Ahead of Wednesday’s matchup between Real Salt Lake and the San Jose Earthquakes, longtime RSL fan Branden Steineckert, the drummer of the punk rock band Rancid, together with his vocalist/guitarist bandmate and Earthquake’s supporter Lars Frederiksen escorted their teams onto the pitch as honorary captains.
Taking a break from their “From Boston to Berkeley” tour, Steineckert and Frederiksen enjoyed their team’s matchup with one another and prior to the match the two signed autographs and took pictures with fans at Rio Tinto Stadium. During the halftime break, the two musicians sat down with RSL color-analyst Brian Dunseth to discuss how the culture of punk rock and the world’s game have become a place of community and relatability for fans across the globe.
“Punk rock is working class music and this game is working class,” Frederiksen said during an energetic halftime interview. “The bands always had a connection to their neighborhoods and I think the culture here in America it’s still a very working class sport.”
Being introduced to Real Salt Lake in 2007 by Frederiksen, Steineckert fell in love with the game of soccer quickly and five years later, RSL’s ‘Believe’ anthem was born.
“I had this assumption of what [soccer] was like until I got to experience it myself,” Steineckert added. “It was an underdog sport here in the states and like punk rock it’s a place for the underdogs and the outcasts and somewhere where we can all check our differences at the door and come and be here for one common bond, just like a punk show.”
While travelling with Rancid and playing concerts around the globe Steineckert noticed that with every stadium he visited, an anthem was played before the matches in which the fans would stand up and sing in show of support for their club. In writing ‘Believe’ Steineckert took it upon himself as an RSL fan to create what has now become a staple in the club’s fan base.
“After going to these games around the world and seeing these clubs from Barcelona to Millwall, they all had the same thing in common: when the game started, this anthem would start playing over the speakers,” Steineckert explained. “Everyone would stand up and all start singing their song.”
Frederiksen, a native of California wrote his own song for his beloved Earthquakes titled ‘Never Say Die’ after seeing what Steineckert’s song did for a club and its fans and asked players within the organization to join in the creation of the song.
“I called Joe Cannon who’s a good friend and he introduced me to everybody and said I was writing this song because this is my team and this is a love of mine,” Frederiksen said. “They said yes, let’s get involved with it.”
Steineckert reiterated that the music being produced was coming from supporters of their clubs as a show of love for the club and for the fans.
“It was all very organic. We weren’t playing the Rancid card it was just simply Lars loved San Jose Earthquakes and I loved Real Salt Lake. We just appreciate that people are gravitating towards it and it’s crazy to see kids, this next generation getting into it,” Steineckert said.
Real Salt Lake went on to beat San Jose 4-0 while Rancid’s “From Boston to Berkeley” tour concludes on Saturday in Los Angeles, the same night RSL hosts Rocky Mountain rival Colorado Rapids.
