Overachieving and Underachieving is Just Achieving

Birmingham Legion FC have officially confirmed that they will be in the playoffs, a feat that the 3 Sparks have accomplished every single year since the inception of the club. That level of consistency is what has made Birmingham one of the most stable franchises (and jobs) in US Sports.

While we can argue on if things should change with leadership, whether the roster should be completely gutted or not, etc., etc., there’s no arguing the fact Legion are inevitable when it comes to the playoffs. If that’s the case, then why are Legion fans so disappointed?

Pre-Season Expectations

In the pre-season, I made a post talking about expectations. Those expectations were that we want to grow every single year, like all sports teams do. It’s either grow into a championship team or maintain a championship level. Birmingham Legion gave The Magic City a taste of playoff soccer last year and fans don’t want anything less. In fact, in order to grow, fans wanted a home playoff win. Now it is all but confirmed that the playoffs will only be on the road for the 3 Sparks.

Sounds like that is a downgrade, a failure. In league form, that IS a failure. But there’s a giant pink elephant in the room that fans are also ignoring: The US Open Cup. The expectation was to get past the 3 round for the first time. Birmingham did that, and more. Defeating what felt like all of Tennessee, taking down an MLS team in Charlotte FC (AT HOME), and hosting Inter Miami CF AT HOME in the Quarter Finals that saw over 18,000 fans in attendance. You cannot ignore that. They achieved their US Open Cup goal plus some. Birmingham Legion FC were one missed handball call away from winning $25k and a trip to Cincinnati as a USL Club. That sounds like a massive success to me.

Why Are Fans So Angry?

Frankly, inconsistency. Legion fans saw a 5 match losing streak in USL play in May (talk about ruining my wedding day AND graduation day… rude…). A 4 match winless streak between July 29th-August 12th. A streak between August 27th-September 24th where Legion only picked up 4 points from 18.

In my opinion, it’s not about the “why”, it’s about the “what if.” What if Legion picked up two more wins from ANY of those streaks? They would have 52 points, tied with Memphis, who is in 4th. Sure, there are “whys” in terms of roster construction and line up construction, but it all comes down to “what if.” What if Legion didn’t blow two leads versus Detroit City? What if Legion won away to RGVFC? What if Legion didn’t give up two goals in 8 minutes to Charleston? What if Legion didn’t allow a goal in the 84′ to Colorado Springs? Who cares about the “why” when you’re living with “what if”?

The Final Expectation

Birmingham Legion FC are a team who have never won a playoff game. Technically, their lone playoff win was a “play-in” game. So, they won their way into the playoffs, they did not win a playoff game. The one feather that is alluding Soehn and Company is that playoff win. Now it will have to be done away from home, against very likely against Tampa Bay. While Legion have completely owned the Rowdies this year, Al Lang has been a House of Horrors for the 3 Sparks in the playoffs. If you’re going to break the playoff curse, you have to get the biggest Playoff Monkey off of your back.

Another What If…

What if Legion fail again? What if for the 5th straight year, the 3 Sparks bow out without a playoff victory? This is where my opinion is my opinion. I do not believe that it it time for Tommy Soehn to be fired, even if it ends with disappointment. I do believe that no matter what, it’s time for a change in philosophy. We had the change in defensive to attacking mindset this year, a positive change. That said, it’s also time to see a more wholistic roster. It’s time to see more youth brought in. This year has seen the youth movement come in full swing, and it is when Legion have looked the best. It’s time to attract those young players to fill out a roster, get a few starts, and have the new wave of Legion FC flood The Magic City.