by BILL REESE

Staff Writer

Every now and then, I get lost in a daydream; a daydream about a world where I could pay all my bills and save enough to retire by writing about soccer—specifically American soccer—alone.

Then I hear the ping of my work e-mail inbox and I return to reality.

Of all my soccer journalism daydreams, there is one idea I’ve had… so preposterous, so illogical, so impractical, and so downright crazy… that I can’t stop thinking about it. When describing this article to my fiancée, she replied deadpan… “If you ever did that, I would leave you.”

The idea is simple. I would embark on a six month tour of the United States and Canada and I would attend a home match for all 20 Major League Soccer teams, all 11 North American Soccer League teams, and all 16 non-MLS reserve USL teams.

47 games. 185 days. 18,500 miles.

The purpose of this quest—other than sheer and utter stupidity—would be to conduct the most extensive review of the American soccer culture as it stands in 2015. The mission would not be to just watch games… many of them minor-league soccer matches. I could do that at home. This would be mostly about North America’s simmering supporters culture. Every passing year there are new stories about vibrant supporters groups popping up in cities across America and Canada. I’d try to meet as many of these supporters groups as I could, and, preferably, would stand with them at every match. I’d ask them how they got involved in the group, where their influences lie, and what makes them unique compared to the growing multitude of supporters unions across the top three divisions.

The experience would be thoroughly documented, best done by one writer and one photographer. At the end of the adventure, the stories, interviews, and photos would be compiled into a massive book about the state of American soccer. With any luck, the two travelers would try to parlay the book—or at the very least the notoriety of the trip—into a gig with the sports media, or possibly even one of the big three pro leagues.

In order to do that, however, you need a proper road map.

Join us now as we embark on this ultimate soccer road trip — one stadium at a time.

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