1995 – 1999
The Midnight Riders are an Independent Supporters Association (ISA) associated with the New England Revolution, having been founded in December of 1995 by 15 area soccer fans on the heels of FIFA World Cup 1994 in anticipation of the start of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996.
Over the course of this first meeting, and two subsequent ones in January and February of 1996, early details of the organization were hashed out and decided upon including the ISA’s name, logo, and a desired location in Foxboro Stadium that could serve as a dedicated supporters section, ultimately to be located behind the North Goal and known as ‘The Fort.’ These meetings also served as an opportunity for club officials and the new group members to become familiar with one another, including then Revolution General Manager Brian O’Donovan and Guy Keeley, a native of Liverpool, England who served as the Riders’ first president.
The original aims and objectives of the Riders were not only to encourage, cultivate, and galvanize support for the New England Revolution, but to also represent the interests of club supporters by establishing and maintaining a productive, working relationship between supporters and club management. Through open and regular communication, it was hoped that the Riders could serve as a vehicle that all New England supporters could use as a means to express their thoughts and concerns to club officials with the aim of making the match-day experience a positive one for all. Such efforts were consistent with similar efforts in 1990’s England where football supporters, concerned about changes to the game, helped to establish ISA’s as a means for supporters to engage their clubs on issues deemed essential to supporting the best interests of football clubs and their supporters, while also working towards measures of accountability for the well-being of both.
The period from 1996 through 1999 was one of growth for the Riders, expanding its membership to over 100 people, securing a regular tailgating location, and working to establish The Fort as a recognized supporters section. The group also sought to expand it’s visibility through the merchandising of scarves and t-shirts, while also working to procure a large banner to be displayed in The Fort at points during the game, the first such ‘tifo’ of its type in the League. There were also organized away trips to the Meadowlands and RFK Stadium, while close to 80 members of the Riders made the trip to Columbus, OH for the Crew Stadium opener in 1999.
In spite of this early success, there were ongoing issues between the Riders and club management that contributed to growing frustration on both sides. While the Riders were granted dedicated tailgate locations, they were often different from season to season. Group members were subject to intimidation by and caught up in unnecessary confrontations with stadium security and local law enforcement officials. Merchandise could not be sold nor could organizational literature distributed on stadium property.
A number of these concerns were expressed and discussed in Pictures of Chairman Mao (POCM), the fanzine “by and for supporters of the New England Revolution” that, while independent of the Riders, was born of four of its members: Guy Keeley, Eric Spurlock, Tom Hill, and Constantine “Red” Foley. Thanks to the efforts of this editorial ‘Gang of Four,’ Revolution supporters were, for five seasons, fortunate to enjoy equal measures of irreverence and sound commentary that were both subversive and sardonic. When the Revolution were getting no column inches in The Boston Globe or the Boston Herald, one could count on POCM to pick up the slack, and then some.
POCM was reaching its peak in popularity when MLS came to Foxboro on November 21, 1999 when the Riders played host to supporters from around the country for MLS Cup, but a series of unfortunate events on that day contributed to both it’s demise and almost that of the Riders themselves. Unbeknownst to the Riders, state and local law enforcement agencies decided to conduct a sting operation on ticket scalpers in the MLS supporters’ tailgate area, resulting in unjustified harassment and the unfortunate, unnecessary arrest of some Riders, including one of the editors of POCM.
2000 – 2002
The demise of POCM coincided with not only a drop in the teams’ fortunes, but considerable changes to the Midnight Riders. While group membership had risen slowly but steadily to just over 200 members by 2000, the team’s poor form and problems in working with the club led to many dedicated members to leave the group and stop attending Revolution matches. There was continued harassment by police and stadium officials at tailgates, further changes to tailgate locations, and open monitoring of tailgates by designated club officials and the Massachusetts State Police. Guy Keeley stepped down as President, POCM ceased production as they could not longer sell copies in the parking lots, and group membership dropped almost by half to just over 100 paid members.
Monty Rodrigues took over as president, and much to his credit, sought to sustain the enthusiasm and momentum generated in the early years of the organization. While better organization was brought to the leadership of the group, moral remained low and membership numbers continued to slide, resembling much like the product on the field. The 2001 season saw Riders membership drop to approximately 75 people this as the Revolution had a dismal season, winning only 7 of 27 games on the year.
