An underdog supporters group inspired by “The Sons of Ben” in Philadelphia springs up in Detroit with the goal of getting an MLS team. Crazy? Maybe. A long shot? Certainly. But is the Sons of Ben story and the new Philadelphia team something that could happen again, this time in the Midwest? Are these the “Sons” of the “Sons of Ben”…?

Recently, amidst all the Bizjournal and MLS-rumors reportage on MLS expansion (Miami, Montreal, Portland, St. Louis, Atlanta, Ottowa, and Vancouver), I met a very different group of soccer supporters who are just as committed to being awarded an MLS team someday. Sure, this group isn’t a collection of wealthy investors, but these guys are rich in other ways, and they’ve already started building a grassroots soccer supporter movement inspired by the Sons of Ben that many cities would be envious of. These are the Motor City Supporters, and this is their funny, brave and inspiring story…

More after the jump

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I have talked before how the Internet is changing the relationship that fans have with the games. We are able to be involved in a different way, voice our opinions, and connect with other fans from all over the world. Harnessing the power of the Internet to benefit the growth of the sport and our culture is no small undertaking. But it is definitely being done.

One of the leading sites pushing the social networking side of the sport is OleOle.  According to their site, “OleOle is the ultimate online playground for professional football.” You can build your own blog on the site, create a profile amd all those other social networking type tools we have become accustomed to, only this time the focus is squarely on the beautiful game. Click here to check the site and get your own profile up and running. And if you end up starting your own blog on there, hit us off with it and we’ll let people know about it.