Story of the Club

Stats & Analysis - Story of the Club

Grown Apart

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Friday, May 15th, 2015 – Detroit City FC 3, AFC Cleveland 2

Photo by Dion Degennaro
Photo by Dion Degennaro

Almost precisely three years prior to Friday’s match, Cleveland and Detroit met for the very first time. Both were brand new clubs playing in the NPSL Midwest, both represented fairly large Rust Belt cities with similar demographics, and both were looking to capitalize on markets that were essentially devoid of soccer, professional or amateur.

In those ensuing three years, one club has grown by leaps and bounds while the other has remained at about the same point it started. There’s no shame in that at all – if your club lasts more than a year or two at this level you’ve definitely done something right – but why is it that one flourishes while the other is basically stagnant?

Like City, Cleveland has a supporters’ group with actual supporters (though obviously fewer), they are engaged in their community, and their new kits look pretty sharp. After racking my brain, I’ve come to a conclusion that you’ll likely never hear from most smug, know-it-all sports commentators: I don’t really know.

The best I can come up with is, “Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.” You can try to duplicate methods, eliminate variables, and pour time, effort, and money into a project and at the end of the day things just might not click.

This has been said before and it will be said again until such time as he takes the hint, but if Dan Duggan* thinks plopping a pro team downtown will magically result in a City-like level of passion, support, and success, it’s a wonder anyone would consider investing in his project in the first place.

Mann, Wright, & Co. came together at the right time in the right place and caught lightning in a bottle. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it really really really works.

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*I’ll do my best not to mention him too much this season, but it will be tough since it seems our fates are becoming more and more intertwined.

breakRandom Thoughts

The Game A win is a win, and while it may not have been a thing of beauty, it got the job done. Since I care about our planet, I constructed that last sentence out of 100% recycled sports clichés.

Seriously, though, coming back just two days after a crushing and emotionally draining loss, you take those 3 points however you can get them. In a 13-team division with 12-game schedules, there isn’t going to be much separation come the end of the season, so every point grabbed is a boost.

The Defense 5 goals allowed in 2 games obviously isn’t ideal, but it’s not entirely unexpected since there’s a lot of shuffling going on as Pirmann tries to figure out his best combination. Of the back four who started on Friday, only one (Bennett Jull) remained a constant throughout the match. When Isaevski replaced Rogers, Schewee flipped from left to right back and Seb Harris moved into the center with Jull.

Jull, by the way, looked very good, winning nearly every header he went up for. It probably helped that for half of those he was going up against 5’4” (which seems generous) Antonio Manfut.

Also, Seb Harris looks like a completely different player than last year when he never really stood out. It wasn’t just the goal, his overall play has been consistently strong from the beginning of preseason to now.

I like the players they have here and I think they’ll be fine in the long run. The key will be to minimize mistakes enough for the team to get results while things get figured out on the fly.

That Goal Speaking of Harris’ goal, here it is from another angle:

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The Supporters After last Wednesday and Friday, the two loudest, most electric atmospheres I’ve ever been a part of, where do we go from here?

As impressive as this looks from the outside…

Photo by Marielle Temkin
Photo by Marielle Temkin

…being in the thick of it is something else altogether. After a couple years of being exposed to this, going to other sporting events now excites me only slightly more than going to a restaurant (depending on the restaurant).

PirmannWear™ Couldn’t find a picture of the man himself, but there was this:

Photo by Dion Degennaro
Photo by Dion Degennaro

As a history nerd and quote enthusiast, this got me doubly giddy.

Update: Purple two-tone:

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Up Next A trip to Buffalo where a win will clinch a third-consecutive Rust Belt Derby title and a draw or loss will make things messy and complicated. I’ll take Door #1, please.

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Story of the Club

The King’s Venison

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Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 – Detroit City FC 0, Michigan Bucks 3

In medieval England it was quite a serious crime to hunt large game on the king’s land, which was virtually everywhere. Depending on the severity of whoever the monarch was at the time, punishment for such an offense could range anywhere from a fine and imprisonment to the removal of certain body parts or even death.

