Perhaps you notice that I've changed the name of the project slightly; it was pointed out to me that USL is much more than just the First Division, and since I'm contemplating a look at other USL leagues, I thought it was important to be clear that this phase of the project is USL-1 only. Essentially, the idea of choosing a team to follow was born from the USL Live free video service; I want to pick a team because I can actually watch them. Any future look at lower USL levels will be more of a "profile" exercise, a way to expose people to those teams that play on small budgets and in small stadiums, but have passionate followings. I believe that local soccer in any form, nationally televised or not, is important to the growth of the sport in the U.S.
Now that we've cleared that up, let's get straight to Cary's own Carolina RailHawks.
Geography
Carolina is easily the USL-1 club closest to me, at least until CP Baltimore enters the league, which I believe may be on the horizon. Points for proximity then, which means that if the mood and opportunity ever struck, I could head down to Cary to take in a game. I also have a bit of family in North Carolina (though I'm not sure where), and my little brother went to school in the state for a short time. If I was going to choose a team strictly on geography, the RailHawks would certainly be it. I can't score this a ten just because the club isn't in the Virginia or the immediate DC area, and I can't score it a nine because, well, I just don't feel like I should.
Score: 8
History
These are bound to get shorter as I go along, so I apologize in advance. The RailHawks are in their third season of existence, having started play in USL-1 in 2007. Not a whole lot of history there, obviously. I know nothing about the overall history of pro soccer in the Triangle (the name of the area that Cary is a part of; it includes Raleigh-Durham), so feel free to enlighten me if I'm missing something.
Score: 2
Name/Colors
Two problems with Carolina's name and logo; they're incredibly contrived. "RailHawks" is catchy, but it smacks of Single-A baseball. The logo (badge, crest, whatever) isn't horrible, there's just something about it I don't like. North Carolina doesn't really seem like the type of place where a traditional "football" name would fly though, so I guess it's an example of the team knowing their market. Despite my reservations about the nickname (and the spelling; I still can't get over the no-space-capitalization thing), I have to give bonus points for it being the brainchild of the founder of the Triangle Soccer Fanatics. The colors are fine, and actually fall in line with one of my other sports passions (I'll let you guess who that might be), so I'll give a bonus point or two for that.
Score: 7
Supporter Passion
The aforementioned Triangle Soccer Fanatics is the team's supporters' group, and they certainly look well-organized. It's impossible for me to know much about the in-game atmosphere they create without some testimonials (which I've obviously not received), and I haven't been able to find attendance numbers for USL-1. Points for the groups, points for a good looking and reasonably sized soccer-specific stadium (WakeMed Park, 7,100 capacity), but that's about as far as I can go.
Score: 5
Total Score: 22
Decent score of the RailHawks, though their chances were obviously hurt by the history and supporter score. I guess if I had a few RailHawk fans coming by here to give me some information, it might have been a little better.
A few links relating to the RailHawks:
Triangle Soccer Fanatics
Carolina RailHawks Official Site
RailHawks USL Team Page
WakeMed Park Wikipedia page
Let's take a quick look at the standings so far:
Montreal Impact 30
Austin Aztex 29
Carolina RailHawks 22
Cleveland City Stars 20
Charleston Battery 18
Extremely tight at the top, with a gap to the second tier. I certainly think there could be other contenders for the points title (the Supporter's Shield if you will), and we still have six teams to go.
The remaining clubs:
Miami FC
Rochester Rhinos
Portland Timbers
Vancouver Whitecaps
Minnesota Thunder
Puerto Rico Islanders
Almost half way through the quest; stay tuned for more, and share your feelings on the Project to this point.
