RJ Allen and Tommy McNamara described themselves as “humbled” with the turnout at the first NYCFC fan event of 2017.
More than 200 City Members descended upon the Barleycorn in Tribeca on Monday night to celebrate Friday’s news that the pair have signed new contracts with the club.
A Q&A and fan signing session followed a community event with schoolchildren at PS 134 on the Lower East Side in the afternoon where Allen and McNamara dropped in on the after school program, playing games and discussing the benefits of nutritious eating and an active soccer lifestyle.
Young leaders from New York City FC Youth Affiliate Downtown United Soccer Club ran the session with help from RJ and Tommy, while a Cityzens Giving prize winner selected from the City Members that voted for the New York project also visited.
RJ Allen was blown away by the number of supporters who braved the arctic conditions to show their support and revealed that he couldn’t wait for the new MLS season to come around.
Allen told NYCFC.com: “It was absolutely amazing – the fans showed great support.
“They came out and supported Tommy and I after the announcement of our new signing and there were over 200 fans here, it was a great turnout and now we really can’t wait to get started with the 2017 preseason.”
McNamara echoed his teammates’ sentiments as two of the squad’s local heroes took the time out to meet some of NYCFC’s most loyal fans.
Tommy called it the perfect start to what he hopes will be another historic year for the club.
“It was a humbling experience to see so many fans come out here on such a short turnaround as to when the event was announced,” McNamara said.
“It was a great way to start the New Year and to see everyone again and to get excited as preseason is just around the corner.
“I really enjoyed it. The fans are incredible – the amount who came out tonight – the support we get is amazing. Now we want to go on and do even better this season all together – I really can’t wait to be back out at Yankee Stadium again representing this club.”
We’ll have a gallery and a video from the events at the Barleycorn and at PS 134 coming up on NYCFC.com very soon!
