General Soccer

American Soccer 2014: Five Stories to Follow

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The top five non-DCFC American soccer storylines that I’ll be watching this year.

1. World Cup 2014

Every four years when the World Cup takes place, the lazy sportswriters and media of America copy and paste their articles from 1998 about how soccer is the most popular game in every country except the US (False), how the US is the only country that uses the word “soccer” (False), and how the game is popular among children and teens but no one else (Falser and Falser by the year).

A more important thing that happens every four years is that millions of people are exposed to a game they don’t normally follow, and some of them get hooked. That’s exactly what happened with me, and I’ve heard or read many anecdotes that are similar. While I understand the “club over country” mantra of many supporters, they should realize that the World Cup is a powerful gateway drug to the game of soccer. Each new fan is a potential club supporter, which leads to story number 2.

2. New Clubs

As a brand new soccer fan following World Cup 2006, I didn’t have a local team to latch onto. Eight years later, the expansion of MLS and the leagues below it has provided more and more opportunities for those who wish to direct their passions locally.

The most anticipated new club looks to be Indy Eleven (NASL), which sold so many 2014 season tickets (7000) that the front office had to cut sales off altogether. Their newly-renovated stadium will seat just over 12,000 when completed later this year.

Other notable expansion teams for 2014:

– Ottawa Fury FC (NASL) features a stadium plan equally impressive to that of Indy:

ottawa

– Sacramento Republic FC (USL-Pro) will be coached by former US National Teamer and two-time MLS MVP Preki.

– Oklahoma City Energy FC (USL-Pro) will be coached by the recently-retired Sporting KC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen and has announced a stadium plan with an eye towards a possible future MLS bid.

I could’ve also listed Nashville FC here, but there is something much more interesting about them than the fact that they are new:

3. Supporter Ownership

What makes Nashville FC (NPSL) unique is the fact that it will be owned solely by its supporters.

“The membership is your voice, your vote,” Nashville FC’s Vice President of Soccer Nolan Pittman said about the opportunities with the club. “Whether you have a very thick checkbook or not, you can still participate.”

“We’re trying to make it that as a member of the club; you have open access to all the things you would want to have access to as a decision maker. We want to build an online community for our members to exchange ideas freely. You never know what may come from two passionate members. We have a board of advisors that will make the day-to-day decisions, but those decisions are nominated and voted on by all of the members,” Pittman added. “So if somebody is not doing a good job or running against the culture of the club, they will find themselves out of a job very quick.”

(You can find more information and become a member here.)

It will be extremely interesting to see how this approach plays out and if other new clubs (or existing ones) will adopt the model if it proves to be successful.

On a related note, it’s unclear what Don Garber’s opinions on supporter-ownership in MLS are, but the Black Army 1850’s actions may force him to make his thoughts known. In the aftermath of the league’s purchase of Chivas USA from Jorge Vergara, the group announced its intent to raise funds towards the purchase of the club’s operating rights.

We will be looking to establish ourselves this season and start a fund drive to purchase this team. We do not request a discount but a fair chance to buy this club. We look forward to raising 70-100 million dollars before the end of the season. If a deal is made and the club is sold to a different owner, we will donate no less than 100% of the funds raised to MLS Works.

Read the full letter here.

4. American Soccer League

From the very inception of MLS in 1996, there has been debate over the league’s calendar. Some see the spring-to-fall schedule as a necessity to avoid frigid winter weather and direct competition with the NFL for viewers. Others believe the fall-to-spring schedule would further legitimize MLS by putting it on the same cycle as the big European leagues.

Beginning this fall, the new American Soccer League will contribute to this discussion by employing a fall-to-spring schedule. The league will initially be made up of teams from the Northeast and will begin play as part of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) – the level below the NPSL and PDL.

The ASL’s founders have also stated their goal of eventually attaining 3rd-division status alongside USL-Pro:

American Professional Soccer (APS) is the parent company of American Soccer League (ASL). The APS founders’ vision is to have APS as a sanctioned professional league under USSF when the proper protocols and procedures have been established to fit under the Division 3 USSF guidelines. In the meantime, ASL is the subsidiary of the APS and will play as a sanctioned league in the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). The ASL will be the premier league in the U.S. to develop the next level of young Americans and promote these players to the highest levels of the professional game whether in North America or throughout the world. The league structure and rules have been established to encourage proactive movement of players to the next level whenever the players have garnered outside interest.

5. Bob Bradley at Stabæk

While opportunities for Americans looking to play in Europe have steadily increased over the past 10-15 years, head coaching positions have been virtually nonexistent. Those of us hoping to see someone break this ‘European Glass Ceiling’ will be watching closely as Bob Bradley takes charge of Stabæk, which won promotion to Norway’s top league (Tippeligaen) for 2014. Although this may not be as exciting as seeing an American coaching in the Premier League or Bundesliga, Bradley is still young enough (56) to move up the ranks if he is successful in his new position.

