Tag: GCPL

Getting to Know You: Northshore United FC

The return of AFC Mobile to the Archbishop Lipscomb Stadium is upon us. On Saturday, April 28th, the Azaleas open up the Lip as they take on GCPL debutant Northshore United FC at 7:00 pm. After facing off against one of the more historic amateur sides in the country, AFC Mobile will meet a fellow GCPL team in preseason action. This will be Northshore United’s first match after their inaugural year in which they competed in friendly matches against several GCPL teams.

CLUB: Northshore United FC

NICKNAME: United

Northshore United will look for a productive start in its inaugural GCPL season.  United is setup up like a traditional PDL team with more college players than local talent.  The club was created with hopes to fill the gap between the end of youth club competitive play and the professional level.  The Covington, Louisiana based team played seven friendlies last summer finishing with a 6-1 record in friendlies including against several GCPL and GCPL reserve sides.

The club held its final open tryout on Saturday, April 21, leaving one week of preparation for this weekend’s match.  “My expectations are just for continued growth,” said Head Coach Nick Chetta.  “To give an opportunity for some guys to show their abilities and hopefully find some to help us to be successful this year,” Chetta added.

NUFC will also get its first taste of a large GCPL crowd.  “I don’t know if any of our players have experienced an environment like AFC Mobile,” said NUFC Captain Sal Bavido.  “It should be exciting and a bit nerve-racking for us.  I’m sure we’ll settle in after ten minutes of playing, but definitely looking forward to the atmosphere and the experience.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Sal Bavido, who serves as the team captain, will be pulling strings for the Northshore attack in the midfield. Meanwhile, the defensive prowess and leadership of NUFC’s 2017 MVP Pat Rye will prove invaluable as they enter Sweet Lunacy’s County Seat for the 2018 home debut of AFC Mobile.

The club can be found at www.northshoreutd.com and on twitter @northshoreutd.

Tickets to Saturday’s game are just $5 each, and all kids 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.  There is still time to purchase season tickets giving you admission to all seven home games for only $27!  All AFC Mobile home games are played at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Conference located at 3610 Michael Boulevard in Mobile.

AFC Mobile to host NPSL’s New Orleans Jesters on May 5th

Mardi Gras 2018 may be over, but the friendly sibling rivalry between Mobile and New Orleans will roll on this summer.

After a parade season filled with teasing and debate over the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the U.S., the two capitals of Carnival will face off on the pitch this season when AFC Mobile hosts the New Orleans Jesters of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th at the Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb Complex (“The Lip”) in Mobile.

“We’ve dreamt of a matchup with the Jesters since day one of this project,” AFC Mobile cofounder Sean Landry said. “New Orleans and Mobile have been neighbors and competitors for 300 years, so this is the natural extension of that history. I’m grateful to Kenny Farrell for his work in finalizing this matchup, and I know we’re both excited to offer The Royal Court, the Causeway Rebellion, and all the fans of both teams an event to remember.”

The match will mark the first ever appearance by an NPSL team in Mobile, and will be the highest level of soccer talent on display in the Port City in at least 20 years. Last season, the Jesters went undefeated to finish in first place in the West Division of the Southeast Conference of the NPSL.

AFC Mobile is Mobile’s minor league soccer team, competing in the Gulf Coast Premier League. Our season begins in April and runs through July. All home games will be played at the Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb Complex – “The Lip.”  Tickets begin at just $5, and children 12 and under are free with adult admission. Season tickets are available now at afcmobile.net. Follow AFC Mobile on all your favorite social media platforms to keep up-to-date on additional information about the 2018 season!

AFC Mobile 2018 Season Passes Now On Sale

The 2018 AFC Mobile season will soon begin and now is your chance to get season passes to the party!

