‘A different sense of belonging’: In Hooptown USA, the 509 Syndicate creates a community for soccer

While the stands of One Spokane Stadium rumble as Velocity FC starters walk on the pitch, superfans Jessica Prewitt and Siri Throm-Saxe’s chants are still audible.

“Up the falls, up the falls, when you’re here, join the cheer, up the falls, up the falls” Prewitt chanted.

Prewitt and Throm-Saxe are members of the 509 Syndicate, a supporters’ organization growing the soccer community in Spokane.

“The 509 Syndicate wants to infuse every match day with an electrifying passion that resonates throughout our community,” Prewitt said. “We draw inspiration from the rich tapestry of Spokane, the roaring rivers, and want to create a powerful force propelling our teams to victory.”

In a nod to Riverfront Park’s iconic Garbage Goat, the Syndicate’s mascot is the Goats, and they meet at a local pub a couple hours before Spokane Velocity home games.

As the excitement grows, so does this group of soccer fans.

“We started in a little loft area at Uprise Brewing, January of 2023, with five people I think, then the next meeting was nine, and then it was that for a while,” Prewitt said, “and now we have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of very active members, then others that just like to be, you know, a part of it.

“Our hope is to continue growing exponentially, because a lot of people don’t know about us.”

One hour before kickoff of home games, the Rotary Fountain in Riverfront Park becomes flooded with Spokane Velocity fans.

“When we start at the fountain, we start marching, then we get a few steps, and we look back and see these hundreds of people joining in. It’s beautiful,” said Throm-Saxe, a new and dedicated member of the 509 Syndicate.

Anyone can visit the 509 Syndicate website to stay notified on each March-to-the-Match and away-match watch parties.

There is also a membership tab providing the opportunity for everybody interested in soccer to become one of the Goats for free.

Members can bring chant ideas, volunteer and have a say in the direction the Syndicate is headed. Any amount of participation is welcome, Prewitt said, and each Goat decides how involved they’d like to be.

Many members like Throm-Saxe join alone, but immediately feel the sense of community within the Syndicate and are eager to give back to their community.

“Coming from a person who signed up myself, I was just interested, and I was adopted immediately,” Throm-Saxe said. “Put me to work, whatever I can do to support this team.”

The Syndicate band and members have assigned seats throughout the stands but choose to spend the game in the designated area at the west end of the stadium.

Prewitt encourages everyone in the stadium to join the 509 Syndicate in their chants and even stop in their area throughout the games.

New members can access current Syndicate cheers on the website and study them to use throughout the games.

As the Velocity’s inaugural season is in full throttle, the Syndicate’s schedule remains full of events as Spokane Zephyr nears their first game.

Throm-Saxe said she has been counting down the days for Spokane’s first women’s soccer team to take to the pitch in One Spokane Stadium, because “we are so excited for a top-level women’s soccer team,” Prewitt said.

“I think it is something that has been needed for a very long time, and we have a huge fan base here, especially for women’s soccer, and it’s a need that has not been met yet.”

The 509 Syndicate highlights the support that Spokane already has for Zephyr FC, before the team’s season in their home stadium has even begun.

“We are not just supporters; we are the elemental forces, the wind and water,” Prewitt said, “nobody leaves, whether it’s a rainstorm or it’s 90 degrees.”

From socializing at Flatstick Pub before the games, to the final chants of the night, Prewitt said that no matter what, somebody has a home in this contagious childlike energy.

“I think it’s a sense of community,” Throm-Saxe said, “a different sense of belonging.”