This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The men and women who spent Wednesday night crowded around the beer taps and the flat screens poured out into the night much more confident than when they entered The Republican, a dark shoebox of a bar in downtown Salt Lake City.
They were rabble-rousers and drunks. They were singers. They were the most loyal and profane supporters of Real Salt Lake. After their team eked out a 2-2 draw in the CONCACAF finals against Monterrey, the supporters were ready to make their predictions for the second leg of the championship series.
"I'm 90 percent we're going to win," said Trev Poulson, "unless they pull something magic out of their hat."
RSL hasn't been beaten in 37 games at Rio Tinto Stadium and, in the aggregate scoring series, is in a strong position going into the home match Wednesday.
"Monterrey's a good team, but we have the fortress," said Nick Bernard, 23.
Poulson and Bernard are leaders of two of the most active, organized supporters groups. Poulson leads Salt City United, while Bernard is the vice president of the Rogue Cavaliers Brigade.
They both led groups to Seattle two years ago when RSL won the MLS Cup. Winning CONCACAF, a tournament with which fans Wednesday admitted they only recently became aware, would be a bigger deal. Winning would make RSL the continent's representative in the FIFA Club World Cup, later this year in Japan.
"I'm going to Japan," Poulson said. "One way or another, I will be there."
Before Wednesday's result, though, the focus was squarely on Monterrey. The supporters chanted, and screamed profanities. Clad in RSL apparel, they waved middle fingers like flags of support.
When Nat Borchers scored the goal that tied the game at 1-1 in the 35th minute, Bernard leapt around, knocking into West Jordan resident Katie Sampson, starting a chain reaction that ended with her drenching the fans around her in Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Rob Krumm, celebrating his 25th birthday on top of the goal, grabbed Sampson by the shoulders and yelled, "You should have Nat Borchers' babies."
It was that kind of night. Such comments were surely uttered once again when Javier Morales gave Salt Lake its second goal, another game-tier, in the 89th minute, but the profanities and professions were all lost in a steady stream of scream.
Not forgotten were three yellow cards, all questionable, especially one that will keep midfielder Kyle Beckerman out of the second leg. After the game, they griped about a yellow card on Alvaro Saborio, who was tackled into the goal after it appeared a Monterrey grabbed him by the throat.
But the beer-swilling swearers, who earlier in the night said a 2-1 loss would be perfectly acceptable, could hardly believe their overall fortune with the draw.
"This is huge," said Bernard. "This is the biggest thing the club's every been involved with."
boram@sltrib.comTwitter: @oramb