Meet the San Antonio Scorpions

By Ed Welsh at February 17, 2012 | 6:30 am | Print

Hello, everyone! As you’ve read, we’re going to be covering the NASL this year, and I have the pleasure of writing about the San Antonio Scorpions. The Scorpions are new to the NASL this year, so I’ll start by telling you all about the newest (and in my opinion most exciting) club to North American Soccer.

So who are the Scorpions, and what are they all about down there in San Antonio? First off, as you can see in the article’s feature image, they have the most kick-ass logo known to soccer! Ever since I first saw it, I have been totally geeking out about it and I’m going to get around to buying some of their gear eventually.

I had the opportunity to speak with Director of Marketing Evan Mitz of the Scorpions a few weeks back in order to get a feel of what the team was all about, and what they hoped to accomplish in their inaugural season. The first key point that Evan stressed to me was that Scorpions FC benefits Morgan’s Wonderland, an amusement located across the parking lot from the Scorpions FC that “provides a place where all ages and abilities can come together and play in a fun and safe environment.” There will be special pricing for special needs fans at all of the games.

Another important topic in my talk with Evan was the fan base. Much like the Union, Scorpions FC wants to have a great relationship with its fans! The team is already on Twitter, and even has a Facebook-like feature on their own site! They’re going to encourage their players to get on Twitter as well, saying that interacting with fans is “a two way street.” The team has a motto of “Our Community, Our Team” which is really important to what they are all about. The logo, jerseys, and scarves were all designed by fans!

San Antonio as a city has a strong military background and Evan described it as “truly a military town.” The Scorpions plan to hold promotional events on the nearby bases. There is a definite military culture in San Antonio and Scorpions FC will “respect that on gameday.”

The other point Evan and I touched on is that San Antonio wants to be similar to the Union in that they want to encourage the supporters groups and be very interactive with their fans. When we mentioned Philly I had to ask if a move to the MLS is something that San Antonio could be interested in a few years from now. A move is something that the team will be monitoring in the next few years. With a stadium under construction that will have an option to expand to 18,000 seats, they move could be possible. For now, the team’s goal is to start successfully and educate the local market about the sport of soccer.

Since my conversation with Evan, the Scorpions have made their first group of signings! Among them, they’ve signed Kevin Harmse and Greg Janicki, both of whom have had MLS and some international experience. In a post coming soon (hopefully) we’ll get to talk to them in more detail. Another signing made more recently was Patrick Hannigan who is a native of Philadelphia and attended Temple University. Hopefully I’ll have a conversation with Patrick in the coming weeks about his role with San Antonio.

I hope you’re all as excited about San Antonio Scorpions FC as I am! Make sure to go follow Scorpions FC on Twitter and like them on Facebook. As my traditional sign off goes: keep DOOPing, my friends.

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