However, things began to look up in 2002 starting prior to the season when members of the Riders assisted members of the Revolution front office chaperone season ticket holders on stadium construction tours as the facility approached completion, giving fans some quality one-on-one time with club officials including Craig Tornberg and then general manager Todd Smith. With the new stadium came yet another tailgating location, this one moved to a high visibility spot just outside the gates at the North End of the stadium. In addition, members of the Revolution reached out to members of security that regularly worked the area, establishing good relationships with a number of them. Group membership rose back towards 150, new merchandise was offered, while the Riders continued to sponsor organized away trips and continued charitable endeavors. These changes coincided with a remarkable turnaround on the pitch as the Revolution won the Eastern Conference, saw the arrival of two club mainstays in Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston, seeing the club through to the MLS Cup final that came within inches of winning before succumbing to the L.A. Galaxy in overtime in front of over 60,000 fans on a sunlit fall day.
2003 – 2009
Heading into 2003 the Riders saw a continued increase in membership, and after many years of lobbying and hard work, saw The Fort become the officially recognized supporters section, now in Section 143 of Gillette Stadium. Continued progress came when a number of the Riders sat down with members of the front office and club ownership to discuss ways how to further enhance atmosphere and how better to work together. Tolerance was shown for emerging traditions such as streamer throws in the Fort, and agreements were reached to house group banners at Gillette Stadium.
Over this period the Revolution’s on the field efforts also improved, making it to the MLS Cup Final three straight years from 2005 – 2008, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2007 and the Superliga trophy in 2008. Members of the Riders were present at each of these matches, from Frisco, TX to Washington, DC.
The Riders remained active in their charitable efforts, donating time and funds to a variety of causes. New fundraising efforts such as the golf tournament and the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund walk pushed total funds raised over the $25,000 mark, with money going to a variety of causes, including: The Jimmy Fund, American Heart Association, CityKicks!, Carrie Holmstrom Trust, and the David Charles Vanole Foundation. The Riders have since incorporated, registering as an IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit with full constitution and bylaws.
In addition, the Riders also drafted and signed a mission statement along with the Revolution front office that effectively outlines a mutual code of conduct that will be reviewed on an annual basis. This agreement laid the groundwork for allowing tifo displays and large flags into The Fort, which for purposes of the 2010 season, had been expanded to include sections 141, 142, and 143.
2010 – 2011
The early part of the new decade was a largely tumultuous one for Revs supporters. Before the start of the 2010 season, a group of supporters splintered away from the Midnight Riders to form another supporters group, which would be named the Rebellion. After the departure of some key players and a career-ending head injury to all-time leading scorer Taylor Twellman, the 2010 Revs had the team’s worst season in nearly a decade.
Prior to the 2011 season, Fran Harrington was elected as the new president of the Midnight Riders. Unfortunately, 2011 would see even less on-field 
success than 2010, as the Revs only won 5 games, by far the fewest in their history. To make matters worse, relations between supporters and the Revs front office hit a new low in the aftermath of an event dubbed “Fortgate”. In response to a stupid and casually vulgar goalkick chant that was popular in MLS stadia at the time, TeamOps went into the Fort and began forcibly removing supporters without warning for the use of swear words. Some of these supporters were also detained by Foxboro PD. “Support the Fort” signage was visible in supporters sections around the league in the weeks after the incident. At the next Revs home match, Revs supporters wore black and sat quietly for 16 minutes, then exited the stadium while singing the “Mama Mama” chant. A small bright spot was the 
Riders hosting their first charity FIFA tournament in downtown Boston in November 2011, which benefited ThinkTaylor and was attended by Taylor Twellman & Chris Tierney. The soon-to-be annual FIFA tournament would be a major part of the Riders’ charitable calendar for much of the following decade.
2012 – 2017
After the low point that was 2011, things began to improve both on and off the field. To improve communication and transparency, representatives from each supporters group began attending pregame security meetings with the Revs front office and TeamOps. The relationship between the front office and supporters has largely been a good and constructive one since these meetings began.
As members of the fledgling Independent Supporters Council since its origins circa 2009-2010, the Midnight Riders were represented at the first Independent Supporters Council Annual Conference in Portland, OR in 2012.
July 21, 2012 was the date of the inaugural Supporters Cup, a charity match played between members of the Midnight Riders and Rebellion. For this first year, the Riders raised money to support ThinkTaylor and the Revolution Charitable Foundation. The Midnight Riders defeated the Rebellion 5-2, and the Supporters Cup became a regular tradition.
Some of the most emotional moments in local sports history would then occur in April of 2013. Two bombs were detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring many, including members of the Revolution family. The Revs’ return to the field following the bombing was an away match against the New York Red Bulls. The large group of 
traveling Revs supporters who were marching from O’Donnell’s Pub met the Red Bull supporters groups Empire SC and Viking Army several blocks from the stadium. The fans of both teams marched to the gates jointly, singing together in solidarity and carrying a large banner that read, “NEW YORK STANDS WITH BOSTON”. The following month, Red Bull supporters were hosted en masse in the supporters tailgate lot at Gillette Stadium as thanks for the kindness they showed the traveling Revs support that day.
