My 2024 recap

Not to be confused with the wrap of 2024, this is a look back at my Lower Alabama experience for 2024.

I've been a soccer fan of varying intensity for many years. More recently, I got into following Birmingham Legion in a big way, which led to me opening my eyes to the larger world of lower division soccer that's all around us. It's easy to be blinded by the big European leagues, International competition, and even MLS. Many people just don't know what's all around them, and don't really grasp the scope of the game, especially in the US. I say that with confidence, as I've been someone that's followed European and International soccer, and had solid awareness down to the USL level, but was pretty oblivious to what else was around me. It's a little like swimming in the ocean. There may not be a shark or dolphin swimming past you, but the water around you is FULL of little fish.

Over the past couple of years, I've gotten a pretty good grasp of what's around me, beyond Legion. My first real ventures into broader horizons were in 2023, getting to Open Cup games, and traveling up to see Huntsville City during their inaugural season. Headed into 2024, I wanted to get a full grasp, and practice what so many preach: get out and support lower division soccer.

My goals for the year included trying to see games in person for as many leagues and Alabama teams as I could. Due to friendlies, the Open Cup, etc, I saw teams from the following leagues in person:

MLS (ATL United friendly against Legion)

USL Championship (Legion)

USL 1 (Chattanooga Red Wolves vs Legion, friendly and Open Cup)

NextPro (at Chattanooga FC, friendly vs Legion)

NPSL (Columbus United friendly vs Alabama FC South, inaugural action for both)

GCPL (3 games, including the championship game)

USL 2 (Legion 2 vs Dothan United)

USLW (Legion W vs Asheville City)

The glaring miss is that I have yet to get to an FC Birmingham game, right here in my own city. The challenge has been largely due to the fact that most of their games have been in direct conflict with the Legion schedule. The other wishlist teams are the two GCPL teams in Mobile. I hoped to get to one of the games where they faced each other, but couldn't make it work.

In addition to going to a bunch of games, I also started this blog. As much as anything, it's a mechanism to keep myself abreast of what's going on around me, and hopefully it will lead to some people stumbling by, who will discover some things they hadn't realized. I don't view this as “reporting” on lower division soccer in Alabama, more like it's an aggregation of information that isn't always easy to find (or, is sporadic).

If you're here, thanks for reading, and I hope you're looking forward to 2025 as much as I am.