The 2018 season includes seven home games at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex. Home games will be played April 28th against Northshore United (of Covington, LA), the weekend of May 4th-6th against a soon-to-be-announced opponent, May 12th against Pensacola FC, June 2nd against Real United FC (of Moss Point, MS), June 9th against Gulf Coast Rangers FC (of Foley, AL), June 23rd against Alexandria FC (of Alexandria, LA), and July 14th against Port City FC (of Gulfport, MS).

Season passes will be available for pickup at Will Call on game day.  Three season pass options are available:

Season Pass A ($27.00)

  • A high quality, embossed, silicone AFC Mobile Season Pass Wristband, which gives you access to ALL 2018 regular season home games and friendlies
  • 10% discount code for purchases made at the online store
  • Pre-sale priority for any playoff match
  • Invitation to the jersey release party

Season Pass B ($40.00) – Available through 12:00 pm (CT) on Sunday, April 8, 2018

  • A high quality, embossed, silicone AFC Mobile Season Pass Wristband, which gives you access to ALL 2018 regular season home games and friendlies
  • 10% discount code for purchases made at the online store
  • An exclusive AFC Mobile 2018 t-shirt OR the 2018 “Sweet Lunacy’s County Seat” supporter’s scarf
  • Pre-sale priority for any playoff match
  • Invitation to the jersey release party

Season Pass C ($65.00) – Available through 12:00 pm (CT) on Sunday, April 8, 2018

  • A high quality, embossed, silicone AFC Mobile Season Pass Wristband, which gives you access to ALL 2018 regular season home games and friendlies
  • 10% discount code for purchases made at the online store
  • Replica 2018 AFC Mobile home jersey
  • Pre-sale priority for any playoff match
  • Invitation to the jersey release party

Season Pass Packages may be purchased online through our shop or by clicking one of the above links.  Scarves ordered with Package B will ship soon after you place your order.  Exclusive T-Shirts ordered with Package B and Jerseys ordered with Package C are pre-sale only, and will be shipped at a later date.

Package B-Exclusive T-Shirt and Package C are only available through 12:00 pm (CT) on Sunday, April 8, 2018. Shop now to take advantage of these great deals!

We look forward to seeing you at the Lip this season!

AFC Mobile Announces its 2018 GCPL Schedule

The 2018 AFC Mobile schedule is finally here! After months of anticipation, we now know the path the Azaleas will take as they attempt to bring home the Gulf Coast Premier League Cup.

AFC Mobile will return to the pitch for its second season on April 14th for an away friendly against the Atlanta Silverbacks of the National Premier Soccer League. After shattering Gulf Coast Premier League attendance records last season, the club will return to the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex (“the Lip”) on April 28th to face GCPL newcomers Northshore United (of Covington, Louisiana) in preseason action. The club will host another preseason friendly at the Lip on the weekend of May 5th. That opponent will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We are looking forward to a more robust schedule of games this year,” stated AFC Mobile Sporting Director Zach Taylor. “There are some great sides in the GCPL, and the non-GCPL friendlies that we will announce later will also give us highly challenging opponents to measure ourselves against. I’m looking forward to seeing how we perform.”

The GCPL regular season begins on May 12th, as the Azaleas welcome Eastern Conference rivals Pensacola FC to the Lip.

The following weekend, the team travels to Lafayette, Louisiana to take on last year’s GCPL Cup Runner-Up Cajun Soccer Club. Cajun’s front line is lead by the 2017 GCPL Golden Boot winner Mickey Ledger.

On May 26th, the club will travel to Gulfport, Mississippi to face newly re-branded Port City FC (formerly known as Biloxi City FC) in the first Forgotten Coast Cup match of the season.

AFC Mobile will return to the Lip for a two-game homestand against Riverhawks FC out of Moss Point, Mississippi on June 2nd and Baldwin County’s GCPL newcomers Rangers FC on June 9th. The team will make the quick trip east on I-10 to Pensacola on June 16th. On June 28th, AFC Mobile will get its second cross-division matchup against Louisiana’s Alexandria FC “Pool Boys.”

