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HAMTRAMCK, Mich. Authentic Yordano Ventura Jersey . -- Immediately after the opening kickoff, colorful smoke was already floating through the air and fans were in full voice, singing and chanting in a display reminiscent of matches in Europe and South America.This wasnt Milan or Liverpool, though, or even Portland or Seattle. This was a fourth-tier soccer match at a renovated old stadium in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit.The team is called Detroit City FC. It competes in the National Premier Soccer League and its players arent paid, but this season the club drew about 5,000 fans a game at its new home field, turning a night at Keyworth Stadium into one of the areas most unique sports experiences. DCFCs growth is a testament to soccers grassroots appeal in the United States, and it comes as a group led by NBA owners Dan Gilbert and Tom Gores is trying to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Detroit.The question now is: What will happen to DCFC if MLS shows up? And would an MLS team be able to capitalize on the soccer culture thats already here?The answer may not be that simple.Its a tightrope, said Alex Wright, one of DCFCs five owners. Its going to take some time and some conversation.There are over 80 teams in the NPSL, representing big cities like Chicago and Boston as well as places like Fredricksburg, Virginia, and Binghamton, New York. DCFC was founded in 2012, and the ownership group felt there was enough soccer interest in the Detroit area for the project to succeed. The barriers to entry werent exactly high. Wright says each co-owner had to kick in $2,500 for the buy-in and a chance to own a team and build it from the ground up.It was something we as founders who had day jobs could do on nights and weekends, but it also allowed us the flexibility and the freedom and opportunity to kind of like, really have some fun with what kind of team we wanted to be, Wright said.DCFC outgrew its home field and now plays at Keyworth. Theres an independent supporters group -- Northern Guard Supporters -- and fans march to matches together from a nearby bar.Near the entrance to the supporters section at the stadium, theres a banner laying out some ground rules for the uninitiated. Fans who venture into that area along one of the sidelines can expect to stand the whole game, hear plenty of foul language and have smoke bombs set off around them.As long as you can stand the smoke and stand the swearing -- and just stand for 90 minutes -- you fit right in, said 35-year-old Drew Gentry, a Northern Guard co-founder.Gentry became interested in soccer after stumbling upon a Champions League match on TV and being amazed by the fan atmosphere.Im like, `What do these people have? This is soccer, its not supposed to be interesting. Why do these people love this sport so much? he said.Gentry wanted a local version of what hed seen, a team he and his community could throw support behind. His is just one story of how an American under 40 came to love a sport that struggled for so long to gain a foothold in this country. Now fans are gravitating toward soccer for any number of reasons -- and the group putting together Detroits MLS bid knows it.Theres a group of people that grew up with soccer now. Theyre not necessarily people that grew up with the NFL or something else, said Matt Cullen, a principal of Gilbert-chaired Rock Ventures. It is almost like a little bit of a counterculture kind of thing, and people enjoy it in a different way. I think its the experience as much as the game at times.Thats certainly true at DCFC games. The players arent exactly household names. Fans go because of the atmosphere and the excitement of being part of something that theyre all helping build.In a more professional, traditional American setting, I think the mentality is you have to be something for everyone, Wright said. I think what soccer is proving is that while that is true -- that is one way to do it -- thats not the only way to do it. To be something real for some people, is also another way to go, because were not trying to fill a 65,000-seat stadium and we dont have 162 games a year.MLS teams dont have to draw 65,000 fans a game either. If there is a new team in Detroit, it would be in good shape if it can enjoy the type of loyalty DCFC receives from its fans. There is precedent for that kind of smooth transition. The Portland Timbers were a successful minor league team before being elevated to the MLS level in 2011.Theres some skepticism among the DCFC die-hards. The Northern Guard website includes a list of lyrics to various fan chants, and one of them aims its profanity-laced hostilities directly at Gilbert, Gores and MLS Commissioner Don Garber.Its really important that everyone understand how much time and effort the supporters put into what they do, Wright said. If you dont understand that, its really hard to understand where theyre coming from when you read what they write online or on social media. Its not vitriol if youve been spending so much of your time building something up and youre worried that its going to be forgotten.The MLS group has been quick to praise DCFC. Arn Tellem, who works with Gores as an executive at Palace Sports and Entertainment, said hes met with the DCFC hierarchy, and he raves about the experience at the teams games. He said DCFC and the Michigan Bucks -- a Pontiac-based team that won the championship of the Premier Development League this month -- have shown that there is great interest in soccer in the Detroit area. But its not yet clear how, specifically, the MLS group and DCFC might work together.Elevating DCFC to MLS status would be one way to try to preserve the clubs charm and grassroots appeal. Thats a model MLS has followed elsewhere, but Gilbert and Gores would likely have some work to do to win over the trust of some of the local fans.An MLS team could also try to coexist with DCFC in the hope that each can in its own way help soccer grow in Detroit. There are examples of minor league teams playing in MLS cities, although those teams dont necessarily draw many fans. Portland Timbers 2 -- a team in the United Soccer League -- drew about 2,500 at a game Sunday, a figure that would represent a step back for a team like DCFC.Wright says DCFC looks forward to further conversations with the MLS group about their visions for the future. As for Gentry, he said recently that nobody from the MLS bid had reached out to his supporters group.I will believe an MLS team is in Detroit when they kick off their first