Those things were fun, and fun is good

Same, Bolt. Same.

So this is hard.

My North Star of this blog, my guiding principle, is that sports are supposed to be fun. We can take them seriously and while there's a lot I've learned about how the world works through sports, we start watching and we keep following sports primarily because they're enjoyable. I like watching athletes do incredible things and, I'm assuming that if you're reading this, so do you.

On this blog, I've ranked cities based on where I'd like to vacation, I've written preseason game stories like I was writing for a newspaper in 1910 and I annually rank the handsomeness of the USL League One Managers. It's all (hopefully) in good fun because the whole reason we all keep doing this is because we enjoy it.

There's a reason I ask my oldest to try to guess the Tormenta starting lineup and gave it the grandiose title of "America's Favorite Game" despite the fact that literally only one person in the country plays it. It's fun.

As Dr. Seuss wrote, "these things are fun, and fun is good." That's always been the goal here and I can't say I've always succeeded, but I've tried.

But this, this is not fun.

I'm not naive enough to think that sports are all fun and games, but we can take things seriously without being serious about them. 

But sometimes I just can't do it. As much as I want to make some dumb joke or quote 30 Rock, now's not the time for that. Sometimes the right thing and the hard thing are the same thing. (Huh, I guess I could do it.)

Regularly I tell people when I'm covering a game, be it Tormenta or a high school football game or whatever, that my biggest fear is that actual news will happen while I'm there. It may be selfish, but I just want to watch a game, write up the recap and head home. I enjoy doing it.

In the off chance you haven't heard the news, South Georgia Tormenta and the USL announced the team is suspending operations just two weeks before the 2026 season was to kick off. I've got a full story on that over at the Statesboro Herald and would obviously appreciate if you went over there and read it. 

Clearly the plan was to play in 2026.

You don't go out and sign back-to-back goalkeeper of the year Sean Lewis if you don't plan on playing in 2026. You don't bring back Yaniv Bazini and his double-digit goals with Tormenta in 2025 if you're not planning to play and compete. 

But despite the plans to field a team, it just didn't happen.

Kaylor Hodges of The USL Show told me the 2026 team may have been the most talented team Tormenta ever put together, and that includes the 2022 title winning team.

Now those players will all be free agents and three months severance pay.

And let me make sure I'm very clear here. As much as this sucks for the fans, it doesn't compare to how much it sucks for the players. Those guys have a limited time to play the game they love professionally and with just two weeks before the season was to start, they're now without a club to play for and presumably limited options as team budgets and rosters may have already been set.  

The USL Players' Association issued a statement Monday following the team's announcement that Tormenta wouldn't be playing in which they said Tormenta hadn't been practicing as the club hadn't obtained Worker's Compensation insurance as is required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That meant there was no official training and only practices headed up by the captains. Alex Ashton at Beyond the 90 (who has been all over this story and if you're reading this and not reading his work, you're doing it wrong), confirmed in his story that was the case. 

But I'm getting bogged down in the news, and this isn't the place for that, at least not now.

One thing I'd hoped to improve on this year was to be more player focused. It's easy to fall into the habit of always talking to Manager Mark McKeever and centering articles around his thoughts because I talk to him after every game. For players I may only get to interview them once a month or so. The players are who we want to watch and presumably who we want to hear from. And I feel terrible for them that they are having their lives upended.

This lack of a 2026 team sucks for the fans too. I asked Hodges about what he's heard from former players about their experience at Tormenta and he said players told him that while the fan base may be small, those who are there are passionate and care about the team. That matches my perception as well. Those who show up want to see Tormenta do well and not having a team this season is going to be hard.

Hodges told me the break could be a good opportunity for Tormenta to make good on some promises, such as completing the stadium and other infrastructure improvements. He didn't say it specifically, but finishing and paving the parking lot at the stadium would be helpful.

And if you'll indulge me, selfishly it hurts not to have Tormenta to go to this season. Those games are 15 nights a year that I can look forward to hanging out with my oldest. He's 17 now and knowing I had those nights to spend with him was absolutely something I was looking forward to. Sure, I'd be on my phone and he'd be on his, but we were there, talking soccer and getting to spend time with him. I don't want to speak for anyone else, but when I was 17, hanging out with my dad was not high on my list of things I wanted to do so I'll take anything that gets us spending time together. 

When the inevitable rain delay came, I'd ask if he wanted to drive home or to my office and wait it out, but he would insist we stay in the car, ideally parked near the locker rooms in the hopes of being able to ascertain what is happening by seeing the managers walk from one locker room to the other. 

Tormenta games are the reason for those memories and it's going to be hard not making more in 2026.

Not only that, but it was 15 nights I got to spend with my dad. I don't write about him as much, but he's there with me and my oldest at most of the games. If you go back to watch any games, you'll see me, my son and my dad on the right side of the stands. It's a great memory. (He'll admit if it's raining, he'll just watch on TV.) I'm sure I'll still get together with my dad, but it won't be the same.

But that's just me. Every fan who shows up to a game has their own experiences and memories that they'll be missing out on in 2026. And for us reading this, that's the most frustrating part of all of this. The games are fun, but they come and go. As former Tormenta USL-W League Manager Jim Robbins used to tell me, "It's just a soccer game." 

But the memories and experiences are why we want to keep coming back. 

And finally, the least important part of all of this. What happens to Stormwatch912 for 2026? I'd love to tell you that I knew the answer to that. I had a couple of ideas for some goofy, league-wide stories I wanted to do. Maybe I'll still do those. Maybe a few "Where are they now" features. We'll see.

Doing this has been such an enjoyable experience the last several years. Being part of the larger USL League One community has been an absolute pleasure. There are  truly wonderful and talented people covering the league, often just for the love of their local club. Many have been gracious enough with their time to contribute here. I hope you will still seek them out and read their work or, more likely, listen to their podcasts. It's a losing fight, but we need more writers covering the league. But until then, listen to their podcasts. Actually, even if that happens, still listen to their podcasts. 

Unfortunately for now, the best I can say is "I don't know" for what to expect here, at least in the short term. There's no preseason to write about, no game previews, no coordinating with people who cover other teams to get their perspective. 

I guess we'll all figure this out together. For now, it's a sad day in Tormenta land. The Storm, at least for 2026, has passed.