2016 NASL Season - There's Hope and It's Practically Here!

Only a couple days remain before the NASL season officially says goodbye to preseason training camps, friendlies, and absolute guesses about candidates for Golden Boot, Golden Glove, and Young Player of the Year and kicks off the official start to the 2016 Spring Season.

Carolina hosts Minnesota.
Fort Lauderdale hosts Miami.
New York hosts Ottawa.
Rayo OKC hosts Edmonton.
Tampa Bay hosts Indy.

Whether one of the games is your home opener or you're forced to watch the game from the friendly confines of your home or local pub on one of the 200 media partners (I kid...kind of...1, 2, 3, 4), there's one consistent thing among all of the fan bases right now. Hope. The Standings are a clean slate, just waiting for teams to determine what trajectory they are going to go.

There aren't any win streaks. No losing streaks. No trends.

There aren't any attendance figures. Nobody has walked through the gates to give the chuckle on a rain-delayed Saturday night when the announced attendance takes longer to announce than it would to actually count the number of people in the stands.

There are no Wins. No Losses. No Draws. No Goal Differentials. No Points.

There is only hope that this is the season where the team pulls it all together. Hope that the injury bug finds itself somewhere else. Hope that the defense is stout and the offense is lighting up the scoreboard. Hope that the team starts strong and wins the Spring Season. Hope that the team finishes strong and wins the Fall Season. Hope that the team is consistent enough to at least be one of the top four in the Combined Standings. Hope of a Championship.

Right now, anything is possible. Right now, Hope wins!

Tomorrow?

Well, tomorrow starts the exuberant, colorful, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, last-minute-winning, beautiful joy ride we've waited all off-season to enjoy.

...Even if the Koluder tried to prevent it...

How The Koluder Stole Spring Season
by Drew as inspired by Dr. Seuss

Every Bricker in the Battalion liked The Spring Season a lot...
But the Koluder,who lived just north of the Battalion, did NOT!

The Koluder hated The Spring Season! As well as the Fall Season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his cleats were too tight.

But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that his heart was crushed every Fall.

Whatever the reason, maybe he just liked to bicker,
He stood there on Spring Season Eve, hating the Brickers,

Staring down at the Battalion with a sour, Koludery frown,
At the Indy Eleven buzz slowly growing in their town.

For he knew every Bricker in the Battalion beneath,
Was busy now, waiting to scream through their teeth.

"And they're preparing their chants!" he snarled with a sneer,
"Tomorrow is the Spring Season! It's practically here!"

Then he growled, with his Koluder fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find some way to stop Spring Season from coming!"

For Tomorrow, he knew, all the Bricker gals and chaps,
Would wake bright and early and head to Chatham Tap!

And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise!
Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE!
NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the Brickers, young and old, would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast! And they'd FEAST!
FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!

They would feast on corn dogs, and rare Full 90 beer.
Which was something that always put the Koluder on his rear!

And THEN They'd do something He liked least of all!
Every Bricker in the Battalion, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with the Red Card Regiment ringing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Brickers would start singing!

They'd sing! And they'd sing! And they'd SING!
SING! SING! SING!

INDY!
COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE!
COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE!
INDY IS RED AND BLUE!
INDY IS RED AND BLUE!