NASHVILLE, TN – Nashville SC’s 2024 season ended on Decision Day, with the club failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time as a club, either in MLS or USL play. For the second year in a row, we asked fans for their opinions on the club on a variety of topics, from performance on the field to transfer business to Geodis Park to supporter culture.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. While our summary thoroughly captures the answers we received, we couldn’t include every comment in this piece. Anyone interested in viewing the full survey data and each response can do so here.
Fan demographics
Of the 541 fans who took the survey, 227 self-identified as Nashville SC fans. While the bulk of fans currently live in Nashville, we had responses from fans living in Texas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Indiana, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and Massachusetts.
Notably, we had no fans from the Memphis or Chattanooga metropolitan areas respond. Within Middle Tennessee, the bulk of fans came from the Southeast Nashville (37211) and Antioch (37013) areas of Nashville, with Bellevue (37221), Berry Hill (37204) and Franklin (37064) also seeing significant representation.
Other Tennessee cities represented include Murfreesboro, Cookeville, Knoxville, Clarksville, and Johnson City.
How did fans rate Nashville SC’s on-field performance?
Unsurprisingly after missing the playoffs for the first time, fans were overwhelmingly negative in their assessments of Nashville’s performance. 98.7% of fans said the season was not a success, with just 1.3% approving of the Coyotes’ performance.
On a scale of one to five, with one being least satisfactory and five being most, fans were quite harsh with their assessments. No one rated Nashville’s 2024 season as a five, just one person (0.4%) gave it a four, and 12 (5.3%) gave it a three. 57.3% of fans rated the season at two out of five, and 37% rated it at a one. That’s a negative review from 94.3% of respondents.
Fans were similarly disappointed in Nashville SC’s Leagues Cup performance, losing at home to Mazatlán FC and drawing with New England Revolution, failing to advance from the group stage. 91.6% of fans gave the performance a one or two on the scale. Only 2.2% rated their performance positively.
Here’s what fans said about Nashville’s Leagues Cup performance.
“I think I’ve already blocked it out of my memory.”
“It was whatever, at that point in the season I really started to not care so much.”
“Obviously it came during a coaching transition, but failing to advance out of the small group stage is… never an appropriate outcome.”
“I don’t think they really cared about it. They just wanted the couple weeks of practice.”
“To hell with Leagues Cup, I want Open Cup.”
“I once woke up one morning, stubbed my toe on the edge of the bed, and then just decided to email my boss and call in sick. I waved the white flag on the day about a minute into it. That’s what Nashville did.”
Fans were slightly more positive about the club’s first-ever foray into Concacaf Champions Cup. Nashville beat Dominican outfit Moca FC in the first round, before falling to Inter Miami in the second. Only 8.3% of fans gave Nashville’s CCC performance a four or five, with 30% rating it at one, 32.2% at two, and 29.5% at three out of five.
Importantly, though, fans generally agreed that qualifying for Concacaf was important for them. 44.9% of respondents rated qualifying for Concacaf as a four or five out of five.
Here’s what fans said about Nashville’s Concacaf Champions Cup performance:
“Tough draw against Miami, but was the best we looked all season really.”
“Drew the best team in MLS, so hard to fault the early exit.”
“It was fun to qualify and the matches against Moca were great. Drawing Miami was tough, but at least they played well. That was back when people thought Nashville might have been a decent team…”
“International play should be a pinnacle of soccer and beating up on an inferior team in the tournament should be a minimum expectation.”
“It was clearly the main focus of the team early in the season. It was unlucky the team got so banged up competing in it. If Zimmerman hadn’t gone down, I think we would have come much closer to advancing.”
“They priced me out of going to support MY CLUB in favor of brining in Messi fans. My loyalty has never recovered from that, and it probably won’t ever be the same.”
How did supporters respond to Nashville’s coaching changes?
In our post-season survey last year, 59.1% of fans indicated that Gary Smith should not be the coach heading into 2024. Smith was ultimately fired in May after 12 matches. 60.4% of fans retroactively agreed that Nashville made the wrong decision to not fire Smith after the 2023 season, and 82.8% agreed with Nashville’s decision to fire him in may.
