Rain falls outside FancyFree in Brooklyn as Arsenal fans gather for a final Premier League match against Crystal Palace. The match is treated as a formality after Arsenal secured the league title following Manchester City’s draw with Bournemouth. Fans arrive early, chant in the streets, and pack an already full bar. Brooklyn Invincibles, an unofficial Arsenal supporters group founded around 2021, brings together Black fans and aims to create an inclusive, family-friendly space. Co-founders describe the group as a community and family that supported members through years of lows and mockery, leading to shared celebration and trophy anticipation.
"Rain falls steadily as the line outside FancyFree in Brooklyn grows. It is Sunday, 10am. Dozens of fans draped in Arsenal red wait to enter the already full bar. Chants of Arrr-senal echo into the rainy New York City streets. It is an hour before kick-off against Crystal Palace in their final Premier League match of the season. This game is a formality before the squad and staff can lift the trophy after a 22-year wait."
"Nasi was eager to meet her friends, other members of the Brooklyn Invincibles, the unofficial Arsenal supporters group that on Sunday drew the likes of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, filmmaker and New York super-fan Spike Lee and actor Jason Sudeikis to the Fort Greene establishment for hours of pure jubilation. It became a community and a family first, before it became a celebration, Jason Andrew, a co-founder of the fan group, tells The Athletic."
"The Brooklyn Invincibles, founded around 2021, grew from Andrew and his fellow co-founders Howard Grandison and Mosito Ramaili wanting to create an inclusive, family-friendly space for other Black fans of the north London club. When walking into bars around the U.S., Andrew described feeling like he stood out like a sore thumb. He felt this way even in England."
Read at www.nytimes.com
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