Is This Thing Still On….
I started this blog with the intention of raising awareness of your local football club. I had grand dreams of traveling the country and telling your story about why you love your club and the game. I dreamed of a football landscape where the federation was not actively trying to torpedo any grassroots efforts for clubs and their communities to come together. To me THAT’S what football is all about. I see the seeds of this idea being sown across the country, and it gives me hope that one day that dream will be reality.
But Let’s face reality for a second.
The fact is; the federation IS trying to suffocate the organic growth of the game. I have tip toed around this because I was afraid to be called a conspiracy theorist or a “pro/rel zealot”. But at this point there is nothing left to lose. If there is no solidarity from those clubs and supporters who feel the same way I do, then it is a lost cause. The federation has allowed leagues at basically the same level to fight each other for “superiority” at the armature level, and then the USL swoops in and picks off the successful markets because they have the resources to take them to the next level. That strategy is so diabolical and brilliant, that I’m not going down that rabbit hole right now.
They have bit off more than they can chew by trying to steal the Chattanooga “market” because they have seen that there is a foothold for the game there that has been built on one of the most hardworking group of supporters in the country. This will be one of the front lines for the future of the game in this country as this story unfolds.
But the fight for independent football is happening all over the country:
The trail of carnage of the opportunistic business model of the USL is not hard to follow: anywhere there is a budding or thriving indie club, a sterile and immobile franchise is either planned or has already kicked off. (Fresno, Birmingham, Greenville, and Memphis.)
In Detroit the dark shadow of MLS looms over the poster children of this movement. I know the Northern Guard are up for the fight. But so are those who want to see them fail.
It boggles my mind how Sac Republic fans have not completely revolted against the establishment after being passed over multiple times for “promotion”. I guess they should have played hard to get, instead of throwing themselves at MLS and getting on their knees and uhhh polishing Don Garbers….shoes? That fanbase deserves so much more. Gut-check time is fast approaching to see what Republic fans and Tower Bridge Battalion are really made of.
Even in storied MLS cities, unrest arises. Fans of the Columbus crew, an MLS original, faces getting their team ripped away from them because they are not meeting the correct metrics. This problem is as much of a grassroots issues as much as it is a byproduct of doing sports business in the Americas; Just ask the Supersonics, the Expos, and at one point the San Jose Earthquakes. The bottom line is if your franchises owners get bored with your market, you are expendable. No matter how loyal or dedicated you are. (P.S. you can get a flight round trip from Columbus to Austin for as low as $167 if you fly with Frontier)
And finally the NASL remains in a legal battle with USSF. As much as I wanted the NASL to be successful, the story of the NASL is a microcosm of the issues our movement faces. A misadventure full of egos and mismanagement.
As long as it’s not directly affecting the club or franchise you support, it’s easy to bury your head in the sand and pretend that any of this doesn’t matter and will be simultaneously shocked when our Men’s national team continues to be directionless.
But these issues ARE connected because our system is built on greed and profits, not the combined passion of independent communities.
Something has always seemed off to me about 99% of the supporters culture in this country. What is starting to become clear to me is that your average supporter loves the idea of singing “[My club] ’til I die” but doesn’t want to put in the blood sweat or tears to build something real.
Now is the time to push back or we as fans run the risk of losing our voices for good. All around the world football fans take matters into their own hands to invoke real and meaningful changes and their is no reason why that can’t happen here. We can’t let self-righteousness get in the way of realizing that the underling issues behind a fight a thousand miles away could eventually show up on your door step.
But by then, it could be too late.
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