The Aztexan

The USL-1 season is fast approaching, and I have a feeling the pace of news & announcements is just getting going. While there's a breather, let's take a quick look at our fellow USL-1 expansion team: the Cleveland City Stars.

The team's "promotion" from USL-2 to USL-1 was announced on Dec. 5:

"We are delighted to be the latest addition to the USL First Division for the 2009 season," said Cleveland City Stars General Manager Mark Geissbauer. "After winning the USL-2 Championship last year and the success of our franchise on and off the field, this was the most logical decision to make. We know that this is going to be a big step for our still fairly young franchise, but we are looking forward to the challenge of competing at the highest level in the USL system and bringing the USL-1 into a flourishing market like Cleveland."

I put the word "promotion" in sarcastic quotes because really, it's not one. Not in the way most of the soccer world means it. True, they were the USL-2 champions last year, so if there were a system of promotion & relegation in this country (I wish!), then sure, they would have been promoted. But there's not, so they weren't.

What happened is that the Atlanta Silverbacks folded, and the league scrambled to find a team that would step up and keep USL-1 from contracting. For proof that the Cleveland promotion wasn't long in the works, look no further than the move of Martin Rennie, their award- and championship-winning young coach to the Carolina Railhawks less than a month before the USL-1 announcement. Meanwhile, they have yet to name their own replacement head coach, though I'm sure that's imminent.

Not that the conditions of this 3-year old team switching league tiers matter all that much. I give a hearty welcome to our opponents from Cleveland, aka "The Mistake On The Lake" (I don't make 'em up, I just repeat 'em. I'm from Ohio, it's okay).

Their supporters' group is called the Green Army. They have a blog, which has been quiet since early December, and a discussion forum, which looks more active.

The ownership of the Stars club is unique: it's actually a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Cleveland Soccer Foundation. Their slogan is, "Serving the City & Changing the World". In addition to the kind of community outreach you might expect, they also have what might be the most exotic partner team around: the Nairobi City Stars, of the Kenyan Premier League.

They played last season at Cleveland State University's Krenzler Soccer Field, though I think they'll be moving to a new home — also not yet announced — this season.

And though I'm not all that big on mascots, theirs does have a pretty clever name: Crocodinho.

To wrap up, here's an excellent video montage of their USL-2 Championship win over the Charlotte Eagles last year:



Fantastic! Almost makes me regret the Mistake-on-the-Lake comment. Almost.

Labels: rivals, USL-1