There was supposed to be good hunting in Pontiac on Wednesday – a wounded deer at half its strength would’ve made easy prey. Not only was this deer not wounded, however, it had antlers made of titanium and shot laser beams from its eyes.

Detroit City went into the match hopeful underdogs, with many (myself included) picking them to win outright. Their punishment for hunting the king’s venison wasn’t so severe as having an eye poked out or a hand cut off; it was merely suffering the most comprehensive and one-sided defeat in club history.

The Bucks controlled possession, executed quick-passing based attacks from the top of the 18 time and again, suffocated City’s midfielders, and only allowed one or two decent chances all night. It was a wake-up call for a club with big aspirations, both short-term and long-term.

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This was Dan Duggan’s big day. He poured everything into it, from keeping the cameras off of the Northern Guard, to making sure the mics didn’t pick up too much of their noise (which was the loudest I’ve ever heard), to possibly even employing a ringer or too. He got his win, and in so doing certainly made an impression on the investors who were allegedly in attendance.

There are those who poke fun at Duggan for promising a pro team year after year and failing to deliver, and justifiably so. But you get the feeling that he recognizes this may be his last real chance so he’s going all in before City leapfrogs him in the pecking order (if they haven’t already).

The on-field battle was a rout, but the off-the-field debate will rage on into the summer and fall. In the meantime, City will be hunting a different type of game. Hopefully their arrows will fly straighter than they did this night.

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Season Previews - Story of the Club

Season Preview 2015: The Golden Age of Piracy

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Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarters, or take any from you.
– Edward Teach (Blackbeard)

To me, the most compelling characters in history are not emperors or monarchs, great explorers, or even brilliant scientists and inventors. The stories of Genghis, Magellan, and Tesla are fascinating, but they pale in comparison to those of another group: rebels.

What makes rebels, rogues, and renegades so captivating is that they’re often people of humble origins who reject the constraints placed upon them to live their lives as they see fit. Among the more romanticized members of this group are the pirates of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

While a good number of pirates were unapologetic murderers and rapists, many of them abided by a different code, democratically electing their captains, dividing the spoils evenly among the crew, and prohibiting the harming of women and children during raids. Their high point came in the early 1700’s with the advent of the Pirate Republic, a loose confederation that effectively brought Caribbean shipping and colonial activity to a standstill for a decade.

The group was diverse, consisting not only of former European sailors, but also freed slaves, Native Americans, and women. In operating by their pirate code, they gained a great deal of support and sympathy among the common folk of the colonies, despite the Royal Governors’ attempts at negative propaganda.

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Detroit City FC is the ominous black ship sailing the once-tranquil waters of American soccer. The traditionalists and defenders of the status quo flee at the sight of our banners, while their children rush to join us. Each year they fight us, and each year our numbers grow. We now have backing from one of the large local trading companies, allowing the tales of our exploits to be spread far and wide.

Those who would oppose us do so by attempting to imitate our very methods. If the old saying is true, then City is undoubtedly the most flattered club around.

logomash

This is our golden age. While bigger opportunities may come our way sooner rather than later, we will always remember our humble beginnings as a small band of forgotten sons and daughters from the land that was left for dead. I will never tell tell you what to do or to think, but I would advise you to savor the moment. What we have now may not last much longer in its current form.

We have a small but sturdy ship, a stoic captain, an experienced first mate and his hearty crew, and a lusty band of scalawags. Our noise and smoke are our weapons, and our flag is known to all. Our chests are open and it is treasure that we seek.

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Time to plunder.

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Story of the Club

Fourth Division, USA

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Note: I wrote this piece and entered it in the WSC amateur writers’ competition in May. The results are in and… I didn’t win. First place was an article about diving. Yes, really. Guess I’ll try again next year.

