Category: Sidewinder Insider

The Fan Cave at my house doubles as a guest room, and considering it’s basically wall-to-wall memorabilia, it serves as quite the conversation starter.

But memorabilia conjures memories, memories are reminders of the past, and one friend who has occupied the Fan Cave calls it the “Death Room.”

She’s not wrong.

World Football League, United States Football League, World Hockey Association – every wall is a tribute to leagues and teams that no longer exist.

But leading into the museum/mausoleum is a much smaller room that is devoted entirely to soccer – and no league is more prominent than the original North American Soccer League.

There are a pair of NASL game balls, including one autographed by members of the Philadelphia Fury (Mick Jagger, Peter Frampton, Rick Wakeman and Paul Simon were investors). There are programs galore, ticket stubs, even a press pass for the 1968 Atlanta Chiefs.

Shoot, I have a Team America media guide – the Team America that existed before Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Pam Brady turned them into World Police marionettes.

Some of my artifacts were obtained via eBay, a few came from yard sales, and one in particular is an actual purchase that has survived for 43 years now.

It’s the 1976 edition of “The Complete Handbook of Soccer,” edited by the late, great Zander Hollander. It includes more than the NASL, of course, but what was once the biggest soccer deal in North America is given the most ink.

It’s currently displayed in a shadowbox, but now and then I’ll take it out and thumb through it.

Today will be one of those days because it’s the anniversary of the death of the original NASL.

I can’t remember if I heard about it on ESPN or saw a blip in the local paper – and living in Birmingham, Alabama, it would’ve been no more than a blip – but the news that came down on March 28, 1985, was no surprise.

What once was a 24-team league that showcased the “rock star” New York Cosmos had only two teams left when it went teats up.

Thus, the sport that had taken the United States (and parts of Canada) by storm was nothing more than a drizzle by the time the league shuddered.

They were fun times while they lasted, though.

Seeing the World Cup on an episode of “Wide World of Sports” in 1970 made me curious about association football, but the NASL turned that curiosity into a passion.

By the time Pele suited up for the Cosmos in 1975 I was already a huge fan of the Beautiful Game, although I was still working through finding “my” NASL club.

I already liked New York because of Werner Roth and Shep Messing, but Kyle Rote was a homegrown superstar, and that made the Dallas Tornado attractive.

Elton John was part owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs, so the team in SoCal was a cool option (especially after Sir Elton convinced George Best to sign), and the Tampa Bay Rowdies also had a certain charm, mainly because their marketing team had us all believing that “soccer is a kick in the grass.”

Ultimately, it was the arrival of Giorgio Chinaglia in 1976 that convinced me to go all-in with the Cosmos, and a super supporter was born.

I soaked up all the NASL news I could find, and when the league was shown on ABC for a three-year run starting in 1979 I was in front of the TV for every match – didn’t matter who was playing.

As the decade rolled over to the 1980s, however, the bloom was already off the rose.

While the Cosmos once packed the Meadowlands, their attendance began to decline rapidly – and interest in America’s premiere soccer organization was going downhill fast, as well.

By 1984 the NASL was down to nine teams and the Cosmos’ final home match that year drew less than 8,000 fans.

A league that had turned soccer into the “sport of the future” in North America was becoming a thing of the past, and when only the Minnesota Strikers and Toronto Blizzard were willing to be part of the circuit in 1985, the plug was pulled.

I was heartbroken.

Sure, it was mostly a retirement league for international stars looking to cash in on their fame one last time, and it wasn’t built to develop American players.

Yet, I didn’t care.

In the days before the Internet, social media and thousands of television channels, it was a way to actually see players I had once only read about.

It inspired me to forget my dreams of playing American football and embrace my 5-8 frame, which was the exact height of Pele’ and just an inch shorter than Best.

Playing high school soccer was one of my favorite experiences (I wore No. 10, by the way), and I probably wouldn’t have been inspired to work at it so hard if not for the NASL.

Naturally, my fandom has evolved in the 35 years since the league’s demise.

