2019 Cavalry FC season thread

[Muta]

Good lord that was fun tonight. I just left my seat in 107 and went and stood in the Supporters section in the second half and cheered my ass off. That Escalante shot, and the Crepeau save, what a rush of adrenaline.

I think I've converted over 10 people now to become permanent Cavs fans. This team gives me every reason to back each game. The momentum is building in this city for this team and it's fantastic to watch.

[StoneCole]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

What is the difference between the Foot Soldiers and the Foot Clan? Are they 2 different Cavalry supporter group?

Technically they are BOTH Foothills FC supporters groups who have embraced Cavalry.

Foot Soldiers have more of a presence these days although some say that Foot Clan are the original supporters group.

[Kipper is King]

Wow, that was fun! The weather was beautiful, and the fans were loud!

I love this club.

If you had told me in January the experience of going to a soccer game in Calgary could be that great this soon, I would have told you about the nice bridge in Brooklyn I have to sell you!

I knew soccer fandom was simmering under the surface here. Wow. Just wow.

[browna]

Highlights up:
https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/video/rec...-leg-stalemate

[Reggie Dunlop]

There's a Lethbridge Supporters Group to travel up to the games as well. South City Squadron?

[corporatejay]

Who does Sherman roll with?

[CofR]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Who does Sherman roll with?

Shermantor is the OG foot soldier. He is my king

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

There's a Lethbridge Supporters Group to travel up to the games as well. South City Squadron?

Yup, they've come to a lot of games and done a couple of really nice banners. The "Che Tommy Guevara" banner is courtesy of them. We should really return the favour and support them at a Lethbridge FC game.

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Who does Sherman roll with?

I am an OG Foot Soldier. Started the group with 5 others in March 2015.

[shermanator]

And for the morning triple post, damn do I ever love coming into this thread after a game and seeing the excitement of posters here. Think there is something really great growing in this city...

[Ozy_Flame]

He's the Sherman Tank of the supports group, and like any good Sherman Tank, the platoon is best when there is strength in numbers.

Glad to see the supporters group growing and pushing the lads to be the best in the CPL

Any chance there is a Supporters Group / Foot Soldiers extension for POW's up here in Edmonton?

[CroFlames]

Great atmosphere. Going into the match, I would have been ecstatic with 0-0. The way Cavalry poured in on in the 2nd half though, it was almost heartbreaking not to walk away with a win.

One tradition I absolutely love in soccer is the salute to the crowd when players and staff run to the stands and give the fans an applause.

I wonder how that Iraqi international felt going from Serie A stadiums to playing a Canadian CPL team and getting mercilessly harassed by the grandstand hahaha. "You're JUNK buddy!!!"

[Jimmy Stang]

Everything about yesterday was so enjoyable. Commuted from Tuscany at 5:30-ish with Howie_16 and a couple of others, and met a couple of others down there.

Kildare's - they get it. Seriously consider hitting this place up before a game. Park your car, patronize the pub, and hop on their bus to and from the game. Spoke briefly with the GM there and he's really working hard at it and it is paying off. The place was hopping, they had York/Montreal on the screens, and they plan on doing a bus for every weekend game this season now. They ran two buses for last night's match.

Foot Soldiers - fantastic as always.

I was impressed by the supporters in all sections, to be honest. We were in 103 this time, and there was plenty of cheering, banter, applause, etc. throughout the game. These aren't football or hockey or baseball fans curiously seeing what this is all about. These are soccer people, and they know what they are there for. It is funny, because I go to Flames games and the occasional Stamps game, but I am largely from a soccer upbringing. Son of immigrants, married to a daughter of immigrants, etc. I said to one of my brother-in-laws at the game how everything just felt so... right. Being at a soccer game with soccer people all around you. Supporting soccer is something that happens in my basement on Saturday mornings, or in a little window on my computer at work mid-week, or when I go to England and visit family and catch as many Norwich matches as I can, or when I go to Vancouver for the weekend with my wife, etc. But now it is happening here. Nothing against the Flames, Stamps, etc. but there is something different about soccer culture, and it is really neat to see it taking shape here in Calgary. It is authentic and people get it.