The Azaleas will then head to Foley, Alabama on June 30th to play Rangers FC once more. The final road game of the season sees AFC Mobile traveling to Moss Point to play the Riverhawks on July 7th.

AFC Mobile will conclude the 2018 regular season with the second-leg of the Forgotten Coast Cup against Port City FC back home at the Lip on July 14th.

This season, AFC Mobile will compete in the GCPL Eastern Conference which, in addition to AFC Mobile, includes Port City FC (Gulfport, MS), Riverhawks FC (Moss Point, MS), Pensacola FC, and Rangers FC (Foley, AL). The top two clubs from the East will join the top two clubs from the West and Central Conferences in a single-elimination knockout tournament for the GCPL Cup Championship.

Information about season ticket sales coming soon!

PRESEASON

AWAY: April 14 – Atlanta Silverbacks FC
HOME: April 28 – Northshore United
HOME: May 5/6 – TBA

REGULAR SEASON

HOME: May 12 – Pensacola FC
AWAY: May 19 – Cajun Soccer Club (Lafayette, LA)
AWAY: May 26 – Port City FC (Gulfport, MS)
HOME: June 2 – Riverhawks FC
HOME: June 9 – Rangers FC
AWAY: June 16 – Pensacola FC
HOME: June 23 – alexandria fc
AWAY: June 30 – Rangers FC (Foley, AL)
AWAY: July 7 – Riverhawks FC (Moss Point, MS)
HOME: July 14 – Port City FC

AFC Mobile Partners With Youth Soccer Club Mobile United FC

Mobile, Alabama – March 7, 2018 – AFC Mobile is pleased to announce a partnership with Mobile United Futbol Club, the Alabama Gulf Coast’s oldest and most successful competitive youth soccer organization. After continued success, including six 2017 state championships, Mobile United FC will now serve as the youth academy for AFC Mobile.

“We are thrilled to partner with such an accomplished and well-known organization as Mobile United,” said Jeff Garl, AFC Mobile Vice President. “AFC Mobile has always been focused on providing opportunities for the young players in Mobile, and giving them a visible outlet for soccer at a high-level. With this partnership, our team will be able to work directly with Mobile United teams, giving them the chance to work side-by-side with the players they get to watch on Saturday nights.”

While Mobile United FC and AFC Mobile remain separate entities, together they share a common vision: to grow the sport of soccer in the city of Mobile. This partnership will result in  the formation of two new teams. The AFC Mobile United U23 squad, managed by Ruben Risco, will wear the MUFC crest on their AFC Mobile uniform sleeves. Going forward, the Mobile United U19 State League team will be renamed AFC Mobile United U19. The U19s will continue to wear their traditional MUFC uniforms, but will proudly sport the AFC Mobile crest on their sleeves.  These teams will conduct joint training sessions, public events, and benefits.

“This partnership gives us the potential to become one of the premier clubs not just on the Gulf Coast, but in the entire Southeastern U.S, and to give Mobile the stature of club it deserves,” said Wayne Etheridge, Mobile United FC President.

Founded in 2010, Mobile United FC is the area’s leader in youth soccer, offering programs from ages three to adult. With more than 20 players from Fall 2016 alone playing collegiate soccer, MUFC concentrates on player development and competitive play.  Tryout times and dates for Fall 2018 will be released soon. For more information on MUFC go to mobileunitedfc.com.

AFC Mobile is Mobile’s minor league soccer team, competing in the Gulf Coast Premier League. The 2018 season begins in May and runs through July. All home games will be played at the Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb Complex – “The Lip.”  Tickets begin at just $5, and children 12 and under are free with adult admission. A full schedule and information about season tickets will be available soon. Select merchandise is available now at afcmobile.net and The Trading Post at 7985 Tanner Williams Road.  Follow AFC Mobile on all your favorite social media platforms to keep up-to-date on additional information about the 2018 season!