match, he said. Until then, its not something that Im going to lose sleep over, only because Ive got stuff to do to grow my team -- the team thats already here.The proposed MLS expansion team could start playing in Detroit by 2020, but that still leaves DCFC plenty of time to build an even greater following. Right now, the big priority for the MLS bid is securing a new stadium for a Detroit team to play in. The group is pushing for a site in downtown Detroit, but there are potential roadblocks.If the stadium issue is resolved and Detroit is indeed granted a team, talks between the MLS group and DCFC figure to take on much more significance.I think we want to be inclusive with DCFC and the Bucks and work with them, and we can learn a lot from them. I think the groups that are running these organizations are really smart and civic minded, Tellem said. They have done an incredible job, and I think we can learn a lot from them and we will. Every time Im with them, I leave feeling more positive that we have to do this together. We cant do this without them.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Wholesale Royals Jerseys Authentic . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Royals Jerseys From China . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. http://www.cheaproyalsjerseys.us/authentic-alcides-escobar-jersey/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Vanderbilt Commodores have a black bowling ball with a star V to celebrate earning a bowl berth on the field.The bragging rights that go with a very big win over their in-state rival only makes the victory that much sweeter.Kyle Shurmur threw for a career-high 416 yards, and Vanderbilt scored the final 21 points in an upset of No. 24 Tennessee 45-34 Saturday night that erased any doubts the Commodores belong in a bowl.The Commodores (6-6, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) earned a bowl berth for the first time since 2013 thanks to their Academic Progress Rate (APR) score before kickoff. Then they went out and turned in the best offensive performance yet in picking up their sixth win this year and improving coach Derek Masons best record in his third season.Thats the way we wanted it, Mason said. We wanted a victory. At the end of the day, we didnt want to sneak in the back door. We wanted to kick in the door and walk through the front door.Vanderbilt scored its most points against an SEC opponent since scoring 49 against Mississippi State on Sept. 25, 1971. The Commodores outgained Tennessee 608-516 in beating the Vols for the third time in five seasons.Oh, its definitely important to show people that were not just going to get in off the APR, Vandy running back Ralph Webb said with his hand resting on the bowling ball. We actually play football, and were a good football team.Tennessee (8-4, 4-4) led 31-24 at halftime after taking a 21-7 lead to open the game. Then the Commodores held the Vols to a field goal in the second half with Aaron Medley banging a 37-yard field goal off the right upright with 6:46 left.Khari Blasingame scored on a 12-yard TD run late in the third quarter, then Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham hit and stripped Joshua Dobbs of the ball at the end of the third quarter, forcing Tennessees second turnover of the game. That set up a 3-yard TD run by Darrius Sims with 12:15 left that gave Vanderbilt its first lead of the game at 38-34.Alvin Kamara scored three touchdowns for Tennessee within the first 17 minutes as the Vols jumped out to a 21-7 lead. Dobbs completed his first 11 passes and finished with 31 of 34 for 340 yards passing and two TDs.The Volunteers had been gashed on the ground badly, giving up more than 400 yards in each of the past two games. This time, Shurmur picked them apart with the fifth best passing performance in Vanderbilt history to help the Commodores match Tennessees high-powered offense.They just out-executed us, Tennessee coaach Butch Jones said. Authentic Kansas City Royals Jerseys. ebb, who became Vandys all-time leading scorer in the second quarter , finished off the scoring with a 28-yard TD run with 4:06 left. Webb finished with 114 yards rushing and was carried off the field by teammates.THE TAKEAWAYTennessee: The Vols got the fast start they had missed so often this season only to struggle in the second half. They came into this game with a chance at a Sugar Bowl berth needing Auburn to lose to Alabama in the Iron Bowl. That happened. Before they could wait to see if Florida lost to Florida State, the Vols couldnt help themselves by beating Vanderbilt. That leaves them waiting to see just which bowl they will be playing.Vanderbilt: The Commodores already had a road win at Georgia this season, but this easily counts as Masons biggest win yet to quiet questions about their program as they prepare to go bowling. Mason celebrated by dancing on the field . Then he went over in front of a group of Tennessee fans and chanted, This is Nashville! over and over before he turned and went back out onto the field.QUOTABLETheres no need to say anything for 365 days, Vanderbilt defensive lineman Adam Butler said. We own Tennessee.QUOTABLE IIVols junior defensive end Derek Barnett tied the late Reggie White for the most sacks in school history with 32. He didnt want to talk about that after the loss. Its unacceptable and Im embarrassed. When I step on the field, I play to win. Records are records. I dont play this game for records, I play this game to get victories with my teammates.OFFENSIVE EXPLOSIONTennessee finished with 58 total touchdowns this season, the most since a program-best 62 in 1993. ... Vanderbilt countered with Webb, Shurmur and a pair of wide receivers over 100 yards receiving. Trent Sherfield had nine catches for 184 yards, while Caleb Scott had four for 117. Shurmur had the most yards passing since Chris Nickson had 446 yards in 2006.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Volunteers had just moved back into the Top 25 after three straight wins. This likely drops them right back out.UP NEXTTennessee: Bowl-bound.Vanderbilt: Bowl-bound, and the Commodores had a representative from the Independence Bowl watching their upset of the Vols.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Previous versions of this story said that Ralph Webb finished with 116 yards. He finished with 114. Disocunt Football Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Jerseys NFL Cheap Wholesale Jerseys 2020Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Jerseys NFL China ' ' '
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