Logistics are much improved given the volume of people. Concessions, washrooms, etc. all move surprisingly well. The concessions still really, really need to build in GST into their prices and have it end up on an even dollar amount. Or even to the nearest quarter. That would speed things up even more and would be a win-win for patrons and the staff.

The pitch was a bit rough - whatever. Horses use it too, everyone knows that, and the pitch was the same for both teams.

I enjoyed the fans in our area pestering Ali Adnan for some stalling tactics on our near sideline. I actually like the guy, he's an Iraqi national team player, former Serie A player with Udinese and Atalanta, etc. but it was fun to try and get under his skin. A few rows down from us there was a guy with an Iraqi flag who would hold it up whenever he thought Ali Adnan would notice it, and it turns out he did. After the match he came over and tossed him his jersey so that was nice. Had to applaud him for that.

I am very happy with that result. It doesn't matter much to me that Vancouver are kind of crap at the moment - they brought a very strong lineup, and aside from maybe 20-30 minutes of the first half, were largely on their heels. If you had asked me beforehand, I would have been pleased with a 0-0 but would have expected it to be a bit of a scrappy, lucky, clingy 0-0. That was not the case at all. Cavalry went for it and were actually a bit unlucky not to come away with the win. Especially that Escalante shot. Man oh man.

I'm not saying that every 0-0 is an entertaining match, but this one sure was. And that goes back to how soccer people "get it". Everyone knew that they were playing a "bigger club", and that it was going to be a tough one. But people applauded good defending, courageous tackles, energetic counter attacking, etc. Cynics and naysayers would say : "0-0. That must've been boring. Soccer sucks." It couldn't be further from the truth.

The nice thing now is that, with it being 0-0, any goal that Cavalry might score in Vancouver is an away goal. So 0-0 goes to extra time, but 1-1, or any other combination of tie, goes to Cavalry. And any win, of course. If they had conceded an away goal at home, even if it ended 1-1, they would be at a disadvantage in Vancouver. Now the opportunity exists for them to go into BC Place and find a goal somehow, and squeak out a 1-0 to take it. I'm an optimist but a realist, so I really didn't expect to be in this position going into the away leg. It'll still be a tough match, but stranger things have happened.

Wow. That was more rambly than I expected. Sorry, not sorry.

[Monahan For Mayor]

What a game! The only real negative is the pitch. That pitch was a MESS! If Cavs continue to find success and end up building a bigger stadium(proposed 12k) I really hope they decide against using it for horses. The current venue is awesome, but the pitch kind of ruins it.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Monahan For Mayor

What a game! The only real negative is the pitch. That pitch was a MESS! If Cavs continue to find success and end up building a bigger stadium(proposed 12k) I really hope they decide against using it for horses. The current venue is awesome, but the pitch kind of ruins it.

The All Canada Ring is still meant to be multi-purpose as well, so that's not happening. Fortunately, the show jumping season is pretty much over now. There's only the Masters left at the start of September - and a two week gap from that even to the following Cavalry game. So the pitch should be in much better condition going forward.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Everything about yesterday was so enjoyable. Commuted from Tuscany at 5:30-ish with Howie_16 and a couple of others, and met a couple of others down there.

Kildare's - they get it. Seriously consider hitting this place up before a game. Park your car, patronize the pub, and hop on their bus to and from the game. Spoke briefly with the GM there and he's really working hard at it and it is paying off. The place was hopping, they had York/Montreal on the screens, and they plan on doing a bus for every weekend game this season now. They ran two buses for last night's match.

Foot Soldiers - fantastic as always.

I was impressed by the supporters in all sections, to be honest. We were in 103 this time, and there was plenty of cheering, banter, applause, etc. throughout the game. These aren't football or hockey or baseball fans curiously seeing what this is all about. These are soccer people, and they know what they are there for. It is funny, because I go to Flames games and the occasional Stamps game, but I am largely from a soccer upbringing. Son of immigrants, married to a daughter of immigrants, etc. I said to one of my brother-in-laws at the game how everything just felt so... right. Being at a soccer game with soccer people all around you. Supporting soccer is something that happens in my basement on Saturday mornings, or in a little window on my computer at work mid-week, or when I go to England and visit family and catch as many Norwich matches as I can, or when I go to Vancouver for the weekend with my wife, etc. But now it is happening here. Nothing against the Flames, Stamps, etc. but there is something different about soccer culture, and it is really neat to see it taking shape here in Calgary. It is authentic and people get it.