 

Ruben Risco to lead AFC Mobile United reserves for 2018 season

AFC Mobile will field a reserve side during its 2018 Gulf Coast Premier League season.

The reserve side, known as AFC Mobile United U23, will feature a mixture of both up-and-coming youth players and first-team players that are either coming back from injury or are not included on the first team game-day roster. AFC Mobile United U23 will play competitive fixtures against other teams along the Gulf Coast including reserve sides from Gulf Coast Premier League clubs including Pensacola FC and Port City FC.

“It’s about having one foot in the present, and the other in the future,” says Ruben Risco. Risco serves as the assistant coach for AFC Mobile and will take on the game day coaching duties for AFC Mobile United U23. “We are ensuring that we maintain a large competitive pool of players for the present, while creating an environment for the younger players to continue developing and displaying their abilities with proper training and real game experience for the future.”

This reserve side will be used by head coach Nate Nicholas and his staff to evaluate and develop players in game day competition and give them the opportunity to compete for minutes with the first team.

AFC Mobile center back Guillermo Lumbreras, Jr. will assist Risco in his coaching duties with the U23s.

AFC Mobile is Mobile’s minor league soccer team, competing in the Gulf Coast Premier League. Our season begins in May and runs through July. All home games will be played at the Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb Complex – “The Lip.”  Tickets begin at just $5, and children 12 and under are free with adult admission. A full schedule and information about season tickets will be available soon. Select merchandise is available now at afcmobile.net.  Follow AFC Mobile on all your favorite social media platforms to keep up-to-date on additional information about the 2018 season!

Updated on March 8, 2018, to reflect partnership with Mobile United Futbol Club.

Shatarva

Fan Reaction: Nervous Energy

No one knew exactly what to expect at the home opener for AFC Mobile. But the AFC Mobile’s supporters group, the Causeway Rebellion, and its Red Leader were exceptionally nerve wracked awaiting the first ever game.

In this Fan Reaction, supporter Michael Shartava recounts how the first ever AFC Mobile match surpassed his own expectation and how a soccer culture in need of an outlet took hold and took off.

AFC Mobile is the epitome of a grassroots club.

I wake up early on a Mother’s Day Sunday. Typically I like to sleep in on weekends, but am wide awake today. I am nervous as hell… On my TV Barcelona has won 2-0 but today is not about the Blaugrana or professional football. Today AFC Mobile plays its inaugural match in the Gulf Coast Premier League against our neighbor, Pensacola’s Gulf Coast Texans (currently rebranded as Pensacola FC). The first high end football match in Mobile for more than ten years.

AFC Mobile is the epitome of a grassroots club. Owned and operated by local enthusiasts, AFCM has given the footballing community a sense of identity and camaraderie. Our players were recruited from the South Alabama Soccer Association (adult city league) and area schools. Volunteers and owners’ families make up the stadium and club staff. The board of directors even reached out to every youth club in Mobile and invited their kids to mascot for the team during pregame introductions. My seven-year-old nephew will always remember walking out with AFC Mobile for their first match ever.

There is a ragtag group of scoundrels and low lives for a supporters group, it’s called the Causeway Rebellion; I was drafted in as Red Leader (Red, cause I’m Russian, get it?). At The Lip, our stadium, flags fly for every nationality (what’s up to the Serengeti Boys) in our club and an all inclusive attitude is promoted. During the season we honored our little hero Bradley Lowery after his fight with neuroblastoma and always speak out loudly against all forms of racism and extremism; its a powerful outlet.

That is what got me so nervous this morning. Will anyone show up to the match? Can we create an atmosphere of support and energy for our lads? Will Gold Leader bring any Malört?

Nervous energy…

Cup of coffee. Nicotine. Chill out man, it will be good!

I arrive to the stadium an hour and a half early with my nephew to get ready for the walkouts and there is already a crowd forming in the stands… holy crap this is going to be big. Nervous energy turns into excitement and adrenaline, I feel this pressure cooker about to blow!

