I was surprised that since the launch of Save the Victory (wrote about it over the weekend) that they hadn’t gotten much attention. Either they weren’t talking about it to anyone outside the online soccer world or no one has thought it was interesting that someone is trying to establish the FIRST fan owned sports franchise in the United States.

But, today there were two items. Salinas Californian:

The Victory came into being in the spring under the auspices of Spanish second-division team Deportivo Alaves. However Chairman Dmitry Piterman recently sold his interest in Alaves, which had racked up $30 million in debt. The sale technically left the Victory ownerless and in limbo.

That’s when the 1906 stepped in. USL started looking for investors, but fans didn’t like leaving their team’s fate in hands of others. The supporters’ do-it-yourself attitude is displayed proudly on the Web site. “Everything with this team has been ‘do it yourself'” Alonso said. “Our shirts and jerseys, raising money – ‘do it yourself.””

My Soccer Blog:

Admit it, at some point in your life you thought about owner a profession soccer team, but with the millions it takes to get involved with the MLS and billions it takes to be a player overseas, you never thought it would happen. But wait, if you have an extra $100, your dream can come true.

Last year there was a great deal of excitement when San Francisco was awarded a USL-First Division team. Even better yet, Dmitry Piterman, chairman of Spanish club Deportivo Alavésk, was announced as owner, making the California Victory the ‘first European owned team to compete in any level of the United Soccer Leagues.’