Branden Steineckert, the drummer in the punk band Rancid, gets to hear a live rendition of his work at every Real Salt Lake home match.
Steineckert wrote RSL’s now-official anthem, “Believe,” and released it in 2011, four years after bandmate Lars Frederiksen introduced him to soccer. On Wednesday, Steineckert and Frederiksen, a San Jose Earthquakes fan, served as honorary captains for the clash of their hometown teams at Rio Tinto Stadium.
”Believe” is played at the start of every home game. Fans often break out into the song after most RSL goals.
“This is incredible,” Steineckert said. “It means so much for Lars and I both because we take so much pride and love in our hometowns and our clubs and where we’re from. These are our roots.”
Frederiksen first convinced Steineckert to go to a match in 2007 after Rancid returned from a tour through England. RSL won six matches that season and finished last in the Western Conference.
“He brought me to my first RSL game and I’ve been to every one since — as long as I’m not gone [on tour,] I’m here,” Steineckert said. “It was interesting because when I first went to games, we weren’t winning games at all. It was, like, you just literally came out because it was fun and because you wanted to see a good match, but it wasn’t about the winning necessarily — because we weren’t winning.”
Things started looking up, however, as Steineckert’s RSL fandom deepened. From 2008-14, RSL reached the conference finals four times, played in the MLS Cup twice, and won the 2009 championship.
“We were underdogs going into [the 2009 MLS Cup], and then somehow even as champions we were still considered underdogs,” Steineckert said. “So it’s kind of fun to be a part of that, just fighting to prove people wrong.”
RSL has seen a dropoff in attendance this season, averaging 18,679 over 13 home matches, compared to 19,770 at Rio Tinto last season. RSL averaged 20,153 for home matches in 2015. And while Wednesday night’s crowd didn’t pack the stadium, RSL’s Steineckert-penned anthem resounded throughout before the whistle sounded.