The match flies by in the blink of an eye. There are over 800 fans, singing, screaming, chanting, and willing our team forward. The energy in the stadium makes the hairs on my arms stand up. Mobile “turn’t up” with drums, trumpets, CONCH SHELLS, vuvuzelas, loud speakers, two poles, banners, you name it! The noise was unreal. Somewhere in the chaos, Moises Muhubao scored our first goal ever and was eternally immortalized in lore. It was like we won the Champions League! The owners were crying tears of joy! An amazing evening.

Afterward I had a moment to reflect on the day and what it meant to me. I came to the conclusion that this is what has been missing from my life. Football has been my love since childhood, but my Russian parents wanted me to play chess and study, ha, ha, ha. I went to my first match (Bundesliga, 2006) when I was an adult but I have been a passionate fan of Brazil’s Seleção since World Cup USA in ’94 and FC Barcelona shortly after that (most of my favorite Brazilians played at Barca). I was a long distance fan. A lone wolf…

After Mother’s Day 2017, I gained a pack of crazy, like-minded FANATIC brothers and sisters. A sense of identity and belonging. The coming together of the African, Latino, and Balkan immigrant communities with old Mobile. I can sing and chant at home matches and take away-days with the Causeway Rebellion on The War Wagon; I was meant to do this!

I hope you’re ready for next season, because we are going to be louder, stronger and still crazy as hell in those stands. There will be big tifo displays, choreography, and of course high decibels of noise.

Join the Rebellion!

Red Leader, out.

#AlwaysMobileALwaysHome
#AFCMobile
#CausewayRebellion

Fan Reaction: Grassroots Growth

I’ve always been a sports fan. Growing up, I participated in sports but wasn’t all that good. I played a little junior high soccer, got cut from the team at basketball try-outs; and while I grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where hockey was king, I couldn’t skate to save my life.

But my dad took me to a hockey game or two, and I still remember the fight between the Marquette Iron Rangers and the Green Bay Bobcats with 52 seconds left in the game. It was quite a sight. When the ice finally cleared of players, it was still covered with gloves and hockey sticks… and a little blood. Not sure this is good for an 8-year-old to see, but I was hooked. And I went to everything after our family moved to Seattle — football, baseball, basketball, hockey, even a soccer team called the Seattle Sounders.

The Sounders became a very big deal to me and introduced me to soccer in the 70s. Tickets weren’t expensive, and I could easily go to their games as a kid. So my friends and I would take the bus in to watch them play at the Kingdome. Fun Fact: the Sounders drew over 58,000 to a game in 1975 and were averaging about 25,000 fans a game by the late 1970s. The energy in the building was awesome, even though we still hadn’t figured out supporters group or scarves or any of the things we associate with soccer today. Sadly, soccer wasn’t quite a thing yet in the rest of the country. The NASL of that era spent too much money and had too few fans, and the league collapsed in the early 1980s.

As my sports fandom grew, so did my awareness that I was definitely NOT an athlete. I instead became the best fan I could be — loyal, loud, proud, and with the team to the end. If I couldn’t make an impact on the field, at least I could contribute from the stands. I’ve always cheered for the home team, where the jersey represents the communities I’ve called home.

The teams don’t have to be good, just ours!

Enter AFC Mobile — a club founded from the grassroots, a labor of love. AFC Mobile was formed to support soccer, and then joined a league and put out a schedule. When it became clear that we finally had a team, one that would represent our community, that was simply fantastic news to me! I don’t totally know how to describe my excitement, and my nervousness about this soccer experiment. Would soccer even work in Mobile? My wife and I decided we had to buy season tickets. Sure, we love soccer and wanted to see the games, but we also understood the importance of “butts in seats” to a team’s success. If this was going to work, it was critical that fans show up.

We didn’t need to worry.

