Team players, coaches, names, and even branding can change over the years. But traditions? If they come about organically, they can outlast all of them.
Minnesota United’s home post-victory tradition, singing Oasis’s Wonderwall,” is that type of tradition.
It predates all the current players and coaching staff. It predates the club’s time in MLS. It even predates the club’s current name and branding. It’s been a staple for the club’s players and fans since 2011.
During that season, when the club was NSC Minnesota, the song had become the go-to post-victory song for the players in the locker room or on the team bus following wins. Started by Carl Craig, who was on the coaching staff, a video of the players singing the song joyfully following a playoff-clinching win was shared on YouTube and caught the attention of the club’s fans.
By the team’s next home match, the supporters joined the players in song following the match. By the end of that season, the club had won the NASL title, and the players celebrated by running over to the supporters and singing “Wonderwall.”
By 2012, the club came under new ownership and the team's name changed to Minnesota United FC. In 2015, Major League Soccer announced that Minnesota United would be the league’s next expansion team. And in 2017, the club made its 2017 debut.
Through all the changes, singing “Wonderwall” following a home win remained.
The tradition was so ingrained that the entire supporters section is named The Wonderwall.
“How do you tell a group of fellas that you love being with them? That you love the things they’re doing?” You use someone else’s words,” Craif told the Pioneer Press in a story on the origin of the tradition.
“You’re my wonderwall”
