Birmingham to USL: ‘Hold my beer and watch this’
The beautiful game is heading to the Magic City. A story that was initially revealed on Twitter by Soc Takes staff became official on Aug. 8. Recently, we spoke to Birmingham-USL VP and Birmingham Hammers co-founder, Morgan Copes, about how #USL2BHM came to be, and their plans for the 2019 season.
Copes and Outland at the unveiling of Birmingham-USL. Photo credit: USL
Magic
Birmingham announced USL as its first 2019 expansion team (the league subsequently announced Vegas and Austin as well), and Copes explained why the city was a strong destination for professional soccer:
“Soccer can be played year round here, and the people of Birmingham are very knowledgable about the sport. Nation-wide, parents are becoming more wary about the head injuries in other sports, and that’s one of many reasons why more and more kids are sticking with soccer, including here in Birmingham,” Copes explained.
Much like the city of Birmingham, Copes has his own connection to the beautiful game. Having played in college, Copes explained that somehow soccer has always drawn him back in. “When you’re not involved, there’s a piece of you that’s missing,” Copes said, “Moving to Birmingham, and realizing it’s a city with a million-plus folks. It’s more than enough to sustain a franchise. Birmingham hasn’t had a top-tier team, but teams that are here have been well supported by fans.”
Elaborating on the identity and interest of the ownership group, Copes said, “Our ownership group (Jeff Logan, co-owner of Birmingham Barons, James Outland, managing partner at New Capital Partners and Lee Stylsinger III, CEO of Altec Inc.) has local ties to the city. I think there is a celebratory interest (from them) in having another sport team in town,” Copes added.
“There’s been some push-back from those who believe in a promotion-relegation system, who want to see promoted rather than quote ‘buy it.'”
Conversations with both leagues
At a time when there were two-D2 leagues, Copes admits that NASL was at least an option for the current ownership group. “Our ownership group had some conversations (with NASL), but the details aren’t for me to discuss. Personally, I don’t like the split season, and again, this is my opinion, but it seems to me that NASL is still trying to go head on with MLS for D1.”
Copes explained that the “stability” and “business model” of the USL were key reasons why the USL was ultimately a better choice for them. “It’s been a two-plus year process for our ownership group. The USL has invested intelligently and is expanding at a good rate. We’re centrally located with Nashville, the Carolina teams, Louisville and Cincinnati in proximity to Birmingham. It makes sense.”
The Magic City Brigade
“You’re only as successful as your fans allow you to be. If you don’t have fans, you don’t have a team. They are a super passionate group of individuals who show up rain or shine,” Copes said of the passionate supporter group.
When asked if there was ever a possibility of an USL-Birmingham team without the involvement of the Birmingham Hammers (and, by extension, the magic city brigade), Copes clarified, “There’s always the possibility of it happening without us, but, we trusted the USL to keep us involved.”
However, Copes admits that the support from the Hammers fans isn’t unanimous. “There’s been some push-back from those who believe in a promotion-relegation system, who want to see promoted rather than quote ‘buy it’. We think we’ve more than earned that. But, we’ve never pushed back , we’ve (The Hammers) always said in our mission statement that we wanted to bring professional football to the Magic City. That’s something to celebrated, not condemned or damned.”
Expectant fans in attendance at the Birmingham-USL announcement. Photo credit: Brandon Smith
The future
While the USL announcement is very exciting (Copes says that their focus is on 2019), the immediate future includes a PDL season in 2018. “We have to focus on the PDL next year,” said Copes. The long list of things to accomplish include hiring coaches, signing players and deciding on a name . When asked about a name, Copes reiterated what he said on Jason Davis’ United States of Soccer – “we’re working on it.”
While there are no players nor technical staff, Copes is already throwing down the gauntlet for 2018’s USL debutants. “We will beat Nashville to that first trophy, trust me on that.” Soc Takes reached out to Nashville-USL staff but did not receive a comment at time of publishing.
Whether or not they beat Nashville to that trophy, USL-Birmingham remains a feel-good story, about a group of men who whimsically decided to start an NPSL team, and within a few years helped bring a professional team to Birmingham.
“It brings a whole new meaning to ‘hold my beer and watch this.’“
“We will beat Nashville to that first trophy, trust me on that.”
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Follow Nipun on Twitter: @NipunChopra7.
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