AFC Mobile came out of the gates with more than 800 fans for its first match, one scheduled on Mother’s Day. The atmosphere was just incredibly fun, thanks in part to the Causeway Rebellion supporters group, but also due to the pent up energy of a crowd that was just excited to have a team and had been anticipating this opening match for some time.

We lost the game, but we clearly won the hearts and minds of the community. At the next game, the crowd was even bigger. And at the home finale, we had more than one thousand people on hand. This is in a league that typically drew 200 or fewer fans a game, and the Mobile community delivered five times that! Sweet lunacy, indeed!

AFC Mobile became something more than a team in its inaugural season. They became our club, our community, and a rallying point for a city that’s used to cheering for teams 200 miles away (looking at you, Auburn and Alabama). They embraced the community, and we loved them right back.

Even though the first season wasn’t great on the pitch, AFC Mobile is ours.

We finally got the elusive first win at the very last match of the season — a wild affair on the road that saw AFC Mobile take down its arch rival Biloxi City FC. (And how Biloxi became our derby match is a grand story in itself, best saved for another day).

If there was promotion and relegation in our league, we would have been relegated. We won one game in ten, finishing in last place, and yet it was one of the best times I’ve ever had in sports. Because so many people came out, so many people cared, and something special happened in the Azalea City. I was sad when the season ended.

In American soccer, teams don’t move to the next level on the pyramid because they’re good. They move on to the next level for a metric that’s at least as important: fan support! AFC Mobile and this community passed its first test. AFC Mobile had a great first season in the stands, and it will grow. When I met some of our players at the kit reveal before this inaugural season, I reminded them of who they were, and what they represent. Years and maybe decades from now, they will always be the first representatives of our community’s soccer team. They were keenly aware of this, and thrilled to be part of it.

As supporters, we should also remember our role in all this. We showed up and we wore scarves (in 90 degree heat) and we sang and we stomped. We bought swag and wore it proudly. We made the players feel like they were part of something. We showed a community that soccer can and will work in a city that’s addicted to the other kind of football. We did the unexpected.

We can take pride in that fact as fans and supporters. We are the first generation of AFC Mobile, and we are laying the foundation for the best that’s yet to come.

Always Mobile, ALways Home.

#SL1702

 

Nineteen Players Selected to Return To Invitational Tryout

Nearly 50 players came out to Herndon (Sage) Park in Mobile on December 9th to participate in AFC Mobile’s Open Tryout for the 2018 GCPL season. Nineteen of those players have been invited back by the coaching staff to participate in an Invitational Tryout.

  • Erik Aispuro
  • Suleiman Carr
  • Roman Causse
  • Chris Cory
  • Cam Cranton
  • Drew Dixon
  • Abraham Estaba
  • Brantton Greene
  • Desmond Ibie
  • Jean Paul Irakiza
  • Kevin Jackson
  • Nam Le
  • Tomas Lopez
  • Dillon Lowe
  • Jesse McCarty
  • Alejandro Ojeda
  • Alec Peacock
  • Laurentiu Pirvu
  • Carlos Varas

These players will join other invited player to compete for a spot on AFC Mobile’s 2018 roster.

 

Fan Reaction: Stewart Thames – the Face in the Crowd

Sometimes, the support of a team is simply about soccer. Not everyone will be popping smoke and banging drums. Some come to the matches to take in a full-on battle. They are their to watch gladiators on the pitch play the game they love for their city. This is Stewart Thames.

In this fan reaction, Stewart Thames recalls what is important about AFC Mobile to him: wanting his team to succeed. He came to AFC Mobile for soccer. He has never had issues being critical of the club, but that is only because it is his club.

You’ll find me inconspicuously hidden among the crowd of fans…[but] This is my team and I want them to win

I am not an influential person in the Mobile soccer community.

I am not a member of the Causeway Rebellion.

And I am not someone who is going to know everyone at an AFC Mobile match.

I am just an “average” fan.

