#upsl

State of the Support is a reoccurring series on American professional soccer written from a fan perspective. This series will follow the ups and downs of Soccer Support in Rochester, NY and the surrounding region in one of its most trying times in decades.

American Sports have come back slower than European Soccer. COVID-19 has been largely brought under control in Europe while the pandemic continues to grow here in the United States. So far the most successful return-to-play plans from North American Sports have been those secluded within self-contained bubbles. First the National Women’s Soccer League came back to their bubble in Utah with the NWSL Challenge Cup. The first league back to the field demonstrated how it could be safely done.

After a tournament that did great numbers on broadcast and streaming considering how limited access to it was, the Houston Dash won their first title. With July came Major League Soccer’s return to the Field with a bubble in *checks notes* Orlando, FL. As of the writing of this blog the simply-named MLS is Back Tournament has also managed to limit spread of the virus in spite of their location. Two teams had to be jettisoned beforehand but they are now prepared to have a Final. NBA and NHL have also taken the bubble approach to their return-to-play and are *crosses fingers* doing well at this point. If MLB’s return to play has shown us anything: Bubbles are the safest option.

What if a bubble isn’t an option? While NISA held the first “Independent Cup” as if it was a special year regardless of the pandemic, USL Championship regionalized their clubs for an abridged season essentially functioning as a seeding tournament for playoffs they hope to hold in the Fall. On the amateur side it’s a whole different story. With the annual attention-driver of the Open Cup unofficially cancelled the NPSL essentially cancelled their season opting for a second Member’s Cup to include… a handful of teams they could get together for a few weeks. UPSL opted for an abridged season. I’ll save my opinion on all this for later.

That brings us to the ROC City Boom debut on the field… and a team named Berlin in Buffalo, NY.  

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The UPSL began playing their Spring Season in July. With the precedent of the USL ecosystem deeming playing in markets outside a bubble as safe, UPSL decided they could follow suit. Similarly to the pro league, UPSL have passed along social distancing, limited capacity, and sanitizing procedures to their member clubs with the hopes of not becoming a negative headline themselves. All the while remember that one of the great super-spreading events in Northern Italy a few months back was a Soccer Game.

The ROC City Boom were doing all the right things to launch their team before the pandemic hit. They hit all the social media ques right for an amateur side. They even were somewhat interactive on social media during the quietest parts of the Lockdown here in New York State back in March and April. As May and June gave way to July the Pandemic has been largely brought under control in this State. The Boom, a new team in a new conference of UPSL, opted to come back given the conditions.

Their first three games back were road games against Binghamton, Utica and Syracuse. All three games were either draws or a loss for the Boom. Then the Boom came hope to Rochester Community Sports Complex (the name the City of Rochester gave to the Downtown Soccer Stadium after they kicked the Rhinos out). This past weekend the Boom shutout Syracuse 2-0 before going back to Syracuse the following day to beat them 4-1. The Boom boomed. Sorry, I had to.

A source who went to the Saturday home game said he felt comfortable doing so given the safety precautions. While my source who wishes to remain anonymous said concessions and seating were limited he said the gameplay was on par with the NPSL Rochester Lancers. Moreover single tickets are $8, a full seven dollars cheaper than a comparable ticket to a Rhinos game and two dollars cheaper than what the Lancers charged for a comparable ticket last summer before they started giving them away for free. The Boom have four more games on their schedule before August ends.

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Meanwhile UPSL’s new Western New York division looked for their own Boom in a world of coronavirus. Yes, they have brought teams back to their home markets, but they’ve also brought in another new team for a new division first announced in January. FC Berlin will come into UPSL next season playing at Sahlen’s Sports Park in the Buffalo suburb of Elma, NY. Why Berlin FC? Good Question.

The Berlin Football Academy is a Canadian Soccer Academy based out of Kitchener, Ontario. The organization was founded by former College Soccer star Santiago Almada whose hope is a UPSL team in Buffalo could be an asset to his growing organization. Almada wants his organization to truly have a pathway into the pro ranks and that starts with this UPSL squad. Gabriel Almada will coach the side while Juan Almada is the media director making this new team a family affair.

There are no quotes as to what Almada’s thoughts are on entering a market that has an NPSL amateur side in FC Buffalo and may have a professional USLC side in the years to come. What Almada is quoted as saying in the official league release is that he wants his UPSL team to become known as “…America’s Canadian Soccer team.” The side hopes to come in for UPSL’s Fall season.

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It’s hard to say anything new about the Rochester Rhinos situation since our last SoS column in June. It would appear that organization is fully content to sputter along in silence for the time being. If public opinion turns against leagues coming back outside the safety of bubbles they stand to dodge any negative press. For me personally I’d rather athletes, staff and others involved in sports not risk their lives for our entertainment. Even if a club’s survival depends on it I just don’t think its worth it in these crazy times. Bubble or not I’ll pay attention but don’t pretend to me that it’s the ethical thing. I can’t justify that for you.

That’s it for this State of the Support update. I’m always open to thoughts and insights @Pastagut on Twitter and right here at uttarosports.tumblr.com. I wouldn’t anticipate another column like this happening until well into the Fall unless something very notable on the Local Soccer front happens. Not only is there no Pro Soccer in upstate New York right now, there isn’t much sports at all. In the meantime, please stay safe.