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The Chattanooga Conflagration

By Jason Davis —
The Chattanooga Conflagration

Tonight in the second round of 110th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a pair of lower division American soccer clubs will face off for the right to move forward in the tournament.

Normally, a match like that wouldn't get much attention beyond the small group of Open Cup weirdos (yours truly included) who romanticize ramshackle teams playing in front of tiny crowds on fields that seem to actively fight against the sport being played on them. Who chooses to watch teams from the second, third, and fourth divisions of American soccer on YouTube streams on a Wednesday night when Shohei Otani exists? Only complete sickos.

But this particular knockout affair between lower division American soccer clubs drips with some extra sauce. Chattanooga FC, a former amateur outfit that has blazed more trials in the last 15 years than any American soccer team this side of Hamtramk, will face off against the Chattanooga Red Wolves, a USL League One team that entered the market in 2018 backed by an out-of-town businessman.

Despite operating eight miles from one another for the last six years, Chattanooga FC and the Red Wolves have never played one another.

There are so many "American soccer in microcosm" elements to this story that it's almost hard to hold them all in your head. Narratives on narratives on narratives. American soccer is the snake that eats its tail and Chattanooga serves as a model example of how the combination of capitalism and lack a unified soccer culture often leads to competition that doesn't always benefit the growth of the game.

Relevant points for people unfamiliar with the conflict:

  • CFC is a grassroots club that started amateur, built a fan base, and pushed soccer into the spotlight in Chattanooga in an authentic manner that "feels" (a loaded word I wanted to be careful with) for a lot of soccer fans in Chattanooga and beyond.
  • In 2018, seeing the success of Chattanooga FC, USL identified the market as a one obvious candidate for a team for its planned third-division set to launch in 2019, USL League One.
  • An out-of-town investor, Utah-based businessman Bob Martino, bought the USL territorial rights for Chattanooga and launched the Red Wolves into USL League One in 2019.
  • As the Red Wolves were being formed and preparing for their inaugural season, Chattanooga FC general manager Sean McDaniel resigned from that club and jumped ship for the new team.
  • Forced to compete with a new professional outfit, Chattanooga FC raised funds through a fan-ownership campaign (the first in American soccer, AFAIK) and jumped into the professional ranks with NISA. As Class S shares of the club, they came with no voting rights and no dividends.
  • Because of NISA's slow collapse and the Red Wolves hold on USL territorial rights, CFC has no choice but to join MLS Next Pro in 2024 as one of that competitions few independent clubs.

There's a lot more, including some allegations McDaniel misspent some CFC funds on his way out the door (allegations that went no where as far as I can tell), the Red Wolves attempt to hijack the lease of Finley Stadium (CFC's home venue), and the slow process that is the construction of the Red Wolves stadium, CHI Memorial.

While I get that for a lot of soccer fans there are clear lines between good and evil in this dynamic, I'm curious about those fans who attached themselves to the Red Wolves. It doesn't make any sense to me to castigate them, especially if they didn't know the story when they made their choice.

As American soccer fans anxious to see the game grow, we can't be in the business or moralizing over fandom to the point of turning people off. I hope to explore these issues in this space as posting to Soccer Eagle becomes part of my routine.

The CFC v. Red Wolves saga is especially interesting in this moment, when the USL is branding itself the plucky underdog against MLS and is moving towards meeting traditional soccer fans where they live with a plan for promotion and relegation.

We talked about the game and the history on this morning's edition of Morning Kickaround.

If you're looking for a much more in-depth look at the history from people intimately familiar with it, there's a lengthy podcast on the topic from CFC fans Section 109.

And when it comes to lower league soccer coverage, it's always good to read Protagonist Soccer. Here's their piece on the game and the rivalry.

The Stuff I Do

Since I'm also using Soccer Eagle as a place to collect all the various things I'm doing, here's a quick rundown from the last few days.

Thanks for reading. Soccer Eagle out.