Of course, one of the biggest disconnects between my life as a soccer fan growing up in Mobile and the soccer teams I watched was geography. I always enjoyed watching matches in England, Germany, and Spain, but I never really gained a real attachment to any European club.

When I really became interested in soccer, the closest top professional team was in Houston, and I had yet to become aware of the myriad of smaller leagues scattered across the United States. I took an immediate interest in our domestic league and I became an avid supporter of a certain Rave Green team in the Pacific Northwest. During those days, MLS matches were rarely televised nationally. So, I would stream Sounders matches on my laptop from suspect sports streaming sites, and I even paid for an online subscription so that I could watch every match.

While I was just as real of a fan as someone from Seattle, I still felt that I was missing part of the “fan experience” because I had no real connection to the city.

I first found out about AFC Mobile through Twitter. When I read that Mobile would have an organized “semi-pro” soccer team, I was engulfed with a wave of skepticism and excitement. While I had a small group of fellow soccer fans my age, I was curious as to whether Mobile was capable of supporting a soccer team. My excitement primarily stemmed from the fact that there would be a local soccer team that I could support and always call “my team” regardless of the circumstances.

In fact, I was so eager to learn more about the team that I privately messaged Abram Chamberlain asking him when the team would begin play. Even before the first whistle, I knew that I was committed to being an AFC Mobile fan.

I know that the fan and game day experience is a big deal to most small clubs and its supporters, but for me, my fandom consists of having a team that I can support regardless of the circumstances. Maybe it’s a little bit selfish that I don’t care that much about the camaraderie of the supporter groups or the “family friendly” atmospheres.

To me, it is all about experiencing the sadness and joy that you get from passionately supporting a team regardless of how good that team is or what division that team competes in. AFC Mobile has given me that chance to call a local team my own. I remember going to that first AFC Mobile game and being excited that over 800 people turned out to watch the match. I was pleased to see that Mobile could support a 5th division soccer team, but my “inner fan” took over as soon AFC Mobile started its first match against the Gulf Coast Texas.

While I was excited to be at the first ever AFC Mobile home match, I was also slightly annoyed that AFC Mobile lost. It wasn’t an “I’m not going to watch that anymore” type of annoyance, but it was a “this is my team and I want them to win, dammit” annoyance that any real fan of a team experiences. From then, my love for the club didn’t cease. I streamed away matches (when available), and I even stayed up until 3 a.m. in Oxford, England while studying abroad to watch AFC Mobile lose to Motagua and Gaffa. It didn’t cross my mind that the team was winless up to that point and that I could just check the score in the morning. AFC Mobile was my team and I was going to watch them just as fervently as I watch the Sounders or the United States National Team. I was a soccer fan from Mobile who finally had a Mobile team.

My fandom is not the typical type of soccer fandom that most people envision when they think “soccer fan.” You won’t find me chanting or beating drums in the supporters section. Every team needs those types of fans, but that’s not me. You’ll find me inconspicuously hidden among the crowd of fans questioning a call by the referee, applauding or cursing a tactical move by our manager, or just admiring the sheer brilliance of a good pass.

I may not be the one who shows the most outward emotion, but I am also the first person to stand up and applaud when Chisom scores a goal or when Matt Merrill makes a crunching tackle in the midfield. I can be annoyed when the team is not doing well on the field, and I can cheer for the club when it does the little things right. Being a fan of a team means experiencing all of the good and all of the bad. AFC Mobile’s lone win against Biloxi was made even sweeter because I experienced the last gasp golazo by a 10 (or was it 9?) man Biloxi in Lipscomb Stadium. That’s the fun part of being a fan: sticking with a club during the peaks and valleys of a season.

AFC Mobile has given me the opportunity to support an authentic Mobile soccer team. I now have a local team that I can root for and be proud to call my own. So, thank you, AFC Mobile, for giving a diehard Mobile soccer fan the chance to cheer for a Mobile soccer team.