Minnesota United’s fans, players, and coaches added to the tributes to the victims of the Annunciation Church shootings on Saturday night.
The majority of fans in the Wonderwall, the standing fan area behind the south goal, wore black to the game. Unusually for the most vocal section of fans in the stadium, they stayed quiet for the first two minutes to honor the two kids killed in Wednesday’s shooting. At the end of the two minutes, the fans sang “You Are My Sunshine,” not usually one of their soccer-related tunes.
They also displayed a banner reading “End gun violence,” a banner originally created by Austin FC fans following the Uvalde, Texas, school shootings in 2022. The banner was also displayed at a Nashville FC game in 2023 after school shootings there.
The Loons held a moment of silence before the game and encouraged fans to join in the two minutes of silence to start the game, and players and coaches wore black armbands.
“If we want tragedies like the one we all witnessed this week to stop, we simply cannot continue to live the status quo because it’s comfortable,” said Wonderwall board member and communication lead Dan Wade. “Our platform pales in comparison to that of our elected officials, but we knew we needed to use what we have to raise our collective voice against gun violence. We’re grateful to the Austin FC supporters for reaching out to offer this poignant symbol of how many communities have been forced to take action like this.”
