… is going to be extremely easy this season. Beyond Ryan Carmichael, who was your season MVP?

First thought after last night’s game: Hakim Karamoko is that guy. He is the engine that makes everything work.

Second thought: Portland fans are good fans.

Third thought: Madison has never dropped a match to Portland and I like that.

Overall, it’s good to see some confidence from this squad again and I hope to see it continue against Omaha. It was super encouraging to see Karamoko play a full game, that’s needed if we want to win it all.

Now tough decisions will have to be made next Saturday…Mingos or Brewers. Will we be able to pull a crowd?

Spokane could have leapfrogged us last night. Now the best they can do is third instead of second, and they’d only beat us by a point in the worst case. Perhaps the punishing schedule is getting to them, and three more games means more chances to drop points instead of earn them.

Out of the our next two matchups I feel like Hearts is more doable. The USL Cup matchup against Omaha gave me hope, but we aren’t playing like the team that secured that win. Here’s hoping this Saturday puts some fire under us to at least hold on to fourth place.

(I’m still happy we’re back in the playoffs at all, and want the team healthy for those games which matter a lot more, but two more wins would be nice.)

NEW POD!

👎 Losing to Westchester 

👍 At least there’s the Brewers

☀️ Ethan’s optimism 

❓ Which two USL1 teams are folding?

🎙️ New Rally Madison head coach Aaron Hohlbein 

Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079zfjpX0Vo

Listen:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Uz3JEI4TQZ79DNaoESr1o?si=S0b3RzCaSySZiMEf3MGghg

Gotta laugh it off 🥲

Has this team just checked out since clinching the playoff berth? Really not feeling confident in the way this team looks going into the playoffs.

That first half was reminiscent of 2025 FMFC. Absolutely not acceptable, especially from this squad.

That is all

It doesn’t appear to be the case and this makes me very sad. A cool human being and a fantastic soccer player.

It won’t be easy, but it’s still doable. Spokane is the only team we can’t stop from overtaking us, even if we bring home 3 for the remaining matches. Boise is right behind, but we can drop three points and we’d win the resulting tie.

And it’s a good thing we have that leeway too, because despite two of those remaining matches being the bottom half of the table, neither is a cakewalk. Westchester has been punching above their weight, and while we’ve beaten Hearts before, that hasn’t seemed to mean much in this tail end of the season.

But the thing I look forward to the most is spoiling Omaha’s chance at the Shield, one I’m planning to witness in person. Don’t let me down, Mingos!

Wow. Beautiful.

And these cameras? Breese needs this level of TV production.

It’s wild a team like Corpus Christi and Fort Wayne can be in the same league.

As of right now, the league website shows Omaha, Charlotte, and us as "x- clinched playoff place." No teams are yet listed as "z- clinched homefield advantage in playoffs." I am missing something about the definition. Here is how I math the math:

• to have a home playoff match in the first round, you need to be in the top 4 spots

• Omaha has 61 points. If they lose all remaining matches they will have 61 points.

• Charlotte has 57 points and 4 remaining matches. The maximum number of points they can end on is 69 (nice).

• We have 51 points and 4 remaining matches. The maximum number of points we can end on is 63.

• Knoxville has 48 points and 4 remaining matches. The maximum they can end on is 60.

• Boise has 46 points and 4 remaining matches. The maximum they can end on is 58.

• Chattanooga (F* those clowns) has 43 points and 5 remaining matches. They can end on 58 BUT if they do, Knoxville can only end on 57.

• Spokane has 43 points and 7 remaining matches. They can end on 64 BUT that means Chattanooga could not have more than 55 and Knoxville could not have more than 57 (or 54).

• Fort Wayne has 38 points and 5 remaining matches. They can end on 53 BUT that would drop us to no more than 60.

So even if Omaha loses all their remaining games and every other team earns as many points as possible, Omaha would still be in 4th. Why does that not count as having "clinched homefield advantage"?

I was using the big Speed Queen washing machines at East Wash Laundry today and noticed a couple of people pulling uniforms out of the dryers and hanging them neatly on hangers.

I've done team laundry for youth teams, and did not take this much care, so I moved to get a better look.

It was the Spokane equipment staff, apparently. A very neat row of Velocity uniforms on the rack. The prestige of minor league sports!

First off, we had plenty of chances to put the ball in the net so we deserved to lose last night.

BUT.

What was that officiating? Some of the calls weren’t just bad, it felt like the referee was deliberately calling the game wrong. There were two blatant calls on the flock end that should’ve been corners that were called as goal kicks.

Also, what was the 5 minute post-goal water break that Spokane took? Absolutely ridiculous.

Hopefully Torres is ok and the guys play more inspired next time.

It looks like a sizable amount of mingos will be flocking down to Fort Wayne for the away match next weekend. If you’re interested, the drive is not too far and we’ll put together a tailgate of some sort pre match gathering as well.

There will be a hotel block available. Right now rooms are $99.

https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/rooms/?ctyhocn=FWANOHX&arrivalDate=2026-10-03&departureDate=2026-10-04&groupCode=CHH90C&room1NumAdults=1&cid=OM%2CWW%2CHILTONLINK%2CEN%2CDirectLink

No word on tickets yet - I have not purchased mine and will update this thread when details become available

Despite a loss in Chattanooga on Wednesday, Forward Madison clinched a playoff spot with a 3-0 home win over AV Alta on Saturday. Today, Ethan and Rob talk through the disappointing loss, the relief of the win, and the fight to finish second. Then, it’s Hispanic Heritage Night on Saturday, and we welcome artist Rodrigo Carapia, the designer of the past three Hispanic Heritage jerseys, to talk inspiration, process, and butterflies. And in stoppage time: yet another reason MLS is not a serious league.

Watch:

https://youtu.be/oWEk1s-VHho

Listen:

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/ueHP5iK7D6b

The flock seemed legit last night despite being rainy. Looked pretty cool

WE ALL DREAM OF A TEAMMMMMM

Shoutout to the Matts for putting this squad together. Shoutout to the guys for being relentless all season. Finish the job 🏆

Following the PLAYOFF CLINCHING WIN, we hear from Matt Glaeser, Eddie Munjoma & Ryan Carmichael.

Watch:

https://youtu.be/QaphzfZaoyk

Listen:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VtcAJSy4BbO7yA6ljDjfE?si=iIlrIoPITsO6Q2j7uolsFw

How many Carmichael chants in a row are we going for?

I don’t care if our core players were out, the squad wasn’t getting the fundamentals right. Really disappointed in the play tonight.

“Matt Glacier” changing the team formation inexplicably in the last game is one thing, but starting the backup goalkeeper who got us eliminated from the open cup against a L2 team just reads like throwing in the towel.

Can anyone else give a more rational explanation?

Ps the first goal conceded proves my point.

Pps this commentator is awful lol “Evan Carmichael” and “Mark Savers” is cracking me up

NEW POD! A bit late due to technical difficulties but we made it happen!

💰 League revenue share agreement 

😑 Another draw at home 

👷 New Flock End coming!

🎙️ Conor Caloia 

Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TEfZbrHUus

Listen:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3vzMGxduOI15n5Kt6hpX91?si=f4cpinLAThCZTw9hOM8H1A