Oh, boy. This has been quite the story since everything started up. On August 1st, 2018, it was announced that the USL had granted Chattanooga a team for the newly created USL League One. Not longer afterwards, former Chattanooga FC General Manager Sean McDaniel was announced as the new general manager for the Red Wolves.

“I think Chattanooga is ready for pro soccer,” says McDaniel, “I don’t think it’s something Chattanooga would have been capable for ten year ago. I think year-round soccer is something the area is ready for and I’m glad the opportunity arose.”

However, there has been a lot of backlash on social media to the announcement of the team. The team has been backed by Bob Martino, a real estate developer from Utah, which most Chattahooligans are not a fan of. They are viewed as a team that is coming in to simply try to take over a market that has already seen great grassroots success and trying to pour money in to win over the market. “Alexi Lalas says ‘Let the market decide,” says CFC’s Tim Kelly, “But that only works if someone doesn’t have their thumb on the scale.” Kelly went on to say “I hope they fail, but if they don’t, we’ll do our best to put a better product on the field.”

Chattanooga FC also claims that the Red Wolves made them better “That rivalry makes Chattanooga more of a soccer city overall,” Kelly said, “I learned a long time ago to not worry about things we can’t control. We’re gonna fight as hard as we can for the club and we’re 100% sure that we’re wearing the white hats.” “This new thing hones our focus,” says CFC’s Sheldon Grizzle, “It won’t distract us.”

Although there has been a ton of backlash throughout lower league Twitter, the casual fans in Chattanooga have been getting behind the new team already. “We’re surprised by the support… in a good way!” McDaniel also says that he doesn’t let the negativity get to them. “Anytime I lose focus on the Red Wolves, it’s a distraction to what we are trying to do here,” says McDaniel, “My focus here is on the Red Wolves and it’s on building a professional organization. We’re building a stadium. There’s plenty more to be concerned about. That’s really where our whole focus is.”

The team isn’t short on resources either as owner Bob Martino has helped throw resources in and bring players from around the globe to Chattanooga. The club has players from England, Jamaica, Argentina, Albania, Brazil, Ireland, Spain, Libya, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Canada, and, of course, the United States.

“I’m so proud to say the team we’ve built internally in the office and our coaching staff is spectacular,” says McDaniel, “We couldn’t have found the right teammates without them, and that’s a credit to Bob Martino. His vision and his desire to make this spectacular would never have happened if he didn’t have the investment and the desire to do so.”