Today will be considered a start by many. And in plenty of ways, those people are right: it brings the first Nashville SC game in the USL, the first game played by any professional soccer team representing Music City, the first step in a journey that will see this franchise enter Major League Soccer within a couple years.
But in many ways, it’s hardly a start at all. Indeed, it’s a continuation of a journey that began on the back of a bar napkin years ago. That journey has included incarnations as the NPSL’s Nashville FC, last year’s Nashville SC U-23 team, and now – finally – stepping onto the field as a professional side.
In terms of on-field experience, only one player has suited up in a competitive match representing the crest. Martim Galvão, thus far the lone member of that PDL side from the Summer of 2017 to sign with this incarnation of the club, is a fan favorite. He’s clearly a man who loves the club. But he may not play a major role when Nashville hits the field in Louisville tomorrow afternoon. Certainly he’s a nice story, and will have a role to play for the club this year (and potentially beyond), but the vast majority of the action will go to men who have represented the club only in their community or in friendly matches. Certainly, a focus on the community is important, and will manifest itself in time.
“There’s a tremendous amount of energy that goes into putting together a good group,” head coach Gary Smith said. “Not just good players: you can find good players, and you can find good characters. It’s really hard to find good players and good characters within the same skin. And I think we’ve done that.”
However much the club wants to focus on it, though (and they’re doing a good job giving the community plenty of attention), for now, they’ll represent that community with their exploits on a bumpy pitch against the reigning USL champion this afternoon.
It may be setting the bar too high to expect a win against Louisville. They were the USL’s top team last year, and have added as much talent as they lost from the championship side. A result is going to be tough to come by. Regardless of the outcome, though, the Boys in Gold will put a product on the field that is a strong representation of their city.
It’s a new city for nearly all of them. The club has brought together players from across this country – and indeed, from across the entire world. They share a common cause, and that’s to bring glory to Nashville. The way they do that is by excelling on the pitch. The way they do that is by showing the world (or at the very least, the slice of it that’s interested in American second-division soccer) that there is indeed a club in Nashville. And not only is it extant, it’s going to be a good one.
Those players will be representing their places of origin, their families, and themselves. They may even feel like they’re representing for their universities or former clubs. But more than anything, they’ll be representing this club and this city.
They will be representing four continents. Ten countries. One club.
England. Ghana. Isle of Man. Jamaica. Japan. Nigeria. Portugal. South Africa.
California. Georgia. Illinois. Maryland. Michigan. Missouri. New Mexico. New York. Ohio. Texas.
Alberta. Ontario.
All of them, as Nashville as you or I.
They have all ranges of experience, from USL lifers, to multiple men with an MLS championship under their belt (albeit both of them with Gary Smith’s 2008 Colorado Rapids side, so it’s not like NSC poached them from various Ghost of MLS Cup Winner Past listings).
Some of them are relatively fresh out of college, including Alan Winn, whose college career ended just a couple months back in December, when his North Carolina team couldn’t solve Indiana in the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA championship. The Heels’ leading scorer during his senior year, he walked off the field following a 1-0 loss to Indiana not knowing if he’d scored his last competitive goal. Fast forward three months (and right on past a stint with the Colorado Rapids), and he enters his first official game as a professional having led NSC in goals over the course of seven preseason friendlies.
At the opposite end of the experience spectrum is keeper Matt Pickens.
He made 40 appearances for the Chicago Fire, had a stint in England with Championship side Queen’s Park Rangers (for whom he didn’t see game action between the sticks), and returned to the United States for six more years – including that MLS title – with the Colorado Rapids.
For the past four seasons, he plied his trade in the NASL with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who will be an Eastern Conference power in the USL after the dissolution of their previous league. At 35 years old – and turning 36 just a few games into the season – is he approaching his last go-round?
It matters – all of this matters – but for 90 minutes on the pitch this afternoon, it’s so much more important to focus on the macro. Yes, we’ll live and die with each kick, each save, each run through the defense. But this is about so much more than that.
“You’re going to be proud of what you see,” Smith says. “That’s the message.”
It’d be inaccurate to say this is just the beginning. But there’s no doubt it’s a new beginning for this club, for this city.
For one last time before a match has been played: Come on, you Boys in Gold.
Club and Country 