Stoppage Time Special: Supporter Groups are the Lifeblood of a Soccer Club
May 23, 2024
USL Arkansas
Experience the palpable excitement as we tease out the future of soccer in Arkansas! Our latest Stoppage Time edition is a riveting snapshot of the possibilities unfolding with the anticipated launch of USL Arkansas. You'll be right at the edge of your seat as we ponder everything from potential timelines and team names to the electrifying fan experiences that could light up the upcoming stadium.
This week's conversation with our guests is nothing short of inspiring, as they share their vision for a supporter group culture that aims to be so powerful, it'll send shivers down the spines of visiting teams. Imagine a stadium where the roar of the crowd is amplified by a symphony of instruments, the wave of flags, and possibly the drama of smoke—if it gets the nod. We're also culturally crafting our chants to echo the rich diversity of our area in multiple languages, setting the stage for a soccer fandom that's as vibrant and inclusive as the community it represents. Join us for this passionate exchange on shaping a dynamic and formidable future for soccer enthusiasts in Arkansas.
Experience the palpable excitement as we tease out the future of soccer in Arkansas! Our latest Stoppage Time edition is a riveting snapshot of the possibilities unfolding with the anticipated launch of USL Arkansas. You'll be right at the edge of your seat as we ponder everything from potential timelines and team names to the electrifying fan experiences that could light up the upcoming stadium.
This week's conversation with our guests is nothing short of inspiring, as they share their vision for a supporter group culture that aims to be so powerful, it'll send shivers down the spines of visiting teams. Imagine a stadium where the roar of the crowd is amplified by a symphony of instruments, the wave of flags, and possibly the drama of smoke—if it gets the nod. We're also culturally crafting our chants to echo the rich diversity of our area in multiple languages, setting the stage for a soccer fandom that's as vibrant and inclusive as the community it represents. Join us for this passionate exchange on shaping a dynamic and formidable future for soccer enthusiasts in Arkansas.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the Stoppage Time edition of the Pitch to Pro podcast. This is a highlight reel of some of the best moments from the show so far, and every other week we will be bringing you a special five to seven minute segment featuring the best stories, tales and moments of the podcast.
Speaker 2:
It just makes me confident that this is going to be a huge deal whenever we kick off.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, what are some of the things that you guys are talking about right now as a leadership team? I mean, it can be either of you guys, but what are some of those things that you guys are kind of talking about now? Um, you know, we still don't have quite yet a timeline, whether that's 25 or 26,. But, um, you know, I know that there's some things that you guys got to wait for from the club versus not so like, what are you guys kind of talking about right now? And and I know you guys are doing things, like you just said, at the university you mentioned, carlos, that they have practice literally every Tuesday for Austin FC at the university and, and you know, work that out with Colby Hale, which I think the coach of the lady Razorbacks, which I think is just so cool and smart to kind of have a bit of a whole year trial run on the early side of things, maybe two years, but that's super cool.
Speaker 1:
So I'm stealing your thunder, but what are you guys kind of talking about? What are you guys doing right now? Talk about that.
Speaker 3:
Actually that's kind of something that Colin and I were talking about. Last Thursday I wasn't able to be there, I had to work a junior high American football game down the street, but I called, call it after I got done. And you know we may not have a team name, club name, you know, supporter group name or anything, but we figured that, you know, maybe, as this season kind of winds out, we'll try and and sneak into one. I say, sneak in, um, you know, squeeze in another, another razorback game, uh, you know, to try to do a trial run and everything that we don't per se, let colby know, and just kind of show up and and surprise and do when we've got some chance. That that I've re, uh worded that that I'm hoping, hoping to get to lead and everything, yeah, and we're hoping that next year, you know, we can get a few more of those matches to where we can, you know, have a true full dry run. In regards to, you know, our own instruments, our own flags, you know, potentially maybe some smokes, okay, you know if we can get that approved by the university.
Speaker 3:
If not, you know, a small little march down the street with it, yeah, um, you know some other stuff that we've talked about right now between just colin and I is our vision for the supporter group. Uh, you know, and for me, I've told colin, you, I'm, I'm, I've got something to base mine off of. What I want, because I have Q2, I have, you know, the supporter section in Austin, you know, and what I want our supporter section to be. I want teams to come in to USL Arkansas's stadium in the future and be like we don't want to play here. They are nuts, you know. I want to have that, that fortress type, you know. Effect I want to be, you know, whether it be the 12th man, the 12th player, whatever, you know, we want to be that, that influence, that the team's able to pick up our energy and and just deliver, you know, and provide you for the fans more than than what maybe some other clubs are doing for fans that deserve better right now.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
Awesome, no, that's great, I mean.
Speaker 1:
Colin, what else are you guys kind of talking about? You know?
Speaker 2:
So, uh, I mean, we're coming up with a lot of chain ideas, um, and I think, you know, one of the special things about this area is how diverse it is. I mean, there's people from literally all over the world, different backgrounds, different cities that they've come from, and so we want that to be reflected in our group. So have chants that are in not only English but Spanish. Take inspiration from South American chants, european, central American, you know, the chants that we have in North America that are original. Besides, you know, just go Sounders or go Austin FC or whatever.
Speaker 2:
So you know, the chants are popping off in our we have a Discord server, okay, and so that's where we're kind of talking with that. And then, you know, we're just kind of looking ahead, talking about you know, what do we want the stadium to be called? Not like the corporate version of the name, but in Austin they had McCalla, and so that's what they call. The fans still call the stadium, even though it's called Q2. Right, so, talking about that, what we'd want our name to be, which we've kind of decided we might want to push that off until y'all have a name Okay. So we're just kind of having a bunch of ideas going around and just that's awesome.
Speaker 1:
You mentioned some chants. What are some of your favorite chants? It doesn't have to be ones that you've discussed, you don't have to give anything away, but just some of your favorite ones. Whether it be Austin FC, I know the American Outlaws have some great chants. It's kind of overplayed now, but back back in, like the 2010 2014 world cup, when that really kind of started I think it was brazil, um, when that really started to pop off, that was just something that went nuts like. I was in minneapolis at the time and actually led a bar of almost 2 000 people with it, like outside, you know, crowded around the bar, um, and that was super cool.
Speaker 3:
that's my capo moment uh, you know, if I'm ever gonna be stepping away, I may call you to come. No, I'm stepping the stand for me. I put my bullhorn down. So, um, favorite chant, that's a hard one, I'll put you on the spot awesome.
Speaker 3:
Fc wise, I would have to say, my favorite one is one that we call uh club cuervo. Okay, um, just because it's one of those that we go nuts we've got a few in the works right now that haven't uh surfaced yet that may overtake that. Um, I'd have to say, other than that there's one that uh, san lorenzo does that that just a banger. Every time I hear it. Um, I don't know, other than that I've got to I'd have to dig into. Do you want to do you want to give?
Speaker 1:
me a little flavor.
Speaker 3:
Ooh, I don't know. I don't know if I could do that.
Speaker 1:
I don't have a lot little flavored, no, Okay, Uh, I think you know one of my only other like really fun, not, it wasn't fun. Uh, let me take that back. Something that really proved how powerful that connection is, I think, for me, between supporters and for the world honestly, was when and this is going this can be its own podcast episode and we won't get into it, but Google the UEFA Super League.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
And what some of the top European club teams tried to do a couple years ago.
Speaker 3:
And I want to say all our clubs are guilty to being in that.
Speaker 1:
Yes, all three at this table Liverpool, arsenal, manchester United, barcelona, real Madrid, juventus some of the most storied clubs in the world and largest brands in the world in all of sports, not just soccer. We're trying to break away and do something. You know, uh, different money generator, all those things. Um, and the fans erupted all over the world and led these marches and within 72 hours it was dead because clubs were like oh my Lord, we are going to lose half of our fan base, if not more, and we will never hear the end of this Holy cow. And a lot of it is like okay, how can you be that out of touch If you, you know, don't understand your fan base? So we will try not to be that out of touch and we will hope that you guys hold us accountable for that right.
Speaker 1:
Um, but within within 72 hours, they had spent years. You know that they did, yeah, planning this thing behind the scenes. Behind the scenes guaranteed 72 hours like that gone. And I know that there's still rumblings out there that they tried or bring it back. They still say they do, mostly Real Madrid, but anyway, that is just. It speaks to the power of the fan and you guys in the supporters group are at the heart of that.
Speaker 3:
Well, I don't, I don't know if it's just the power of the fan or the power of the game of football and the fans of football, because you wouldn't see that with with American football, you wouldn't see that with with american football, you wouldn't see that with baseball, basketball, you know. So I think, with with the beautiful game that you know, that we love, I think is the only way, because the supporters, the fans of football, is what drives the club. Yeah, you know, if it, if you don't have the supporters behind you, what do you have?
Speaker 1:
Exactly.
Speaker 3:
The NFL in a way. Yeah, we can sell the tickets and you sit there and watch it. It's three hours of okay. I spent $200 at concessions, but you go to a football game and you don't have a chance to to step away. No, except before the game and at halftime to get a beer and a hot dog.
Speaker 2:
Right, you know right so exactly, and it's 90 minutes of action. I mean just calm down like that's. That's why I love it. There's no commercial breaks or anything.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so no timeouts yeah, it's constant. Thank you for joining us for this stoppage time special of the pitch to pro podcast. If you've enjoyed the conversation, you can click watch the full episode here. Be sure to tune in next Thursday for a new episode of the pitch to pro podcast, the official podcast of USL Arkansas, available on YouTube, instagram and everywhere you get your podcasts.
