I woke up on Saturday morning feeling like a kid who couldn’t fall asleep on Christmas Eve: just had to wait til 7pm, and then I could tear open my presents and enjoy the happiest day of the year… the opening of the Charlotte Independence’s new home, the Sportsplex at Matthews.

For the last couple of years, the happiest day of the year has been the opening game of the USL season. But even though I was excited to go to UNCC one last time to open this year back in April, June 17th, 2017 is the date that’s been circled on my calendar since the schedule was released.

I knew that was the day we’d finally have a proper home in Matthews.

While I didn’t hate Ramblewood (and if I’m being honest, I prefer my seats there)… I know many folks did not love the temporary structure for multiple reasons. So, even before the announced fireworks and promotions, I knew yesterday was gonna be my Christmas morning.

So finally yesterday afternoon, after a day of hype, the time came for us to head to the Sportsplex. Unfortunately I had to do some other stuff so I couldn’t go to the Jack’s Militia party, or hang out in downtown Matthews before the game. I definitely plan to do that one weekend soon, and hopefully we can take advantage of the trolley the team has arranged to pick up fans from a few different spots in downtown Mathews.

Picture of Benji’s mind being blown by the awesomeness that is Matthews Sportsplex (Photo Credit: Chris Davis)

But we wanted to make sure we were first in line to get those sweet Charlotte Til I Die shirts that Independence collaborated with 704 shop to make.

As for the stadium, the Sportsplex is nice! I had my doubts despite seeing the photos since it’s a small venue, but there’s a lot there. The place was buzzing with fans checking out what was available around the Sportsplex. A lot of the favorite food trucks from Ramblewood were there: Libretto’s, the taco truck, beer, and many more! There were also new stands like Italian Ice, and another place that served funnel cakes and hotdogs. One of the game’s sponsors was Chick-Fil-A, which had cow mascots running around, and they handed out some pretty awesome sunglasses which would come in handy for a little while.

We made our way to our seats after grabbing some Italian ice and discussed how we thought the game would go. About 20 minutes before the match, several city leaders (including the Mayor of Matthews) spoke about what the Sportsplex and Independence playing there meant to the area.

And then the reason my group actually came to the game was ready to begin….

Before Kickoff we had the National Anthem with an added flair this time. Fireworks!!!

The game started, and it was awesome! The atmosphere around the field was fantastic. It was so great to be in a crowd that felt full.

(The astounding Alex Warren will be gracing Soccer ‘n’ Sweet Tea tomorrow with a proper recap on the match, so I’m not going to get into the game too much here.)

What I will say is the game was awesome! Jorge had an awesome free kick goal in the first half:

He’s Our Favorite Player

We had a few good chances that were missed, but luckily, Harrisburg was not capable of making us pay for that. Thanks to our Captain Bilal Duckett’s return, he and the rest of the defense played awesome. Cody had another guaranteed Save of the Week nominee which should surprise absolutely no one who’s been following the team this year.

In the second half, Jorge appeared to go for the far post, but the ball hit the post. Luckily, Alex Martinez was right there to put the ball in the net.

The game would finish 2–0 in favor of the home team.

During half time the Carolina Lightnin was honored. The Carolina Lightnin won the American Soccer League Championship in front of 20,000 people at Memorial stadium in 1981. Independence also had some awesome looking Lightnin shirts on sale. I am sad to say I did not catch what was said about the team during half time, because PK (my girlfriend) wanted a funnel cake. When PK wants a funnel cake, you get her a funnel cake.

Unfortunately after waiting in line the whole halftime and about a minute or two in the second, I was informed there were no more funnel cakes. I heard several food trucks struggled with the demands of the 2,648 fans (announced attendance, an Independence regular season record!) that made it out to the game. I’m sure as the season goes on they will be able to adjust to meet the needs of the fans.

After the game, there was a fireworks display. I was slightly concerned if we lost or drew they would be the saddest fireworks I have experienced since the Battery knocked the Independence out of the playoff spot the final game of our first season. It was in Charleston, and they celebrated the win with fireworks. It sucked. Löchel cried. PK has photos of this somewhere…… But luckily these were happy fireworks!

Before the game, I shook Wade’s hand and told him I was proud of the team for what they put together. Afterwards, I shook Jim McPhilliamy’s hand and thanked him for everything. Jim was wearing the most amazing pants Saturday night, by the way, which you can see below.

So overall, I’d say the first game in Matthews was a huge success. They sold out the game, the team won, and they even had their first clean sheet of the year. But personally the biggest thing for me was the interactions I had with some of the fans. We sat in section 112, and when Jorge scored we all jumped up and sung the Jorge song to him at the top of our lungs. He was running down the touch line closest to us so we reeeeeeally wanted to make sure he heard us. Afterwards, a fan came up to me and asked me some questions about the game in general, like how long were the halves and a few other things.

I love that the team is attracting new soccer fans like that. Everyone who is reading this at one time didn’t know what offsides was, or why the game clock didn’t stop when the ball went out of bounds. That fan’s whole family seemed to have a really good time, and I hope they come back for more games, because at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. It’s about fans enjoying the beautiful game.

The Charlotte Independence’s next match is on the road Saturday June 24th at 7pm. You can watch the game on WCCB-TV, on YouTube, or be on the look out for watch parties from Jack’s Militia and QC Royals.

Their next home game is the following Saturday, July 1st at 7 pm, against Rochester. If you couldn’t make it out to the game yesterday, be sure to come check out the team at their new home as soon as you can this season.

It’s a good time, a good atmosphere, and a good feeling that the team finally has its home.

The Independence have moved to Matthews, and I couldn’t be happier about it.