Every time New York City FC takes the pitch they put the City and the fans on their back and fight until the final whistle.
The 12th man are the backbone of this club, which is why to kick off our quest for the cup we’ll be spotlighting some of our most passionate supporters in our Why I’m NYC series.
Starting with the Perea family.
“We’ve been fans of NYCFC since the beginning. When year one kicked off, it was the first game and came with my eldest son,” Tina Perea said.
“Luis, my husband, actually wasn’t here. We were FaceTiming and I also came with my baby, he was a couple months old and strapped on to my chest.
“But it was the energy of the stadium, it was just amazing and I was like ‘I’m hooked’. At the end of the first season, Luis won the shirts off our back and he won David Villa’s jersey. Then the second season, I won Jack Harrison’s jersey and we were done. We’re in for life.
“Luis actually found out about the deal to buy in before the first season kicked off.”
“Yeah I’m a sucker,” Luis said.
“It was a great deal for the season tickets and we just kept adding on. The more the family grew, the more the tickets did too,” said Tina.
“Now we’re here every time and we’ve got the whole family so…
“When they score, it's the energy in the stadium, and just seeing how excited the kids get - they jump up and down and they’re yelling. As soon as the game is over they’re like ‘did we win? Did we win? We won right?’
“One of his was first words was Villa. We were trying to figure out what he was saying and it was actually the offseason. It finally clicked and I was like oh my gosh he’s saying Villa. We asked him, like David Villa and he screamed VILLLLLA. Of course it’s because we are here so often.”
