Anyone who's seen an episode of "Ted Lasso" knows about the handwritten "Believe" sign taped above his office door in AFC Richmond's locker room.
That familiar sign was spotted in various locations around FC Tucson's clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, setting the tone for the biggest weekend in club history. A "Believe" sign graced the doorway of coach Jon Pearlman's office, its clunky block letters welcoming anyone who enters.
And, perhaps more importantly, a "Believe" sign also hung right above the exit to the field.
It's a simple message, but one that president Amanda Powers hopes will spread beyond the clubhouse and into the community heading into Saturday's first-round USL League One playoff match against the Richmond Kickers.
Reaching out
Rampant uncertainty was an ongoing theme of the club's 2020 season, and strict COVID-19 safety protocols meant no fans were allowed in the stadium. The club still needed to sell tickets, however, meaning Powers was forced to get creative.
The team invited fans downtown to the newly created El Toro Cinema for its first-ever drive-in viewing party.
Even with empty spaces between each car for optimal social distancing, the events created a sense of community. Fans cheered together from their cars or chairs posted up in front, and masked FC Tucson staffers handed out soccer balls to kids. The club's "street team" amped up the crowd during downtime.
The watch parties continued throughout the season. And while FC Tucson finished sixth in the league and missed the playoffs, the franchise was able to build some momentum locally. As 2020 turned to 2021, Powers and her staff kept showing up to community events.
The weekend before its May 1 season opener, Powers, a handful of players and the club's 10-person street team hosted a neighborhood block party that doubled as a pop-up vaccination site. Dozens of people visited Menlo Park's MSA Annex to celebrate the upcoming season and get vaccinated at the same time.
The "Barrio 2 Barrio" events continued as the city came to life. FC Tucson went to Desert View High School, the City of South Tucson, Rillito Park and more. And the events didn't just provide fans with some outdoor fun: Powers said it opened her eyes to "who we need to be to the community."
Powers said the "Barrio 2 Barrio" parties will return next season, as will the Cox Community Corner sections at games. FC Tucson is in talks with local tribal leaders and other groups to extend the events' reach.
But first, the playoffs.
A face-to-face business
As FC Tucson prepared for last week's regular-season finale, the club hosted a soccer clinic with Canyon del Oro High School. Players and staff turned out for the five-hour event, bringing down equipment and freebies for 300 kids.
Even with the playoffs in sight, Powers and the club were still thinking about ways to reach the community.
"I think of myself almost like a Peace Corps worker in soccer," Powers said. "I'm calling it Soccer Corps next year. And I'm on a mission for the next five years to build a robust soccer environment here that we know is here, but take it to a whole other level."
Powers said she hopes to build the corps through the club's free academy program. Ultimately, FC Tucson would like to take over Pima County's six fields as well as its 20,000-square-foot clubhouse and related facilities. The club would then convert the buildings to dorms and rent out the fields, making the team and space a community asset.
"We need to get people's minds shifting out of thinking of us as a minor-league soccer team," Powers said. "It's going to take a lot of us in the industry to give people a reason why to care about a third-division men's pro soccer team. And in this business, you cannot rest on our laurels."
During last month's match against South Georgia Tormenta FC, Powers greeted several fans by name, stopping for a moment to ask about work or their kids.
Shortly after a pregame presentation with USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort, a Tucson resident and former Sabino soccer star, two young girls came running down from their seats and greeted Powers with hugs. Powers removed her "El Jefe" scarf and draped it around one of the sister's necks.
Powers then visited the pitchside hospitality area, introducing herself to a family celebrating a belated Father's Day, and made her way to the VIP area, where she chatted up sponsors and diehard fans.
"This business, soccer, is a face-to-face business," she said. "While we might not sell a ticket if we go 'table' somewhere, overall we got the brand awareness that we needed there. Yeah, there are going to be places that aren't the right fit for us, but we need to be everywhere."
