The Chattanooga Football Club is stepping off into the sports equivalent of the wild blue yonder tonight when it faces the Mississippi Storm in Ocean Springs, Miss.
While the Storm has had a rough start to its first season in the National Premier Soccer League, dropping its first three games, Chattanooga FC (1-1) will take the field knowing next to nothing about its opponent.
Unlike most sporting events from high school on up, where the teams usually have at least some video of their opponents and can formulate a scouting report, CFC is going in blind.
"A couple of guys on our team know some players on their team, but that's about it," CFC goalkeeper Thomas Hunter said. "All you can do is focus on what you do."
Chattanooga FC's first two games were against the same opponent, the Knoxville Force, and both ended in 1-0 scores. The Force won the opener at Finley Stadium and CFC won in Knoxville last Saturday. CFC coach Bill Elliott said both teams played better in the second game.
"I think we played a little bit better, and I think Knoxville played a lot better," said Elliott, who had six new starters in the second game.
The road trip to Knoxville was an easy one for CFC. That's not the case for heading to Ocean Springs on the Gulf Coast. The CFC contingent left Friday and traveled to Pensacola, Fla., where Elliott is the men's soccer coach at the University of West Florida.
Chattanooga to Pensacola is six hours, Elliott said, and from there the bus ride to Ocean Springs today will be about two hours. CFC has a lot of new players this season, and Hunter said the trip will give the guys plenty of time to get to know one another better.
"We have fun on the bus, and we'll joke around and make the most of it," he said.
Mississippi opened its season with a 4-2 home loss to Jacksonville United, which is coached by one of Elliott's former players. That's one source of information on the Storm, but it's probably the only one. The Storm played two games in Georgia last weekend, losing 5-1 to the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves and 7-1 to the Georgia Revolution.
"I've been to the high school stadium where they play, so I at least know what the field looks like," Elliott said. "I don't know the players they have, the system they play, the coach or anything."
Chattanooga FC will be back at Finley Stadium next Saturday to host Rocket City United.