Charlotte FC supporters troll local sporting goods store for Messi jersey display | OneFootball

You can't blame Charlotte FC fans for being sour after their side failed to earn a result Sunday at Inter Miami, despite the continued absence of Lionel Messi and despite playing most of the match with a man advantage.

So you can imagine how the social media admin for The Mint City Collective, one of Charlotte's most visible supporters groups, felt when he or she walked into the Charlotte Southpark location of Dick's Sporting Goods and saw this collection of gear prominently displayed:

Not only is Charlotte FC one of Miami's closest geographic rivals, but it has also built an exceptional local following since it entered the league as an expansion team in 2022. The league's 29th club has averaged more than 35,000 in attendance for all three full MLS seasons of its existence, and welcomed 51,002 to last month's season opener against Atlanta United.

And while The Crown couldn't get the job done on Sunday, they're one of the few clubs that has a resonably strong record against Miami when Messi plays, earning a win and a draw the two games the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has faced them.

But to play devil's advocate here, maybe the fact this particular Dick's location had so much Messi Miami gear is testament to the solidarity of the Charlotte fanbase. After all, Messi's jersey is the highest-selling MLS jersey nationwide. And in the early days after his arrival to Miami in the summer of 2023, retailers quickly and repeatedly ran out of the No. 10 pink and black top.

One thing is clear: Messi is increasingly taking on villain status among other fanbases, particularly in the Eastern Conference, where fans feel like MLS has unfairly conspired with Miami and the Argentine at the expense of other teams' competitive aspirations.

The Mint City Collective's Tweet (do we still call it a Tweet?) has been viewed more than 175,000 times as of press time, and quotes or retweeted more than 1,000 times. The Charlotte fanbase is strong, but it's pretty likely other MLS supporters are contributing to those numbers.

And MLS has to be just as happy about that development as the frenzy of neutrals to see Messi up close in person. It would be a lot more worrisome if opposing supporters grew apathetic to his presence from a competitive standpoint, as they were at times to David Beckham's LA Galaxy, which struggled to produce results in his early MLS seasons.