The 2014 season was a disappointment to say the least. With the bankruptcy looming over everything and the team under performing on the field, all the excitement and energy going into 2014 ended up at the bottom of the Mon. We tried to stay optimistic but by the end I think there was a bit of relief it was over. As we watched the fortunate sons lift their first USL Cup the question that ran through my mind was “well…. now what?”

Ad astra per aspera- Through hardships to the stars

That was the saying on our end of the season tifo last year. Through hardships to the stars. Clubs go through rough patches all the time. It’s the nature of sports. During these times the will and resolve of both the players and fans are tested. It’s how you deal with it that truly makes you great. Fires and crucibles and all that. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. The rough times last year, as crappy as they were, will make success this year all the greater.

Those who are consistently at the top don’t know what it’s like to be at the bottom. To be on the brink. To have to pick yourself up and claw your way up. We do. We are supporters. The die hards who stick around thick and thin. The ones who are the most critical and most passionate of our team. And even though it was a bad season our passion is infectious. Our numbers are growing. We’re already to surpass our membership from last season and the first whistle hasn’t even been blown. The slogan for the USL this season is “USL Rising”. As much as I hate to play into their marketing gimmick, we are on the rise. The Hounds shed a lot of baggage during the off season. They went out and got a good coach in Steffens. They got a President in Nightingale that says, and more importantly does, all the right things. They signed solid players with the right attitude instead of trying to make a splash in the papers. What we’ve heard slipping out from that locker room is the Hounds are united and they are determined.

Coming into 2015 I had few expectations for what I expected to be a transition year. Now, after seeing the shift in the organization and the play on the field during the preseason, I realize last season was the transition year. Highmark Stadium ushered in a new era for the Hounds, but the product on the field stayed pretty much the same. This season, starting today god willing, we’re going to see the beginning of a new era of Riverhounds soccer on the field.

We’re not going to win a championship by spending the most money on players. We’re not going to make the biggest splash on social media. We’re not going to be the team everyone talks about. We’re not going to be the league’s darlings.

We are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

We pay the iron price. We will take what is ours from those we defeat.

COME ON YOU HOUNDS

#UNLEASH