Indy Eleven

A phrase repeated a few times during the contest: “Give it to the IU guys!”

What Daniel Foster knows for sure is that by 2:15 a.m., his brother lay in the club’s parking lot, blood seeping from his ear.

“Soccer, whether it’s an inferiority complex or whatever, has never had the traditional media platforms,” says team president Peter Wilt. “To finally have one like that in Indiana is unique.”

Virtually no city official wants to lose a pro franchise on his or her watch—especially with a bid to host another Super Bowl in 2018 still in play.

Inside the cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium, amid a sea of 40,000 chanting fans watching the venue’s first soccer match, two different contests were unfolding.

The inside story on forming the team and how the city landed the chance to host a marquee international event on August 1—plus, why pro soccer may actually succeed here this time.

Indiana Blast (1997–2004): They had the best record in the D3 Pro League in 1998, and Jamar Beasley, once of the MLS Chicago Fire, played in 21 games in 2003. But a revolving door of head coaches hampered the Indy club’s success.