Pitch to Pro
Pitch to Pro is the official podcast of Ozark United FC. This will be our platform to tell our story about the club and the special place that we call home, Northwest Arkansas. This is a journey. We want to bring you along for the ride. We'll share what's going on behind the curtain, help educate the community at large about soccer, Our league, and give updates on the progress of the club along the way.
Together, we'll explore and unpack our journey to professional soccer, the magic that is NWA, our community, and talk all things soccer from on the pitch to behind the scenes, telling the story of our club.
Pitch to Pro
Stoppage Time Special: The Next Generation of Fans
In this special Stoppage Time edition of the Pitch to Pro podcast, we dive into one of the show’s most personal and vivid storytelling moments: a heartfelt memory about watching MLS veteran Jack Jewsbury in action. The segment from Episode 46 with Ross Cully features reflections on how an unassuming trip to Portland turned into a deep lesson in soccer culture, as he recalls traveling with his young son to see Jewsbury captain the Timbers in front of the legendary Timbers Army. Their experience went beyond just watching a match. It was about being enveloped in the color, chants, and traditions that define Portland’s fan culture, even coming away with Jewsbury’s captain's armband as a priceless souvenir.
The episode also explores Jewsbury’s career trajectory, from college at SLU to the Kansas City Wizards and ultimately Portland, painting a vivid contrast between the early, sparse crowds at Arrowhead Stadium and the electric, sold-out atmosphere in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a testament not only to the growth of MLS but to the way authentic supporter culture can transform a city’s sporting identity. The conversation brims with admiration for the local traditions, like the chainsaw-cutting of the victory log, underscoring why the Timber's matchday experience is often held up as the gold standard in American soccer.
Beyond nostalgia, the segment turns reflective and even strategic, highlighting why these kinds of experiences matter for investors and club-builders in emerging markets like Northwest Arkansas. Ross notes how going to matches in Kansas City with his own kids, and even his initially skeptical parents, showed the sport’s multigenerational appeal and the surprise fans often feel when they realize soccer’s live atmosphere can be more intimate, accessible, and engaging than bigger, more corporate American sports experiences. It’s a compelling argument for how clubs can win over communities by delivering something that feels both special and inclusive.
Finally, the episode closes by linking personal memories to a broader vision: the changing demographics and rising youth interest in soccer in the U.S. We discuss how younger generation’s fandom, from the jerseys they wear to the games they want to attend, reveals a generational shift that smart clubs and investors need to embrace. This Stoppage Time moment isn’t just a feel-good story; it’s a call to see the potential for soccer to unify diverse communities, create lasting memories, and help grow the game in regions like Northwest Arkansas.
welcome to the stoppage time edition of the pitch to pro podcast.
Speaker 2:This is a highlight reel of some of the best moments from the show so far, and every other week we will be bringing you a special five to seven minute segment featuring the best stories, tales and moments of the podcast yeah, I think, uh, one of my favorite soccer memories besides the the memories of my kids was I grew up playing with a guy in Springfield, missouri that that made it to the MLS oh, that's great, his name is is Jack Jewsbury, and uh, he was.
Speaker 2:He went to SLU to play his college soccer and was drafted, uh, in the early days of the MLS, to the Kansas City Wizards and then made his way to the Portland Timbers, and it was now probably gosh 10 years ago that I thought, you know, I got to get up there and watch Jack play because he's probably going to be retiring the next few years, and so I had a reason to be up there for business and took my wife and my oldest son, jude, who was, I think, six or seven at the time, and we went and caught a match and he ends up scoring.
Speaker 2:Oh of course, and you know, for those that haven't been to a Timbers game, just the Timbers Army is, you know, kind of unmatched in terms of some of their color and passion and just the tradition of you know, off the the tree for the goal and uh, it was uh phenomenal and we got to hang out with him afterwards. He gave his captain uh band to jude and uh just had a phenomenal experience. But that was, I would say, where my eyes were open to the passion, the fans and, um, just the, the unmatched experience of just being pulled in to a soccer match yeah, I I think what a cool experience.
