New Year, Same Problems

Happy New year to everyone, and may 2016 be a prosperous one.

However, one of the richest clubs in terms of history in US soccer has had to sell out to USL (read: USL "terminates the Rochester ownership group") due to financial concerns and operations flaws, which would have been undoubtedly washed away by promotion-relegation this year as they won the USL championship and the playoffs. Rochester shocked the world in 1999 by winning the US Open Cup as a non-MLS team in the era of MLS by beating the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in Columbus. On a personal note, my father spent some of his childhood in Rochester. One of his favorite memories as a kid was when his grandfather (the man for whom I'm named) took him out of school and drove him down to Baltimore to see the Orioles play in the playoffs. I think it is a considerable note that I have an affinity for Rochester since the Orioles' AAA team was located there for many years -- the Rochester Red Wings, currently the affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

Rochester is a hotbed for soccer and has been since the inception of the team. Rochester boasts one of the earliest "soccer-specific stadiums" in the modern history of US soccer. their most famous player is Pat Onstad, who is currently an assistant with the Columbus Crew. So, while Rochester has not produced anyone of top-level European talent by any means, they have produced some people who have played in MLS during their time.

However, USL claims to be taking ownership of the team, taking away the community involvement of the Rochester supporters and the like, at least on its face. The USL group led by Tom Velt has had some dealings with the Philadelphia Union and PPL Park. They have claimed that the Rhinos are "open for business", but that is a farce. No club can truly be in business with league ownership in myopinion, so the sporting merit of the Rhinos' season is in jeopardy of being for naught, just like the Atlanta Silverbacks of NASL are right now, and have been for the past year. The San Antonio Scorpions have suffered the same fate: closing down when their owner sold the stadium to the city of San Antonio, allowing the Spurs-backed USL San Antonio side to reap all the benefits of the Scorpions' hard work. However, it cannot be ignored that noted NASL writer Kartik Krishimayer has repeatedly called out the Scorpions' group as being unprofessional after the original owner stepped down. It seemed as though they were giving up, and they have. I pray to God that Rochester supporters are up in arms today and every day until a new owner can be found for their historic club, and I urge you to join me in using the hashtag #StandForRochester to make sure this doesn't happen.

Author's Note: I would like to extend my deepest apologies to the Silverbacks fans who may feel alienated that I did not give them a hashtag. I did not think of using a hashtag until now. So, if you prefer #StandForAtlanta, you may use it to full effect.