Community spirit generates electric, emotional and eclectic atmosphere at franchise’s first home matches
By Matt Rankin • Photos courtesy of Big Slate Media
While the final score (Asheville City SC 2, One Knoxville SC 1) did not quite validate the hype that had been building for the many months leading up to kickoff, several other factors conspired to ensure that the inaugural match – held at Austin-East Magnet High School on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. – of Knoxville’s first professional soccer team will be remembered as one of the most indelible competitive events to ever take place in a city already exorbitantly rich in sporting tradition.
Firstly, the ties that One Knox cultivated and nourished in East Knoxville well in advance of its initial game – and through a rash of gun violence that resulted in the deaths of eight AE students, including one in an officer-involved shooting on campus, since the beginning of last year – flourished into an ebullient evening that celebrated diversity and incorporated members of the community in meaningful and expressive ways. Announcements were made from the public address about the organization’s commitment to establishing and maintaining an inclusive environment for all people; the player escorts were a multicultural mix of little ones representing local youth teams; and the halftime entertainment featured Vine Middle School soccer players offering a glimpse at the level of talent they will bring to the sport as they continue to grow and develop their skills.
However, the most notable and moving interaction between One Knox and AE involved a program borne of the latter’s tragedy. Drums Up, Guns Down was conceived as a coping mechanism for grieving students looking for a creative outlet through which to constructively vent their frustrations, and the percussion collective was on hand that Saturday to provide the proceedings with a literal rhythmic pulse and a figurative heartbeat. Thumping for all their worth and leading fans in a conga line through the concourse areas before settling into the dedicated supporters’ section, its members kept the beat for the duration of the contest. Ensembles like this are commonplace at soccer matches around the world, but rarely do they summon the kind of emotional weight that these youngsters evoked with their vigorous, steadfast and jubilant performance.
Additionally, One Knox issued a statement a few days before the match dictating that it would be donating all proceeds earned on the night to AE. While a cynic, perhaps citing the controversy surrounding the team’s future home at the recently approved, mixed-use downtown stadium site adjacent to the Old City, might question the intent behind such generosity, the club has demonstrated on multiple occasions since its inception in 2020 its loyalty and commitment to its East Knox neighbors.
After Cumberland Gap expressed its reluctance to travel to AE to face the Roadrunners on their senior night in 2021, One Knox secured the soccer-specific confines of the University of Tennessee’s Regal Stadium to make sure the game was played. (AE won 9-0.) The organization then partnered with Big Slate Media on a documentary recounting the school’s run to the state championship mere weeks later. When a vandal caused roughly $10,000 worth of damage to the school’s baseball field in January 2022, the club stepped up by creating a GoFundMe campaign to pay for reconstruction of the surface. Finally, after its appearance was sponsored by the team, the AE band was the beneficiary of a $30,000 gift at an April charity dinner hosted by One Knox’s kit sponsor, the United Way of Greater Knoxville.
Its association with AE is just one of the ways in which One Knox has been able to forge a strong local impact, though. Through instituting savvy social media and merchandising campaigns and pushing out just the right number of emails to stay relevant without coming across as annoying or pandering, the organization established a solid brand identity right off the bat and has maintained both online and real-world presences despite never having played a minute of football in the public sphere. That all changed on May 14, of course, as everything came full circle before moving forward in a decidedly encouraging direction.
Arriving almost an hour before the first kick of the new USL League Two season, we nevertheless procured one of the last available spots in the farthest of the fenced-in lots. On the way into the park, we noticed a handful of tailgaters on the premises, grilling out and partaking in adult libations with the One Knox flags draped from their vehicles fluttering in the light breeze. On that front, the weather was gorgeous: warm in the late-evening sun yet only moderately humid; in other words, ideal for footy.
Entering the stadium amidst a stream of fans, gauges of the club’s structural depth and marketing mettle were everywhere. Smiling and knowledgeable staff dotted the grounds, directing the flow of pedestrians and offering help when needed. All manner of food truck was on site, serving up different varieties of culinary treats. Although nonalcoholic beverages were available for purchase, empty refillable water bottles were permitted inside the gates, with free water accessible from a cooler. A large banner featuring the club’s crest adorned a wall, allowing for photo ops, which volunteers were stationed to take.
