When Connor Tobin signed for Minnesota Stars FC in 2012, he wasn’t doing it for the money. Back then, Tobin didn’t even know if the team would be around for much longer. It would still be another year before businessman Bill McGuire purchased the team, rebranding it as Minnesota United and sending it on a trajectory to Major League Soccer. Back then, Tobin just wanted to play soccer.
“It wasn’t the best of situations financially for players, but what was special about that group is that we didn’t really let that stand in our way,” Tobin said. “It was like, ‘Oh well, let’s go play, we love playing.’ I think at one point we had five guys living in a two-bedroom apartment. For a little while I had a mattress right behind the couch that I put a sheet up over.”
Tobin was still fairly new to the professional game at that point, playing in just his third pro season. Minnesota had offered him a contract the year before, but he’d turned it down in favor of playing in Rochester (where one of his teammates was current FMFC forward J.C. Banks).
When he arrived in the Twin Cities, though, Tobin recognized quickly that something about the soccer scene there was unique from where he’d been before. The Dark Clouds, a supporters’ group originally formed in 2004 to cheer on the Minnesota Thunder (hence the name), provided an atmosphere that Tobin felt came from the grassroots.
“I have really special memories of Minnesota, and a lot of them stem from that 2012 season,” Tobin said. With the Dark Clouds, we might have been getting two-or-three-thousand fans per game, but you could feel that it was special. It was unique, it was different, it was funky and I think it was something we as players really fed off. It felt organic.”
When Connor Tobin signed for Minnesota Stars FC in 2012, he wasn’t doing it for the money. Back then, Tobin didn’t even know if the team would be around for much longer. It would still be another year before businessman Bill McGuire purchased the team, rebranding it as Minnesota United and sending it on a trajectory to Major League Soccer. Back then, Tobin just wanted to play soccer.
“It wasn’t the best of situations financially for players, but what was special about that group is that we didn’t really let that stand in our way,” Tobin said. “It was like, ‘Oh well, let’s go play, we love playing.’ I think at one point we had five guys living in a two-bedroom apartment. For a little while I had a mattress right behind the couch that I put a sheet up over.”
Tobin was still fairly new to the professional game at that point, playing in just his third pro season. Minnesota had offered him a contract the year before, but he’d turned it down in favor of playing in Rochester (where one of his teammates was current FMFC forward J.C. Banks).
When he arrived in the Twin Cities, though, Tobin recognized quickly that something about the soccer scene there was unique from where he’d been before. The Dark Clouds, a supporters’ group originally formed in 2004 to cheer on the Minnesota Thunder (hence the name), provided an atmosphere that Tobin felt came from the grassroots.
“I have really special memories of Minnesota, and a lot of them stem from that 2012 season,” Tobin said. With the Dark Clouds, we might have been getting two-or-three-thousand fans per game, but you could feel that it was special. It was unique, it was different, it was funky and I think it was something we as players really fed off. It felt organic.”
Tobin became a starter for the team, featuring in all five of Minnesota’s playoff games in 2012, but still thought the Stars would fold after losing the North American Soccer League (NASL) championship game on penalty kicks. It was only after the match, when Tobin had sunken into the locker room with his teammates, that NASL commissioner Bill Peterson told them McGuire had saved the club.
Looking back on it, Tobin said that he saw the roots of a Minnesota United team whose supporter culture is now thriving, with an average attendance of nearly 24,000 fans per game last year.
“With Bill [McGuire] coming in and injecting some resources, I think that gave the platform for that organic and fan-driven culture they have there to really explode,” he said. “I felt privileged to have been a part of it in some respect and hopefully played some role in helping the fans direct where that club’s going.”
After spending another season in Minnesota, Tobin moved to the Carolina RailHawks (now North Carolina FC), where he built connections with the community and even started his own charity event with the Oak City Supporters group. When he heard about Forward Madison’s project, though, it piqued Tobin’s interest. In particular, he saw a resemblance to that unique culture he’d felt back in Minnesota.