Stabæk’s season begins on March 30th and runs to early November.

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Story of the Club

City 2.0

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May 17th to June 14th, 2013 – Detroit City FC 15, All Others 2

Via Detroit City FC/Jon DeBoer
Via Detroit City FC/Jon DeBoer

Normally when I write a featured post on here, I try to take a memorable game and wrap a larger idea or narrative around it, such as Evil Twins, Rites of Passage, or the City of Detroit itself. When I think back to the first part of the 2013 season – the five straight home games following the Mother’s Day Massacre of FC Sparta – no single game stands out to me more than the others. It’s not that they lacked excitement or memorable moments, but the way in which City played makes them just sort of blend together.

2-1, 2-0, 4-1, 3-0, 4-0. Efficient, ruthless, consistent.

The theme that emerged from these early games was that of progression. Whereas the 2012 team was starting from scratch, the 2013 edition built upon the successes of that first year. As each game went by and the wins piled up, it became clear that this team represented a new and improved model. They were deeper, more talented, more cohesive as a unit. If a player went down or wasn’t available, another stepped into his place and performed.

Some of the highlights from City’s campaign of laying waste to all in their path:

-The home opener. In front of a then-record crowd of 1823, DCFC earned its first ever win over rivals AFC Cleveland.

-Before the first Zanesville game, the intern in charge of that team’s official Twitter account made fun of DCFC’s camouflage jerseys. These were worn and later auctioned off for the purpose of raising money for the Northern Guard’s ‘Hooligans For Heroes’ project to benefit wounded military personnel and their families. The tweet was later deleted, as was the entire Zanesville franchise a few months later.

-I will remember the second (and ultimately final) game against FC Sparta for the downpour it was played in and the wonderfully derogatory banner that was displayed.

Photo via Kelly Haapala
Photo via Kelly Haapala

I will also remember the befuddled look on Eric Kallis’ face when he saw it – the kind of look that says, “Why are you doing this? What have I ever done to you?”

-The second Zanesville game included a visit from Jennifer Hammond and her FOX 2 sports team, the first real coverage of DCFC from a major local TV outlet.

(Total embed failure, click here to view the video).

When a couple thousand people are showing up to an event on a consistent basis, it makes it hard for the media to ignore. More coverage can, in turn, lead to increased visibility and publicity for the club, drawing in new fans and making it more attractive to potential players. At the midway point of the season, the growing attendance numbers and high quality of play on the field were evidence that City was already reaping these benefits.

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On that note, I should mention that the first tryouts for the 2014 team (City 3.0?) are on March 22nd. Click here to register.

I thought about going undercover and trying-out just to write about the experience, but my extremely basic skill level would probably expose me in a matter of minutes.

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News & Notes - Stats & Analysis

Schedule Analysis: 2014

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The 2014 NPSL schedule (at least the part we care about) has been out for more than a day and a half, and now that the dust has settled a bit I thought I’d take a closer look.

First though, a little info on some of the new teams that people are wondering about.

Dearborn Sports Enterprise purchased the club formerly known as FC Sparta Michigan and has rebranded it as Michigan Stars FC – they have no affiliation with Sparta or the previous ownership group. MSFC is also completely separate from the other two teams owned by DSE, the Dearborn Stars (which play in a lower league), and Motor City FC, the newly-formed women’s team. It’s unclear exactly where Michigan Stars will play, though Madonna University in Livonia (which hosts the Dearborn Stars) looks like the most likely site.

Westfield Select is located in Westfield, Indiana, 20 miles north of Indianapolis. That is all the information that exists on this team.

Fort Pitt FC Regiment is located in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, 15 miles east of Pittsburgh. That is all the information that exists on this team.

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More interesting is the new conference setup and playoff format.

Great Lakes East Conference: Buffalo, Cleveland, Erie, Fort Pitt

Great Lakes West Conference: Cincinnati, Detroit, Lansing, Michigan, Westfield

Central Conference: Bordo, Eau Claire, Madison, Minnesota Twin Stars, Minnesota Utd. Reserves, Quad City

The first-place finishers in each of these three conferences and the second-place team with the highest points-per-game qualify for the Midwest Regional Playoffs – a 4-team single elimination tournament to be played July 18-20.

I hated the old playoff format in which the first place team in the Central Division automatically qualified for the regional final while the top 4 teams in the 5 (2012) or 6 (2013) team Great Lakes Division had to go through an extra round of games to determine a division winner. The new format rewards the strongest teams and simplifies the playoff qualification process: win your conference or finish second and hope for some help.

