This print story appeared on the cover of LEO's April 21, 2021, issue. Photo by Kathryn Harrington.

The Road To Soccer City:
How Louisville’s New Women’s Soccer Team 
Is Poised To Reshape Our Identity 

The golden, post-rain haze had already wafted away from the field at Lynn Family Stadium and given way to night, but the crowd was glowing with the energy of anticipation and uncertainty. 5,300 people, dots of purple and lavender against the concrete, were waiting for a miracle.

The Racing Louisville Football Club, Louisville's new professional women's soccer team, was losing to the Orlando Pride by a point in the 93rd minute. It was already overtime —  and it was the Racing's first ever game, their debut to the city and the world, their first and most important chance to prove that they could deliver. Faced with the formidable threat of playing pros like Ali Krieger and Marta — not to mention the threat of the pandemic — their mission was larger than just winning one weekend match.

Louisville defender Brooke Hendrix, by her own admission, doesn't score often. She wasn't planning for what would happen next. She wasn't expecting that her teammates would head the ball to land right by her feet. She wasn't expecting that she'd be the one to kick it clear past the Pride's goalie, straight into the net.

She wasn't expecting to single-handedly change the game for her team — and her new community.

The drums beat; the fans roared; the sky lit up with the flashes of purple lights against purple smoke. The Racing, who were now swarming Hendrix with hugs, had tied their debut game 2-2. In soccer parlance, they had "equalized" it — against world champions, no less. It was no miracle; it was the result of thousands of hours of training and hard work and team-building, all of which would have the power to bring millions of dollars into the local economy.

It was the beginning of the road to Soccer City.

The Racing Louisville Football Club, more commonly referred to as the Racing, is Louisville’s new women’s soccer team and the city’s only professional team in four decades. Its players come from 15 different states; some are from as far away as Sweden and Japan. For all but one of them — forward Emina Ekic, a duPont Manual grad who played for the UofL D1 women’s soccer team before coming to the Racing — playing in Louisville is a new venture.

“Every player in this club has a point to prove,” said Coach Christy Holly, who hails from Northern Ireland. “They do have to show that they belong at this level. The reason that we got access to them is because maybe it didn't work out for them at their previous organization. And that's not a poor reflection of them, or of the previous organization — it just wasn't the right fit. So it's an opportunity for them to come in and show that they belong at this level, and they can contribute, and that they're deserving of the opportunities that lie in front of them.”

“When we have that hunger and that cultural alignment, I think it makes them a little bit different-than and somewhat dangerous,” he continued.

After the Racing’s loss to the Washington Spirit, Coach Holly was dismayed at the result, but not devastated.

“We know we're in a long journey here of growing and evolving a team and adversity, and losses are vitally important,” he told LEO. “That's where a lot of our growth is going to come from. It's nice, scoring a goal in the ninety-third minute to equalize, but there's so much more learning and growth that can come from difficult losses and difficult moments.”

Coach Holly is effusive about his team, whom he feels “very, very honored” to coach. He offered praise for the “tremendous professional” Michelle Betos, the team captain, and the “world-class” vice captain Savannah McCaskill.

“There's not one player I looked at last night as we walked off the field and thought, ‘God, I wish you weren't here,’” he said. “Every single player is so aligned and really driven to contribute to the bigger goal.”

Even so, the pandemic put a dent in Holly’s initial recruiting and team-building plans — as he puts it, “You can’t email a handshake.” Still, he says, the larger losses of the last year remind him to reframe the losses of competition.

“There could be someone associated with our team, associated with our community, with our fans, that may have lost a family member to the pandemic,” he said. “It's been challenging, but it helps keep things in perspective that we're still very privileged and we should use our platform for the greater good.”

They team members made their official debut in their inaugural game against the Orlando Pride on April 10 in Lynn Family Stadium. A record 5,300 fans filled the stadium to support them — in pod seats, for the most part. There would be three times as many fans in a normal year, but the current capacity limits have kept the stadium only about 35% full.

This season, Lynn Family Stadium is using the same VenueShield protocols as other arenas like the Yum! Center and Freedom Hall: mandatory masks, hand sanitizer stations, temperature checks, and social distancing signs, amongst other things.