Forward Madison’s fan connection, for Tobin, was obvious from the start. The club’s name, colors and crest were all developed through fan input. Its supporters’ groups, including The Flock and La Barra 608, have taken inspiration from groups such as the Dark Clouds, and are starting to gather together fans of all shapes and sizes across the city. The team is led by Managing Director Peter Wilt, who Tobin said has a reputation in soccer circles for being especially fan-friendly.
“To be honest with you, that was probably the most appealing thing about Madison,” Tobin said. “From my perspective, football without fans is nothing. You can see the enjoyment and the sense of community [soccer] can provide, and I wanted to be a part of something that had that organic feeling again.
“There have been a lot of clubs that have formed in the last five, 10 years since I’ve been playing, but some of those clubs have struggled to create that organic feeling. My feeling, how I interacted with Peter [Wilt], the players, the coaching staff — with Madison there is real potential to do this in a way that aligns with how I see football clubs.”
Tobin himself has gotten used to making friends with supporters wherever he’s gone. Minnesota United fans called him "a hero" when he returned to play against them in 2014. North Carolina FC labeled him a “fan favorite” when the team re-signed him in 2018.
Now in Madison, Tobin will have the opportunity to make a new impact, and to build something that, akin to the project in Minnesota, he will be able to look back on with fond memories of being there when it was all starting.
“I hope to play my part in creating something that’s fan-centric, that’s really unique, that’s different, that connects an entire community,” Tobin said. “Something that can have that funkiness when I was there in Minnesota in 2012 that felt so special.”
Tobin became a starter for the team, featuring in all five of Minnesota’s playoff games in 2012, but still thought the Stars would fold after losing the North American Soccer League (NASL) championship game on penalty kicks. It was only after the match, when Tobin had sunken into the locker room with his teammates, that NASL commissioner Bill Peterson told them McGuire had saved the club.
Looking back on it, Tobin said that he saw the roots of a Minnesota United team whose supporter culture is now thriving, with an average attendance of nearly 24,000 fans per game last year.
“With Bill [McGuire] coming in and injecting some resources, I think that gave the platform for that organic and fan-driven culture they have there to really explode,” he said. “I felt privileged to have been a part of it in some respect and hopefully played some role in helping the fans direct where that club’s going.”
After spending another season in Minnesota, Tobin moved to the Carolina RailHawks (now North Carolina FC), where he built connections with the community and even started his own charity event with the Oak City Supporters group. When he heard about Forward Madison’s project, though, it piqued Tobin’s interest. In particular, he saw a resemblance to that unique culture he’d felt back in Minnesota.
Forward Madison’s fan connection, for Tobin, was obvious from the start. The club’s name, colors and crest were all developed through fan input. Its supporters’ groups, including The Flock and La Barra 608, have taken inspiration from groups such as the Dark Clouds, and are starting to gather together fans of all shapes and sizes across the city. The team is led by Managing Director Peter Wilt, who Tobin said has a reputation in soccer circles for being especially fan-friendly.
“To be honest with you, that was probably the most appealing thing about Madison,” Tobin said. “From my perspective, football without fans is nothing. You can see the enjoyment and the sense of community [soccer] can provide, and I wanted to be a part of something that had that organic feeling again.
“There have been a lot of clubs that have formed in the last five, 10 years since I’ve been playing, but some of those clubs have struggled to create that organic feeling. My feeling, how I interacted with Peter [Wilt], the players, the coaching staff — with Madison there is real potential to do this in a way that aligns with how I see football clubs.”
Tobin himself has gotten used to making friends with supporters wherever he’s gone. Minnesota United fans called him “a hero” when he returned to play against them in 2014. North Carolina FC labeled him a “fan favorite” when the team re-signed him in 2018.
Now in Madison, Tobin will have the opportunity to make a new impact, and to build something that, akin to the project in Minnesota, he will be able to look back on with fond memories of being there when it was all starting.
“I hope to play my part in creating something that’s fan-centric, that’s really unique, that’s different, that connects an entire community,” Tobin said. “Something that can have that funkiness when I was there in Minnesota in 2012 that felt so special.”
