Welcome to Boys In Rouge

With the continual growth of interest in Detroit City FC and the steady flow of traffic this site still receives, I figured it would be a good idea to put up a post to help direct newcomers (and oldcomers) to potential areas of interest, and to finally bump a 2+ year old interview post down from its long-held top position.

For over six years (2013-2020) I did my best to document City’s early history and tried to condense that spirit and atmosphere down into written form. I feel I came closest to achieving that in the following posts – my personal favorites. In chronological order:

History is one of my favorite subjects, and it’s recently come to my attention that there are actual, current City supporters who don’t know who Zach Schewee is, or what happened in Berkley on Mother’s Day 2013. If this is you, I strongly recommend reading and re-reading all 83 posts that make up the Story of the Club category. Here’s a handy link if you want to start from the beginning.

If numbers are more your thing, you might be interested in checking out how City’s attendance numbers grew over those first several years.

I never rule out any future projects, and I still have a few ideas bouncing around in my head, but for now I’m enjoying just being a fan and observing City’s evolution.

Thanks for all your support over the years.

Andrew

DCTID, UTFC, COYBIR, Allez Le Rouge

Guest Post: Q&A With Sam Piraine

Guest Post from SE Proulx

With the historic first season of the Detroit City FC Women’s side fast approaching, anticipation is rising in the fanbase. We were able to pick the brain of Coach Sam Piraine about the upcoming season and what the supporters of the club can look forward to. “Thank you” to Coach Sam for taking the time to speak with us.

First, I’d like to ask about you, what is your background with soccer for those who aren’t already aware?

I was a player for many years. I have played in all the ranks soccer has to offer; I played youth soccer growing up in Michigan. Post-club soccer I played 4 years of College before playing pro for Cincinnati Riverhawks (A-League, now USL Championship) and getting a call up to Columbus Crew but calling it quits with a back injury. As a coach, I have been coaching for the last 18 years. I started as a High School coach before plying my trade for the youth club scene. For the last 10 years, I’ve dipped my toes in adult amateur summer soccer including a minor stint in the NPSL. Excited to be a part of what DCFC has to offer to players and fans alike!!!

How familiar are you with the league and other clubs that City will be competing with (in UWS)?

As a person who has played and coached in the summer leagues, I have kept up with what is going on with all the league and their continuous changes. As for the current league and clubs that City will be competing in/with, I followed a bit last year as a good friend of mine was coaching in the league, so I was able to bring my daughter to a few games to watch. It seems like the division we will be in will be of high quality.

How do you think players in this league will react to playing in Keyworth Stadium?

Every player that plays at Keyworth this summer will witness something special. It is an environment that every player wants to be a part of. Lucky for me and the ladies wearing the City crest we will be able to call it home. 

How do you feel about coaching in front of the fans and supporters at Keyworth Stadium?

Can’t wait! I have been to many matches both at Cass Tech and Keyworth. To be able to put out a competitive team in front of the City faithful is something that will be exciting to be a part of.

As someone with a long history with youth soccer what does it to mean for young players in Michigan to now have both a professional Men’s and Women’s club in their state?

I can’t stress enough how important it is for the youth of today to be able to attend pro soccer in Detroit. To be able to have Male and Female high-level soccer in their backyard will only help them continue to grow and develop. This is for all youth players in the area and not just DCFC youth affiliates. The game is for everyone!

About the tryouts, we heard about 60 players signed up for the opportunity to audition for the club, is that correct?

Yes, we had 67 players turn up and the level of play was very high which was exciting to see.

How many tryouts will there be total or are you nearing your selections after the two that have already taken place?

We are past the trial phase. I have a decent sized player pool that will still be dwindling down this month. The selection process is still ongoing but with a good idea of what the final roster will look like.

How soon should we expect to see news on the roster?

I truly believe that we will start announcing roster spots soon, looks like mid-March is our target time frame.

Finally, do you have any messages for the fans or those who may be considering attending a DCFC soccer match for the first time?

For the first time attendees, I would say that once you come you will want to come back. There is nothing here like a matchday experience at Keyworth. The product that I will put on the field and the support of the City faithful is something that you do not want to miss.

To the City faithful, I cannot wait to get started and hear you sing and cheer for 90 minutes. We are excited to be donning the City Crest and playing in front of all of you.

The Detroit City FC Women’s side kicks off their inaugural season at home against Midwest United on 5/9/2020 at 7:30PM at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, Michigan.

Keepers of the Flame

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Degennaro
Photo by Jon DeBoer

I once played a game of rec soccer against a team with Seb Harris on it. As a defender, I was less than enthused when I realized he was going to be playing forward that day. For the most part, though, he was fairly quiet, until a cross came into our box in the second half. I elected to mark the player in front of me, a girl who stood maybe 5’4″. Seb crashed the back post, unmarked, and put home an easy header for the goal.

As frustrated as I was at myself for leaving him all alone like that, I quickly realized it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. While I’m of respectable height – 6’0″ in cleats – I surely would’ve met the same fate as so many other defenders who tried to stand in the way of one of Harris’ thundering headers.