Most of my interest in American soccer is at the grassroots level; I gave a loose follow to Major League Soccer for many years, but now I can take it or leave it. My hope is that the National Premier Soccer League’s new professional venture will grow into something I can truly get behind.

As for international football, it’s so readily available I can watch top-tier competition from around the globe practically whenever I want. (Celtic FC, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund – in that order – are the clubs I support).

But I’ll never forget the “good old days,” and being a North American Soccer League enthusiast were some of the best days of my sporting life.

 

Since immersing myself in amateur adult American soccer over the last year, the primary circuit in my orbit has been the National Premier Soccer League. And considering my locale (the Upstate of South Carolina), Asheville City SC, Greenville FC, Atlanta SC (formerly the Atlanta Silverbacks FC) and Chattanooga FC have been the clubs I’ve kept the closest watch on.

It’s been fun to map out the “must-sees” of the summer schedule and watch the rollout of players via Twitter.

However, my biggest fan-boost came just a couple of days ago when the NPSL Founders Cup released its fall schedule.

That made it finally seem “real.”

Actually, it’s been real for a while now; the NPSL officially announced its professional venture on Nov. 15, 2018. Still, for me, sporting endeavors don’t reach the “Hey, it’s happening!” stage until a schedule is put together, and a schedule is now what we have.

The Founders Cup begins with East Region play beginning on August 10, West Region action starting on August 24, and the tournament finale taking place on November 9.

That’ll set the table for a full season starting in the spring of 2020.

So ladies and gentlemen, let’s have a warm round of applause for Chattanooga FC, Detroit City FC, Miami FC, Miami United FC, Milwaukee Torrent and New York Cosmos in the East and ASC San Diego, Cal FC, FC Arizona, Napa Valley 1839 FC and Oakland Roots in the West.

Eleven clubs – not franchises or satellites from a single entity business model, but clubs – will chart a new course in American soccer. And the cool thing is, no one really knows where that path will lead.

That’s scary, I suppose, but it also opens the door for so much opportunity.

You can pick any club out of the 11 and find a lot to like.

Chattanooga FC, of course, started offering equity shares in the club earlier this year, and is more than halfway to its goal of $1,070,000 raised through fan ownership.

Yep, I bought in because I want to say I was part of American soccer’s new beginning. I have no illusions that I’ll be given a suite at Finley Stadium, but how sweet is it to think you got a chance to move some earth and alter the landscape?

And while it’s tempting to call CFC “America’s Team” because it now has owners across the country, international supporters have also staked their claim.

The footprint is big and getting bigger; from a soccer standpoint, the Scenic City is, indeed, making quite a scene.

And from a personal standpoint, I was thrilled the Cosmos jumped into the Founders Cup.

This is a “brand” I’ve followed since its original North American Soccer League days, and one I’ll continue to support.

While not an official member of the 5 Points, I’m still #ForeverGreen and forever grateful the Cosmos are reborn.

Chattanooga FC hosts the Cosmos on August 10, so my conscience will have to balance ownership and a newfound love for a club founded in 2009 against a passionate rooting interest that is well into its fifth decade.

I guess that’ll be existential angst I can work through on my 250-mile drive to the stadium.

And if you want to apply a really, really broad definition to promotion/relegation, you can say that Napa Valley 1839 FC is the first team in the NPSL to “move up.”

When California United Strikers FC withdrew from the Founders Cup and NPSL, Napa Valley made the jump from amateur to pro.

After spending this summer in the NPSL West Region Golden Gate Conference, its players will play for pay starting in the fall.

I know, I know … it’s really not a pro/rel situation, but there’s nothing wrong with projecting, especially when you’re talking about a league that gets to write its own history.

My hope for the immediate future is that the Founders Cup proves to be a successful launch of what we’re currently calling “NPSL Pro.” Beyond that, I envision passionate supporters transforming a league into a revolution.

While I have no clue how it will ultimately be structured, I’d love to see a day when clubs like Asheville City SC, Atlanta SC and Greenville FC can play their way up – and into – this league.

Ideally, I want fan ownership to be the rule, not the exception, and hope a time comes when the Beautiful Game can be as attractive as any town chooses to make it.

