Charlotte Eagles...g-d and soccer

I'm absolutely for Soccer to be in Charlotte. The problem is with the mission of the Eagles being less focused on scoring goals as it is scoring souls, has deferred more people away from the team. With Charlotte being home of one of the largest Salvadorian population in the country, a large influx of Hispanics and Europeans should lead to the popularity of any team. However the religious affiliate maybe has put a bad taste in peoples mouths.

Championships are great, and the product has been okay on the pitch, however the team is limited on the absolute quality of player they can bring in by only hiring players with the same religious affiliation and whom are willing to do missionary work. (which I believe is against FIFA capaign of STOP RACISM; and against US law of equal opportunity employers)

I'm more surprised that the league hasn't looked at the attendance and questioned or "relegated" the team. Their numbers have to be in the realm of what PDL teams do.

For the sake of Soccer and Charlotte, I hope that the Carolina's can get an MLS team, though think that our city is limited due to affiliation.

For the last time, they are not violating the law by only hiring people of certain religions. They are a religious employer. The players are almost certainly ministers. They are allowed to do that.

I doubt that anyone is making much money in USL regardless of attendance, so if Charlotte is willing to continue operating in their current format, even at a loss, why would USL relegate one of the few stable franchises in the league?

Because they discriminate! They are evil! That's why.

It's easy to hate the Eagles because of their religious affiliation. I'm not religious; I don't really care about how they run their team. They've been an asset to the league and they do good charity work. I may not agree with what they do, but they run a solid soccer team and certainly aren't getting rich off of it.

Charlotte is fine how it is.

Not from the large group of Charlotte people I know.

I actually tried coordinating a group to go watch the Eagles play, and it was like pulling teeth. I support the sport, I support the city, but I don't see how "Charlotte is fine how it is" if the city doesn't support the team that is already here.

And yet the Eagles continue to put quality soccer out. Their main goal is their missionary work. That's doing well. The Eagles are fine.

If there is such a large demand for another team, there would be another option.

I would have to disagree. Charlotte is an untapped market. Not so much a lack of demand, Charlotte just needs someone with $$$ to step to the plate.

spreading of religion...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 29, 2012

The BuxMont Torch F.C. men’s soccer NPSL team announced that Daniel Byrd has accepted the invitation to become Head Coach for the 2012 season.

Currently serving as Head Coach of St. Catherine College (KY) men’s soccer team, Byrd is a 2004 graduate of Johnson Bible College (TN), earning dual B.A. degrees in both Bible and Preaching. He also holds a USSF National “D” coaching license, USSF National Youth coaching license, NSCAA National Diploma, and is a certified USSF referee.

As a player, Byrd was a 4 year captain and leading goal scorer at Johnson Bible College earning All-Region honors all 4 years. Daniel brings years of coaching and playing experience to the Torch men’s second season including working for Brad Friedel’s Premier Soccer Academies & Ambassadors in Sport International, both of which are organizations specializing in youth soccer development. He has coached several varsity high school soccer teams in KY, OH, and TN. Daniel grew up playing soccer in Africa as a child of missionary parents. He played club soccer in both Africa and America before becoming a member of the Olympic Development Program for Kentucky and starring at Johnson Bible College in Knoxville. He finished out his playing career with the Cleveland City Stars of the USL II.

Off the field, Daniel has served in various ministry and missionary positions. During college, he worked as an itinerant youth minister and led summer Christian youth programs through South America and Africa. Following graduation, Byrd worked as a Missions Pastor in Louisville, KY where he taught, pastured, and generated global awareness for mission work in a congregation of 1300 and led mission trips domestically and abroad for disaster relief, outreach, and other service. He later served as a missionary in Mozambique, Africa where he raised funds to launch F.C. Bedene, a local soccer club which subsidized player’s education. There he evangelized, discipled, and equipped players through sports ministry.

“We are extremely excited to have Daniel join our organization and lead our men this season,” said Rich Sparling, BuxMont Torch F.C. Founder and President. “Jeff (Leinen, men’s team General Manager) and I have prayed for someone just like Daniel to join us in developing this organization. We are very fortunate to have someone of Daniel’s character, talent and background and have no doubt that he will provide the model of leadership for our young men to help them develop as soccer players, but more importantly as Christian leaders.”