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Fourth Division, USA

It’s a cool, damp spring evening in Livonia, Michigan, and the last bit of light has just left the sky. Detroit City FC, making their US Open Cup debut against Chicago’s RWB Adria, have controlled play in the second half, leveling the score at 1-1, and have just won a corner. As it’s taken, the ball sails toward the back post against a backdrop of dark, ominous-looking clouds. It finds the head of City midfielder Kevin Taylor, a 6’5”, dreadlocked beanpole, who heads it back across goal and in. Unbeknownst to Taylor, he has just broken the USOC record for longest period between goals in the competition – his last coming in 2003 as a 20-year-old. In this instant, however, the only thing on his mind is sprinting over to the stand where the City supporters have erupted in celebration. Their numbers (around 750 in total) are much smaller than usual, this being a neutral venue on a Wednesday night, but they have made up for it with their typical incessant noise.

The rest of the game goes Adria’s way – they win on penalties following an equalizer in stoppage-time off of a goalmouth scramble and a roller-coaster extra-time session complete with multiple red cards, blown chances for both sides, and a slew of questionable offside calls. Those who have shown up to support Detroit leave disappointed, but not disheartened. Just two years prior, they didn’t even have a club of their own.

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The origins of Detroit City Football Club are about as humble as it gets – no oil money, TV revenue, or big-name backing went into the venture. Rather, the club was founded by five young professionals – all residents of the city – who each chipped in a few thousand dollars for the initial operating costs and the NPSL expansion fee (in the U.S., the structure goes: MLS > NASL > USL Pro > NPSL).

In a rapidly changing culture in which cheesy nicknames (Kickers, Strikers, etc.) and crests featuring cartoon soccer balls are still far too common, the owners’ next steps were masterful. They first chose a simple name, Detroit City FC, and a nickname – Le Rouge – which paid homage to the city’s French roots. Then, using the official team colors of rouge and gold and incorporating The Spirit of Detroit, an iconic downtown statue, they created arguably one of the best crests in all of American soccer.

DCFC

Finally, for sponsorship, they eschewed the traditional route of seeking the interest of a large corporation, opting instead to have each player sponsored by an independently-run local business – among them a bicycle shop, a tea company, and a recycling service.

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In May of this year, Detroit City opened its third regular season at home (Cass Technical High School, affectionately nicknamed, “Estadio Casstecha”) with a 1-0 win over Cincinnati before a crowd of 2147. This was more than double the attendance of the club’s inaugural game in 2012, and was a testament to its growing popularity in the region. Although Detroit is the largest American city without a professional club, it has long been neglected by MLS. City’s owners sought to fill this vacuum and, though the club operates at the amateur level, the response it has generated has been significant.

The largest and most well-known supporters’ group, the Northern Guard, thrives on Detroit’s gritty, beaten-down image and underdog status. Their official anthem is Dirty Old Town, and the skull and crossbones feature prominently on their flags, shirts, and masks. In an interview with World Football Supporter News[i], co-founder Ken Butcher explained the symbolism:

“We wore face masks that looked like skulls because we kept hearing that the City of Detroit was dead. Well if we are dead, then we were gonna be the walking dead.”

Keeping with the theme is the Guard’s chief capo, an energetic, cleverly-profane, quick-witted man known as Sergeant Scary. From the center of the supporters’ section, he conducts his orchestra in their 90-minute symphonies of smoke, drums, and songs, including the wonderfully-inappropriate Detroit Alouette.

Whereas the ultimate goal of many lower-division supporters in the U.S. is to get their club “promoted” to MLS via large-scale financial investment, the vast majority of the Northern Guard want no part of this. They are fiercely loyal to City and see a potential move up to the top division as a threat to the vibrant small-club culture they’ve helped to create. Speaking to The Detroit News[ii], Sergeant Scary had this to say:

“You have to remain dedicated to the club. You fall in love with the team. You don’t fall in love with the league. I take a bullet for this team. I take a bullet for these people. I text the owner. I text players. You can’t get that with the pros. I feel that soccer people are more passionate because they have a connection with the club. Why would I give that up?”

