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FeedSoccer Blitzes its way into Buffalo
I remember spending four years at my old high school, Kenmore East, with the notion that if the student body were to cheer for any team of Bulldogs, it was the soccer team, and not that other "football." Perhaps it was because the teams were consistently fighting for championships—leading us to arrive at playoff games with overturned plastic buckets for drumming—or that I had many friends on the field, but soccer invigorated the school like no other.
And yes, this was soccer, the sport most Americans just chuckle at and walk away from: It's too boring, there are too many wusses writhing on the floor due to a brush burn, it isn't aggressive enough. I wonder if these people know about the fanatical following the sport receives everywhere else but the United States. Thanks to a few Buffalo fanatics, however, soccer returns to the Queen City with the FC Buffalo Blitzers, a National Premier Soccer League organization.
Nick Mendola and Scott Frauenhofer, both Ken East alums, Ryan Knapp, and several other collaborators are hoping to open the area's eyes to a sport that yearns for the type of passionate fans Buffalo is equipped to give. We had a brief affair with the Buffalo Blizzard indoor team, but that was one more major league entity to compete with the slew of more popular competitors like the Bills, Sabres, and Bandits.
With FC Buffalo, we are being given a squad that "will be a mix of the area’s best amateur, collegiate and post-collegiate players suiting up in blue, gold and white for their city and sport." The team allows locals to stay in Buffalo and play for their hometown while still gaining exposure and a resume to one day strive for the big leagues of the MLS or Europe. The owners know how great the quality of soccer at colleges such as UB, Niagara, Canisius, Medaille, and Buffalo State is, so to keep them here is a coup for the city.
The folks behind the team have been blitzing the media and creating as much buzz as possible to build a fanbase that will sustain the team for years to come. Offering T-shirts, fan scarves, and season tickets (six home games for the low price of $25; you can buy online at the shop), FC Buffalo is looking to take the city by storm—and possibly even the nation. The quirky choice of "Blitzers," the result of a fan-polled nickname contest, has led to features online at ESPN and on television. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer's interest in the fervor created by his vote-winning last name has already been documented. (Watch the conversation from The Situation Room on YouTube.)
The team opens its season this Saturday, May 29, at 3 p.m. against the Erie Admirals at Robert E. Rich All-High Stadium. Tickets and merchandise will be available, but the real draw is some high-caliber soccer on the pitch. Come down and support your city, and get in the soccer mindset—after all, Team USA soon arrives in South Africa for the upcoming World Cup. FC Buffalo couldn't have picked a more opportune time to give rebirth to the sport in our fair city. It's time to get "Soccer Proud."
For more information, visit the team's official website at www.fcbuffalo.org.
