Dead Whales Buried Under Soccer Stadium

A popular soccer venue in North Carolina has a special kind of turf. One haunted by whale carcasses from almost a century ago. This week, we take a look at the bizarre story of the whales buried under an NWSL stadium. Plus, we open up name suggestions for our soccer bus, pay respects to the NASL on its 40th “fold anniversary,” and much more.

This week’s stories:

• 🚌 Name Our Bus!

• 📉 Black Thursday

• 🐋 Dead Whales Buried Under Soccer Stadium

• 🫶 Maine Event

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

CLUBELEVEN
Name Our Bus!

We traveled over 1,500 miles last week, hitting three Open Cup games in three days. One of the most frequent questions we got from the hundreds who visited the bus: “What’s his/her name???”

Truth is, we don’t have a clue, but it wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t make this a group decision. So please let us know your name suggestions HERE and help us name it!

We’ll make a March Madness-style bracket with your suggestions and let the community vote on the names. You have until tomorrow (Wed 3/26) at 11:59 PM EST to submit your ideas.

OUR HISTORY
Black Thursday

Many associate the term Black Thursday with the Wall Street crash of 1929, leading to the start of the Great Depression in America. Believe it or not, soccer has its own version: Thursday, March 28, 1985. Dramatic, I know.

But that horrible day, the NASL officially folded after 17 seasons. The league that had once hosted the great Pelé, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, and countless other legends, suspended operations after only two teams were interested in playing that year.

Brutal. Their demise left an 11-year void in professional soccer in America. It was a pretty dark period from what older fans have told me. But how did such a glorious league die in such a painful way? Here’s a quick look back. 

COVER STORY
Dead Whales Buried Under Soccer Stadium

Speaking of huge dead things related to soccer… did you know people used to bury whales at WakeMed Soccer Park (home to TST and the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage) back in the mid 20th century?

This history of burying whales in Raleigh goes back to at least 1928, when a huge beached sperm whale turned up in Topsail, North Carolina. Local scientists wanted to collect the specimen for their museum, and they enlisted an army of workers with only axes and spades to carve up the carcass.

After arduous work, the specimen was taken to Raleigh’s State Fairgrounds, where it underwent a 10-month soak in wet sand before being taken to the museum. It was a huge hassle, and the scientists realized they couldn’t just disrupt everything and do this type of work at the fairgrounds on a regular basis.

So, they decided to move their whale processing efforts to a second location right outside the city beltline. According to historians, multiple rare whales were processed at this second spot, which would one day become the gorgeous WakeMed Soccer Park we all know and love today.

I have no doubt that there are probably hundreds of whale bones still buried there, lost and forgotten during these numerous whale processing endeavors. It’s crazy to think that Agüero, Ashley Sanchez, and Nani have all probably played on top of them.

It’s definitely one of the most random soccer facts I’ve heard recently, and I have to give a special shoutout to another fellow American soccer traveler @PursuitSoccer for putting this one on my radar. We were hoping to meet in Boone during this first leg of our bus tour, but it didn’t work out. Fortunately, I was able to learn something really cool about soccer in NC thanks to her, and I’m hoping we get to nerd out over it at some point this year. Maybe at TST 🐋…

EXPANSION
Maine Event

At the same time as a few of us were driving around North Carolina for a string of Open Cup matches, CLUBELEVEN’s OG New England correspondent, Luke Stergiou, was up in Maine to cover Portland Hearts of Pine’s first game in the entire history of the club. They’ve knocked it out of the park with everything up until this point, so it’s no surprise that their opening game was a smash hit too. Here’s what Luke had to say:

“Over 3,000 people made the journey up to Lewiston, Maine to witness Portland Hearts of Pine’s first ever official match. The club hasn’t even played a competitive league game, yet fans from all over new England were not deterred by the foggy, rainy, and windy weather to watch a US Open Cup tie against reigning BSSL division 1 champions CD Faialense.

Well, those 3,000+ fans were rewarded for their unwavering support as Hearts beat CD Faialense 4-0, perfectly setting up the hype for their inaugural season and maybe even a deep run in the cup.

The Dirigo Union Supporters Group finally got to sing and chant together in the stands for the first time, parents enjoyed this momentous win with their kids, and even Hearts player—and Lewiston native—Khalid Hersi made his professional debut in his hometown in front of friends, family and fans. It was a truly historic night for footy in not just Maine, but New England as a whole… long live the magic of the Open Cup!”