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The fantastic level of support is what has made Detroit City widely-known to followers of the American game, but it’s the team’s on-field play that has established them as a league power. In 2012, they finished runners-up in the NPSL Midwest Division, and in 2013, they went 11-1-0 before falling in the Divisional Playoffs.

The bulk of the team is made up of current college players with some recent graduates and a few older veterans. Among the standouts are captain Josh Rogers – average-sized but tireless and positionally excellent in central defense, midfielder Cyrus Saydee – just five and a half feet tall, but the most technically proficient on the team, and Zach Myers, a lanky blond striker with a knack for turning up in the right spots to score goals.

Thanks to increased recognition and its successful play, City has become an attractive option for top local talent. In just two-plus years of existence, three of its former players have been drafted into MLS.

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Just prior to the submission of this piece, on a clear and mild night in downtown Detroit, City hosted Lansing United. It was an ugly, scrappy game, won 1-0 on a Rogers penalty, but the noise and spectacle were greater than ever due to the more than 3100 who showed up – the first sell-out in club history.

In the modern age of sterile, over-corporatized sports, in which fans are regularly treated as piggy banks to be smashed, it’s liberating to attend events like this – they’re affordable, exciting, just plain fun.

Detroit City FC’s growing reputation may result in more lucrative sponsorship deals, may attract prospective owners looking to buy out the original five, and may draw the attention of the NASL and/or MLS when they next look to expand. At this moment, though, none of that matters to the people who come to Cass to support their club. What’s important to them is the pure enjoyment they experience at the games, the sense of belonging, and the community they’ve built.

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[i] http://worldfootballsupporternews.co/2014/01/20/northern-guard-supporters-we-wore-face-masks-that-looked-like-skulls-because-we-kept-hearing-that-the-city-of-detroit-was-dead-well-if-we-are-dead-than-we-were-gonna-be-the-walking-dead/

[ii] http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140519/SPORTS07/305190008/0/SPORTS07/Avid-fan-base-embraces-Detroit-City-FC-one-its-own

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Stats & Analysis - Story of the Club

Magic and Dreams

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Friday, July 11th, 2014 – Detroit City FC 3, Fort Pitt 1

Sunday, July 13th, 2014 – Detroit City FC 2, Lansing 2

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Magic and dreams are finished in football.

– Carlos Alberto Parreira

When Parreira uttered that sentence, he was lamenting what he saw as soccer’s shift away from beauty (o jogo bonito) to a more pragmatic, results-oriented style. While this may appear to be just another entry in the endless debate between Playing Well and Winning at Any Cost, I take it a bit differently. To me, it means: No matter what heights you have achieved in this game, it will always bring you back down to earth. It may take months, it may take years, but it will happen.

In this instance, the time period in which the comedown happened to our club was just a single weekend. After Sunday, I was all set to write a deep, dark, brooding piece, full of depression and despair, until I realized that’s not how I felt at all. Sure, it was disappointing to see the playoff berth and a chance for a title slip away, but the attitudes of the team and its supporters cancelled out any negative emotions I may have been feeling.

Photo by Kelly Haapala
Photo by Kelly Haapala
Photo by The Duke

Coming on the back of Friday’s thrilling comeback against Fort Pitt, City again responded to one-goal deficits, not once but twice, while those singing for them kept it up well past the final whistle. When all was said and done, the only proper thing to feel was pride. Most American soccer clubs below MLS have very little staying power, and those that possess the combination of a competitive team and a strong supporter base are few and far between.

