When an MLS Trophy Lived in a Fan's Closet for a Year

Back in 2020/21, the MLS Supporters' Shield didn't stay at the Philadelphia Union offices. Instead, a fan kept it wrapped in a blanket in his closet… but there is a good reason for it. This week, we look back at the curious story of Matt Gendaszek and the year he took care of the Supporters’ Shield. Plus, we remember the Austin Sockadillos, spend a day in Sacramento with the USL, and much more.

This week’s stories:

• 🎙️ Interview at the End of the Road

• 🤠 The Austin Sockadillos

• 🛡️ When an MLS Trophy Lived in a Fan's Closet for a Year

• ⚽ Hello, World Cup Ball!

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

CLUBELEVEN
Interview at the End of the Road

We finally made it down to the last Open Cup stop with the Soccer Bus. 9000+ miles traveled and eleven USOC cities logged.

As we parked a few blocks down from Q2 Stadium ahead of the Final in Austin, the great Riley James from GOLZ came to check out the bus and chat about our whole journey!

I’m typically used to being on the other side of interviews (asking questions rather than answering them 😅), but it was such a great time getting to pause for a little bit and reflect on the whole journey this year.

Huge thank you to Riley and the GOLZ team for spotlighting our story. Check out the full conversation right HERE!

OUR HISTORY
The Austin Sockadillos

Our time in Texas had us looking back at the history of soccer in Austin, and well, what better story than the Austin Sockadillos, a trailblazing indoor club in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

The team played in the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, and enjoyed some deep runs in the playoffs of that league, falling just short of the championship on several occasions. They did, however, once beat a team 27-3, shattering a league record at the time.

Apart from a super quirky name, the Sockadillos were crucial in establishing soccer roots in the city and planting the seeds for an avid soccer community that would one day welcome MLS.

Always love hearing about those clubs around the country that laid the foundation for everything we’re seeing today.

COVER STORY
When an MLS Trophy Lived in a Fan's Closet for a Year

Thirty-five pounds of pure silver. Valued at $18,000 when it was first made in 1999 by artist Paula Richardson. A value of about $30,000 when the Union first won it back in 2020.

And Matt Gendaszek (then-leader of the Sons of Ben) used to keep it wrapped in a blanket in his closet.

This story on Matt and the MLS Supporters’ Shield was one of the first full-length profile pieces we ever wrote on CLUBELEVEN almost five years ago—and it’s probably the one that first helped open our eyes to the amazing world that is American soccer.

By then, we’d seen the Shield be lifted by a couple of teams since we’d started covering matches around the country in 2018, but we never really knew the trophy never actually stayed at the team facilities of the winning team, as it’s usually the case with other silverware.

Instead, the trophy is run by the Independent Supporters Council, and each year, it stays with the official supporters group of the winning team. It makes sense now, of course, but Matt’s story is truly unique.

That year, when the Union clinched the Shield, there was a whole snafu with getting the trophy from LAFC (who’d won it in 2019) over to Philadelphia on time for the lifting celebrations. This was during the pandemic, so it’s completely understandable. But with the Union on the verge of clinching their first-ever trophy, Matt and the Sons of Ben had to come up with a creative solution against the clock.

So, they got their hands on a toy Captain America shield and created an incredible replica Supporters’ Shield for the celebrations—it looked awesome. 

Matt was in charge of carrying it out to the players on the field, and it was one of the highlights of his tenure as president of the Sons of Ben. They’d all somehow saved the day.

Then, the real Shield arrived the following day, and he was able to take it to the training ground and show it to the players.

For that entire year, Matt was in charge of keeping the Supporters Shield safe in his home, and we were lucky enough to meet him in Philly to see the trophy and hear his story. 

With the Union clinching the Shield over the weekend, it felt like a good time to dig this one up!

WC2026
Hello, World Cup Ball!

We’ve talked about the leaks and science behind this ball plenty on this channel before, but we’ve finally got the real deal.

Last week, adidas released the Trionda—the official 2026 World Cup ball.

Here are all the details. It feels surreal knowing that all the final pieces for the World Cup are coming together.

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Let us know! We’ll highlight your best answers next week.

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Sonny Night Football: The former Spurs man seems to be loving LA. His latest adventure was going out to SoFi for an LA Rams game last week.

The Best PL Pub: Our winning streak continues as we try to find the best Premier League bar in America. This is where we were over the weekend.

Empty Skies: Tough news coming out of Santa Barbara and their upcoming soccer team.

Taylor Swift x Real Madrid: Cheeky Real Madrid name-drop by the pop star, or a hidden dig at Trent Alexander-Arnold? You be the judge. 

World Cup Volunteering: The deadline to apply was extended until this Friday! Don’t miss out and join the volunteer program here.

CELEBRATIONS
Hartford Heaven

Drink it in, Hartford. The Jägermeister Cup is secure. Went straight into the belly of the beast in Sacramento and pulled off the improbable to claim the club’s first-ever trophy.

As soon as the opening whistle blew, a sold-out Heart Health Park roared and clawed throughout the night, seemingly inching their team closer to victory. But Hartford had other plans. What haven’t they been through after all? Molded by years of adversity, this was finally their time for glory. You could argue it made Saturday night that much sweeter.

Here are some of our favorite frames.

EVENTS
The Times Square Cup

It’s back!

Street Soccer USA and Borussia Dortmund are teaming up for another edition of the Times Square Cup on Saturday, October 11.

The Times Square Cup is part of the Street Soccer USA Cup series, the top 4v4 soccer competition in the country, and features high-paced, high-scoring matches on a pop-up soccer stadium with live DJs and announcing beginning from 9am in the morning to 10pm at night in the unparalleled setting of Times Square.

The tournament will help raise funds and awareness for Street Soccer USA year-round programming that makes soccer accessible to the least served neighborhoods across the country.

Check out more info here.

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you: Did you get to visit the CLUBELEVEN Soccer Bus this year? Here are some of your answers:

• “Yes. Awesome experience at RBA!!” - Paul F.

• “No. I was hoping it would come to my city, but now it sounds like the last stop is [was] in Texas. Hopefully there will be more!” - BT

In the poll, “Yes” won with about 59% of the vote, while “No” followed with 41%.

UP NEXT
Going to California

We’ve left Austin and will now be in LA for the rest of the week working on an exciting new project! Let us know any soccer spots we should visit in town.

Enjoying This?

Make sure to forward this email to a friend and help us spread the soccer gospel far and wide! We’ll see you next week with even more untold stories of soccer.

Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo