Old Man Yells at Sky: Old People Suck, Young People Suck, All People Suck Edition

1. Life Advice - If you’re waiting on other people to do something, just do it yourself. If the thing is important enough to bug you, you can’t wait for other people to do it. You’re spending time and effort being frustrated, just throw yourself into the solution of it. People will ALWAYS disappoint you. Accept that fact and move on. Get moving!

2. Greenville goes on hiatus - I know GVLFC is relatively new in the NPSL, joining just two years ago, but goddamnit I am sick of clubs doing this. And I’m not angry with the club, I’m angry with the league, the fans, the situation. I want the next DCFC, the next CFC, instead clubs keep dropping like flies. It’s depressing. Sustainability is becoming my catchphrase. I yell it at every club I meet, every league official I talk to, every fan dealing with a struggling local club: SUSTAINABILITY! We have to change the state of things.

3. Which are worse? - I work customer service in my day job so a question came into my head the other day - do young people suck more than old people or is it the other way around? Young people are messy, stupid, and generally pains in the butt, while old people are demanding, can’t hear, complain constantly, and are generally pains in the butt. Both groups have zero problem rearranging your furniture, cutting in line, demanding service above and beyond. I think I hate everyone, regardless of age. So maybe that’s my answer.

4. Ohio Heart Cup - I like this idea. A local cup, ran by local clubs, for the promotion of all clubs involved, regardless of league affiliation. More of this please.

5. #GirlDad - What began as a cute way to acknowledge the special relationship between fathers and daughters (sparked by the untimely death of Kobe and Gigi Bryant), has officially jumped the shark. Last night, Jezebel ran an article highlighting everything the author saw wrong with this celebration. I am not telling anyone how to feel about anything, but being contrarian will only get you so far. Maybe it will get you clicks, I dunno. Maybe I should be more contrarian, start raging against kittens and pizza. Lighten up, people.

6. USWNT - We’ve got Olympic qualifiers going on and apparently everyone forgot to show up in Houston?! Just over 4,000 for the reigning World Cup Champions? Houston should NEVER again get a sniff of this team. Defenders of the city are saying it was a lack of marketing and promotion, wrong time of year, bad opponent, the stars aren't aligned, the list keeps building, but come on. Show up for our national team, the rest of the world is in awe of our women and we don’t deserve them. If we have to play every match in Portland, so be it.

7. Queensboro FC - Anyone gonna tell David Villa there’s no promotion/relegation in the US system? Maybe he’s hoping that changes at some point? More players need to call for pro/rel or nothing will change.

8. Forward Madison Burnout - Name a famous band. The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Strokes, Pearl Jam, U2. All have great catalogues, good songs, super talented, no reason to hate them. Then you get surrounded by fans of one of them and it’s nonstop how great they are, how every song is life-changing, and no other bands compare. Except, for all their greatness, there are bands that compare, there are other bands that are good, and hearing about the same band over and over again makes you want to pull your heart out because its denying the reality that other great bands exist.

   Forward Madison has done some great things in their rollout: savvy social media, great design, a cheeky approach to marketing, so much to celebrate. But people, get over yourself. Just because the rest of the USL1 is falling behind on promotion doesn’t mean there are NO OTHER CLUBS KILLING IT. There are so many great clubs doing similar work with less payroll, less employees (some with NO paid staff), and less time. So let’s be realistic in our praise of FMFC - great job, one of many doing a great job.

9. Comparing Leagues - I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. How would the best NISA team (in my opinion, DCFC, at the moment) do against a USL1 schedule? Could DCFC win that league? What about Championship? How would DCFC do against Louisville or El Paso? Hard to say, but we need more friendlies to figure this out. Considering DCFC has played FC Juarez, who share ownership partners with Locomotive, it should be an easy one to set up. Just sayin.

10. Music Recommendation - Sigur Ros - “Hoppipolla” - I’m always looking for music to write by, so generally I’m looking for music without words or, and this leads to today’s rec, music in another language. Sigur Ros is a go to for sure in that category. Love this band, who sing mostly in Icelandic, and heartily recommend you put them on in the background while you work today.

The Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups: A Seriously Fun Celebration of Wisconsin Soccer

For many fans of lower division US Soccer, the announcement of the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups by the perpetually creative and “forward”-thinking Mingos of USL League 1’s Forward Madison and NPSL Members’ Cup participants Milwaukee Torrent hit the radar as a great way to promote an in-state friendly between two relative newcomers to the professional ranks. For fans of Humongous Entertainment’s “Backyard” Sports computer game series from the late 1990’s to early 2000’s, it may have sounded more familiar. “I thought it would be funny if we used the ultimate trophy from Backyard Soccer,” said Jason Klein, the digital content manager for Madison. “This is a response to the proliferation of, you might say, meaningless trophies in US Soccer so we wanted something that played on that idea.” Thus the ASCoAC was born. Behind the funny name and the brilliant graphic created by none other than @phat7deuce himself, Mike Pendleton, however, lies a matchup that underlines a return to the spotlight for a soccer community that has been around for over 100 years.

The first recorded soccer match in the United States took place in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee between a local squad and the team from Carroll College in 1866. The Wisconsin State Football Association was founded in 1914. Milwaukee Bavarians,who faced Forward Madison in the First Round of this year’s edition of the US Open Cup, have been operating (and winning titles) since 1929. Despite all that, many in the United States would not look to Wisconsin as a hotbed for the sport. “Soccer in Wisconsin is criminally underrated,” adds Klein. Beyond the extremely long history of the sport in the state, the recent exploits of Wisconsin’s squads cannot be ignored either. Andreas Davi, owner of Milwaukee Torrent, echoed that sentiment, “People underestimate the state of Wisconsin in soccer.” For those outside of the midwest, Wisconsin may seem like an odd place for such soccer fervor but the culture has always been there. Davi continued, “We have Bavarians, eight-time National Champions at the amateur level, we have four Division I colleges that play a big role in soccer on the men’s and women’s side, and I think it’s time with the Torrent and with Forward Madison that people say, ‘Hey this is someone we should take seriously.’”

The matchup itself, while a fun event that will get fans out to Breese Stevens Field, bringing their own sunglasses to shield their eyes from the Astonishing Shininess, is ultimately a celebration of the sport in a state that is finally getting its first taste of professional soccer over 150 years since that day in Waukesha. “I grew up just outside of Madison and we always talked about having a pro team we could watch that was close to home,” said Kuba Krzyzostaniak , Forward Madison’s Director of Fan Engagement & Digital Media, “for kids growing up here now, they have all these teams that they can see themselves playing for as a professional...it’s pretty exciting.” Connection to the local community has been one of the main driving forces behind both of these clubs. The Flood and The Flock, Torrent and Forward’s supporters’ groups respectively have begun to build cultures in the stands on matchdays and have grown communities within the larger community of their cities. For Torrent, Andrea Davi explains that the sense of community is a part of the club’s day to day. “Our guys work daily in the community. We go to 1-3 schools per day on the South side of Milwaukee to teach soccer.” The commitment of clubs to supporting their community rather than preying on it for stadium dollars or revenue streams is what ultimately separates most sports franchises in America from the community clubs involved in this matchup. Forward’s Krzyzostaniak highlights that the community aspect is key to their matchday experience as well. “For me it’s always been that sense of community and inclusiveness. The entire spectrum of Madison is here in the stadium having a good time together.”

The match will feature these kits for the final time. (Image from Forward Madison social media)

The contest on the field should be an entertaining one. Forward Madison currently sit 4th in USL League 1, which would be good enough to qualify for the playoffs if they can stay put. They also proved their mettle on the road in the US Open Cup, claiming a 3-0 victory over USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive, much to your humble author’s chagrin. Don Smart, Paulo Junior, and JC Banks are the dangermen for the Mingos and will look to spark Madison’s attack against the Torrent.

On the other side, the Torrent and Davi are looking to give Madison a contest. “Some might think that Madison will win by four or five but it will not be that easy. It is a good chance for us to represent the Torrent and the City of Milwaukee outside of the Members’ Cup.” The Members’ Cup has been a challenge for the Torrent but one they have risen to. Despite just one win against Napa Valley 1839 FC, they notched a draw against the vaunted New York Cosmos on the road with two very late goals. The dramatic equalizer came courtesy of Anthony Colaizzi. They also held Chattanooga FC in Milwaukee via a late goal by Gonnie Ben-Tal. The Torrent, with a “never say die” attitude, have been proving a tough team to beat and it’s likely Madison find this hard working group ready to play today.