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

USL broke the internet with their announcement that they’ll be implementing pro/rel by the 27/28 season when they launch their new Division One league. There are no specific details on how it’ll happen, though, so let us know how you feel about the announcement. We’ll highlight your best answers next week!

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Record-Breaking: They did it. Oakland Roots made history at their home opener. Almost 30k souls at the Oakland Coliseum. Absolutely incredible. 

Support Soccer Sheet: They’re the Carolinas’ leading source of original soccer content, and they need your support. Here’s how you can lend a hand.

Flying High: Fresh off announcing that they’d be letting the community choose the club’s name, NWSL Denver unveiled the plans for their brand new stadium.

Good Spirits: Even though it wasn’t the result the Washington Spirit may have wanted on the pitch, they must be happy about this.

Vardy the Businessman: Guess how much Vardy paid to become an owner of the Rochester Rhinos back in 2021? I bet you it’s way less than what you’re thinking.

EVENTS
Soccer Milestone in Arkansas

Up until recently, the Marshall Islands was the only United Nations member without a national soccer team.

Now, they’re getting ready to play in their first-ever international tournament against the U.S. Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, and Guam later this summer.

The best part? The tournament will take place in Northwest Arkansas.

WORLD CUP 2026
Panic Button?

Yeah… things are pretty bleak for the USMNT at the moment. Crashed out of the Nations League against Panama in the semis and then lost to Canada in the 3rd place game.

It hurts because the Nations League had pretty much become a sure-fire trophy for us over the past few years.

As you can guess, many former players weren’t happy about things, and they came out swinging. Here’s what LD10 had to say.

My take is that I’d rather have this happen now than a year from now. Failure is usually a better teacher than success, and I still trust the players can find their way. But we’re definitely cutting it close.

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you: Are you watching the US Open Cup this week? Here are some of your best answers:

• “Yes, I’m watching online. I'll watch as many games as I can even if they are in the middle of the night for me 🇪🇸. I'm specially interested in Retired MLS All Stars FC 😉, El Farolito , and any SoFlo team.” - Dario

• “Yes, I’m attending a game. Up the mf'in hearts baby” - Josh L

• “Yes, I’m attending a game. My son is playing in an Open Cup match tomorrow night in Monterey CA. Inter San Francisco vs Monterey Bay FC. The team and fans are taking a bus from San Francisco to the game. I played with the Greek-American AC that won the Open Cup in 1985. What's amazing to me is that you are a bunch of young guys that are interested in American football history! I'd expect old guys like me to be doing this. I've shared your newsletter with many, many people. Thanks for all you do.” - Toby

In the poll, “Yes, I’m watching online” finished in first place with 54% of the vote, followed closely by “Yes, I’m attending a game” with 34% of the vote.

Incredible results to be honest. Call it self-selection bias if you want, but I’m taking it. I’m just happy there are others sick enough to tune in online or go to these early round Open Cup matches. I’ll always stand by the opinion that they are the greatest form of American soccer one could ever consume.

Finally, a special shoutout to Toby! Always a pleasure to receive your responses, and it’s an honor for all of us to hear those words coming from a USOC champion. Even if the result didn’t go Inter’s way, we hope you had a great time watching your son play and enjoying the Open Cup environment as a fan now. Thank you for spreading the word about our mission, and we hope one day we can cross paths in person!

UP NEXT
Bus Tour: Leg 2

Over 1500 miles traveled, three cities, three games, and countless memories.

We got the players of Asheville City SC and Greenville Triumph to meet inside the bus after their penalty shootout in the Open Cup.

We got to be part of Carolina Core’s kit release party at a gritty brewery outside a baseball/soccer stadium.

We even got the Appalachian FC sasquatch to climb on the roof of the bus to watch the game with us in the middle of the mountains.

Yes, we nearly fell off a cliff on our way up to Boone, slept in a couple of bed-bug infested motel rooms in Georgia, and drove through a Tornado watch, but it was so incredibly worth it.

The best part is we get to do it all again next week. Keep an eye out for our next destination announcement in the coming days and follow our journey here. 

Enjoying This?

Make sure to forward this email to a friend and help us spread the soccer gospel far and wide! We’ll see you next week with even more untold stories of soccer.

Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo