Johnny Wilson Returns, the Gold Cup Draw, and Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

Well its official, one of the most ever capped Charleston Battery players will be returning to Blackbaud Stadium. John "Johnny" Wilson will be returning to Charleston for another season. Oh how great it is. Though he probably won't be an everyday player, Wilson brings so much experience to a team that really needs it. Not to say we don't have some with Stephen Armstrong and Keith Wiggans, among others, but Wilson will bring experience to the defense. Plus he's good. Hard to forget that.

In other news, the CONCACAF Gold Cup draw will be on Tuesday, March 8th. Why is this important? Well, if you by chance read my first article, you know that one of the venues for the Gold Cup will be Charlotte, NC's Bank of America Stadium. I recommend reading that article, to fully understand the importance of the best international squads in the region coming to the area. But, the venue will likely see one of the 3 countries (USA, Mexico, Canada), one of the smaller, but still powerful soccer powers (Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama), and two smaller countries (Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, etc.). Hopefully the USMNT will play in Charlotte, as it would be a good chance for the US supporters in the Southeast to show how much they care about soccer.



Maybe we should get this guy to
do the pregame festivities.



And of course on the tail end of the return of Wilson, comes what we've been waiting for since last season ended; the Carolina Challenge Cup! I'm so ready to get this season started, and what better way to kick off the season than having MLS teams and their great supporters come to Charleston. Charleston starts the season by playing DC United tomorrow night at 7:15. Chicago Fire SC and Toronto FC will play at 5:00. It'll be an interesting tournament, and we'll get to see where we're at as a team. Come out to see some great soccer. The Regiment will be there before the game tailgating, and having just a general good time. So be sure to check that out. There will also be games on Wednesday, and a week from tomorrow on March 12th.

Added to the roster for the Carolina Challenge Cup are some of the preseason trialists from the Battery's preseason training. Three of them are from the College of Charleston; two defenders; Sean Flately and Sean Bateau, along with Kareem Yearwood, a forward. Two goalkeepers also will join Charleston. A former Chicago Fire keeper, Andrew Dykstra, and Pat Hannigan, who formerly played for Miami FC of the NASL.

I recommend checking out CharlestonBattery.com's Preview of the CCC, which has previews of all the teams. I will post a preview for the Battery's match with the Fire and Toronto FC, so make sure to check back for that.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Why Soccer is Going in the Right Direction in the United States

Well as I've been watching Fox Soccer Channel's coverage of the FA Cup, I came to thinking: The United States format of soccer is actually similar to England's. Obviously, the clubs in England have a chance to play for many trophies a year, (FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Champions League, etc.) but the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League has been making the United States soccer more European, year after year.

Now, I have talked about how we need to Americanize soccer, but in this situation, I'll make an exception, because we need to have multiple pieces of hardware to play for every year. That's what I think makes soccer so great in Europe, you always have something to play for. Whether it is to escape relegation, win a cup, or win the UEFA Champions League, the teams in England are always playing hard. Its also exciting for the clubs, hardcore fans, and casual watchers when a small club from the Football Leagues draw a mastodon like Chelsea or Manchester United.

You can see the similarities when the USL clubs draw the MLS sides in the US Open Cup. Though it is always exciting to see two MLS teams duke it out for the trophy, it's always nice to see a USL squad play an MLS team in a "David vs. Goliath" type scenario. We saw this in 2008 when the Charleston Battery played DC United in a rendition of the Coffee Pot Cup and the US Open Cup championship game. Though the Battery didn't win the match (they lost 2-1) they put up a good fight, and it was good for the fans to see their team compete for a big cup.

This extra excitement that is found in soccer is not found in the other professional sports in America. In the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL you play for one championship every year. You also see teams in the later stages of the season not play hard, because they are out of contention to win anything. Now while this can happen in soccer in some situations, when you are playing for 3 or 4 trophies every year, you can keep it exciting, and keep more clubs afloat.

What I want to see in the future, is a relegation system. It is far off, but the relegation system could work in the United States once the USL and MLS develop a little further. Undoubtedly the MLS has gotten good attendance figures, but if the USL can get each club up to 10,000-15,000 average attendance, then there is a good chance that the relegation system used in England, could work here. Just imagine, "MLS in Charleston" it just sounds good.

To finish this long rambling off, let me say this: English Soccer fans can't talk down to the MLS for attendance, quality of play, or coverage of the sport in the United States, because seriously the MLS has been around for 13 years. I would like to see the English soccer attendance numbers from 1901.