3rd Time’s The Charm

With the upcoming season’s home opener just around the corner, March 15th, I want to discuss how to prepare as a fan and how to become better acquainted with football. I can already feel some people rolling their eyes. It’s okay, I did once too.  I want to go over the structure of the sport, tournaments, and our very own players. After my last article, I got so amped up about writing about Velocity that I couldn’t help but buy season tickets, even though I failed to attend a single match last season. I want you to feel just as rapturous about this season as I am.

I also want to apologize for the false information in my last article. I stated that the first home match was on March 21st, which is false. I relied upon a source I typically trusted, but after visiting Spokane Velocity’s website, I saw my mistake. Spokane faces off against the Union Omaha on March 15th at 3:00pm @ One Spokane Stadium. You can also stream the game on ESPN+ or Paramount+. 

The season was originally scheduled to begin on March 8th in Georgia, but South Georgia Tormenta FC is now on hiatus, so our March 15th home match will be our season opener. If you don’t have any gear, get some at the Velocity Shop at the Davenport Grand Hotel or buy some at the stadium on game day. This season is going to be special, and some of these men are getting better each year, so I believe that we will win it all this year, and I pray I am not wrong. 

I decided on the title of this article because I put it in my article last week, and then that's all I could think of. Later that week, I was visiting the Velocity Shop. I spoke to a joyful and good conversationalist working behind the stand. She and I talked for quite a while before she said, “Third time’s the charm!” I got extremely giddy, agreed, and even mentioned that I wrote it last week. I knew then exactly what this article was going to be about. 

With us being less than 2 weeks from match 1 of the season, I want to introduce you to our players. At the helm is the team captain, 32-year-old California-born Luis Gil. He sports #10 and is a midfielder. Gil’s been Veloctiy’s captain for going on 3 seasons now and was our top scorer his first year and 2nd highest last year. He is consistently making plays for the team when he's on the pitch. 33-year-old Colombian Anuar Pelaez signed late in 2024 as a forward, wearing #16. Pelaez became Velocity’s top scorer in 2025 and had the second-highest goals per 90 minutes in the league(0.62), but also led the league in missed chances (15); either way, you’ll be on your feet cheering anytime he touches the ball.

Carlos Merancio is the goalkeeper you want on your team, trust me. The 27-year-old Mexican native is wearing #23, and he’s pretty well known for keeping that net empty. Merancio finished in 2025 with the 2nd most clean-sheets(10) and 3rd highest save percentage(69.4%) in the league! Neco Brett, a 31-year-old Jamaican forward #9, scored the 3rd most goals for Velocity last year, and I expect to see more goals this year! 

#77, also from Jamaica, is a 31-year-old midfielder, Andre Lewis. Lewis played a vital role in Velocity’s inaugural season, especially during the 2024 US Open Cup. In 2025, he got 3 assists, tied for 2nd most on the team: Nil Vinyals, a 29-year-old Spanish midfielder wearing #8. Vinyals is a solid addition to the offense after leaving the Richmond Kickers after 4 seasons. 

Camron Miller, a Washington native, is now starting his 3rd year as a professional. He signed with Velicoity in 2024. He’s a 26-year-old defender wearing the number 12. Miller has scored 3 goals, and according to the FutMob App, has 72.2% Aerial duels won. David Garcia, sporting #4, is a 25-year-old Defender from Spain. Garcia had the second-highest rating for accurate long balls per 90 minutes (5.80) and led the league in clearances per 90 minutes (7.90). You can definitely count on him to get the ball to where it needs to go. 

#19 Jack Denton is a 27-year-old English midfielder. Denton tied for the most tackles per 90 minutes in the league at 4.10, with 91.5% of his passes being complete. I hope to see some action from him this year. Derek Waldeck was Velocity’s second-ever signed player, wearing #18. Waldeck’s a 28-year-old defender from California who gets to touch the ball a lot and pass it successfully. 

There are more players I wish to go over, but I will save that for match days. With talk of adding promotion and relegation to the USL, I’d like to go over it so everyone can better understand what most American soccer players and fans are asking for. 

What we call European football is structured differently from all of the sports in America. If you’ve ever watched Ted Lasso, you would know this and understand it. I, and most of the world, believe in this system over the average American sports system. Relegation and promotion are something American sports could greatly benefit from. See, in European football, if you are one of the bottom teams in your league, typically 3 teams will be relegated to a league below. And at the same time, the 3 best teams in the league below get promoted to the league above. 

A recent story, I'm sure many have heard about, is the actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchasing Wrexham FC in Wales in February 2021. The team was semi-pro in the National League and finished as runners-up that year. The following years have been historic for Wrexham, as they promoted from the National League (Tier 5) to League Two (Tier 4), making them officially a professional team. Afterwards, they got promoted to League One (Tier 3), followed by another immediate promotion to the Championship League (Tier 2), one promotion away from the supremely daunting Premier League (Tier 1), the best football league in the world. 

So as you can see, a lot can happen in European football; your club could also be relegated from Tier 1 to Tier 4 in less than a decade. The threat of relegation makes winning and losing even more important; tanking is obviously very discouraged, and winning means more than it does in the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, and even the MLS. If American sports adopted relegation and promotion, everything would get a lot more interesting and fun. 

There’s been a lot of talk about adding relegations and promotions (Pro-Rel) to MLS and the rest of the soccer leagues. If the MLS and other leagues did this, it would bring in more players worldwide, more fans, and more money. Although some teams will likely lose value with it implemented, it would make the sport even more enjoyable. Because let's be honest, bragging rights are fine and all, but to get promoted means so much more. 

Soccer here in the States has 4 professional leagues in the pyramid. Tier 1-3 are Professional. Tier 4 is Amateur, leaving as Tier 5 Collegiate.  At Tier 1, we have the MLS. When we go down to Tier 2, we have the United Soccer League (USL) Championship, Tier 3 has USL1 and MLS Next Pro. If US Soccer were Pro-Rel, Spokane Velocity would’ve been promoted already to at least the USL Championship. 

I spoke to some friends and family who have lived and experienced football in Europe, Asia, and Africa. When I asked my friend Sagar for his opinion on American soccer, he responded, “It’s never gonna produce any talent and will always be a retirement place for European players.” 

When I spoke to my brother Jake and asked for his opinion, he said,” If the USL players end up going on strike pretty soon here, it'll be a good thing. The US needs robust lower leagues to aid development, and whether the owners like it or not, the best way to have robust lower leagues is for the players to get what they're owed.” 

While the strike threat is real, it's for the USL Championship, and USL1 and USL2 will more than likely continue playing their 2026 seasons.

My friend Josh had a lot to say as well when I asked for his opinion on American soccer.

“I think the number of professional sports in the US prevents us from having the necessary fan base sizes to support a full regulation and promotion system. I think if a small market team were to be relegated, they wouldn't have the means to regain promotion most of the time. Cities like LA, NY, Chicago, etc. would always have massive advantages over smaller markets--Salt Lake or  Minnesota, for example. Also, the MLS has a salary cap, which prevents it from having the opportunity to evolve into a truly top-tier league--but I believe this is also because of the lack of fan bases to economically support it. Again, I think a few cities could financially compete--but MLS would become the same 6-8 teams every year competing and steamrolling every other one if there.” 

The stigmatism surrounding football in the US has thankfully been fading each year, thanks in large part to Ted Lasso, Wrexham FC, and Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami. What could also bring the leagues together is support from big soccer names known worldwide, as well as NFL, NBA, and MLB players. Not just support but passion!

All stats and numbers gathered from FutMob