Major League Soccer began with teams across many U.S. markets, but not Philadelphia. So a small group of die-hard soccer fans came together to form a supporters club for a soccer team that did not exist. Naming their group after famous Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin, the Sons of Ben were created, with only one goal in mind: bring a soccer franchise to Philadelphia. The Sons of Ben started a movement that brought into existence the Philadelphia Union, changing the soccer landscape in Philadelphia forever while helping to revive a struggling community in Chester which had been abandoned by government, business, and its neighbors.
After many rumors of an MLS team arriving in Philadelphia never materializing, a small group of soccer fans took matters into their own hands and started a supporters group called the Sons of Ben to help bring a team to their hometown. They were a group without a team to root for and had a modest goal of reaching 100 members by the end of the year. Little did they know they would reach over 1,500 members in less time than that and start a movement that would not only change the soccer landscape in Philadelphia forever, but also help revive a community that had been struggling for decades.