Weeks later, the Midnight Riders independently organized the first Pride Night ever hosted at a Revs match. Pride-themed banners and flags were added to the Fort, and special Pride merch was sold in the lot to benefit BAGLY. The cold and rainy weather on the night of May 25, 2013 couldn’t stop the celebration, and a 2-0 Revs victory over Toronto FC helped make the first Pride Night one to remember.
2014 would be a pivotal year for soccer culture in New England. What had previously looked like a promising Revs team lost 8 consecutive matches in a time spanning from late May to late July, seemingly squandering the extra attention that American soccer was getting around the 2014 men’s World Cup. An August match against the ever-struggling Chivas USA was sarcastically dubbed the “Tarp Derby” by frustrated Revs supporters. However, unbeknownst to those in attendance, the Revs’ 1-0 victory that day would be a major turning point. The following day, the Revs announced the signing of Jermaine Jones, who had just played brilliantly for the United States in that summer’s World Cup, bringing extra attention to the team from soccer fans old and new. The Revs would finish the final 11 games of the 2014 regular season with a 9-1-1 record, cancelling out their winless streak from earlier in the season and easily qualifying for the playoffs. The two home legs of the Revs’ Eastern Conference playoff matchups that season had possibly the best atmospheres of any soccer matches played at 
Gillette Stadium. The supporters groups had begun to use the NFL field goal netting at the stadium to hoist large-scale tifo displays for the first time, and the crowds were both large and raucous. The away leg of the Eastern Conference final at Red Bull Arena saw roughly 1200 Revs supporters make the early morning voyage to New Jersey, with the Midnight Riders handling much of the logistics involved in that trip. Hundreds of supporters then made a short-notice journey to Los Angeles when the Revs reached the 2014 MLS Cup final, only to once again lose to the Galaxy in heartbreaking fashion.
The mid-2010s were a time when the Midnight Riders’ charitable endeavors ramped up significantly. Seasons became bookended by annual cooking competitions at tailgates (the Chili Cook-off and Soupah Revs), and previously established endeavors like the FIFA tournament, charity trivia nights, and the Supporters Cup continued. The Riders’ 501(c)(3) organization, the Midnight Riders, Inc., was reorganized and reinvigorated, which was also the driving force behind the return of the Midnight Riders’ charity golf tournament. Pride Night became bigger and bigger every year, with the Riders making large-scale, Pride-specific tifo displays and marching in the Boston Pride Parade, in
addition to fundraising for LGBTQ-focused charities. The Midnight Riders were awarded “Best Marching Group” after the 2016 parade. In 2017, after four years of the occasion being independently held by the Midnight Riders, Pride Night was finally recognized by the team as an official event on the New England Revolution calendar.
At the 2017 Independent Supporters Council Annual Conference, the Midnight Riders were awarded the honor of “Philanthropic Group of the Year”.
2018 – Present
At the 2018 Midnight Riders Annual General Meeting, Matt Zytka was elected as the president of the Midnight Riders. An exciting partnership developed between the Riders and Springdale Beer Co. in Framingham, MA, resulting in a Midnight Riders beer called “Supporter Scarf”, sales of which benefit the Boston chapter of Soccer Without Borders. 
The Riders also launched an annual pledge drive titled “Clean Sheets for Clean Sheets”, benefiting the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless’ A Bed For Every Child initiative.
After a miserable start to the Revs’ 2019 season, the Riders released a public statement calling for the team’s general manager to be replaced. Bruce Arena was later hired as the Revs’ new sporting director and head coach.
Grand plans were made for 2020, the 25th anniversary season for the Midnight Riders. An anniversary season kickoff tailgate party for the home opener featured a live DJ set, donated beer from Springdale Beer Co., and 
catered food by a popular Greek restaurant in Boston. However, plans for the rest of the season were curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Riders were forced to support the Revs separately and from afar. Virtual tailgates were hosted, and the Man of the Year presentation was done via the use of video magic.
As of 2021, The Midnight Riders are the largest Revolution independent supporters association, consisting of over 500 members that hail from all over New England, elsewhere in the United States, and even overseas. Its membership consists of students, educators, nurses, musicians, servicepersons, lawyers, and more. While the majority of its members call The Fort home, many Riders can be found elsewhere in Gillette Stadium.