Rain falls steadily as the line outside FancyFree in Brooklyn grows. It is Sunday, 10am.Dozens of fans draped in Arsenal red wait to enter the already full bar. Chants of “Arrr-senal” echo into the rainy New York City streets.It is an hour before kick-off against Crystal Palace in their final Premier League match of the season. This game is a formality before the squad and staff can lift the trophy after a 22-year wait. Fans have been celebrating since last week when they secured the league title when second-placed Manchester City drew with Bournemouth.“I’m feeling like I should have gotten here a lot earlier,” Arsenal fan Theresa Nasi says with a laugh, a gush of water pouring off her umbrella as she waits in line.Fans queuing in the rain to get a glimpse of the Arsenal trophy lift. (Photo: Melanie Anzidei / The Athletic)She eventually makes her way into the bar and jets to the back area, squeezing through the tight crowd.Nasi was eager to meet her friends, other members of the Brooklyn Invincibles, the unofficial Arsenal supporters group that on Sunday drew the likes of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, filmmaker and New York super-fan Spike Lee and actor Jason Sudeikis to the Fort Greene establishment for hours of pure jubilation.“It became a community and a family first, before it became a celebration,” Jason Andrew, a co-founder of the fan group, tells The Athletic.“We had a lot of lows before we got to this high of highs. We’ve had years which we held each other during the mockery and the banter, and now we’re the ones laughing and smiling.“It’s definitely a change of position from second to first. It took a while, but we got there.”The Brooklyn Invincibles, founded around 2021, grew from Andrew and his fellow co-founders — Howard Grandison and Mosito Ramaili — wanting to create an inclusive, family-friendly space for other Black fans of the north London club.When walking into bars around the U.S., Andrew described feeling like he “stood out like a sore thumb”. He felt this way even in England. Andrew, who is from South Norwood (very close to where the Crystal Palace game was played) and who once lived in a neighborhood near where Arsenal legend Ian Wright is from (Woolwich, south-east London, where Arsenal were originally formed in 1886), craved a safe space for fans of all backgrounds. He understood deeply the sport’s shortcomings for some of its loyal fans.“If you look at the football space in general, it’s not welcoming,” says Andrew. “It’s great to be able to have a space in which you don’t have to know football to be validated — just being yourself is enough, and supporting the club is enough.”The group’s early days consisted of Andrew, his young daughters and a couple of friends with their young children coming together to watch Arsenal. They would show up to a local bar at 7am on matchdays, with attendances growing slowly from nine to 12 fans to sometimes as many as 20 supporters. That growth persisted.This season, the Brooklyn Invincibles repeatedly filled FancyFree to capacity, with more fans turning out as the Premier League title got closer. Group photos on South Elliott Place outside of 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Spike Lee’s production company next door to the bar, have become tradition. It wasn’t always like this, but the surge in interest speaks to the void that the fan group has filled.Spike Lee and Zohran Mamdani were among the fans in attendance. (Photo: Moshood Aremu)The celebrations on Sunday were vibrant. Fans wore Arsenal kits from various eras — representing current stars like Declan Rice, or Arsenal legend and current broadcaster Thierry Henry. There were large groups of friends taking up tables, couples singing together and even fans who came out on their own. Strangers became fast friends, especially when an inflatable trophy made its way through the bar. Everyone had the chance for their own ceremonial trophy lift.Chants rang through the bar, and everyone responded in unison when Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke scored. When Crystal Palace scored, Arsenal fans responded by singing “Campeones! Campeones! Ole, ole, ole!” They were not fazed, because the league was already theirs.When Lee shimmies through the crowd, squeezing through supporters, fans are also unfazed by the fan group regular.Reactions are kept to a respectful whisper. Fans are less tame, however, when Mamdani sneaks into the bar through a side entrance with New York City’s First Lady, Rama Duwaji. The bar breaks out in chants of “Ohhh! Zoh-ran Mam-da-ni!” as he pushes his way to the back of the bar. By the 31st minute, Andrew guides Sudeikis and his family to the back near the other celebrities.