#SomosUnidos is their rallying cry. Located in New Mexico, their Spanish hashtag doubles as a greeting to fellow United fans. Just recently the governor of New Mexico sent out a tweet signing off with the creative catchphrase. It’s a bit rare to see a team commit to a secondary language in their promotions. There of course are themed Latin Nights in the NBA, complete with awkward jerseys like Phoenix’s Los Suns, and efforts to reach outside communities, but New Mexico United has done it in a genuine way. Somos Unidos means We Are United — and that is just what the team, the supporters group, partners, and the CEO of the club, Peter Trevisani have meant to the state.

Interest in American soccer seems to peak around the time our national teams play on a global scale. Pageantry, passion, and pride of our homeland combine into a wonderful mix that energizes the country. For Peter Trevisani, interest in soccer came from this exact recipe during the 1998 World Cup. But could this energy be translated on the local level?

Peter understood the power soccer could have in bringing people together… even though he isn’t your typical soccer fan. Sure, he may seem like your average guy. He was a great athlete growing up, but chose to pursue American football at Boston College. He then went into the financial industry in New Mexico where he amassed his wealth. Peter may not have known much about soccer until 1998, but he’s fluent in unity. As the fearless leader of New Mexico United, Trevisani is first and foremost an extremely likable guy. He’s not your common CEO either. I didn’t have to go through millions of lines to reach him, he simply responded to my Twitter DM. At the heart of it all, he wants to know what the club can do for New Mexico, not what New Mexicans can do for his bottom line.

CEO Peter Trevisani

On a Q&A video the team posted to YouTube, he amicably joked that he looks more like Bradley Cooper in American Hustle than John Turturro in The Big Lebowski, with some fans suggesting the latter. While he’s an energetic crowd pleaser, he is not afraid to be bold and confident in doing things differently than other clubs. He frequently references where the club will be in 100 years and sees Albuquerque as a longterm home. These traits may sound typical of a leader of a local minor league team, but there is nothing minor league about what New Mexico United has created. Simply put, the club thinks outside the box.

As the team prepares to take on the MLS’ Minnesota United in the US Open Cup (the tournament that decides US’ best soccer team — spanning numerous leagues and levels of competition), you will most likely see New Mexico United in their white kits. But if you ever catch them in their black uniforms, you might be a little curious about their main sponsor. No, it’s not a local hospital, bank, or technology company — its Meow Wolf.

Meow Wolf is a sponsor unlike any other. An art collective based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their name graces the front of New Mexico United’s kits, but that is hardly the coolest thing they do. Partnered with George R.R. Martin of Game of Thrones fame, the art collective is an entertainment and arts group that employs hundreds of artists — with locations coming to Denver, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C. in the coming years. They house a psychedelic Kaleidoscope ride, an immersive mystery house with secret portals, a children’s learning center, music venue, and bar. Definitely recommend looking into their website.

When Peter Trevisani announced the sponsorship, he said the way to unite New Mexico was to “blend art and sport”. When one thinks New Mexico, they may think Breaking Bad — but before Walter White came around, New Mexico has been known nationally for their beautiful art and culture. Not leaving the art world behind was important when starting this club. Ensuring that no type of person or community got left behind, and the ability to think creatively meant this marriage can be a healthy one, and uniquely New Mexican.

Leaving no one behind is at the root of what #SomosUnidos means. Speaking with the president of United’s supporters group, The Curse New Mexico, David Carl explained how this fandom is inclusive. “Yes we want people of every race, religion, culture, sexual identity but just as much, we want people with different stories. No two people share the same life experience…If you’re in we want you.” That’s it. If you’re on board, they’ll have you.

Walking the walk and embracing that attitude, First Financial Credit Union and the front office of New Mexico United stepped up to the plate. Recently, after beating MLS club, FC Dallas, United fans found out they would be playing in Minnesota. To give back to the dedicated fans, the credit union subsidized plane tickets so that they could affordably travel to the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup.

The $249 tickets that held a $900 value sold out in 7 minutes. “When I look up in Colorado and I see 500 New Mexico United supporters who have driven 7 hours…what really hit me, the people in the crowd…everyone in the crowd had to ask their boss off of work, had to take a couple days of vacation, they are putting their heart forward,” Trevisani said of the amazing support. Together they wanted to get fans who were on board with the team, aboard a plane. It’s not just a beautiful message of unity — they back it up, too.

Another message The Curse New Mexico have embraced is their motto ‘Crescit Eundo’ which in Latin means, “grows as it goes”. As New Mexico United continue their US Open Cup run, battling as the underdog — fandom has continued to grow, too.

Attendance across sports is hurting these days. The Miami Marlins draw in less than 10,000 fans a night — and they’re a professional MLB team. Say hello to Isotopes Park: usually home to the the triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, the Albuquerque Isotopes…but for the indefinite future, the home of New Mexico United.