Here’s what fans had to say on Smith’s tenure with Nashville and eventual firing:
“Great first coach, but he definitely has a ceiling as a coach and we hit it during the Leagues Cup run. Was time to move on.”
“He did great work setting up the franchise and should always be remembered for that contribution, however he wasn’t ever going to win us the MLS Cup.”
“I never felt Gary should have been appointed MLS manager to begin with. He should’ve been fired after the 2023 season.”
“He deserves a lot of credit for ushering this club into the league and having sustained success, even if the style of play wasn’t appealing. But the defense got leaky and the aging midfield was neither progressive, nor effective in shielding the back line. Some of that is him, some of that is the squad build.”
“Should have been fired earlier in the season, but Mike Jacobs is the real problem.”
“Really appreciate what he did for the club given the hand he was dealt, and it felt like he reached the end of what he could accomplish here.”
“He should have been gone after 2023, and although landing on Callaghan was ultimately the right choice, the two months the club took to make the hire ultimately cost them their season.”
“Gary is a good manager. I think he was let down a bit by the front office and seven years is a long time with the same group of guys. There wasn’t timely change over of the roster when it was warranted.”
“Gary Smith did not deserve to be fired in the manner that he was. Ideally, he should have mutually parted ways with the club in the off season a la Jurgen Klopp and we should have had a sending off ceremony for him. I fully expect him to be the first Hall-of-Fame inductee for the NSC Hall of Fame.”
When asked about Nashville’s eventual hiring of BJ Callaghan as the new head coach, fans were overwhelmingly positive. 90.3% of respondents said Callaghan was a good choice for the job. The hiring slightly shifted the mood around the club, although 42.7% said their feelings didn’t significantly change.
Fans were also optimistic about the club heading into 2025. 84.6% said they expect Nashville to improve next season. Fans were generally in agreement that style of play was an important part of their viewing experience. 60.4% said style of play was important, but not a deal breaker, while 30% said it doesn’t matter at all if they’re winning games.
87.7% of fans said that they enjoyed watching Nashville’s style under BJ Callaghan. This is a significant increase from last year, when 78.7% said that they did not enjoy watching Nashville’s approach under Gary Smith.
Here’s what fans said about Nashville’s tactical approach under BJ Callaghan:
“Got better under Callaghan, will be interested to see how it looks with a more dynamic midfield if we can get some new faces in there.”
“Style under Gary – 1/5, Style under BJ so far – 4/5. I like the direction and I think it can be entertaining soccer.”
“You can see what Callaghan is trying to do, but the pieces aren’t there for it and it’s tough to watch. I said I wasn’t satisfied with it, but it’s not even proof of concept yet. I expect it to look different next season.”
“So much better under Callaghan. A few new pieces and this team could actually compete.”
“Much better under BJ. Still some pieces to iron out but we’re seeing better individual and collective performances, far more scoring opportunities created, and more goals. Unfortunately there are still a lot of goals against.”
“The style of play under BJ seems to be much more in line with modern MLS. Gary’s outdated defense-first tactics worked to not lose games, but led to many draws.”
“People overrate style. If you lose in spectacular fashion, the spectacular becomes mundane and it gets old. Plato is credited with saying, ‘Beauty is a natural superiority.’ Obviously the man wasn’t talking about soccer when he supposedly said that, but I couldn’t give a damn how pretty something looks so long as it proves effective in getting Nashville further up the table and into trophy contention.”
What did fans think about Nashville’s transfer business?
Fans were moderately negative towards Nashville’s business in the transfer market. 57.7% rated it at a one our two out of five, with just 9.7% giving it a positive mark.
When asked for their thoughts on Nashville’s transfer business, here’s what fans said:
“Good transfers for a team looking to tread water. We were (are) a bad team that needed to improved, though.”
“We extended contracts to many players who weren’t performing and did not bring in replacements for aging players.”
“Should have kept Dax. I know he was out of contract, but he wanted to stay and we could have used him depth wise. Disrespectful that we wouldn’t even work with him.”
“It’s not always fair to look at other teams, but when you see the talented players other Eastern Conference teams are bringing in, you wonder why Nashville isn’t more aggressive there and can struggle to integrate newcomers, especially from South America.”