Touching her necklace with the words "FC Tucson" spelled out in tiny blocks — a homemade gift from a fan — Powers said that the cheers, high-fives, photos and selfies she sees at each home match are her measures of success.
"My days can be really rich," Powers said.
FC Tucson president Amanda Powers smiles during a news conference announcing Jon Pearlman as the team’s full-time coach on Oct. 7.
Forging an identity
James Lopez, Sahuaro High School's boys soccer coach and a science teacher, has been a season ticket holder since moving to Tucson in 2014.
He fondly recalls the club's developmental league years and the players who made it great, including a 2014 bicycle kick by striker Odaine Sinclair that made it to No. 1 on ESPN's "top plays," and defender Aaron Long, who went on to serve as captain of the U.S. men's national team.
But the team's 2017 purchase by Phoenix Rising FC changed more than just the team's schedule and competition bracket, Lopez said.
"It was during this time the club and supporters struggled with identity," Lopez said. "The club struggled to find wins, and supporters struggled to find where they belonged within the club and in the stands."
Then Powers arrived, armed with a mission. The club was eventually sold to businessman Brett Johnson and went independent. Now, all club decisions are made in Tucson.
In late June, FC Tucson parted ways with coach John Galas and named FC Tucson founder Pearlman as interim coach. The longtime Tucsonan "brought a spark that the club needed," Lopez said. "It was with this new direction that the club was able to finish the season as one of the hottest teams in the league."
Sarah Smogoleski has had season tickets for the past two years, but has been a fan for much longer.
A native of Wisconsin, Smogoleski grew up with the NFL's Packers. She admittedly didn't know much about the other type of football before moving to Tucson nearly a decade ago.
She joined a coed recreational soccer league, and soon after, some of her soccer friends invited her to an FC Tucson match. Smogoleski attended games on and off in the years since. She purchased season tickets after she saw what leadership was trying to do.
"They had the confidence and faith to make it happen," Smogoleski said. "Just to see this kind of rebirth and how committed the staff is and the fans are to rebuilding the community has been really refreshing and exciting."
These days, you can find Smogoleski in the supporter section on the north end of Kino North Stadium, banging a drum and heckling the away team.
"To be there and be so close and have it all happen when you're right next to the goal is great," Smogoleski said. "One of the other supporters got pulled into the celebration a few weeks ago on his birthday."
While the club is working hard to build up support for the playoffs, Smogoleski is doing her own kind of fan outreach.
"I think a lot of people just don't realize we have a professional soccer team in Tucson," Smogoleski said.
Marana High School boys soccer coach Tim Johnson has been a fan since the club's first season and is a member of its unofficial fan club, the Cactus Pricks. He's seen a difference in the way FC Tucson's leaders go about their business.
"The ways in which ownership and leadership is reaching out to portions of the community that might not have been engaged in previous seasons for whatever reason, that's commendable," he said. "The more people that attend the games, the better the atmosphere. The better the atmosphere, the better the players play."
It's more than just getting people in the stands, though, he said. The club's off-the-field engagement efforts have also been significant, with Powers opening up the facilities to local sports teams and sports medicine programs for tours and learning opportunities.
Let go and trust
The 2021 season has been challenging, with Powers saying the club "had to break some eggs" along the way. But it's been rewarding, too, as evidenced by Saturday's playoff game. She thinks her club will win Saturday — and then take their following two matches and win it all.
"I believe in my gut in Jon Pearlman. I believe in my staff and this community," Powers said. "My operating system is, 'Faith without work is dead.' But at the same time, I have to kind of let go and trust."
Powers defines integrity as doing the right thing when no one is looking. And it's very likely no one was looking Tuesday night, as the club president and her street team papered windshields across town, trying to get the word out about her team's success.
Powers believes. She hopes Tucson will, too.
"In a sports game … you get to experience joy, heartache, pain, anger, frustration, elation and excitement all in one match," Powers said. "You can't get that on your phone, and you can't get that all the time. We believe that soccer and this community that we are forming is really going to tie it all together."