Nightly, the United are bringing in 12,299 fans per game and for the Cinco de Mayo game recorded an all-time high with 15,023 in attendance. This team plays in a minor league baseball stadium, something other fans could have complained about, but they find no reason NOT to come to a game. The daily gameday atmosphere is special explains Carl, “We typically start tailgating several hours before the match…Everyone shares food and beer and good times and conversations. Then about an hour and a half ahead of kickoff, we all group up for our March to the Match. We sing and chant, wave flags and yell as we make our way into the stadium.”

For such a new team, these traditions don’t go unnoticed by the team. Just check the players’ social medias and they are filled with appreciation and communication with the fans. The Curse’s website even has a listing of all the numerous songs they sing and chant for the players. “Everyone stands together, yells together, inhales smoke bombs together,” Carl continues, “It’s a wonderful blending of cultures, of experiences. It’s the best part of what we do.”

Roberto E. Rosales/Journal

New Mexico is an underdog state. Their first governor was quoted as saying, “All calculations based on our experiences elsewhere fail in New Mexico.” This quote has been worn by the Curse members as a badge of honor. ‘Look, they’re New Mexico — they’re not like anywhere else.’

New Mexico United, too, is an underdog team. They compete in a league one tier below the MLS. And unlike almost every other league structure in the world, the current state does not allow the best from the USL to be promoted to the MLS. Some of these players haven’t gotten the attention they deserve elsewhere, but are finding it here in New Mexico. This US Open Cup is their opportunity to emphatically say, “We CAN compete with the best of the best! We belong”. That chip on the shoulder mentality carries New Mexico United’s fans and players alike. But it’s not a chip too heavy to weigh them down. The creative mindset of the club helps them to always be in a perpetual state of growth.

With the current USL deal with ESPN+, fans from all over are coming in droves to support New Mexico United. Not only have they harvested a local fan base — it is even striking as far away as France.

I stumbled upon New Mexico United because I forgot to cancel my trial to ESPN+ and wanted something to watch as I was falling asleep.

Pretty unremarkable of a story.

But instead of drifting off to the pleasant white noise that is soccer commentary, I couldn’t resist sitting on the edge of my bed — curiously re-awakened, watching as I saw a 10,000+ fill up a random stadium, lined with grass over a baseball diamond, in a state I knew nothing about. Gathering this many people to a sporting event is no easy task these days.

Yet here we are at Isotopes Park: fans packed in there, with energy of a music festival, a European soccer game, and a block party rolled into one. This is the USL Championship. This isn’t supposed to be this electric of an atmosphere. This is serious business. The energy is nuclear.

Peter Trevisani has even bolder ideas, continuing the trajectory of what’s to come and what it means to be uniquely New Mexico United. On a recent episode of the wonderful Uncle Sam’s Soccer Podcast, Trevisani discussed an eventual plan for a soccer specific stadium, “Now that we see how people have shown up, how the community has shown up, the business community, the leadership community — I think we can build an amazing stadium…We have a partnership with Meow Wolf…that could be something we design with [them] it’s not just an athletic stadium, it would be a piece of art. What that looks like, I don’t know, maybe we zip-line down to our seats instead of walk…we need to dream big, think about what’s authentic for New Mexico…and something that nobody else has done.”

Dreaming big hasn’t just been for the fans and the front office. It’s been the reality for the players apart of this team. These players and coaches have yet to meet a foe that scares them. Midfielder Juan Pablo Guzman spoke to me over Instagram DMs and mentioned what head coach Troy Lesesne has done to motivate the squad. “It’s been very different from any team I’ve been a part of. Troy has done such an excellent job establishing an ethos and culture, and every single guy has bought into that. I think that’s a huge piece of our success.”

Coach Troy Lesesne

Lesesne was a bit of a risky hire according to some. Trevisani was in talks with bigger names, but after talking on the phone with Lesesne, it felt like a perfect fit. Lesesne is a younger coach with no headcoaching experience, but has all the drive to do that and more. Lesesne has “gratitude talks” each week to get to know the players outside of soccer. They are of course, an expansion team that only came together this calendar year.

The culture being built by not only the front office — but the coaches too has been pivotal to the splash they’re creating in the USL. Lesesne was overlooked as a player, but made a name for himself on the Charleston Battery, another team in the USL Championship. They’ve built a culture of family, relatability, and of course, unification.

Fast forward 20 years from that 1998 World Cup, and national teams are still herding casual soccer fans into bars, watch parties and most recently… parades across the United States. What Peter Trevisani saw in London two decades ago is now happening in New Mexico. A commenter by the name of Tjett G., on a recent article published by The Athletic exclaims, “There are more and more businesses in every town vying to become x-town’s “Official Watch Party Location” with each passing game.” This team has successfully captivated a local community and galvanized the state. It has gained fans who have a chip on their shoulder and a love for the underdog all across the world.

As the words on a poster that’s sold on the team store reads,

“We are 505 and 575. We are Red and Green. We are Lobos and Aggies.”

No matter your area code, your favorite color pepper, or your alma mater — Somos Unidos. We Are United.

Tonight’s game will be broadcasted and streamed on ESPN+ at 8pm EST — Live from Alianz Field in Minnesota.