Speaker 3:By the way, and I remember uh jack and watching many games with jack uh and doing this at jack and I'm shaking my fist for those that aren't watching and are listening uh, because I was a dc united fan growing up and he was one of the best number sixes uh and holding midfielders uh out there during his time, so uh foiled many attacks.
Speaker 2:He uh, he had a great career and, uh, yeah, they ended up winning the mls cup, uh, when he was up there as captain for the timbers and I think when he, when he retired, he was among like the top ten players in terms of number of matches played I think over 300 in the last and so he was one of those guys that you know was in the league in the beginning the infancy, you know and as we talk about our project, you know he was playing an arrowhead, yeah, and so you think about a fan experience, uh, of early, early soccer interest and you know midwest united states in the, you know, early 2000s playing an arrowhead and then seeing the portland experience.
Speaker 2:I mean, he was a local celebrity you know the local brewery said cat and jack, you know special edition brews, uh, and it was like okay, and so for me as an investor, that's actually a really important experience that I think maybe not many in Northwest Arkansas has actually going to a major match and just feeling the energy, seeing the passion that fans bring, the diversity of people that it brings in, because of how accessible a ticket is really hit from a price point standpoint and just how unifying it is for a community. I mean, just downtown portland was just buzzing yeah ahead of that match.
Speaker 3:Um, it was just, it was really special I think it's such an important point and I love that you had that experience yourself. Um, as you know, even though you kind of grew up playing the game and you were a fan kind of already but even for fans, I think I think that's the I we talk about this all the time and you hit it is it's such a different experience to anything else in terms of as a fan and a a, a, just a, a a participant, a viewer and a matchgoer to attend a live soccer match in an environment where you're not like Jack had to play in the 5,000 people in 70,000 seat stadium where it's echoing from players on the field in silence, but more so, what you experienced important, which is smaller stadium, but a packed stadium and a very involved and passionate fan base and supporters group and all around you can just sense the vibe is just so different and when a goal is scored in a live soccer match setting it's like unlike anything else in in.
Speaker 2:You know, pro sports, live sports in that arena yeah, no, people go, not tonight, you know, since then, um, mainly chasing my kids, and so we play a lot of tournaments in Kansas City, and you know. So I remember going to a sporting game. I think it was last year. Uh, my parents were in their their 70s, were with us and I said you know, we're going to go catch a match. Why don't you come? They're like I don't know, and you know, okay, you know. So they ended up going. They talked about how much fun they had, how great the seats were.
Speaker 2:You know I could see everything. I was right there. You know they just went on and on about the experience there. You know they just went on and on about the experience and I think they had in their head, you know, big nfl, you know like arrowhead type of experience, and it just it blew them away how unique it was and and we just we just had a blast, so, um, so yeah, so that that's kind of been my exposure to soccer.
Speaker 2:I think it's been helpful to me to see that vision that we're all aiming for, uh to, to see it, uh it, and realize, you know, be that my experience in Portland or or Kansas city, I think the other thing that's been helpful to me as an investor to kind of spot this trend and believe in it is, um, seeing demographic changes, uh, having kids that are, you know, 17 to 6, and see that what they're interested in, um, from a sports standpoint, is different than when my, my dad, was growing up. It's different than when I was growing up, um, in terms of where soccer ranks in terms of their interest, the jerseys that they own, what they want to go watch. Soccer is, I think, in a lot of surveys, the number two youth sport and I think that's probably surprising to some older generations that that's changing. But I kind of have been able to see that as my kids have been involved in soccer, and so I kind of put Portland, kansas City, my kids together in my belief in Northwest Arkansas and I'm so bullish about this club.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us for this stoppage time special of the Pitch to Pro podcast. If you've enjoyed the conversation, you can click watch the full episode here. Be sure to tune in next Thursday for a new episode of the Pitch to Pro podcast, the official podcast of Ozark United FC, Available on YouTube, Instagram and everywhere you get your podcasts.