We awoke this Monday morning with a new World Cup champion – a very deserving Spain – and a hole in the day (and our hearts) where soccer should be.
Maybe this World Cup brought soccer into your life for the first time; maybe you pledge to “get more into soccer” every four years, because you can’t deny its magic during the World Cup.
Let this be the year you make that happen! And let me tell you the many ways you can.
First, though, who am I? In my day job, I’m executive editor of Madison365. And when I’m not breaking news or delving deep into investigations, I’m watching soccer, talking about soccer, hosting and producing the 608 Soccer Show, and generally obsessing about soccer.
You do not need to become obsessive (what we in the business call a “sicko”), but there are plenty of means by which you can make at least a bit of this beautiful game part of your day to day.
Support your local club
As you probably know, you have a fully professional men’s soccer team right here in Madison. Now in its eighth season of competition, Forward Madison plays its home games at Breese Stevens Field, and you can watch most matches on ESPN+ (or ESPN Unlimited or whatever it’s called now), which you can get for $29.99 a month, or you can get the whole Hulu/Disney/ESPN bundle for $35.99 a month. Some games air for free on Golazo Network (part of CBS Sports) and all stream on YouTube outside the United States (which means you can watch for free with a VPN). You can also watch most away matches at the Forward Club, the bar inside Breese Stevens Field, or at official club watch parties at other locations around the city.
Forward Madison is not a “minor league” team the way minor league baseball teams are; it’s “lower league,” third division, kind of like how UW-Whitewater is a D3 football program. It competes in United Soccer League’s League One with many players just starting their careers and hungry to move up to higher division teams.
Right now, halfway through the season, they’re very much in the hunt to finish in the top four and host at least one playoff match in November. They’re unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions (USL League One as well as the USL Cup, the league’s in-season tournament). And there are three home matches coming up next week.
Here are the highlights of Forward Madison’s most recent game, a 4-0 win over Richmond Kickers:
The same club also has a pre-professional (or semi-professional) women’s team made up of college players during their summer break. Rally Madison made its debut this season, losing its first six before really clicking as a squad and reeling off five straight without a loss (four wins and a draw). All the players have Wisconsin ties. Its inaugural season is done now, but they’ll be back next spring.
Here’s some highlights of their 5-1 home win vs. RKC Third Coast:
Over at the 608 Soccer Show, we put out a “Madison Soccer 101” episode earlier this spring, just as an introduction to Forward Madison, Rally Madison, USL, the American soccer pyramid, and lots more. If you have a half hour to spare and think you might want to connect more with your local club, give it a look or a listen.
Watch here:
Or listen here, or on your favorite podcast app:
Following and supporting Forward Madison will also plug you into the larger USL community, which has a ton of fun storylines on its own. For example, Eloy Room, the 27-year-old goalie who became a hero with a record-tying 16 saves in a 0-0 draw with Ecuador, plays in the USL for Miami FC. Alvin Jones, the guy who scored to knock the United States out of the 2018 World Cup, played for Forward Madison in 2021. US Men’s National Team striker Ricardo Pepi knocked Forward Madison out of the USL League One playoffs in 2019, when he was just 16.
Choose a European team to support
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You have so many more options to watch soccer than I did as a kid, or even as a young adult. Peacock and NBC Sports carry the English Premier League (probably the best professional league in the world, though some readers will make the case that Germany’s Bundesliga or Spain’s La Liga are more entertaining). It is very easy to connect yourself to a team in Europe and cheer for them alongside other supporters right here in Madison.
The English Premier League season kicks off August 21, with most games taking place Saturday mornings in the US. You can catch those games on Peacock (a $7.99 per month subscription) or NBC Sports, and you can gather with fellow supporters at a few spots around Madison.
LFC Madison supports Liverpool, and watches Liverpool matches at Baldwin Street Grille, 1304 East Washington Ave.
Madison Blues, supporters of London club Chelsea, also gather at Baldwin Street Grille.
ASC Madison, who support another London Club, Arsenal, usually watch games at Prost, 401 East Washington Ave.
Madison Spurs, supporters of North London’s Tottenham Hotspur, gather at Nomad World Pub, 1 East Mifflin St, and sometimes at Baldwin Street Grille.
Supporters of both Manchester City and Manchester United watch most games at The Coopers Tavern, 20 West Mifflin St. The Coopers is also just a good spot to watch any EPL match, even if you don’t have a dog in the fight.
Madison also has Mia San Isthmus, a supporters club for German club Bayern Munich, which watches games at Bierock, 2911 North Serman Ave.
For my part, I’m a Fulham supporter. I chose Fulham back around 2011, when EPL matches started to become more available in the US. American great Clint Dempsey was playing for them at that time, and when I looked into them more, I realized they’d never won anything. No FA Cup, no EPL title, no league cup. And having grown up a fan of Wisconsin sports in the 1980s, sustained mediocrity is where I’m most comfortable.
Lean into women’s soccer
The National Women’s Soccer League is on very solid footing, drawing five-figure crowds in most markets and finally retaining some of the world’s top talent. The upstart Gainbridge Superleague, the USL’s entry into the women’s pro soccer space, is a bit shakier, with really high-level professional football in front of much smaller crowds. NWSL is happening now and available on Paramount Plus; the Superleague starts up in August on Peacock.
Consume soccer content
Soccer people are podcast people. Every European team I’ve listed above has multiple podcasts dedicated to it, some from fans, some from news outlets, some from official club sources.
And of course I highly recommend The 608 Soccer Show for all your Forward Madison information needs. Find it at Youtube.com/@608soccer or on your favorite podcast app.
Click here to subscribe to the 608 Soccer newsletter, too, to get every new episode in your inbox, as well as game day previews.
Besides that, here are a few recommendations for broader soccer-related podcasts.
The Kickback Committee. Hosted by Susannah Fuller, a twice-weekly hang talking all things American soccer, including MLS, USL, NWSL and the US national teams.
Soccerwise. Also under the Kickback Soccer Media umbrella, focused on North American soccer.
The Best Soccer Show. Hosted by “Soccer Eagle” Jason Davis (who was a guest on the 608 Soccer Show last year) and Jared Dubois, and energetic call-in format covering American soccer at all levels.
The Totally Football Show. Part of The Athletic Podcast Network, a UK-based show focused mostly on English and European football.
Total Soccer Show. Richmond, Virginia based podcast focused on the US Men’s National Team, also covering EPL, MLS and major international tournaments.
The Rest is Football. Hosted by England legend Gary Lineker, focuses on English and European football.
The USL Show. Focused on all USL Leagues: USL Championship (men’s second division), USL League One (men’s third division), USL Superleague (women’s first division).
Get ready for the next World Cup – which is happening next year, and which the US might actually win!
The 2027 Women’s World Cup kicks off June 24, 2027 in Brazil. The US Women’s National Team has won it four times, including back-to-back in 2015 and 2019, but crashed out in 2023. They’ll be looking for redemption next summer, and with names like Trinity Rodman, Rose LaVelle, Sophia Wilson, Lily Yohannes, Olivia Moultrie and more, there’s a pretty reasonable chance they’ll get it.
Soccer is beautiful and fun to be a part of. It’s true in all sports, but especially in soccer: the beauty lies in the connection to a team, in the community around that team, in the collective misery of a heartbreaking loss, in the irrational hope for next season, in the camaraderie of the chants and songs. We have that right here at home, both in a club to call our own, and in communities around teams that play across an ocean. You got swept up in the Tartan Army, in the Norwegian Row, in the Cinderella story of Cape Verde; stay in it. Whoever you are, you’re welcome here.
