When the 2,000-plus supporters walked through the gates of South Georgia Tormenta Stadium on October 1, it was a moment more than seven years in the making.
“The awe,” said Stephen Minton, a member of the Cat 5 supporters group who has been there since the beginning. “The whole experience was just awesome – walking into the stadium with a crowd I hadn’t seen since the [early] days of the club.”
Founded in 2015, South Georgia Tormenta FC has played its home matches on the campus of Georgia Southern University ever since its inaugural season. As one of the centerpieces of the community, the university presented the perfect opportunity to bring residents together in a familiar location.
The smallest among all USL League One cities, Statesboro has always reflected a small-but-mighty attitude in the soccer landscape. And now, the club is taking the next step in its development with a stadium that matches its ambitions.
Located across the street from the campus of Georgia Southern University, Tormenta Stadium will provide the setting for a budding supporters culture that is as much familial as it is loyal.
“We aren’t the type of supporters that get wild and sing throughout every match,” shared Stephen after one of the final matches at the Georgia Southern University stadium. “But we’re a tight-knit group who loves this club.”
At home matches, and plenty of away games, Stephen is one of the Cat 5 supporters bringing the noise and smoke to spur on the team. He’s the first voice you’ll hear when a play goes in Tormenta FC’s favor and he’ll never miss an opportunity to heckle the referees when one doesn’t.
“I have always been eccentric,” beamed Stephen. “It’s just fun.”
And eccentric is just what makes South Georgia Tormenta and its supporters so special.
Like many fans, the Cat 5 supporters arrive early each match to set up the national flags honoring its respective players. Among the many colorful flags, you’ll find one that seems out of place. Until you learn what country it hails from – South Georgia.
As a comedic nod to the club’s name, supporters fly the blue flag of South Georgia, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories. With a union jack positioned in the top left and a fur seal and macaroni penguin in the bottom right, the blue flag is a constant fixture at Tormenta matches. Of course, the South Georgia in the club’s branding has no relation to the country. But who cares. It’s those fun little touches that make the Cat 5 supporters a group worth meeting.
And it’s that combination of personality and passion that will continue to grow the footprint of soccer in Statesboro. Especially with the emergence of the brand new Tormenta Stadium.
With its larger capacity and single structures on each sideline, Tormenta Stadium allows everyone to be closer to one another, where the Cat 5 supporters can congregate, light off smoke, and beat its drums. And inevitably bring more passionate supporters into the fold.
