The Decline of the Itasca Society

Update: Minnesota United sassily clarified the following, a disctinction that might have been helpful to make in the first place:

That makes much of the following article something of a moot point, but here it is in its original form:

It turns out being a season-ticket holder with Minnesota United doesn’t mean all that much anymore.

In the beginning of the Loons’ Major League Soccer era, season ticket holders became part of the mysterious Itasca Society. Those 11,482 fans (one for each lake in the state of Minnesota) seemed to be something special for the club, and they will be commemorated at Allianz Field on a sculpture.

Shortly after United announced that fans’ names would be going on that sculpture, the Itasca Society began to fall.

The club expectedly — and wisely — allowed for more season-ticket holders in 2018, thereby ending the special group of 11,482. Instead of the ambiguous coin from the first season, season-ticket holders received an Itasca Society pin in their packets.

That seems to be the last time the Itasca Society was mentioned by the team. United hasn’t tweeted the words since December of 2017, in that announcement about the sculpture.

But the benefits still remain, right?

United released some information about the pre-sale for Gold Cup tickets when the tournament — and United States Mens’ National Team — come to Allianz Field next summer. Who gets access? Season-ticket holders, members of the Preserve (a waitlist) and anyone who signs up for the team’s mailing list.

Yup, anyone who puts their email address in gets access to that pre-sale.

Perhaps the Loons could be a little more thankful for the season-ticket holders who committed to tickets during the first two MLS seasons, when the club wasn’t even trying to be competitive. Plus, many of these fans will continue to hold seats in the Allianz Field era, despite having sat through the soft launch.

And the season of gratitude is almost upon us...