Dear Riverhounds,

We love you.  There is no way around this.

We will continue showing up at matches at Chartiers Valley, yelling until we lose our voices.

Sure, there are only eight of us in attendance on average.  But I guarantee that we account for 80 percent of the noise in the stadium.  See, the thing is, no matter what your record is, no matter how many times you lose, we notice how hard you play.

We see that selfless deflection inside the penalty area to break up a scoring opportunity.  We see you kick it into extra gear on the flanks.  We notice when you get fired up on the bench, and we certainly notice when you voice your concerns about poor officiating. We get fired up ourselves when you set up a brilliant scoring opportunity, even if it doesn’t lead to a goal.

Because we know you are playing with your hearts on your sleeves.

We know you are getting paid peanuts compared to other professional athletes. We know it must be frustrating coming in, week-in and week-out, and not getting the results you are hoping for.  We know that it can be demotivating to play at a local high school stadium. We know that sometimes, it is hard to give 110% every night.

And yet, we love you.

For most of us, every match is another night to look forward to.  We get so jacked every time we are able to scream your last names at the top of our lungs during player announcements. We are ecstatic to support you every night. Even though we don’t know you all that well, we feel like we do. For some of you, we have had the distinct pleasure of watching you grow individually as players on the field.

Anything we can do to help you guys, we will do. If we can give you that extra emotional boost as you are carrying the ball through the midfield, that extra jolt when a corner kick is entering the penalty area, or that lift when you are struggling to come back in the final minutes of the match, we will continue to do what we do.

The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Next season, we all have a lot to look forward to – a new stadium and a fresh new start. We are so excited for everything to come. Just hang in there a little bit longer.

“Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

We love you, and where you go we’ll follow. Because we support the Hounds, and that’s the way we like it.