We at Who Gives a Hoot want you to get the insider info on our supporters and members of the Union Omaha front office. To get you an insight, we’ve asked each group four of the same questions as well as one unique to the front office and one unique to supporters for a total of FIVE fun answers. ENJOY!
What has you excited about Union Omaha?
As a lifelong Omahan, if I had to sum it up in a word; everything. But to really narrow it down, the thing that’s got me the most excited is a club that’s for the entire community. For the longest time, Omahans and Nebraskans have had to rely on clubs out of state or at the collegiate level for their local or Pro soccer. This is a community that has been waiting for a club at this level for a really, really long time. We’ve got really good collegiate and high school clubs all over the state, but there was no true top-of-the-pyramid within the state for our players and coaching talent to go. So, when the news broke that we were getting a USL Team, I was cautiously optimistic. At the team name and crest reveal in Benson this past fall, I went from being curious to ecstatic when the name and crest was announced. My arms literally shot in the air and I went “YES!!” for a couple of reasons. First; we didn’t go the FC or United route with our name. I owe the ownership group a sandwich for that one Also it seemed to connect to the community history without being cheesy or obvious. And the fact that we were able to pull in a coach like Jay Mims was a huge signal to the community that they were wanting to draw in top local talent while wanting to be competitive on the field. That said to me that the owners were serious about getting this off-the-ground. It was at the crest reveal the seed for wanting to start a supporters group of my own was planted. Since then, i’ve been trying to find as many like-minded mutants to join my supporters group to cheer this team on!
What is your favorite soccer memory?
My favorite English Premier League club is West Ham United and a few years ago, they were relegated to the 2nd tier of English Football. They spent the next year in total “eye of the tiger” mode fighting their way to the top of the table to get back into the Premier League. A lot of fans dread seeing their team go down from the top-flight, but watching your team and its fans to come together in hard times was honestly one of the best seasons of soccer that I got to witness. It added so much drama and urgency to the games that with the matches I was able to watch online (since not a lot of 2nd tier games make NBC/Fox Sports, etc) it made the games so electric! Plus away days in the 2nd tier are a lot of fun because the fans at that level are super fun but relaxed since it’s only the 2nd tier of soccer. Believe me, being a West Ham supporter means knowing how to pull behind your team in feast and famine. And they showed the best of what community soccer fandom at the club level can bring. And it’s that kind of energy that I want to bring to the table for Union Omaha.
How do you plan on celebrating our first goal?
Me and the Union Army will be on our feet and hopefully lighting smoke to celebrate!
Where do you see Union Omaha in 5 years?
As the preeminent midwestern powerhouse club in the USL. Nebraska has a richer soccer culture than we realize and it never had an outlet in the state at the Pro level. I would hope in five years, both the club and the founding fanbase, does some significant outreach to parents and players at the K-12 levels to bring them into the fold. My hope is that we build a rabid fanbase in Omaha to the point where we’re pulling in 20 thousand people per home game and that there’s a significant waiting list for season tickets to the point where significant expansions of Werner are needed to accommodate the interest. I just want to work really hard to make this a club where every member of the community, regardless of their background, can come together and watch a really good soccer club. Maybe even by that point, we’ll even be fielding a women’s team! That’s where people like us come in to spread the good word amongst our friends, family and community.
How can someone get involved?
That’s easy; tell everyone you know about the team. There are a lot of soccer people in the area who still don’t know about the team, so just doing outreach and communication about the club is job one. But if you really want to get involved with some really passionate fans, I’d recommend joining either the Parliament or Union Army supporters groups.
Who Gives A Hoot? 