My name is Patrick Shea, founder and editor of now-defunct CurrentOfColorado.com. Although I closed my soccer video publishing business, my soccer life continues. Like a hammer who sees nothing but nails everywhere, I see the value of soccer all over our planet. Let me know if this video makes sense, a call to "YES" instead of "no."
I drove more than 2,000 miles from Colorado to film the opening night of C'Ville FC tryouts on August 24, 2017. The first United Premier Soccer League team in Virginia, C'Ville FC will play its first UPSL games in the spring. This video includes interviews with the owner, coaching staff, and a former MLS official. You'll also hear the happy chatter of quality players moving the ball around the field.
Last fall, I filmed an LA Wolves practice and interviewed the team owner and UPSL founder, Yan Skwara. Skwara said his California league was adding Colorado as a fifth state and hoping to go nationwide. He did it. UPSL teams cover the country now, representing a much-needed membrane between amateur and professional soccer in the United States. Finally, the pyramid is complete.
I initially drove to Charlottesville in the wake of the deadly Jim Crow memorial incident, compelled by emotion without direction. Before I left Colorado, I visited the Jack Dempsey museum in Manassa. At the age of 10, Dempsey's parents started moving frequently between mining towns, and Jack would watch the miners fight at night once they had enough whiskey courage. He learned a lot of tricks, and he must have witnessed the value of persistent punching. Seeing the faces on the marchers bearing tiki torches really hit me. They looked confused, misdirected, and undeniably pissed. I don't want to dismiss their anger, citing a weak link to a Lost Cause from long ago. I don't think that's the source of the anger. I don't have a clue. That's why I drove across the country. I wanted to have a Million Man BBQ and talk about it, hear it from the source.
The BBQ didn't go down until I returned home, and I was the only person there. My rule: Don't tell anyone what to do. Rule Two: Listen. Rule Three: If I see, hear, or otherwise witness bullshit, I call it. But after driving more than 4,000 miles, shopping exclusively at Family Dollar, visiting hot springs, filming the eclipse above Hot Springs, Virginia, and taking my time with everyone I met, I witnessed no bullshit. Granted, I was in vacation mode and looking for tranquility and fun. I found it. One hot spring had a sign that read, "You can't say 'bubbles' with an angry tone. Try it.'" Everyone was in a good mood in the situations I passed through from Colorado to Virginia and back again (through Hot Springs, Arkansas, just to get another glimpse of post-bullshit life). Like in Virginia, the people in Arkansas were cool, calm, and collected.
So instead of telling strangers to abandon marches and start a boxing club, I retreated to my dearest echo chamber. As luck would have it, C'Ville FC announced their entry in the UPSL on August 8. I contacted the owner and coaches and requested an interview. This video shows what no other media outlet was showing at the time. This shows the true Charlottesville, and since my video was released on Facebook and Vimeo, the local CBS affiliate created a great piece on about the team on real TV.
Long story short: I can't tell anyone what to do. But instead of "Just say no" or being negative, I'd suggest that people "Just say YES" to something they love. I've played soccer for 50 years, saying "YES" seven days a week as a kid with my friends. Soccer has never said "no" to me.