pre-game letter from Michael Barnett

Dear ESFL Fans and USSL citizens and supporters,

As I write this we are about two hours removed from the beginning of the ESFL Championship game. I would like to take this moment to thank all x fans who attended ESFL games in 2011-12 and the millions more who followed, watched, and invested emotional energy in our revolutionary process.

I extend congratulations to the Independence Walkers and their owner/operator, James Rasbey, Jr. on a fine season. Mr. Rasbey has, in his five years since purchasing the Orlando franchise and relocating to Batesville, done a fantastic job in reviving the proud tradition of the WSFL's Independence Walkers, and this incarnation of the franchise certainly deserves the rights to its historical lineage.

I sit in my office at the Flat Grounds and can hear the stadium above me rocking. We opened the gates up at 1215pm and tens of thousands have already made their way in, including the estimated 28,000 Independence fans and supporters who made the subsidized trip up from Arkansas to witness the title game. I wish them the best, but, as goes without saying, my hopes and allegiances go with my New York Sharks tonight, as we chase our eighth championship in fourteen seasons since relocating from Cincinnati in 1998.

Thanks again and Best Wishes,

Michael Barnett