For now, though, I’m just happy the Founders Cup is taking shape.

Its schedule is official, so I’m officially on board.

Thirteen months ago – before I weaned myself from big box American soccer and made a pledge to “shop local” – I became enamored with the fledgling National Independent Soccer Association.

I’ll always give NISA credit for planting the promotion/relegation seed in my head, as well as making me realize the long-term success of soccer in the United States starts at the grassroots level.

Frankly, those were things I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about before.

According to NISA’s original website:

Promotion and relegation is not complete if it does not include a first division. NISA’s vision for pro/rel is not limited to lower division leagues, but we recognize that pro/rel needs to start somewhere. It will likely take 3 to 4 years to fully populate NISA with 24 teams. At that point NISA can begin promoting teams to a second division league. Once that second division league is fully populated, it can begin relegating teams to NISA. There may be a few years that require NISA to bring on expansion teams to replace promoted teams until the second division is fully populated. Pro/Rel with a fourth division league will not happen until a fourth division league plays a full schedule. Connecting to an existing (MLS) or new first division league with pro/rel is something that requires a bit of faith and vision right now, but we believe NISA’s creation is an important piece of that vision.

Loved the sentiment, dug the plan.

NISA was being proactive in a soccer culture that – more and more – was being shaped by a handful of people representing and working with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) to corner the professional market in the U.S. I’m not a pro/rel crusader in the sense that I’m going to start screaming at you if you don’t think it’s the most important issue facing humanity, but I believe it’s the best path forward.

However, much has changed since the new league introduced itself.

Last weekend, Chris Kivlehan of Midfield Press reported that the United States Soccer Federation had granted NISA provisional Division III sanctioning, greenlighting an inaugural season that begins this coming August.

Currently only Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and a Connecticut-based entry are officially on board, but it’s expected to launch with at least eight clubs.

So this is all good news, right?

I mean, NISA is now more than just a logo. Plus, playing a fall schedule puts it line with much of international soccer, which I think is a positive step.

But …

I’m not sure what the league’s long game is anymore. Apparently, it doesn’t include pro/rel, which was its “raison d’être” at the outset. Any reference to that has been scrubbed from its website, and has been replaced by this:

We will provide the American soccer community with a dynamic and different approach to the game, where everything is settled on the field.

We will build an affordable pathway that will bring professional clubs to communities throughout the land.

We will create opportunities for local participation while blazing a trail for young players to achieve their highest potential.

We will do it all for the love of the game.

It breaks from the USSF by eliminating entry fees, but now seems less likely to rock the boat. That tends to happen when you want to work and play with the USSF.

Beyond that, though, I’m curious about its impact.

In terms of Division III, fans of “traditional” American professional soccer will have the USL League One to fill their needs this spring; it debuts next month with 10 franchises.

Those of us who want to see a soccer infrastructure built outside the USSF have the Founders Cup to look forward to in the fall; the National Premier Soccer League’s pro venture will answer to the United States Adult Soccer Association, not the USSF. Following its tournament-style intro, it will move to a full spring to fall schedule in 2020.

It made a splash with Chattanooga FC’s public ownership initiative (in the interest of full disclosure, I bought in), and the inclusion of clubs such as the New York Cosmos, Miami FC and Detroit City FC give it some added punch.

While the NPSL has already won me over with its amateur clubs in Asheville and Greenville, my prime professional rooting interest will be with whatever the Founders Cup eventually morphs into.

And frankly, NISA didn’t exactly generate a “wow factor” by rolling out franchises in the form of city postcards with a bit of the markets’ soccer history.

Nothing wrong with that, but if a league wants me to buy into it, it needs to tell me what’s coming, not what’s already been.

Still, I certainly hope it succeeds. While there are certain things I want to see in American soccer’s future, what I want to see immediately are players get more opportunities – and supporters get more options in what they choose to support.

Meanwhile, I’m gonna play the role of “tycoon” with Chattanooga FC, continue my decades-long love affair with the Cosmos, and keep wearing my ACSC and Greenville FC tee shirts.

I’m not sure where those clubs will ultimately lead me – or the sport – but I’m fully committed to the ride.