The Torrent have been competing in multiple friendlies. (Image from Stephen Packer)

The competitiveness of the fixture does not take away from the fact that ultimately, matches like this are about cooperation. Jason Klein made things simple, “Look, we’ve got to work together. For such a small community, American Soccer has a lot of infighting so hopefully we can provide a bit of an antidote to that.” Teams realizing that cooperation is much preferable to the alternative is starting to become more prevalent and it is becoming apparent that it’s beneficial. Kuba concluded, “We definitely see ourselves as partners with Bavarians, (Green Bay) Voyageurs, Torrent, Croatian Eagles, the Wave, all those teams. The growth of the sport in the state is going to benefit all of us in the long run.”

If you have not taken note of the growth of professional soccer in Wisconsin, maybe this trophy will be Astonishingly Shiny enough to get your attention.

- Phil Baki

Forward Thinking: How Forward Madison FC Decided Their Newly Beloved Crest

It’s rare to see the majority of the soccer world all in favor of a new crest. A crest that captures the personality of the city, colors brought by the eclectic residents, and one that stands out more than others. Forward Madison FC went to the community to get help for what is now one of the most beloved crests in the soccer community. And while the background story about the plastic flamingo and why it was chosen has made its way throughout the press, this is the story about how the crest was chosen and how it almost wasn’t the one that set the internet ablaze.

For those still unaware, USL League One’s new team Forward Madison FC, caught the eyes of many when it revealed its crest as a plastic pink flamingo- the city’s official bird after UW-Madison students put 1,008 plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments across the university’s front lawn as a prank back in 1979, leading to the official adoption of the bird in 2009. This was the type of quirkiness and “Madison-ness” that Managing Director Peter Wilt wanted represented with the new crest and team in Madison.

“I think we wanted to reflect the spirit of the community. And Madison is a progressive community that doesn’t always follow the mainstream of the United States. As a community, they kind of forge their own path and they’re not always serious. That story of the flamingos is a representation of that culture that has been built in Madison, largely because it’s a university town and it has a progressive, indeed liberal, history that doesn’t always take itself so seriously.”

It wasn’t luck or going with a backstory that ultimately decided the crest. After Peter and his team- including Kuba Krzyzostaniak, Director of Fan Engagement and Digital Media -held focus groups, surveys, and input from the community, they knew they were on the right path of representing their community in a way that would make the town proud. Kuba spoke about the authenticity, saying:

“I think for us, it’s kind of a lot about being authentic and so with the uniqueness of the crest that being true to our community, true to Madison, and how people here view the city and view themselves as kind of being fun, quirky, and different. I think we’re just being really authentic and unique to what our community is about..”

However, the process was a long one and at times sailing wasn’t smooth. In fact, the crest we now love almost didn’t happen, as Peter Wilt explains:

“Forward was the ultimate decision on the name because it was the most popular voted name, we recognize that that name cannot really have a tangible icon that will help fans connect with. So, we started thinking about how we could get an icon incorporated into it. The one that was obvious to us was the Lady Forward statue and we did go down the road quite a bit with that,  to the point that we had several logo designs made with her in it and then a fan, who is also a friend of mine, a former season ticket holder with Chicago Fire, told me how disappointed she was that Flamingos didn’t make the final cut. I told her that after Forward, I think we had more submissions for Flamingos than any other name and I’ve always loved the flamingo story with Bascom Hill. So, I pushed it to our ownership and I was pleased that they embraced it. I think at first they may have been a little hesitant to go divert a little bit from tradition and have essentially inanimate pink plastic flamingo is a bit unusual but they quickly embraced it.”

Peter continued speaking about once the decision was made on the flamingos:

“So, once we had bought in internally, then it was a matter of getting the actual image of what it would look like, and that was a process that took longer than I think any of us wanted. We were busy trying to market the team and connect with the community and once we have a logo and a name, it’s easier to do. But we also recognize that you only get one chance to do this and we wanted to make sure it’s done right.”

And “right” they did. Moving forward, no pun intended, the club hopes to continue to build on its marketing and overall success by doing what’s worked: using the community’s voice. Kuba closed our interview thinking about the future.

“I think that’s kind of what it comes back to for us, is just building from the ground up and making sure we’re getting in front of everybody in our community as much as possible and telling them about our club and getting them excited. From the grassroots all the way up.”

- Jason Weintraub