The Best Season Review Of New Team: Charlotte FC

 

MLS Has A New Home

On the fifth day of March in the year 2022, an MLS record was broken. 74,479 fans gathered together at the Bank of America stadium. The Queen City is now home to Charlotte’s new and highly anticipated soccer team.

Charlotte FC is a new MLS expansion team. If I remember correctly, they were expected to be “born” a year or two earlier, but due to our favorite pandemic, there was a delay. In 2022, when it was finally a bit safer to gather with family and friends, Charlotte FC created what feels like the biggest fanbase in the city.

Being someone who has played soccer for over half of their life, I was definitely excited to have a team in my own city. I grew up in Long Island, NY, and the only MLS team that existed for most of my time while living there is the NY Red Bulls. NYCFC came about the year I moved away. I’ve been to many games, mostly international teams, but it would require me to travel for at least an hour using public transportation to get there. Not fun.

With Charlotte FC playing only 30 minutes away, there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to be a part of history. Attending their first home game, being a day 1 fan, being 1 out of 74,479 fans, being a part of tradition creations. Honestly, if you’re a soccer fan, would you want to miss that?

First Home Game Day Experience

March 5 was your typical Saturday. You sleep in a little, you run errands, then you play. I had plans to head uptown to pregame with friends prior to the 7:30 pm kickoff. We parked, drank, and snacked a bit while waiting for others to arrive, then headed across the street.

There was what seemed like an “official” pregame outdoor spot where there were food trucks, beverages, grills, games, and people wearing jerseys. Just about everything you would imagine when going to pregame. We spent some time there walking around scoping out the activities and just chatting until it was time to head to the stadium. 

All seventy thousand of us (kidding) fans started walking toward the stadium around 6:45 pm. It was a very exciting feeling. Just the fact that we were all there doing the same thing for the same reason made it seem so surreal. Walking down the street, pedestrians bullying the drivers in the cars to wait for us to cross. Chugging our drinks as we get closer to the stadium because we can’t bring external beverages inside. Pulling up the tickets on our phones so we are not scrambling once we get passed the metal detectors. Taking pictures outside the stadium so we have memories of this day. Walking up the ramps, escalators, and stairs to get to our seats. Finally sitting down. Realizing that it’s time to be a part of history. It’s time to watch Charlotte FC lose their first home game (LOL). 

And The Traditions Are Created

I am very familiar with attending professional sports games so I understand the setup before the game actually starts. Normally we have the national anthem, introduction to players, coin toss, fans shuffling in and out of their seats, and all that commotion. 

One tradition that accidentally came about was during the national anthem. The singer’s mic cut off or lost audio the first few seconds in, so the crowd continued to sing. This is something that ended up being a “hit.” From then on, the singer would begin singing at every home game, and the crowd would continue the song until completion.

Another tradition that lives on is during the starting lineup introduction. The announcer would say the player's first name, while the fans would scream the last name. This is so fun to me for reasons I can’t explain. But it 100% helps in getting to know the players and putting a face to their names.

There is also an AMAZINGLY loud supporters section that cheers and plays the drums for the entire game. There is never a moment of silence during the 90+ minutes and it is the greatest thing you could ever ask for. 

I love soccer, so I am a little biased in my opinion. But Charlotte FC’s first home game was an experience to remember. I had a fun time scoping out the team and pointing out potential favorites (shout out to Yordy Reyna). There are a ton of great players on the team. 

Rough Start But We’ll Get There

Like any new team, they needed to find their unity and mesh in order to play well together. Their season started off a little rough with no goals until their third game. Despite losing on March 13, they were able to score their first goal against Atlanta. Adam Armour, who I had never heard of, was able to hit the back of the net. 

March 19 was a day to remember because they won their first game and it happened to be at home! Karol Swiderski scored the first home goal in the sixth minute, and Charlotte FC proceeded to score two more, ending the game at 3-1.

The season continued on with more losses than wins. And if you’re a soccer fan, you know that losses do not sit well with coaches. About halfway through the season, the coach got canned (yikes). Not surprised though. The new coach came in hot, along with a couple of transfers and the team was on its way to more wins, more goals scored for us, and fewer goals scored against us!

Charlotte FC got their first away win on July 3rd against Houston under the newly assigned coach. Guess firing the old one was a good move after all. Chelsea FC (yes, the premier league team) actually came to Bank of America stadium to play an international friendly game. Surprisingly, our Queen City team tied with them in stoppage time, and then went on to win in a penalty shootout. GO CHARLOTTE FC! Big props for beating such a well-known big team. And no, I don’t care if Chelsea had their subs playing. A win is a win. 

