Editors Note:
While this wasn't their first game, or even their first home game, Edmonton truly broke new ground on soccer last night. The following is an account and story from a new supporter, of the once again new game, in Edmonton. It's a reflection of the early days of an emerging culture and the strength of a growing game.
By: Nathan Terlesky
While the Voyageurs Cup didn't begin ideally for FC Edmonton, one thing is for sure; the supporters loved every minute of it. While I personally have always been a bit of a fanatic of whatever I am into at the moment, it was quite refreshing to meet and begin to follow our fledging team over the last year. Cumulating at the first league game of the year, the rollercoaster ride that FC Edmonton fans have been on has been trying, exciting, gut wrenching, and generally all the things that pro-sports should be.
I fell into the Edmonton Supporters Group (ESG) by joining the Voyageurs forum, and beginning to post on the Edmonton board. After the exhibition season was over, the real roller coaster ride began.
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Throughout the lengthy wait for application for sanctioning, the granting of sanctioning, the removal of sanctioning, then the short, year-long sanctioning from the USSF for the NASL, I hovered over the keyboard at any given opportunity, searching for a sign that our team would survive to play a competitive match.
Though I may be new to the supporters scene, the guidance (and occasional frustration) of other Voyageurs helped me maintain some form of patience, while teaching me to be wary of our front office.
In January, action appeared to be slowly coming from the front office, causing some optimism to spread into the Edmonton supporters. After a meet and greet between a small number of fans and the front office was arranged, things started to look even better. After the release of the schedule, and the date of the Voyageurs Cup game, most of the ESG was flying high. We finally were starting to see signs that the front office had listened to the fans, and that they actually cared about how the club appeared to Edmonton sports fans.
The club had long used social media to both promote themselves and communicate with fans. And within days of the new “Stand United” signs going up around town, the followers on Facebook climbed from about 1,200 to over 1,600. The Club hosted an amazing first game at a bar on the south side of Edmonton, and it attracted media and gained some much-needed publicity. The social networking did not stop at Facebook and Twitter; the team enlisted Groupon, which sold over 700 tickets to a midweek game against Toronto FC, that would start before most people were finished work at 6pm local time.
Less than 24 hours after kickoff, I can honestly say that I am as excited and as anxious as I was before the first game. While the experience of cheering on my team with about 150 fans in a bar was amazing, it was soon surpassed by the feeling of my voice joining in with those of several thousand fans cheering on our beloved FC Edmonton.
While some may scoff at the number of fans that showed up to Commonwealth last night, the ESG was strong and loud. For all the ups and downs, the disappointing lack of advertising on key occasions, the joy of seeing the team walk out onto the pitch for the first time, the uncertainty of the league actually making it to kick off, the exuberance of the first goal, it has been one hell of a ride for a first time supporter.
And there is still lots to come.