Earlier this month, the Major Arena Soccer League revealed the Baltimore Blast would not be taking part in the 2021 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ending a remarkable stretch of 39 consecutive seasons of indoor soccer in Baltimore.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
Think “remarkable” is overselling their consistency in a sport that just isn’t known for it? Think again.
Sure, Charm City sports fans may not much notice the absence of the Blast this winter, who always offer a fun night out but aren’t exactly the type of outfit with a devoted press corps or Twitterati. Despite the Blast’s nine championships this century, even diehard local soccer fans are more likely to pay attention to the top European Leagues, Major League Soccer and the US men’s and women’s national teams. And there’s no long-term tragedy here. The Blast plan on returning next season and continuing their camp programs this summer.
Even so, their absence next month is stunning for just how rare it is in a game and a city that has seen constant turnover.
Among Major Arena Soccer League teams, the current version of the Blast — founded in 1992 as the Baltimore Spirit — are the second oldest club, predated only by the Milwaukee Wave. The original Blast, which competed from 1980 until the MISL folded in 1992, predated Milwaukee by four years.
Baltimore’s longevity is nearly unrivaled in the outdoor game as well.
Across Major League Soccer, there are four clubs that claim the legacy of teams that existed prior to when the league launched in 1996. Of those, only the Vancouver Whitecaps match the Blast’s consistent presence in their city. A pro team has competed with the Whitecaps name every year since 1986, and in all but one year since 1974.
Also in Cascadia, the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers have history dating back to the 1970s days in the NASL, but considerable dark stretches as well in the 1980s and 1990s.
Then there’s the greater Baltimore sports landscape. Even there, the Blast are institutional.
Yes, baseball’s Orioles have competed here since 1954. But football’s Ravens are only coming off their 25th season. The old Colts played only 31 consecutive seasons at Memorial Stadium before leaving under cover of darkness in 1984. Basketball’s Baltimore Bullets spent only 10 years as full-time tenants at Baltimore Arena from 1963-1973. The minor league hockey outfit Baltimore Skipjacks were here for 14 seasons from 1979 to 1993.
No, we won’t miss Blast games the way we would’ve felt a void in our lives this fall without the Ravens playing on Sundays. And in the not-too-distant future, it’s highly possible the Blast will be competing for attention among local soccer fans with a potential outdoor team in the USL Championship, which is the second-highest level of pro competition in the country.
But as owner Ed Hale Sr., his staff and his players take a timeout, they deserve to be celebrated for a largely unheralded devotion to their sport and their market. May we all rediscover the joy of wall passess and blue cards next fall. The Blast may not make it 40 years in a row. But title number 10 will still be on the table.
Ian Nicholas Quillen has spent 15 years covering sports in and around Baltimore and Washington, as well as Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer across the country. He has also been published by The Associated Press, MLSsoccer.com, Forbes.com, MLB.com, The Baltimore Sun, Washington City Paper and elsewhere. You can follow him on Twitter at @iaqdiesel or reach him via email at ian.nicholas.quillen@gmail.com.