The 2009 USL-1 season will kickoff tomorrow, with two evening games on the schedule.
As I have yet to decide on my USL-1 side, I'm anxious to watch some league action in the hopes that I'll find myself drawn to a team.
Of the four teams playing tomorrow, I've only examined one of the them to this point: the Charleston Battery. I'll be looking to see if I was too harsh in my scoring of the club on the MFUSA Arbitrary Scoring Scale. The match, against the Whitecaps, is taking place in Vancouver, so I will still be without a idea of their stadium atmosphere and home support.
Vancouver obviously comes into their next-to-last USL season riding the high of MLS expansion; it will be interesting to see if the news will have any effect on the Whitecaps support in 2009. Their current home, Swangard Stadium, seats 5,200. You would expect that excitement for MLS in 2011 would lead to sellouts in '09 and '10, though I have no idea what's expected. If I'm able to watch the match via USL Live, I certainly will.
The early game tomorrow pits the Minnesota Thunder against the Carolina RailHawks (don't know if I realized until just now about that weird capitalization thing), two clubs I know absolutely nothing about. I am aware the the Thunder are usually a pretty good side, and that they seem relatively well supported (if the Internet is any judge). Carolina, a team based in the Raleigh suburbs, has former Galaxy and San Jose forward Gavin Glinton up top.
Unfortunately, I don't expect to be able to watch the early match. Family obligations on the holiday weekend will keep me away from a computer until late in the evening.
I hope to post reactions to whichever match I'm able to see, both in the context of the USL project and as an exercise in simple soccer appreciation.
If you're at all intrigued by USL, I suggest you go sign up for their free online video service; it's a great marketing tool, one that will only add to the exposure of the league. Perhaps MLS will learn that lesson in the future. For the time being, however, you can't beat free streaming soccer, American style.