“The team got significantly worse. Their farm team in Huntsville also sucks.”
“I think it was actually one of the better years from the front office on incoming players. They were dealt a bad hand with injuries, but nearly every incoming player brought something to the team, and the hit rate seemed strong to me, certainly compared to previous years and the money they cost.”
Fans were more positive towards the signing of Patrick Yazbek as a U22 initiative player, the major summer acquisition Nashville made in 2024. 57.7% gave the signing a four or five, with just 9.2% rating it as a one or two, although their comments expressed concerns over his reported use of a slur resulting in a two-match suspension.
Here’s what fans thought about the Yazbek signing:
“Jury is out. Getting suspended in his first game didn’t help.”
“His play will be judged better next season, but he hasn’t fully settled in yet. The incident and suspension wasn’t a good look, hopefully he learns from it.”
“It’s an incomplete so far. I’m worried regarding his behavior that led to the suspension, but he’s shown some flashes while on the field.”
“The suspension was unfortunate, but if he learns from it then I could get over that. Bringing in younger players, especially onto a roster like this, is a necessity. Coming in and competing for a starting spot only sweetens the deal and potentially creates some deadwood that will free up some cap space.”
“Came out flying & hit a major ethical road block. Mid since.”
“I was initially excited for it and he seemed to play well but…when he made a homophonic slur and never put out an apology or addressed the situation in any form it turned me off of him. I will not be cheering for him until he takes some kind of steps to rectify this situation.”
“TBD, not great that he starts with a suspension for an alleged homophobic slur and hasn’t done s**t to really rectify it in the community.”
What do Nashville fans think about the roster and roster building?
Once again, midfield was the biggest area of concern among Nashville fans heading into 2025. Last season, 94.3% of fans identified midfield as their major concern in the offseason. These concerns remained, but were slightly lessened, with midfield taking 78.4% of the vote. Defense was the next biggest area of concern at 11.9%.
Here’s what fans said when they were asked about Nashville’s current roster (it should be noted that the the vast majority of answers were submitted before Nashville announced their roster decisions):
“Midfield inspires very little confidence, and most of the midfielders do not gel with the new style of play.”
“Midfield is a mess, overpriced and overaged. Goalkeeping is also poor. We do not have a true #1 quality keeper anywhere in our roster.”
“Yes everything. This whole roster needs a revamp but I don’t trust Jacob’s for it. Why isn’t he on the hot seat?”
“We have an aging midfield with no clear identity. Anibal Godoy is a leader but was not particularly strong this year. The rest of the midfielders were a set of revolving characters due to availability and form. It seems we never truly established what our regular midfield is once Dax left.”
“They’re old and expensive. Should have let Hany walk.”
“So many concerns. Under-performing players like Davis and Maher are eating way into the payroll, and as off as Hany has been, there’s not a great replacement play-maker. 3/4 of the starting defenders are aging, and none of our goalkeepers are top tier.”
“I probably am less concerned than most – I think the addition of Boyd, Pérez, Yazbek bolster the midfield, and the return of MacNaughton should solidy the defense. I am ready for Forester Ajago, Woodens Pacius, and other younger prospects to take the place of Teal [Bunbury] though.”
“Is there anything I’m not concerned about?”
Nashville fans were generally either apathetic or displeased with how the technical staff performed in 2024. When asked to rate their performance, 57% evaluated it at a one or two out of five, with only 8.3% giving a positive rating.
Here’s what fans said about the front office’s performance:
“At face value there hasn’t really been a move I’ve disliked, need to see them translate to on field success though.”
“I’m reserving judgement until BJ can right the ship, but it wasn’t good.”
“Honestly difficult to say since they were seeking fits for a Gary Smith system. Will be interested to see how that pivots with a focus on Callaghan’s needs.”
“Jacobs is terrible. He built an awful roster, overpaid for them, and then blamed Gary and we all bought it.”
“NSC has a top five roster when it comes to spending but probably a bottom 10 roster when it comes to talent.”
“My main concern is they usually seem to address needs a transfer window too late. Waiting until the summer window to bolster the roster against what should be known issues going into the season (re: midfield) means sacrificing two thirds of a season.”
