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.

The journey continues, as we move (in a completely random fashion) from the southern shores of Lake Erie to the southern confines of Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston Battery was founded in 1993, and has been in the second level of U.S. Soccer (first the A-League, now USL-1) since 1997. The club has it's own soccer-specific ground, Blackbaud Stadium, the first of its kind in USL-1.

Just as with Cleveland City Stars, I know almost nothing about Charleston Battery, so I'm looking forward to learning about one of the more tenured teams in USL-1

Scores and thoughts after the jump.

Here we go with the scores: keep in mind that the scores are just a way to quantifiably compare the clubs, and will not necessarily determine my choice.

Geography

As with the previously examined club, Cleveland City Stars, the home of the Battery is a mystery to me. Charleston seems like somewhere I should visit, but I have yet to make it down there. It is on the East Coast and within the general region (although I think the drive to Charleston is longer than to Cleveland), so I'll give the Battery a few points for that. I'm not much on the deep south as a general rule though (please no flaming, I've done my time there and it's just a preference), hence the score.

Score: 3

History

Unfortunately, over fifteen years of continual operation is an eternity for an American soccer franchise, and that will certainly bode well for Charleston in this category. The list of former players is also fairly impressive, including Eric Wynalda and Raul Diaz Arce.

Score: 6

Name/Colors

Nothing really wrong with either the name or the colors of the club, though there is a big of a minor-league feel to "Charleston Battery". I'm sure that makes me sound jaded and petty, but it's just what my gut says, and this project is all about guy. The badge/logo of the club is fine, and I like the cannons representing the "Battery". A strong enough category for the club's chances overall.

Score: 6

Supporter Passion

Charleston's supporters group is called "The Regiment". More than that, I don't really know. I know I've seen a few matches on FSC involving the Battery at home, though I can't recall how much noise was made by their supporters' section. From the group's official website (I'm not sure how I feel about it being hosted by the team itself) it looks like it's a "family friendly" group. Again, not sure how I feel about that, though it might just be the nature of small-market soccer. Coming away from this category with a very ambivalent feeling about the Battery's supporter situation. If I had more evidence it might bump the score higher, but with the situation as it is, I have to go with something low. I almost missed this: apparently the stadium has an on-site pub. That's pretty cool. Two bonus points, even if it has nothing to do with the supporters.

Score: 3

Total Score: 18

Not the greatest score for the Charleston Battery, though I'm not really surprised. I never thought of them as one of the favorites, and the score certainly reflects that.

The Battery must be doing something right, as they're still going strong into their seventeenth year, a record of longevity that too many clubs in this country can't reach. I don't think that Charleston is necessarily a prototypical soccer market, so points to their organization for making it work.

I'll update this post in the future (and possibly revise the score) if I receive any info from a Battery supporter.

*UPDATE*
I'm probably didn't give enough attention to the Battery's stadium; it is clearly one of the best venues in USL. Still, I'm not going to change their score, just mention that Blackbaud Stadium might push Charleston over the edge if things are extremely tight at the end of the project.



A few links:
Charleston Battery Home Page
Charleston Battery Discussion Forum

Check back soon for the next team in the quest.