For centuries, the lighthouses on Mobile Bay have guided sailors home to safe harbor in Mobile. Since AFC Mobile’s founding, this club has held the people of Mobile as directional beacons, as guiding lights. With that in mind, we are turning the keys to AFCMobile.net over to said supporters to talk about their experiences in year one. For the next few weeks, various fans will elaborate on what exactly this club – their club – means to them.
Our first blog is written by Robert McArthur. Robert and his wife Betty have been huge supporters of the club since its inception. Robert explains how the club ended up striking a chord and affecting him and his wife during its inaugural season.
Prior to this AFC Mobile season, Betty and I had generally confined our soccer viewing to our television at home.
My wife Betty and I were on a Gulf Coast Tours bus a few months ago on our way back to Sweet Lunacy’s County Seat from Mississippi. We were in the good company of other AFC Mobile supporters. We had all ventured west to witness our side take on our new heated and hated rivals Biloxi City FC.
We were both experiencing what we could only describe as a bittersweet moment. Sweet, because AFC Mobile avenged an earlier season defeat at home against Biloxi with a comprehensive thrashing of our rivals on their home field. A wonderful night, indeed. Bitter, because this was the last game of our first season…and we wanted more.
We first found out about AFC Mobile about a year ago through some social media post. Our excitement began to grow immediately. We participated in a Go Fund Me initiative to help give the organization an initial financial boost; we bought t-shirts, scarves, etc.; and we helped spread the word to anyone we knew that had even a passing interest in soccer that Mobile now had a team. We attended the jersey reveal downtown and began counting down weeks and days to the first ever game. 2017 matches came and went and the club never disappointed. Betty and I attended all home matches at the Lip and, as mentioned before, one away game against Biloxi. There were many others fans who did the same.
We cannot say enough regarding the hard work and passion that was brought to the atmosphere of each match by AFC Mobile’s supporters group: the Causeway Rebellion. The Causeway Rebellion brought an unparalleled energy around the team which I believe was instrumental in the overall success of the first season.
Yes, a few more wins would have been great, but in the grand scheme of things the win-loss tally really wasn’t the big take away from the first season. Everything about AFC Mobile was done right and done well. I know “we” made an impression on the rest of the Gulf Coast Premier League. The fact that AFC Mobile was attracting league-wide record crowds with nearly each successive game became news locally, regionally and even nationally.
All of this in the initial season. It is clear to all that witnessed it that the first season, by all measures, was an overwhelming success and just the beginning of something truly special.
Prior to this AFC Mobile season, Betty and I had generally confined our soccer viewing to our television at home. The surprising benefit of our participation and support of AFC Mobile has been that it has opened us up to a whole new group of friends. We have become American Outlaws with Chapter 88 in Mobile, and regularly watch games with other USA supporters. We have started showing up at O’Daly’s Draft Picks on Saturday mornings to support Chelsea FC among the other EPL supporters.
Basically, we have joined the Mobile soccer community. Thank you, AFC Mobile. We look forward to bigger and better things. We intend to be with our club every step of the way. We cannot wait for the start of AFC Mobile 2018.