“The bigger question I would like answered is who is the issue? is Jacobs the problem as evidenced by Ake Loba, Sean Davis, Jhonder Cadiz, trading Brandon Vazquez, etc.? Or is he dealing with financial constraints being put on him by Ingram and he’s having to take stabs.”
“It’s like they’re married to mediocrity. They created a situation where the team has gotten worse and it’s going to take several seasons to undo the damage.”
“The overall plan of giving away international spots in particular seems foolish. Now that Gary is gone and we have a manager that might actually play Latino players, that is where we need to be scouting for talent instead of the lower European leagues.”
“Gary Smith was a scapegoat for poor timing on roster building.”
“This next season will be make or break for them. This is all on Mike now.”
What do fans think of Geodis Park and Nashville’s supporter culture?
Fans continue to be happy with Geodis Park. 86.8% gave the stadium a four of five on our scale, with just 2.6% giving it a negative rating. Similarly, fans were positive about the matchday experience. 74% gave the matchday experience a positive rating, with only 6.1% rating it below a three.
Fans continue to have frustrations with the parking situation. Only 17.2% gave parking a positive rating, while 53.4% rated it at a one or two. This was a moderate improvement from 2023, when 56.3% gave parking a negative rating.
Here’s what fans had to say about Geodis Park:
“Geodis is my home away from home.”
“Traffic and parking remain a nightmare.”
“I have answered this way on every matchday survey, but the gravel slope on the north side of the stadium continues to be dangerous. A poorly lit, gravel down sloping walkway existing for multiple years is confusing.”
“Concession prices continue to be insulting.”
“It’s fine. Would be nicer if you could walk all the way around all the concourses, but as a filthy peasant that’s a bit too much to ask for.”
“Beyond time for the immediate vicinity to perk up with other places to spend time before the match.”
“One of the best MLS stadiums.”
“Beautiful stadium mired in poor parking and expensive concessions that really put a big damper on the experience.”
“It’s still a work in progress. It gets better each year with the area getting built up, but traffic concerns will be long gone if the team doesn’t start performing.”
“Good stadium, still doesn’t feel real that it’s in Nashville.”
“It really is a beautiful stadium, walking in still feels like a religious experience every time to me.”
Fans had mixed opinions of the Backline and Nashville supporters culture overall. 48.5% rated the Backline at a three out of five, while general supporters culture was marginally more positive, with 45.9% at a four or five.
Here’s what fans thought about Nashville’s supporter culture:
“Seems like they’ve lost a spark. No real unique chants and probably just from lackluster play on the field never seemed to will the boys on to a result.”
“Sparse attendance. Often outdone by the visiting fan clubs in the opposite upper deck.”
“Supporters atmosphere feels like its staled some this year, even factoring out the on field play, and Geodis doesn’t always feel like a ‘fortress’ anymore.”
“They generally do a pretty good job. But I’m still smarting from the drama last year about the discounted beers and whatnot.”
“In USL it was awesome and unique. It has since then become watered down. There’s no flavor in the supporters section anymore. We are severely behind other teams we consider rivals in this regard.”
“They try, which is more than the team at times.”
“We’re a whiny bunch, but I think the general soccer IQ goes up every year, and I appreciate that.”
“Nashville fans are becoming more and more ‘fair weather’. I think the Miami home game in CCC was the only game that I wish my friends could’ve experienced. Most games I would’ve been satisfied watching at home instead of being at Geodis.”
“The Backline is self-absorbed and vastly overestimates their worth to the gameday experience. I will never forgive them for asking where to print a TIFO back in the USL days.”
“Losing has shown just how toxic a lot of the NSC supporters can be.”
“In the end, they are good for the teams and the game. I am confident, with time, they learn more about the game and become knowledgeable soccer fans.”
Our respondents were also mixed when asked how they felt treated by the club as fans. 34.8% responded as a three out of five, and while positive responses were slightly higher than negative, it was fairly evenly split.
Here’s what fans told us when asked how they feel they’re treated by the club:
“The ticket price increase for 2025 is ridiculous, and I’ll evaluate my STM moving forward if things do not improve. Separately, Fan Appreciation Night deals being a hot dog and souvenir beer is insulting.”