This campaign ended sooner than we would’ve liked, but we’ve hit the jackpot in every other respect. We have a core base of players that love what they’re a part of, evidenced by their returning year after year. Our fanbase has grown to the point where talk of moving to a new venue is no longer a pipe dream but a practical concern. And, perhaps most importantly, we have something that is genuinely exciting and has us constantly imagining what the future might bring. Magic and dreams are not finished in football. It’s one of the few places they truly exist.

NGS
Kelly Haapala
Kelly Haapala

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Random Thoughts

On Pitt:

The Game The first half was poor as City generated very little offense, attempting long ball after long ball that was easily dealt with by the Pitt centerbacks.

The second half was the best 45 minutes of soccer that City played all year. The passes were shorter, simpler, and much more effective, resulting in more possession and higher quality chances. The first and third goals were the products of high pressure and hustle, coldly punishing the keeper for his mistakes. The one in between was a piece of individual brilliance, bringing us to…

Standouts Each week I keep proclaiming a Goal of the Year favorite, from Zach Myers’ long blast at Cincinnati to Jeff Adkins’ perfect free kick, to WMB’s toe rocket. Those were all fine efforts but Shawn Lawson has them beat.

FF to 1:47, then rewind it and watch it several more times for full effect (Alashe and Van Slooten goals are at 1:11 and 2:10, respectively)

Alex Isaevski bounced back from his red card against the Stars and had a good game at left back. Nick Lewin did equally well on the right side, and his improvement in that position from the beginning of the season is noticeable – he looks much more comfortable and gets forward with more regularity.

Side Note: These are really nice highlights from several different angles, and I’m assuming they were clipped from a larger portion of footage. It would be super cool if those in possession of said footage posted it for everyone to see. We now have ten months to wait for the new season and I wouldn’t mind re-watching some games here or there. They would also provide ample material for supporter-made hype videos.

Attendance Going out with a bang; 3398 is the new high water mark, and is apparently Cass Tech’s maximum capacity:

Via MLive

The regular season average finishes at 2857, nearly doubling that of a year ago (1484) and completely obliterating my preseason prediction of 1750.

I’ll have more about this in a future post, but it looks as though finding a larger venue may be on the owners’ plates a year or two earlier than expected. If Cass remains the home field next season, they stand to lose a good chunk of cash due to having to turn people away. The demand has risen, now the supply must follow.

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On Lansing:

The Game was the season in a nutshell: City controlled possession and looked the better team for good portions of the game, but were killed by defensive lapses. Lansing’s first goal was far too easy – the cross was allowed to be sent in instead of being closed down, and Matt Brown, the only Lansing player in the box, slipped between Rogers and Lamb for the header. City responded by effectively moving down the flanks to create some good chances, but the finishing and final balls in the attacking third were lacking for most of the day. Lansing’s second goal came off of a well-executed counterattack and ended up being all they needed.

Standouts Zach Schewee and Alex Isaevski rampaged down the left side all day, beating defenders one-on-one and sending in some quality crosses and passes. If both return next year, the left back position will be one of the strongest on the team.

The Field Absolutely beautiful, great to see the team play when allowed the space of a full-sized pitch. If and when they move to/build a new stadium, seating capacity is obviously the first concern, but the playing surface should be right up there with it.

“Shut Up Rudland!”

Things that fall less often than Matt Brown Regimes in the Middle East, Facebook stock prices, Asimo.

Seriously, dude, you’re one of the best players in the Midwest, you don’t need to try and draw a foul every time someone touches you. Just play.

Lansing Time to take off the supporter hat for a minute to say this: Lansing is a great addition to the NPSL and the league needs more teams like them, i.e. clubs in moderate-sized cities where they are the main draw in town and have committed owners with strong business plans who run them professionally. Not every team will be on the level of DCFC or Chattanooga, but the league would do well with more Lansings and Buffalos and fewer Zanesvilles and Pensacolas.

That doesn’t mean we have to like them, though.

Up Next

The annual matchup with the hosers who have the queen on their money. Word on the street is that it won’t be as bizarre as the one last year.

ssff

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