SG Effigy: The Coopers

Welcome to our SG Effigy series, which highlights supporters’ groups (SGs) around the U.S. that our staff photojournalists have covered.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One of the most successful clubs in all of lower-division soccer in the U.S. since first taking the pitch in 2015, Louisville City FC has a die-hard supporters’ group in The Coopers.

“The Coopers were founded in 2013 when a few guys that had met online decided they wanted to take concrete steps toward bringing professional soccer to Louisville,” a supporters’ group spokesperson wrote in a message to Soc Takes. “They quickly partnered with what would become the original ownership group for Louisville City FC, who were announced as a USL Pro club less than a year later.”

LouCity has won two USL Cups, first lifting the trophy in 2017 and again in 2018. The club made it to the Eastern Conference final in each of the previous two seasons, and finished as runners-up in the 2019 USL Championship playoffs after winning the East as the No. 4 seed. If that’s not success, what is?

The Coopers, who derive their name from local bourbon culture — coopers create the barrels that bourbon and whiskey are aged in — don’t just rep LouCity, they also take pride in expanding soccer’s footprint throughout the area.

“The Coopers strive to be a big-tent supporters group, and that’s probably the best thing about it,” added the spokesperson. “It’s a very diverse group of people working toward a common goal: supporting LouCity in any way we can and growing the game in Louisville.”

With brand-spanking-new Lynn Family Stadium set to open in Louisville’s Butchertown neighborhood in 2020, expect to hear The Coopers’ raucous chants and banter echoing over the pitch for years to come.