For what it’s worth, I have covered a number of arena sports events in Louisville since February, including multiple bull riding shows, a basketball game, and a boxing weigh-in, but I have never felt as COVID-safe nor seen as much mask-wearing as I have in two reporting trips to Lynn Family Stadium.

The pandemic cannot quash the ever-growing fan energy that has been building up since the team was founded in October 2019. The last year has kept many people away from sports, but the most fervent supporters will always prioritize the game.

The pandemic could try, but it could never stop the SGs. 

If you’ve been to a soccer game in Louisville, you’ve seen them: they park a purple bus in the Gold Lot. They bring any and every purple or fleur-de-lis-patterned accessory that exists — shoes, hats, scarves, hoodies, t-shirts, face masks. They set off purple smoke bombs each time a Louisville player scores a goal. They decorate the stadium with banners and flags, like the one with a silhouette of a player big enough to cover a car that hung from the rafters on April 10, which read, “THIS IS HER LOUISVILLE.”

These are the supporters groups, more commonly called SGs, who make up the most visible fan presence in the stands. These are not the fans who sit idly by, sipping their beers while the game action rages in front of them; they are part of the game action, every bit as much as the players. From the Estopinal side of the stadium, their claps, their chants, their cheers, and their Capos — group members with megaphones who lead the crowd — collectively create a soundtrack to the gameplay, both to encourage the players and elicit cheers from the fans.

Despite the controlled rowdiness, these groups are organizations with boards and bylaws and dues, whose members, more often than not season ticket holders, get access to private events put on by Club staff. Five of them, including Scouse’s House, The Sheep’s Pen, The Ledgehogs, and The Coopers, are “official” groups recognized by the Club itself; others, including the Lavender Legion and the Derby City Ultras, are “unofficial,” but no less active. The groups concentrate largely in the lower part of the standing-room-only section, right above the goal. Collectively, they make up a subculture that officials and players cite with gratitude as a driving force for both the team and the sustainability of the franchise.

Even during the pandemic, their members are here at Lynn Family Stadium in the hundreds, making a vocal, united show of support. After years of supporting the men’s team, LouCity FC, they’re now eager to bring that support to the women of the Racing.

Still: why and how would they bring such fervor for a team they don’t know yet, for whom, unlike LouCity, they don’t have years of precedent?

“We’ve had a year to plan for this,” said supporter Michele Wilkinson. “The team’s had a year to market, the supporters group has had a year to market. The thing that has built soccer in Louisville is word of mouth. If you tell a friend, you bring a friend; and if you bring them, they’re coming back, they’re bringing another friend. That’s just how soccer is built in Louisville.” 

She also cited the quality of the players: “The product on the field is new and young, but it’s here to stay. And it’s only gonna get better.”

Wilkinson is president of the LouCity Ladies, an officially recognized SG whose members are all female and female-identifying. You might not see them in all the commotion and color of a regular match, but they’re there, both seated and standing throughout the stadium, keeping an eye on the action on and off the field. (In fact, they are the only official SG that has permission to go outside of the supporters’ section.)

For the Ladies, their club isn’t just a group of women, it’s a group for women — women who might not feel completely comfortable at a sporting event, even with a women’s team on the field.

“Sometimes the women’s voices get kind of lost in the mix of the people who have been around the game forever, and unintentionally, women get the feeling [of], I can’t ask a question — if I ask what an offside is, somebody’s gonna judge me,” Wilkinson explained.

As part of her role with the Ladies, she answers texts about the game mechanics of soccer — and, when necessary, deploys members to go sit or walk with women in the stadium who ask for company, for any reason. 

“Find us — we’re everywhere; you’re safe,” Wilkinson continued. “Whether you’re trans, whether you’re femme, especially if you’re an out-of-towner, coming to a new city might feel uncomfortable and unsafe. We want people to know, when you come to Louisville, find us. There’s somebody everywhere that you can sit with, and you’ll feel safe.”