Dave Edwardson arrived at City in 2013, part of a crowded midfield group that included Kevin Taylor, Latif Alashe, Spencer Thompson, Locky Savage, and T.J. Van Slooten. As the season wore on and injuries took their toll, Dave rose to the top of the depth chart. His play over the course of that unbeaten regular season only served to cement his place. By the end of the Cass era, his leadership qualities had become evident, and with Josh Rogers’ retirement, there was never any real doubt as to who would inherit the captain’s armband.

Most admirable was Edwardson’s willingness to sacrifice the bodies of opposing players for the good of his team.

 

And, every now and then, he’d fire in an absolute banger.

As Dave and Seb’s on-field roles diminished over the past couple of seasons, their status within the club only grew. There’s no point in building a culture if it’s not passed on to the next generation, and the two of them embodied the culture of City perhaps to a greater degree than any other players who’ve worn the Rouge and Gold.

With City’s move up to the pro level, there will be, by necessity, a more cutthroat approach to roster building and player selection. We may take on guys whose first and only goal is to earn a paycheck, there will be loan signees in the squad for short spells, and there will inevitably be fewer local products in the side on a weekly basis.

Simply, it will be harder than ever to maintain that City ethos among those who take the field wearing our crest. It’ll be up to the next group of veterans – Stephen Carroll chief among them as the new permanent captain – to carry the fire and show the newcomers who we are, what we stand for, and how things are done around here. Their job has been made a little easier because they’ve learned from the best.

Photo by Dion Degennaro
Degennaro
Degennaro

Number Crunchin’: 2019 Attendance

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Photo by Franzi Loetzner
Photo by Franzi Loetzner

Your annual look at Detroit City FC’s home attendance numbers.

Links to previous editions:   2013   2014   2015   2016   2017   2018

Data Sources:

Detroit City FC attendance numbers are announced at matches and posted to the club’s official Twitter account.

USL Championship and League One numbers come via Soccer Stadium Digest.

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Previous home attendance averages (competitive matches only):

2012: 1295  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table
2013: 1715  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table
2014: 2857  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table
2015: 3528  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table
2016: 5208  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table
2017: 5925  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table
2018: 5274  CLICK HERE for game-by-game table

Final numbers for 2019:

Continue reading “Number Crunchin’: 2019 Attendance”

The Original

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Photo by Franzi Loetzner

Saturday, October 19th, 2019 – Detroit City FC 0 Milwaukee Torrent 1

Photo by Franzi Loetzner

On January 1st, 2012, the amateur and professional soccer landscape in Detroit and the Metro area was a barren wasteland.

Detroit Arsenal won the NPSL Championship in its inaugural season, 2005, then played one more year and promptly folded. Meanwhile, up in Pontiac, the Michigan Bucks were running roughshod over most of their PDL competition, but were only drawing crowds comparable to medium-sized dinner parties. Then along came Detroit City, and everything changed.

I’ve spent the past 6+ years documenting the whys and hows of the club’s rise, so I won’t rehash all of that here. Instead, I’ll try to condense it down into a simple formula:

Professionalism + healthy dose of ambition balanced with an equal amount of realism + community engagement = Success!

The enthusiasm generated by City’s first season did not go unnoticed. Almost immediately, imitators began to pop up, looking to ride the wave of a massive hit, a la Battlestar Galactica in the wake of Star Wars.

The first, FC Sparta, came along in 2013, eager to get a piece of that sweet sweet supporter-driven action. While their ambition was sky-high, they lacked every other crucial element and got zero traction. Now in their third/forth/fifth? incarnation, they’re still trying to get it right.

After them came Dan Duggan and his plans to bring a USL team to Detroit and build a 5000 seat stadium in 90 days. Unsurprisingly, this highly-ambitious yet in-no-way-reality-based plan also fell flat.

Most recently, the Gilbert-Gores MLS to Detroit bid posed a very real existential threat to City and its future prospects. Luckily, for whatever reasons you choose to believe, MLS turned its attention elsewhere, bilking other municipalities out of millions of taxpayer dollars and folding existing independent clubs into the collective.

Through it all, City persisted, setting and accomplishing reasonable goals and biding their time while those around them bit off far more than they could chew. Now, every would-be local competitor has fallen by the wayside, and City stands poised to join the wider footballing world as a fully-professional club. This fall’s toe-dip into those waters showed that they’re more than ready.

As the amateur/semi-pro chapter of the club’s history closes, another begins. There will be new friends, new foes, new trash-ass, player-hatin’ refs, and unforeseen obstacles to overcome. That said, much will continue as currently constituted. City’s stable, competent ownership and well-established culture of professionalism has the club well-positioned to become a national, and perhaps one day, continental power.

More importantly, in lieu of a worthy challenger emerging, City will remain Detroit’s football club – today, tomorrow, until forever.

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Gallery photos by Franzi Loetzner