Well, the players did it. But we helped. A lot, I like to think.
When a few of us started the Coopers more than four years ago, winning anything was an afterthought. We loved soccer, we loved Louisville, we wanted those two to get together in a major way. At no point did we ever conceive that at this point we’d be well on the path to having our own home to play in and a USL Cup already in the trophy case.
One of the motivations behind even wanting to bring professional soccer to Louisville, for me, anyway, was because it was something I wanted to experience with my kids. That I got to witness the New York game and this one with my oldest son, who is seven and definitely not going to school on Tuesday, was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I am, and we are, so lucky to have been a part of this ride, and luckier that my kid got to feel what it was like to be on it.
What a damn game, by the way. My hat is off to Swope Park. They brought it. They pressed, they tried like hell to crack open the back line, and perhaps some of Brian Ownby’s bones. The passion was on the field. It was definitely in the stands. We may never witness another night like that again, but even just one is enough.
I’m so proud of the work that the Coopers did this year. Tifos were amazing. Capos were amazing. Community engagement was amazing. Membership engagement, participation, and communication were great. Tom Farmer, my hat is truly off to you. What a great year, and to cap it off this way is just another feather in your prodigious cap.
I couldn’t be more proud of what the Coopers and Louisville City have become. Let’s enjoy this moment as long as we can, and let it carry us into an even brighter future.
COME ON, CITY.