“I tend to feel sometimes like a source of income, especially in a down year. I think they started doing more at end of year to show appreciation so hoping that continues.”
“Club seems to take fans and their money for granted. I do not feel like STHs are seen as more than an income stream.”
“I feel like the team is genuinely interested in its fans and cultivating a strong fan base in Middle Tennessee.”
“Milked at every opportunity. Worst season ever? Season ticket prices increase. First string member? >4x ticket prices for champion’s cup game when Messi comes. Concessions? Airport lawlessness.”
“All they care about is my money.”
“Feels like we are just ATMs for the owners.”
“I genuinely cackled at this question. Between their new found Messi inspired price gouging, the absolutely laughable vendor prices, and total lack of communication on really anything they are doing a really good job of turning me from extremely excited to have soccer in my town to wishing I could take back my decision to renew for next season.”
“The front office takes us for granted.”
“It’s fine. Not great, not bad.”
How do fans feel about media coverage of Nashville SC?
As with last season, fans continue to be generally dissatisfied with the Nashville traditional media’s coverage of the club. Only 18.9% gave traditional media a positive rating, while 43.2% were negative.
Independent media, on the other hand, was significantly more positive. 71.8% rated independent media coverage positively, with just 10.5% giving it a negative rating.
Broadway Sports Media was the most frequented outlet for Nashville SC news with 81% of fans saying they frequent the site (it should be noted that hosting the survey certainly skews some bias towards Broadway). Club & Country was the second most-used outlet at 50.2%, with Pharmaceutical Soccer rounding out the top three at 43.2%.
Here’s what fans had to say about media coverage of Nashville SC:
“Needs to be more independent, stop parroting the party line. And not pushing the team more on the Yazbek situation was disappointing.”
“The team needs to give traditional media a reason to care again.”
“The Tennessean being paywalled for a still budding team in a still newish market means the reach for coverage is really poor. I’m grateful for the independents, but somehow there has to be more funding for entities to truly create a coverage product that drives value for the fans. Chicken and egg problem.”
“An absolute admiral job done by a few select people to make sure this club is covered like a professional outfit. Unfortunately, traditional media ignores NSC and the front office doesn’t seem all that interested in anything beyond state-run media.”
“I have heard NSC on 104.5 more often than expected.”
“They all seem to do the best that they can. My only real complaint is that some media members have decided it’s their job to give the club a nickname.”
“It’s bad. It’s not really their fault though. I don’t think the team gives them much to cover other than the actual results of the matches.”
“The Electric Gold podcast is new this year and those guys are hilarious.”
“Stop calling us the Yotes!”
“Honestly, it’s not very good. Game coverage is non existent (can no one tweet a game), access is nil by these bloggers, zero inside information, and honestly the advanced tactical soccer knowledge is also bad. Like a bunch of bros who play FIFA talking and not people who know the game.”
“Four years ago, I knew nothing about soccer, sports, or MLS. I got season tickets with friends as a ‘social activity’ and fell in love, looking for more information. I stumbled upon the Wild West that is NSC twitter and quickly found out about Pharmaceutical Soccer, Club & Country, and Broadway Sports Media. It had me hooked and almost everything I’ve learned about soccer & NSC since has been from local media. I have a lot left to learn, but I’m lucky to have so many outlets I trust to keep me informed and entertained. Keep doing what you’re doing because it makes a difference and is most definitely spreading the love of the game!”
“I think the local coverage of NSC is very fair and honest, and I appreciate that a lot as a fan. It really stands out from typical ‘homer’ content.”
“Too deferential to the club, too dependence on stats which showed a lack of soccer knowledge depth. Keeping Smith was not a wise choice for the last two years-this was clear. Yet you would not hear that from most media people. They get too close to their subject. Smith was a mediocre soccer mind at best but some local media treated him like a guru. We needs more constructive criticism.”
“The local coverage is about as good as you could ask for, for being a new MLS club in the southeast.”
As always, thanks to everyone who interacted with our survey and provided their thoughts. The full answers to the entire survey, including all the comments that were not featured here, can be viewed at this link.
Be sure to check out our wider MLS survey results as well, and stay tuned for next year’s edition following the 2025 season.
