Headbands and hot dogs

It’s been ages. Or two months, anyway. But by the time Charlotte FC takes the field Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium, it will have been 60 days since they last walked off following a 1-0 win over New England on May 23. Remember that one? Bonus points if you can recall who scored the goal (the answer is revealed at the bottom of this list)

World Cup fever. Have you caught it? Has it been both exciting and frustrating to watch other cities around the country revel in the level of soccer mania Charlotte is just beginning to experience? A return to Major League Soccer won’t quite display some of the mastery we’ve seen from Messi, Bellingham, Haaland and company, but it will certainly scratch the itch, and it’ll be nice to have something local to get fired up about.

It’s Atlanta. The schedule-makers — or AI, anyway — came up with a spicy return to MLS for Charlotte’s faithful: a matchup with its closest geographical rival, and a personal one if you ask someone who lived in Atlanta for 17 years and Charlotte for most of the rest of them. Nashville is another naturally developing rivalry for Charlotte FC, which is in its fifth season now, but Atlanta feels like one where you can’t call a friend for a day or two afterward.

Headbands for Maxi. If the Charlotte FC marketing engine hasn’t ordered up solar blue headbands with a No. 10 across the front for fans to mimic new winger Allan Saint-Maximin, they’d best get on it. The Frenchman might not have his visa sorted by the Atlanta game but hopes to soon thereafter (perhaps next Saturday, July 25, in New York). His introduction into the fray will be pivotal in determining where and how Charlotte finishes the 2026 season with Wilfried Zaha gone in free agency. 

Favorable schedule? Granted, there will be shuffling in the standings as always, and 10 of Charlotte’s last 18 MLS games will be on the road — but Charlotte, which reopens its schedule in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, played some of its toughest opponents in the first 15 games of the season. They faced MLS leader Nashville twice, fourth-place New England twice and Inter Miami once. Eight of their first 10 games against Eastern Conference opponents were teams that are currently above the playoff line. Only seven of their last 15 games against conference opponents are against teams currently above the playoff line.

The wicked witch is dead. Charlotte FC announced to its season ticket holders this week that it’s eliminating permanent seat licenses. That PSL cost of $550, on average, can now be credited to use toward tickets for the two upcoming full seasons, sandwiched by a 2027 “sprint” season, as MLS adopts an international schedule. Tepper Sports Chief Revenue Officer Eric Sudol said he understood when he arrived that PSLs are not “endemic” to soccer and are a source of dismay among fans, who’ve seen their value decline over the years. He also said an average of a 6% decrease in the price of tickets was coming in mid-August. The good news is Charlotte FC is listening — it brought in more than 600 people to focus groups — and is serious about getting average attendance back up to 30,000.

Westy bobblehead. OK, this is clearly not the most serious top 10 list of all time, but for a club that took years to start giving away bobbleheads to early-entering fans, its bobblehead game has come on strong lately. Leaving for the World Cup break, handing out Tim Ream draped in an American flag and returning with a coiffed captain Ashley Westwood holding a Sir Minty cup of breakfast tea is next level. Be early to Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday to get one.

New stand on concessions: Charlotte FC opens the second half on Wednesday by offering $5 hot dogs and $1 beer, with an appearance from hot dog-eating champion Joey Chestnut. Maybe it’s the shades of a Minor League Baseball-worthy promotion that feels like a breath of fresh air, or simply the fact that this is something that’ll actually help the wallet and not just send fans home with a new accessory. “People don’t need any more scarves,” Sudol said.

Who’s coming next? Charlotte FC General Manager Zoran Krneta has said fans can expect one more incoming player during the summer transfer window, and if buzz around potential departures of Liel Abada and Kerwin Vargas proves true, it could be an impact player filling one of the higher-paying slots on the roster. Charlotte has plenty of questions to answer after not resigning their most dynamic player, Wilfried Zaha, but his departure creates intrigue for Saint-Maximin and an addition to be named later. 

Star-gazing: Charlotte gets to host the MLS All-Star game on July 29 and the likes of Lionel Messi, Thomas Müller and Son Heung-Min. After that, one of MLS’s biggest new summer signings — Robert Lewandowski — and the Chicago Fire play Charlotte FC twice in the final 18 games, on Aug. 1 and Sept. 26. Lewandowski, 37, who won three La Liga titles in four seasons ⁠with Barcelona, might be remembered best among Charlotte FC fans for being teammates with former Charlotte striker Karol Swiderski on Poland’s national team.

Answer: If you had Idan Toklomati scoring Charlotte’s lone goal in the New England win, off assists from rookie Will Cleary and Pep Biel, you’re on top of things and ready for Wednesday!