The 165th Anniversary of American Soccer

Four kids, a police report, and a ball. The first documented soccer game in the US takes us back 165 years, deep in the bayou. This and more in today’s edition.

Welcome 👋 

Happy Tuesday! I’m Pablo Bayona Sapag, one of the co-founders here at CLUBELEVEN, and I’m excited to be back sharing the untold stories of soccer through this channel.

Starting today, we’ll be using these emails to bring you closer to the stories that make the sport so unique here at home. Every week, we’ll break down the Eleven Things we think you should know about soccer in North America. Whether they’re stories from the past or the present, we’ll connect you to that special soccer narrative that’s been burning for 165 years.

Now without further ado, let’s get started.

This week’s stories:

• 💗 Valentine’s Day Affair, 1982

• 🗺️ Manifest Destiny 

• 👑 The First Documented Soccer Game

• 📈 Kitflation

• 🗳️ Poll

• ➡️ And More

OUR HISTORY
Valentine’s Day Affair

It’s never too late to highlight a little love. Back on Valentine’s Day 1982, the Chicago Sting set the record for the largest attendance at an indoor soccer game in the United States. A staggering 20k spectators showed their love for the Sting in their indoor NASL Division Title game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, propelling the team to a comeback 10-9 win over the visitors in OT.

Notably, the papers mentioned that the crowd made its presence felt by throwing coins, cigarette lighters, and – appropriately – bouquets of flowers onto the field. Just lovely. 

EXPANSION
Manifest Destiny

We live in exciting times. Every couple of months we see our professional leagues go at each other’s throats. The latest battleground: professional women’s soccer.

Just a few days ago, the US Soccer Federation approved the USL Super League’s application to receive Division One sanctioning, essentially granting it the same status as the NWSL.

Surely, the real winners will be the players and the next generation of young female athletes looking to make it pro. Still, there’s already talk of what this collision course could bring for the future of women’s soccer in the US.

COVER STORY
The First Documented Soccer Game

It was the winter of 1859, and the port city of New Orleans was recovering from a brutal epidemic of yellow fever the previous summer. As a result, public assemblies and Sunday recreation games were often banned in sections of the city.

That’s how an innocent match of street soccer would come to an unceremonious end – and unintendedly, become the first-ever recorded soccer game in the US. 

Four boys were arrested that fateful Sunday, January 24, 1859, becoming legend in the history of our sport. We’ll never know who they were, but the Monday papers let us know what became of them. After appearing in front of the judge, the four kids presented a simple defense: the whole neighborhood was playing, so why single them out in the punishment? Impressed, the judge let them go free, and the story of their brush with the law was immortalized in Louisiana’s Daily True Delta.

You can find the newspaper clipping and the research behind these early Louisiana soccer games here.

GARBERNOMICS
Kitflation

$195 is what you can expect to pay for this season’s MLS kits. As much as many of us may love our local clubs, that’s a steep price to pay.

Adidas and the league probably went too far with this year’s price hike, although that’s something most of us have been saying when these jerseys drop at the start of every year. Truthfully, the jury’s still out on the designs too, and one that some supporters were on the fence about was Seattle’s. It’s a controversial color combo, but we can’t knock the excellent video the club released to announce what they’re calling ‘The Anniversary Kit.’

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

We’ll let you know the results next week and see how cheap we all are.

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

World Record: NWSL’s Bay FC broke the piggy bank and splashed $789k on Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji. San Francisco money has entered the league.

Hostage Crisis: News broke out on Sunday that the 2024 US Open Cup was at risk of being canceled, with MLS and US Soccer at a stalemate. As of late Monday night, reports came out that the league has parlayed their threats into an unconventional, but beneficial deal for them.

Hat-Trick Savior: El Salvador’s Brenda Ceren left us speechless as she carried her country to the W Gold Cup group stage, which kicks off today. Our good friend Lorena was there in LA to capture the magic.

Yer a Wizard: ‘90s MLS kits hit different. The rainbow sleeves on this Kansas City 1997 Alternate Jersey are out of a dream.

Scaloni to MLS: Unlikely for now, but the World Cup-winning coach said he’d consider it in the future. We know a few clubs who’d take him. He also had some nice words for MLS and our teams here.

GRASSROOTS
Bavaria Awaits

Here’s your chance to catch a game in Germany. Last week, Bundesliga International announced a new partnership with Street FC to deliver more opportunities for recreational soccer players throughout the US.

One part of the partnership will see Street FC use the Bundesliga Common Ground pitch in NYC, bringing more than 800 games to the street court. On top of that, both organizations will throw a watch party for Bayern vs RB Leipzig this Saturday, where two lucky goers will win a trip to Der Klassiker in Munich.

LOWER LEAGUE
Leaving the Ball

It’s an unexpected goodbye from the Cinderella team that conquered the 2023 NISA Championship. Flower City Union dropped a bombshell on Thursday announcing their departure from the league.

The news comes as a shock for the third tier in the US, but such is the way of an independent model. It may just be a reflection of the ambition these lower-league clubs have to climb the pyramid. Flower City Union should be announcing its new destination today, so make sure to keep an eye out for their announcement.

Thank You

We hope you enjoyed the first edition of CLUBELEVEN Mail. Make sure to forward this email to a friend if you enjoyed it, and we’ll see you next week for more.

Have a great Tuesday!

-Pablo