Logistics are much improved given the volume of people. Concessions, washrooms, etc. all move surprisingly well. The concessions still really, really need to build in GST into their prices and have it end up on an even dollar amount. Or even to the nearest quarter. That would speed things up even more and would be a win-win for patrons and the staff.

The pitch was a bit rough - whatever. Horses use it too, everyone knows that, and the pitch was the same for both teams.

I enjoyed the fans in our area pestering Ali Adnan for some stalling tactics on our near sideline. I actually like the guy, he's an Iraqi national team player, former Serie A player with Udinese and Atalanta, etc. but it was fun to try and get under his skin. A few rows down from us there was a guy with an Iraqi flag who would hold it up whenever he thought Ali Adnan would notice it, and it turns out he did. After the match he came over and tossed him his jersey so that was nice. Had to applaud him for that.

I am very happy with that result. It doesn't matter much to me that Vancouver are kind of crap at the moment - they brought a very strong lineup, and aside from maybe 20-30 minutes of the first half, were largely on their heels. If you had asked me beforehand, I would have been pleased with a 0-0 but would have expected it to be a bit of a scrappy, lucky, clingy 0-0. That was not the case at all. Cavalry went for it and were actually a bit unlucky not to come away with the win. Especially that Escalante shot. Man oh man.

I'm not saying that every 0-0 is an entertaining match, but this one sure was. And that goes back to how soccer people "get it". Everyone knew that they were playing a "bigger club", and that it was going to be a tough one. But people applauded good defending, courageous tackles, energetic counter attacking, etc. Cynics and naysayers would say : "0-0. That must've been boring. Soccer sucks." It couldn't be further from the truth.

The nice thing now is that, with it being 0-0, any goal that Cavalry might score in Vancouver is an away goal. So 0-0 goes to extra time, but 1-1, or any other combination of tie, goes to Cavalry. And any win, of course. If they had conceded an away goal at home, even if it ended 1-1, they would be at a disadvantage in Vancouver. Now the opportunity exists for them to go into BC Place and find a goal somehow, and squeak out a 1-0 to take it. I'm an optimist but a realist, so I really didn't expect to be in this position going into the away leg. It'll still be a tough match, but stranger things have happened.

Wow. That was more rambly than I expected. Sorry, not sorry.

Kildare's, yes. That place was bumping and the service was acceptable given the packed house.

I was in your section cheerleading the jeers of Adnan. I thought it was funny how the fan had a printed off Iraqi flag on paper and not an actual flag.

I can't wait for a purpose built 15,000 seater stadium with concessions, bathrooms, etc.

[Thunderball]

That was some fantastic football. It was so important that Halifax, York and Cavalry all had good showings, as its days like this that go a long way to convince casual fans that this league is already at a competitive level, and that these guys deserve pro league support.

Definitely considering a flight to Vancouver, as the Cavs had the Whitecaps starters running scared in the last 10-15 mins or so. Hopefully the Whitecaps schedule grinds them down a bit, and Cavalry can stay fresh and healthy.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Kildare's, yes. That place was bumping and the service was acceptable given the packed house.

I was in your section cheerleading the jeers of Adnan. I thought it was funny how the fan had a printed off Iraqi flag on paper and not an actual flag.

I can't wait for a purpose built 15,000 seater stadium with concessions, bathrooms, etc.

Ha we took a look at him and thought he looked like a beer leaguer. My friends and I were also giving him the gears.

I then googled him and was actually impressed! haha

[Jimmy Stang]

The interconnectedness of soccer is one of the best things about it. Although not impressive last night, Adnan has done Kung Fu vs. Harry Kane, and then a few years later he is getting verbal abuse on a horse jumping ring in Western Canada.

[CroFlames]

His Wikipedia page says: Ali is held back by a poor attitude on the field https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Adnan_Kadhim