First Fight

On September 10th, we went against NYCFC, which was ranked way better than Charlotte at the time. I had no expectations. I showed up to just watch the game and have a grand time. Little did I know, it was going to be one that goes down in the books! There was a brawl! Okay, maybe not full-blown fistfights, but there was definitely full-blown shoving going on. I’m not a fan of violence, but I was excited just because I was there and it was a first. No one appeared to be hurt, and the game continued once everyone was settled down. 

This game also was when Charlotte received their first red card. Someone on NYCFC pretended to get hurt so bad. Laying on the floor in agonizing pain, can’t get up, medics on the field, the whole nine. Our player received a red card for that so we had to play man down for the rest of the game. Just for the NYCFC player to get up and act like nothing happened and try to stay on the field! Um, WHAT?! We fans boo’d him for the rest of the game. Every single time the ball went to his feet, “BOOOOOOOOO.” I would be embarrassed. A whole stadium boo’ing me. LMAO. That was a great game and we ended up with a win.

I would also like to note that this was the first home game where I noticed our new defenders from overseas, Adilson Malanda and Nathan Byrne. Great additions to the team. Especially Byrne. I love a good defender that knows how to play the whole wing. 

Hat Trick (Or Haul?)

Before I get into this, I would like to say that I know what a hat trick is. I’ve never heard of haul, which is apparently when 4 goals are scored by the same person.

Anyway! The point I want to make is that Daniel Motherf**kin Rios scored all 4 goals against the number 1 ranked team, Philadelphia, on Oct 1, and I was there to see it! First of all, best game ever. Seriously. 4 goals, against the top team. And on top of scoring 4 goals, NONE were conceded by our AMAZING DEFENSE. Like what??? Who could ask for a better game?! The crowd was going wild. 

My Opinion

Charlotte FC is a great team and has a lot of potential. They had an awesomely incredible inaugural season. They were even in the runnings for playoffs for a while. I truly think the number of losses, in the beginning, ruined their chances, because it came down to winning one game at the end. 

The team is stacked. In most games, we see the same people play over and over, but the subs are not to be slept on! Almost every time a sub came on the field, there was a complete positive shift in the game. Whether it be goals immediately scored or more offensive plays, each player definitely brings a lot to the team. We even had one of our players be MLS player of the week. 

I did notice two weird things about their gameplay. If they didn’t score within the first 15-20 min of a game, the chances of them scoring were slim. Also, they played much better against higher-ranked teams. I know sometimes teams play at their competition’s level, and I can definitely see how that benefitted but also hurt Charlotte FC during games. 

Although they weren’t able to clinch a spot in the playoffs, they had a phenomenal season. It wasn’t hard to see the progression from game to game either. Team chemistry increased as the season went on, and fans stayed loyal and cheered harder through thick and thin. 

I am no Charlotte native, but I have been to a few different sporting events here. I’ve seen the Panthers, Hornets, and Knights play. Between Charlotte FC’s supporter's section and the music selection, there is always something to vibe to. You will never be bored. It is a must to experience a game. At least one. Try it out if you haven’t already.

Proud Fan

I will admit I was skeptical at first. I’ve always been a fan of international teams like Real Madrid, Manchester City, PSG, etc. I didn’t really care for MLS because most people in the United States don’t care for the beautiful game. Also, I love to play, but not too crazy about watching much in my adult life. 

Even after the first game, I was like this is cool and I want to go to more, but I was never stressing about going. Until maybe my second or third experience, I was like OH NO I CANNOT MISS ANYMORE! I had a plan in my head to go to every home game for the rest of the season, which didn’t work LOL. I did end up going to about 10-11 home games which turned out to be about half. Most games I couldn’t go to, I ended up watching on TV. 

Sometimes you have to ease yourself into the experience. That’s exactly what I did, and I wouldn’t change anything. I am a proud Day One fan of Charlotte FC. I love them so much that I even got a jersey for my boy Yordy!! 

Also, I bought second-row (first was sold out) season ticket seats! No one is more excited than me! I can’t wait to attend as many games as possible, so close to the field, with other fans sitting front row. I know for a fact I will love it. I am looking forward to the 2023 season and counting down until February 25. 

Words and photography by me