901 FC’S season is restarting; don’t forget why it stopped
901 FC’S season is restarting, but don’t forget why it stopped
It has been 126 long days since we’ve seen the boys in blue on the pitch.
One hundred and twenty-six days since we’ve seen Brandon Allen put the ball in the back of the net. One hundred and twenty-six days since we’ve seen Tim Howard make a save.
Now, after all the waiting, we’re finally back. Memphis 901 FC’S season resumes next week when the team heads to Alabama for a grudge match against Birmingham Legion FC.
The break was, of course, necessary. The health and safety of fans, players, coaches, front office staff, stadium workers and everyone else who keeps the sport ticking along takes priority. Full stop. The break was needed, even if it wasn’t wanted.
It wasn’t all bad, Memphis 901 FC head coach Tim Mulqueen said. It gave him time to talk to friends and coaches in Major League Soccer and overseas leagues and pick their brains about the game.
When players returned to small group, non-contact training, Mulqueen said they had time to focus on technical aspects they don’t have time to spend hours on in a group practice, like having strikers focus on shooting with their non-dominant foot.
There were other benefits, too. “One thing it’s done, the quarantine, is put it in perspective,” he said. “We are so lucky to be able to play this game and won’t ever take it for granted.”
I imagine it’s been the same for many of us. My weekends have long revolved around soccer fixtures, my vacations planned around matches I want to attend. Many of my oldest and newest friends are people I’ve played with over the years. When the game went away, I realized how lucky I was to be able to watch and play — albeit at a decidedly non-professional level.
We’ve seen the resumption of soccer leagues around the world and now we’ll get to see it with our hometown team. And with MLS restarting in a bubble, the USL Championship will be the first league allowing teams to restart in their own markets.
“That’s a testament to each individual market and the coordination done with the various health departments and officials to get those approvals. It’ll look different in each market. But that’s where the teams came together. We’re all going to face our challenges, but there’s an opportunity to play sports,” 901 FC President Craig Unger said. “In the end, we can deliver live sports to our home markets and our communities. We’re going to help restore some sense of normalcy.”
A return to some sense of normalcy, if done safely, can work wonders. The delirious joy and devastating lows that soccer can bring — sometimes within minutes of one another — are good for the soul. The sense of community the sport brings and the bonds it can forge between total strangers make us feel less alone during an isolating and unsettling time.
With the Grizzlies not returning to play until July 31, and not returning to Fedexforum at all this season, 901 FC is the only game in town. Literally. Sportsstarved Memphians, from those who have loved the game all their lives to those who know nothing about soccer besides the fact that that Messi guy is good, will turn their eyes toward Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday.
We will gather in spirit, happy to have sports back in our lives and dreaming of the day we can safely pack into Autozone Park again. (I’ll briefly step on my soapbox: If you are going to gather with others to watch the match, please take precautions. Socially distance, wear a mask and practice proper hand hygiene.)
During the shutdown, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said, “Football always seems the most important of the least important things,” something I agree with. I also believe gradually bringing back some of those least important things in a measured, safe way can help us remember what we’re fighting for.
We all want to be able to go outside without a mask. We all want to be able to get lunch or a drink with friends at our favorite neighborhood haunts. We all want to be able to go to concerts and movies and sporting events. And to get these things back, we make some sacrifices to protect our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues, our community.
So let’s savor the restart. Let’s enjoy the resumption of a season that seemed to hold a lot of promise when it started in March. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. People are still suffering and dying. We still need to do what we can to keep people safe.
If I could only pick one thing I love about soccer, it would be the fact that it creates families. So please, everyone, be safe, protect the family, continue to make sacrifices and someday, we can all be together again. Right now, that’s how we can Defend Memphis.
As always, I want to hear from you. Tell me what you missed most while soccer was gone. Tell me how you’re going to spend matchdays when we can’t be at Autozone Park. Tell me what new hobbies you took up over the past couple months to stay sane. You can email me at Corinne.kennedy@commercialappeal.com or find me on Twitter @Corinneskennedy.
Commercial Appeal sports reporter Jason Munz contributed to this story.