ABOUT BUXMONT TORCH: Founded in 2009, The BuxMont Torch F.C. is a ministry which utilizes sport as a means to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to disciple and train sports ministers. We are a ministry of CrossWorld and partners with Push the Rock and located in Upper Bucks-Montgomery-Lehigh Counties, PA. The Torch is comprised of both a men’s and women’s teams and a member of both the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL). Along with fielding two elite level competitive teams, the Torch also produces Premier Soccer Camps and After School Soccer programs and engages their players in an intense Sports Ministry training program.

For more information or to help support the organization, please visit http://www.buxmonttorch.com/ or contact Rich Sparling, President at rsparling@buxmonttorch.com.

He played for the City Stars? I have no memory of him.

http://www.chagrinvalleytimes.com/NC/0/40.html

Meh, he played for the RESERVE team, not the USL team. I looked him up, haha. My memory is pretty good about who played for us in USL-2.

so um Mr CCSU, it's an "inflated" resume...is that a good Christian thing to do???
;-)
M

1) Reservists are still members of the team.

2) Who said HE was the one that inflated it?

Brand new uniforms for the Eagles:

That is a pretty solid accomplishment for all those 20 year clubs.

i had a thread on this a couple of years ago, and just mentioned on The Football Show my views regarding the Charlotte Eagles - I cannot and will not support a team that discriminates in their hiring practices. The Toure brothers would not be allowed to play for the Eagles, nor would any Jewish player. In this day and time, in America - imagine.

And i agree completely that Charlotte is a relatively untapped market for soccer - 50k turned out for the Gold Cup last year - none of those people are attending Eagle's games - actually hardly anyone is attending; less than 1000 per game in a market of two million compared to Charleston' over 3k in a city less than 1/1o the size.

As I have pointed out time and time again, the Charlotte Eagles are a missionary organization that only hires Christian ministries. They are not discriminating in any manner. Is a Jewish religious organization discriminating when it hires a rabbi? It is not discrimination for a religious organization to decide who will represent them in a religious nature. That's what the players are.

Is Charlotte an untapped market? Probably. But the Eagles aren't trying to get big crowds. They are perfectly content with the level that they are playing at. I haven't seen much demand for another team, either.

The complaining about them grows kind of old. I'm apathetic about them, I just don't care, maybe because "watching live professional soccer" is way down on my priorities list. If they're successful, cool, it's good for Charlotte, if they aren't, oh well.

If people care so much why don't y'all do something about it? There's nothing stopping you from putting together a consortium of some sort and founding an NPSL or even an NASL team, nothing, the Eagles can do nothing to stop you. Beyond that you could put a team in the CPSL or MAS Premier and get a group of people to go to Ramblewood or Elon Park and support them.

Honestly, you want to quip about "in America!", go do it the American way. It used to be (God, I sound old and I'm not even 30.) that people would go fix things, now they just complain.

While I do find their mission perhaps a bit objectionable and I'd prefer my soccer teams to be secular, if you're willing to lose money on lower division soccer, you're doing a good thing for soccer in this country. I may not agree with your motives, but if you're helping stabilize lower division soccer, I can sit through your speech about how your god is better than the others.

Like I said earlier, nothing is stopping anyone else who would like to from opening their own pro team in Charlotte.

Montreal also has a history of going on hiatus for a year as well

Once. That's hardly "having a history" of it. And it was only because they were pissed at USL.

all I'm saying is that if you quoted Nashville "going away for a year" then you also need to mention that Montreal also went away for a year as well.

I didn't quote anything about Nashville. And Nashville didn't actually "go away for a year," "kind of" or otherwise.

The Nashville Metros have played continuously since 1991. The owners sold their A-League rights to the group that was contractually obligated to return an A-League team to Virginia Beach after the 2001 A-League season, but the Metros (after some time as the Tennessee Rhythm) didn't skip a year. They returned as a PDL franchise in 2002 and have played in the PDL continuously since then.

Virginia Beach took years off (1997 because the SportsPlex was being built) and 2001 (because the Mariners folded).

Montreal's hiatus from the A-League was because Saputo was pissed at how the league was being run. Different animal.