"I think for the most part the thing that everybody could agree on was to make MetroStars and the supporters section unfriendly to racists and fascists... Amongst a core of people, it was decided that there would not be Nazis allowed at MetroStars matches." — Tommy Miles
Greg Pason was there from the earliest days — part of the NYC Firm, part of the Centaurs scene, and part of ESC's founding. He described the group's activism clearly:
"We wanted to have a great team, but we were activists as well... It was a shitty club, but it was a great atmosphere." — Greg Pason
Corey Jamison became one of the public faces of ESC in the 2000s, speaking to media about the group's identity and culture. His description of ESC remains the clearest statement of what the group stands for:
"Our basic creed is that we're a nonracist, nonviolent supporters club that just comes to support our team... We stand and sing for 90 minutes, but that's basically it." — Corey Jamison, 2007
In 2015, ESC granted lifetime membership to Mike Petke — the only person ever to receive it. Petke had played for MetroStars, coached the Red Bulls to a Supporters' Shield, and represented everything ESC respected about dedication to the club.
When Ali Curtis fired Petke, ESC's response was immediate and unambiguous:
"Mike Petke is the only person to have a lifetime membership with the ESC, and is welcome to join us anywhere at any time. He will be welcomed as a hero, as he should be." — ESC Statement, 2015
Ben Poremski was part of the early songbook development, helping adapt European and Latin American chants for the American context:
"There was definitely a sensibility that things weren't really there to be controlled by MLS... That anarchistic sensibility pervaded the club early on." — Ben Poremski
ESC's history is built on thousands of members who showed up, sang, and kept the section alive through 30 years of MetroStars and Red Bulls soccer. From the skinheads and punks of 1995 to the families and students of today, the people are the point.
As ESPN's Tommy Smyth once said:
"I always hoped that the MetroStars would win an M.L.S. Cup, if not for the team, just for the supporters... They were really intense. They were really loyal." — Tommy Smyth, ESPN
Profiles compiled from Vice, New York Observer, MLSsoccer.com, Soccer America, and ESC statements.