In addition, a merch stand was fully stocked with tasteful apparel supplied by our friends at Riot Printing Co. While the line was at least 20 deep each time I passed by, a stunning number of people, including yours truly, already were decked out in One Knox gear upon arrival. Countless kits (home and away versions), t-shirts, scarves, caps and officially licensed merchandise designed by Nothing Too Fancy festooned a surprisingly substantial percentage of patrons. The rest seemingly donned the kits and scarves of their favorite international and domestic teams. Judging by the extremely limited number of items not listed as sold out on its online store, the club both made an enormous profit and is now in desperate need of ordering another run from Riot.
“Oh, when One Knox … goes marching in!” sang the procession of impassioned fans trailing behind the Drums Up, Guns Down crew, mimicking the spiritual-based chants of Southampton and Tottenham supporters as we scoped the bleachers for open seats, a fairly tough task considering the huge turnout. Given the concurrent entertainment options – including the oft-delayed and long-awaited Southern Skies Music Festival at World’s Fair Park, among many others – the gathered crowd, later estimated to be close to capacity at around 2,200, was especially impressive.
A buzz of anticipation filled the air otherwise, climaxing in an atmosphere that was nearly at a boiling point by the time the clash finally kicked off. The majority of those in the stands proved to be knowledgeable about the game, as well, sensing scoring opportunities as they developed, cheering at the proper intervals and jeering the officials appropriately when a questionable foul was called or a stoppage in play was whistled when an advantage could have been played instead.
And although it was an expansion squad playing its first match in a semi-professional, developmental league, the quality on the pitch was far from substandard; in fact, it was more than adequate and befitting of a club that had snatched the best manager in League Two away from Des Moines and that had earned a No. 4 preseason ranking out of 115 teams. Enjoying the bulk of possession in advanced attacking positions for much of the first half, only a precise through ball to the speedy left winger for Asheville was able to pierce the Knoxville defense, leading to a goal on the counter. Still, the home side continued to press and was able to equalize before halftime through a nodded-in goal by Max McNulty from a fine cross in by captain James Thomas.
The first part of the second half saw Asheville somewhat regain its footing, earning more possession and threatening Knoxville’s goal on occasion despite the home side keeping its shape well. The momentum began to turn again, however, as the half wore on. One Knox once again dominated possession, pressing deeper into the Asheville half and coming close to capitalizing on the handful of chances it created. One memorable effort, whipped in from the left corner of the 18-yard box, curled agonizingly wide of the far post; had slightly more bend been employed, the ball would have found the upper 90 with ease.
Individual brilliance was on display, too, as a couple of Knoxville’s players cleverly danced past defenders in an attempt to break the deadlock but were stymied just short of reaching paydirt. The repeated dangerous attacks forced Asheville to largely park the bus in front of its own goal, with long balls out of the back its only source of recourse. What seemed to be drifting toward a stalemate toward the end of the match, though, quickly escalated after one of those pinged passes found a City forward, who was determined to have been brought down illegally just inside of the Knoxville penalty area. The location of the foul was debatable, as was the call itself, but it saw Asheville being awarded a spot kick, which it dutifully converted.
The last few minutes of regular and stoppage time witnessed an intense flurry of activity from both sides. Throwing numbers forward, the home team created numerous scoring chances but also left itself exposed at the back, which Asheville nearly exploited a couple of times. This frenzied period also found Knoxville scoring two goals – both of which were disallowed, unfortunately. The first was whistled dead for a foul in the buildup just before the ball was smashed into the roof of the net, while the second was negated after the player who buried the finish was judged, albeit correctly, to have been in an offside position when he received the ball. One Knox continued to pump a few hopeful long balls into the box but was unable to find a tying tally before the final whistle blew.
There were way too many positives to glean from the first matchday experience to be demoralized by the result, regardless of how narrow it was or how contentious the penalty decision might have been. The fervor that was so evident amongst the throng at AE transcended the immediate circumstances anyway. Perhaps it was different for the younger generations who were there, but to me – and perhaps all the folks my age or older – the occasion was emotionally overwhelming. It felt like a watershed moment, the culmination of 40 years of pent-up frustration at having been ridiculed for loving a sport that had never been fully accepted into the American mainstream.