To break it down to the most basic level, DCFC must finish with more points than Cincinnati, Lansing, Michigan, and Westfield to earn a guaranteed spot in the Midwest Playoffs.

All in all I think this new setup is a big step in the right direction. Kudos to the commish and whoever else was involved with the decision.

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Finally, we come to the schedule itself:

2014 DCFC Pocket

  • The first thing to note is that the regular season has grown from 12 games to 14. For a league with a 10-month offseason, any increase in meaningful games is definitely welcome. On a side note, Detroit City FC’s recent e-mail to season ticket holders stated that a home friendly (TBD) will also be played.
  • Getting off to such a fast start in 2013 was a huge boost to the team, and the potential for a similar start exists this season. The first three games are at home against expansion sides that also happen to be conference opponents. A 3-0 start would make DCFC the team to beat in the Great Lakes West.
  • The toughest stretch is the following six games, five of which are on the road, including Rust Belt Derby rivals Buffalo and Cleveland.
  • If DCFC finds itself in a battle for first, the final five games may give them an advantage: 3 are at home and the 2 “road” games involve short trips to Michigan Stars and Lansing.
  • I was initially disappointed by the lack of Saturday games, but with the expanded schedule came the need for more two-game (Friday and Sunday) weekends. I’m sure the players prefer having a day between games to having to play home and away on back-to-back days.

Less than 3 months to go…

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Guest Posts

Finally a Mirror

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Guest Post by Fletcher Sharpe (Follow him on Twitter)

I used to play soccer when I was young in Grosse Pointe, in the Grosse Pointe Soccer Association…and I hated every minute of it. I played with kids who either took the game too seriously, or their parents had so much money (Fords) that they didn’t care at all. I escaped soccer for prep school football, and totally fast-tracked my body to science by standing in there and taking hits from men twice my size, because, you know….football. But still I preferred football to soccer, as I felt the passion in the eggshape sport was just…something to bathe in, and watching my classmates who had a lot of money (kinda like the Fords) really bothered me a lot. I could call someone a few choice words, and it just be passed over, where as with soccer, I’d see them look at another and go down as if someone sent a laser strike from the heavens. Fast forward to 2010, and the first World Cup in a while where the USMNT actually looked dangerous…and I hated them. So much. Still do. I cheered heavily as Ghana roared…well, squeaked, past them.

All of these things have something in common: I had no one to cheer for/play with who I identified with. I thank Max Kendall (Twitter’s own @Maxplatypus) so much for his invitation to play on Midtown FC of the Detroit City Futbol League because it opened my eyes to people who look like me. I could go to Belle Isle and see people I could identify with, and laugh with, and drink with, and do other things with. But I still had no team to root for. I had some players to root for ALLLLLL THE WAYYYYYYY INNNNNN EUROPE, but I had no one in the United States to root for.

I heard about the Michigan Bucks, so I checked them out, before I started writing for them. With no disrespect to the owner, who is a very classy and likable man who treated me with nothing but respect, I did not enjoy covering that team. The players, while very talented, were very plastic. No personalities. There was no fan presence. Only 3 people actively cheered, while everyone else tended to their children who constantly ran along the sidelines. The only game I attended that had more that 400 people was the game where the Bucks beat the Chicago Fire. The atmosphere was electric and I was pleased. I thought this would maybe allow for more people, but alas, it dropped back to 100 the next game…and the game after that….and after that.

So when I heard about Detroit City FC, I was happy but sad. I was happy there would be a team in Detroit, but I was sad, because I was certain it would be another team I would grow to hate, as while they are from Detroit, they aren’t “from Detroit” (*cough* Red Wings *cough*). I can admit this: I, Fletcher Sharpe, was wrong. So wrong. Not only are there players who look like me and are relatable to me, the fans actually care. They are loud, they are passionate, and they wear their emotions on their sleeves….sometimes literally. Sometimes they care too much, but that’s fine.

They’re also crazy. I wrote an article on FC Sparta’s possible challenge to Detroit City FC’s stranglehold on soccer in the area. Within 3 days, my article was torn apart by 4 people, and I was crowned as a fan of theirs. Again, they are crazy, but it’s their passion that is the most interesting dynamic. It worried me, but it worried me in the good way. I was frightened about showing up to Cass (silly, I know), but in a excited frightened way (crazy, I know).

To sum up this entire jumble of words, Detroit City FC is a reflection of me. It is a grind-it-out organization from the city and for the city, and for that I am eternally appreciative of it and its existence. While I am a member of the media and (technically) not allowed to pick a side, I will say I wouldn’t be too sad to see the NPSL finals held here at Cass Tech.

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Fletcher Sharpe’s work can also be found on MLive. His e-mail is: fletchersharpe@gmail.com

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