Sons of Ben Supporters Club

sons of ben (sob) is an independent supporters group for philadelphia union of major league soccer. the group was created in january 2007 by soccer fans from philadelphia, pennsylvania and its greater metropolitan area, using such existing major league soccer fan clubs as the screaming eagles, la barra brava and section 8 chicago as models. the name of the club alludes to benjamin franklin, who was one of the most well-known founding fathers of the united states and a particularly iconic figure of philadelphia. bryan james, andrew dillon, and dave flagler founded the sons of ben supporters club on january 17, 2007, the 301st anniversary of benjamin franklin's birthday. philadelphia soccer fan, ethan gomberg, suggested the name. the sons of ben are the first philadelphia union supporters club, and use the philadelphia civic colors of light blue and gold as opposed to the darker shades officially used by the team.