That’s simply me projecting, of course, but I also don’t think that an enterprise like One Knox could have gained the traction it needed to get off the ground so quickly and be so instantly successful at any other point in the city’s history. While youth development in the sport still leaves much to be desired nationally, pockets of the country have developed into soccer hotbeds; East Tennessee in general and Knoxville in particular seem to be reaching that status. At one point before the game had begun, having had taken inventory of the overall spectacle and in the middle of parsing individual thoughts in my Moleskine, my notes started to blur as my eyes welled up with tears at that realization. This match was just the beginning, but I could see no reason to be anything other than optimistic about what would follow – both in the short term and for years to come.
The former commenced on another beautiful evening after a fairly quick turnaround period between matches, this time at Knoxville Catholic on Tuesday, May 17. Having witnessed the levels of excitement and engagement at AE, it was not at all shocking when One Knox sent an email on the afternoon before this second game warning that it was nearing a sellout. What was surprising, though, was that the club, perhaps wanting to alleviate disappointment as a result of any members of its fanbase proverbially being left out in the cold, livestreamed the event on YouTube at no cost for all to see. Far from being a skeleton operation, however, the broadcast featured smooth camerawork that included dynamic shots, as well as excellent, insightful play-by-play and color commentary.
Whether watching it live or on their screens at home, supporters witnessed an even, open contest between One Knox and the visiting Tri-Cities Otters, who are based in Johnson City but represent all of northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. While the final score failed to reflect the offensive mindset both squads brought into the matchup, the 1-0 victory in favor of the hosts saw each side weave together several patches of creative link-up play, one of which led to the game’s only goal in the 36th minute. Knoxville’s patented high press forced a long clearance from the Tri-Cities keeper, with the home team regaining possession deep in its own half. Left-sided center back Adam Kirkwood was the impetus for the scoring push, receiving the ball on that side of the field and connecting on consecutive give-and-go passing plays down the flank.
Fan favorite Seba Andreassen provided the second deft touch back to the wing before peeling past his defender for the return ball and slipping it in at the near post to the right of the beleaguered goalie. It was a brilliant, flowing move deserving of a tally, and the towering Norwegian finished it off with aplomb, earning him man-of-the-match honors and a standing ovation at the end of the 90 minutes. It was an especially rewarding moment for a player who had only just recently recovered fully from ACL surgery. “It was an amazing feeling,” Andreassen said of his winning goal before acknowledging the boisterous crowd’s reaction to it. “It was just like a roar that came through. The sensation of scoring in front of passionate people and for my teammates – I can’t describe it.”
Details are scarce regarding One Knox’s last game, away to Tennessee SC at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood on Saturday, May 21, but Stephen Afrifa-Kodua came on as a second-half substitute to score and propel the visitors to another 1-0 triumph. For anyone who saw Fox’s primetime coverage of the MLS showdown between Nashville and Atlanta, occurring at the same time on the same night, the strong thunderstorms that rolled through the metro area and caused lengthy delays to that match also triggered interruptions to the USL South Central Division fixture.
Momentum is clearly building for the remainder of One Knox’s schedule, which resumes again at Catholic on Saturday, May 28, against the Dalton (Georgia) Red Wolves. Four successive road matches will precede the team’s return to East Tennessee, where it will begin play at Maryville College, the venue for its last four home games. That location change will introduce a new wrinkle to the fan experience that likely will be welcomed by many and should result in even more exuberant crowds. The easy-drinking Club Lager produced specifically for One Knox by Alliance Brewing Co., the South Knoxville watering hole that has long been a hub for soccer enthusiasts, will be on draft at the picturesque MC Soccer Field in June and July for those aged 21 and older.
At each step of its evolution, from the nascent stages of its development through the unveiling at AE a couple of weeks ago, One Knox has been taking all the necessary measures to ensure that it totally lives up to its motto: There is only One Knoxville (#TOOK). More than merely a hashtag, though, it’s a statement of intent – for the present and future prospects of the club on the pitch and for the responsibility it has assumed in aspiring to unify the city off of it. The latter objective is admittedly lofty, but nothing thus far would suggest it is unattainable – particularly in light of the overwhelmingly positive energy it has emitted since day one and that in turn has been radiated by its ardent supporters.
