PROVO — In other parts of the world, soccer fans are known for being rowdy.

But in the United States, where soccer is a fringe spectator sport fighting for respectability, soccer enthusiasts pride themselves on their civility and sportsmanship.

So when news surfaced that fans of Utah's new professional soccer team, Real Salt Lake, vandalized the home of a state senator over the weekend, team officials quickly condemned the act.

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who sponsored legislation passed last week that forbids any city from using Redevelopment Agency money to help fund sports stadiums, said his wife awoke Sunday morning to find threatening graffiti scrawled in chalk on their driveway.

"You have declared war," the message read.

On the porch, there was an oversize soccer ball and a letter carrying the same message.

The letter was signed RSL, the acronym for the Major League Soccer expansion team that begins play this season.

No one associated with the franchise had anything to do with the vandalism, team officials say.

"Real Salt Lake is saddened and disappointed by the vandalism of Sen. Bramble's property in the name of soccer," Real Salt Lake CEO Dean Howes said in a statement released Monday. "Our deep sympathies go to the Bramble family. No one should ever be subject to the sort of uncivil and frightening treatment the Bramble's faced this weekend."

Bramble said his family was alarmed by the taunts, but Bramble said he doesn't regret supporting the legislation.

The day after Bramble's bill passed, Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson said the legislation would kill pro soccer in Utah. Salt Lake had proposed using as much as $15 million to $20 million in RDA funds to purchase a block near 600 South and Main Streets so Real Salt Lake could build a stadium there.

City officials in Murray had also proposed building stadium infrastructure with RDA funds.

Bramble said the bill's intent is to make sure property taxes earmarked for education are not diverted for other uses.

"If Salt Lake City wants to build a soccer stadium, they can use a bond," Bramble said. "There are a number of different alternatives rather than taking away money for public education."

Bramble said over $55 million in property taxes designated for education in Utah is re-directed every year for other uses.

"The issue is not soccer. I have six kids who love playing soccer; I watch soccer," Bramble said. "To label me or my kids as someone who hates soccer, that's not right."

While Real Salt Lake remains committed to Utah, Bramble's legislation has caused team officials to rethink where and how the stadium will be built. For its first two years, the team will play at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium.

On Monday, Howes encouraged fans to work through appropriate channels to make the dream of a soccer-specific stadium a reality.

"To fans of soccer the message is simple," he said. "Enthusiastic support is one thing, but this sort of behavior is way over the line and unacceptable. We reach out to everyone who loves soccer and ask that opinions be expressed in a polite and civil way."

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E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com