Amidst the purple banners and flags at this season’s Louisville soccer games were rainbow Pride flags and flags in support of Black Lives Matter, both of which made appearances on fans’ apparel as well. Several female soccer celebrities are part of the LGBTQ community, including married couple Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris, who played against the Racing this year.

There were a few other signs up at the first game, too, courtesy of the supporters group The Lavender Legion. Black and white banners bore, in all caps, the names of notable women from Louisville: on one side, ANNE BRADEN, SUE GRAFTON, DAWNE GEE; on the other, AMIRAGE SALING, TORI MURDEN MCCLURE, ELIZABETH KIZITO.

A banner easily four times as large as the others was front and center, visible all the way across the field. It had only one name: 

BREONNA. 

Conquering social inequities is a key factor in bringing healing to the city, one that the Racing’s officials, players, and fans take seriously. Still, it’s impossible to overlook the economic benefit that a new professional sports franchise will produce. As Karl F. Schmitt, Jr., president and CEO of the Louisville Sports Commission, wrote in an editorial last December, “Sports […] are an important boost to the economy. At this point in our history, sports are not a luxury, they are a lifeline.” 

The numbers agree: Sports bring in very big bucks. A casual Racing fan who lives in Louisville might pay for a ticket and a snack at the stadium a few times a season, but they might also need gas on the way there. A serious fan visiting from out of town would pay for multiple tickets, multiple meals, multiple hotel nights, multiple flights or bus tickets, and lots of merch. Multiply that by 5,300 — or 15,000 in any other year — and those numbers create a serious economic force to be reckoned with.

“Kentucky tourism is an $11.8 billion industry in the commonwealth and is the third largest industry in Louisville, generating an annual economic impact of $3.5 billion,” said Danielle Jones, executive director of public affairs and constituent services in the Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet, in an emailed statement to LEO. “While the tourism industry has suffered significant loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky’s strong tourism industry combined with access to outdoor recreation positions us to be a leader in recovery.”

When I spoke to fans, every one of them told me that this team’s existence was proof positive that Louisville is and deserves to be a major sports town.

Jessica McGraw, who serves as a Capo for The Coopers, said, “There a lot of haters out there because we’re Kentucky, and we still have that stigma [that] it’s a little podunk area,” she said. “If you don’t know us, then you don’t realize Louisville has a lot to offer.”

Calvin McPherson, who associates with the LouCity Ladies through his wife Hope, agreed: “I think we’re going to play better than a lot of other cities may have given us credit for. I think we’re gonna show them that the players want to be here and that Louisville’s a serious soccer city.” 

“Soccer city” is a phrase I’ve heard numerous times in the process of reporting this article, both from fans and officials. Even without the exact phrasing, the sentiment is there from as far away as Frankfort: Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman told LEO in a statement that she was excited for the Racing’s new season.

“The team will serve as ambassadors for Kentucky and powerful examples to our daughters that, with hard work and dedication, they can accomplish their dreams,” she said.

When I went to that inaugural game on April 10, I didn’t feel like the team was breaking new ground — I felt like I was watching a team that already belonged. The fanhood was as enthusiastic and the journalistic interest from so many outlets was as strong as I’ve ever seen for any other team — men’s or women’s. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that the Racing had already been an active presence in Louisville for a year or ten.

Being part of the National Women’s Soccer League has the potential to reshape Louisville’s future as a city of sports. It’s not that the fate of our city hangs in the balance of the Racing’s performance at a game — but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Granted, I don’t think the Racing will supplant our identity as Derby City — the Derby isn’t going anywhere, nor are any of our college teams, nor is the legacy of Muhammad Ali. Rather, this new team’s debut is poised to add a strong new element to our hometown pride and culture. It might be a while before we see Racing t-shirts in the same spaces where we sell Derby t-shirts and Cards tchotchkes — gas stations, airport gift shops, etc.  but we have as much space for the talent and fanbase to support a team like the Racing as a city twice our size.

The road to Soccer City is just beginning.


Note: A year and a half after this story ran, a report from former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates brought serious allegations against Coach Holly to light. LEO has since covered the responses from fans, players, and officials.

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