‘The community has been great:’ New Jersey native continues to grow Leeds United supporters’ group in Portland

Photo Credit: Bob Clark

Growing up in Runnemede, New Jersey, Bob Clark described himself as a ‘punk skate kid’ with little to no interest in sports. Now living across the country, Clark has immersed himself in English football and become a prominent figure amongst Leeds United supporters in America.

Having moved to North Carolina in 2000, long before the Union was established, Bob was still invested in the club from the very start.

“I was super into it at the beginning,” Bob Clark said. “There was a little dark time where I couldn’t find ways to watch the games, living in North Carolina and Virginia. Once the ESPN deal started up, where all the games were on there, I watched about every single game, and have been watching ever since.”

Clark went to his first Union home game in 2022 when he was back home visiting his parents, who now live right across the river from Subaru Park. The Union defeated the Chicago Fire in the return of former Union striker Kacper Przybylko. Clark has also seen the Union play in Portland, Oregon, where he now resides.

Like many American soccer fans, Clark was looking for an English team to support. When rumors started to swirl about former Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson joining Leeds United in the summer following the 2021-22 Premier League season, Clark decided to jump on board.

“I wanted to have a connection to a team, not just pick a team,” Clark said.

Even though Aaronson’s arrival was not yet confirmed, Clark started watching Leeds’ games during the final few weeks of the 2021-22 season. Leeds was in the middle of a dramatic relegation battle, which saw them survive on the very last day of the season.

After Jack Harrison, the No.1 pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, scored the winning goal against Brentford on the final day, Clark immediately ordered his first jersey. Less than three years later, he owns seven Leeds kits.

With American manager Jesse Marsch in charge and Aaronson signed, Clark went all in on his Leeds fandom.

At the end of the 2022-23 Premier League season, Clark was in San Francisco for a concert. He had been following the Leeds United Bay Area supporters’ group on Instagram and connected with Chris Padden, the organizer of the group. Padden invited Clark to come watch the final game of the season with the Bay Area supporters. Unfortunately, Leeds was relegated that day.

“There were about 20 to 30 people at the bar at 7 AM to watch us lose,” Clark said. “It was great to have that community, and not just be watching the game by myself on the couch at home.”

Shortly after, Padden reached back out to Clark, informing him that he and another supporters’ group leader were going to unify all the Leeds groups in America under one umbrella. That is when Leeds United Americas was founded, housing all Leeds supporters’ groups in North America.

Clark, still undecided on whether he would start a group in Portland, was invited to a Zoom call with members of Leeds United Americas. It was during that call that Clark was motivated to start Leeds United PDX, the official Leeds supporters’ group in Portland.

“Hearing about some of the other groups that just started, they were all like me, following Leeds because there were Americans there,” Clark said. “There was a group in upstate New York that only had four or five people come out, and I figured I could probably wrangle four or five people. That is when I decided to do it, because it is more fun watching the games with other people than by yourself.”

Leeds United PDX was established during the 2023-24 English Football League Championship season, one year removed from the team’s relegation from the Premier League. Clark used his background as a graphic designer to create the logo, apparel, and stickers. Clark would go around the city and place his stickers everywhere to promote the group and grow its members.

It took a while for the group to nail down a venue, with a few soccer-specific pubs around Portland. For the first year, Clark and the other members had to watch games on small televisions with no sound at various bars around the city.

While having created a supporters’ group and fully embracing his Leeds United fandom, Clark decided it was time to take a trip across the pond to see his favorite team play live. He and his girlfriend took a trip last season to see Leeds play Sunderland at Elland Road for his birthday. Clark secured hospitality tickets through his Leeds United membership. He hopes to go back next year for a Premier League match and sit with the hardcore Leeds fans.

A year after starting the group, one of the members, who worked at a local music venue, offered up the bar in the venue as a place to watch the games. The space was perfect. It allowed the fans to be as loud as they wanted and had a projector to screen each game. There was even a coffee shop in the same building, which was useful when the games started at the crack of dawn.

That is when the Show Bar at Revolution Hall became the permanent home of Leeds United PDX.

Outside of watching live matches together, the group gathers for happy hours on non-match days or during international breaks, sometimes watching old Leeds games during those meetups. The groups in the Pacific Northwest will meet up occasionally, with Calrk preparing to host the next big event in Portland.

During his time leading Leeds United PDX, Clark has been introduced to fans across the globe, not just in Portland. While he has a consistent crew that comes out for every game, Clark has also welcomed Leeds fans from other states or countries who are in town for a variety of reasons. When Clark was home attending a funeral in April, he joined the Leeds supporters’ group in Philadelphia for a game.

With Leeds United back in the Premier League, Clark is still celebrating and soaking in the moment, knowing that recent history shows most teams that get promoted go straight back down. Clark hopes for a mid-table finish, a boring season where he doesn’t have to worry about relegation. Clark also hopes that with the team’s promotion comes the expansion of Leeds United PDX and all the Leeds United Americas supporters’ groups.

“The community has been great, building that all up,” Clark said. “Now that we are back in the Premier League, I think it will grow even more.”