How two Lansing Common Supporters took a pair of dice around the world.

A lot of moves were made by Midwest Premier League clubs in 2023, who took it upon themselves to better their communities and respective operations. The biggest MWPL-related announcements this offseason is undoubtedly the 2030 Plan, focusing on promotion & relegation in a way that best fits the aspirations of member clubs, and Dekalb County United being given the hosting privileges of the USASA Amateur Cup’s centenary edition. Within a certain MWPL fanbase, a league has successfully implemented promotion & relegation for years now.

Boasting 56 clubs spanning three divisions, the Northern Michigan Faux Football League is the best organization you have ever heard of. Does it exist? Yes and no. With badges, lineups, home pitches and the all-encompassing internet banter, the NMFFL started as a fun way for Lansing Common FC supporters to keep the soccer party going until the next season. Do you want to view the Picturesque Mountains of FC Boyne Stein Eriksen? How about checking out a Mackinaw City Redcoats match along the legendary waterways of the Straits of Mackinac?

A simple roll of the dice will tell you...

Ken Seelman and Jeff Backoski, owners of the Northern Michigan Faux Premier League’s Mackinaw City Redcoats and Paradise City Shipwrecks, are the two behind the realest faux soccer league in the country. “With Jeff and I, it was just our love for Mackinaw City and just some creativity,” said Seelman. “I started posting stuff on Twitter about the Mackinaw City Redcoats, and Jeff started posting hashtags like ‘#UpTheCoats’ and then we just started making fake teams on our own.”

Quick history lesson for all the non-Michiganders, Mackinaw City was originally founded in 1715 by the French with the building of Fort Michilimackinac, eventually losing it to the British in the Seven Years’ War. Ultimately they abandoned it after the Revolutionary War.

The Pay Here Stinks

Fellow Lansing Common Supporter AJ Badge decided to join the fun on his own accord with Ignace Town, catching Seelman off guard. “It all started with me trolling Ken,” Badge joked. “I found out during the DCFC game our first year by listening to Patrick (Jacobs) that he had a burner account for the Mackinaw City Redcoats. So, to basically mess with Ken, I created a rival team called Ignace Town FC.” Banter among friends laid the groundwork for a dice game that involves fans from different clubs within the MWPL, across the country, and stretching all the way down to Australia with Leonard Gregory, Lansing Common’s well-known international supporter.

Badge provided a concise response when asked what motivated him to get so involved with the happenings of the NMFFL…boredom. He recalled enjoying custom team features on various console games, but in 2024 the game has migrated to the phone screen and no longer limited to a set of preloaded graphics. “Everybody in our supporters group got behind it, then people they knew got behind it and now we have two foreign owners and owners from multiple states.” Badge expanded. “Its building the love of soccer that we have and its goofy and fun.” Badge also hopes that more supporters’ groups discover this unique twist on the world’s to someday compete in a faux Champions League.

His role is not simply one of a humble faux owner. Putting in enough hours to require scheduling his days, Badge legitimately treats this like every other Friday is the best Friday when that direct deposit hits. “On certain days I have to do certain things,” he explained. “I have to tweet out the week’s schedule, I like to do the highlights on FIFA for our highlight show, The Faux Show, I do the tweets for the kickoffs…and then I have my teams which I have like four of them now. It’s my hobby, it’s my new life.”

Rules are Rules

“We talked about it at a tailgate and when we had enough people interested in doing something over the offseason,” Backoski explained. “A couple other people said they wanted a team, so we thought ‘Ok, if we’re going to do this, we need to find a way to play because obviously we aren’t going to go out and kick an actual ball.”

From there the scoring system was decided:

Two dice (one for each half)
Faces showing 1, 2, or 3 directly represent the corresponding number goals for the game
Faces showing 4, 5, or 6 no goal

“I think we wanted to do it that way because we didn’t want a 12-11 game,” explained Seelman. “If we get a 3-1 or a 6-3 that’s a legitimate soccer score.” “We get draws too which affects a lot in the table,” Backoski added.

A Couple More Couldn’t Hurt

For lack of a better term, the lower league soccer scene in Lansing has been spoiled with the design work of Geoff Sykes for the past decade. As the Designer and Director of Team Branding at Lansing-based Moneyball Sportswear, he transitioned his skills to design a great deal of the club badges you will see in the faux league media. As the owner of Petoskey Stones, Sporting Harbor Springs and Artemis FC Interlochen, concept designs have been a passion for Sykes so when the NMFFL came calling for his services, it was a match made in heaven.

“I like creating concept work in my free time as a designer,” he said. “It’s one of those…I have ideas and an urge to just design for random things. When Seelman first started dabbling in the faux potential, Sykes noticed the profile picture was not becoming of the undertaking at hand. “No, he needs a proper crest,” Sykes joked. “If he wants to pretend to be a real soccer club…he needs a real soccer crest.” The design work is not solely done by Sykes himself; he has collaborated with Badge and others on over 90 different clubs, many waiting for new owners to take them on the pyramid climb. Sykes describes his collaboration with Badge as two kindred spirits who grew up playing video games where you could customize the look of your virtual ball club. “I just wanted to make EVERYONE look good, kinda became my passion project,” he said.

“Me and Geoff just started bouncing ideas off of each other,” said Badge. “I would come up with a team name or a clipart type of crest and Geoff would come up with a piece of art and it just snowballed after that.” The duo run “underground” faux leagues consisting of a fifth tier Bier Liga, another Sykes brainchild, which alone consists of four-12 team divisions, but to make matters a little simpler, the pair also a operate two-conference Conference League as well.

Panic at the…Goodwill

Peter Wilt’s resume of getting clubs off the ground speaks for itself and when he caught wind of the fledging league, his Ontonagon Porkies, a tribute to the Porcupine Mountains, were one of the first expansion clubs to grace the northern Michigan soccer landscape. “I have a personal connection to Ontonagon, Michigan and it didn’t seem they had a team in Ontonagon. There seemed to be a void so I contacted the league twitter account and asked them if they were taking expansion applications for Ontonagon, and they said ‘we have an opening and we would love to have you in.’”

Seelman was very aware of the footprint Wilt has had on American soccer and made sure that he was included. “Peter Wilt is Peter Wilt,” Seelman stated. “He brings a lot to the table so if he is into it, we might have something.”

Wilt’s dedication to the NMFFL was on full display when Backoski’s Shipwrecks were due to play Wilt’s Porkies, the only problem is Wilt had no dice as he was on the road. “I rolled him a couple weeks ago and he was panicking because he didn’t have any dice. He went into one store, didn’t have any dice. So, he went to a Goodwill and bought a random board game for the dice.”

What started out as a fun little thing for Lansing Common supporters to stay in touch over the offseason has blossomed into something that takes the human connection to a new level. “It’s all word of mouth and it’s all social media,” Seelman said. “Did we think it would take off like this? No. We thought it would be like six of us Lansing Common dudes staying in touch during the offseason.” “It’s one of the best things I have done in soccer, really in the last decade,” Wilt stated.

Don’t Worry, the rice is Australian

For Robin’s supporter Leonard Gregory, a home match is more than just a quick cruise up Pennsylvania Avenue to Lansing Eastern Stadium. Despite having a small hiccup called the Pacific Ocean separating him from Michigan’s Capital city, the NMFFL has provided another way to stay connected with this fellow Robins and have fun at the same time. “Just a way to keep connected and enjoy some banter and fun with fellow Lansing Common supporters. It’s grown far far beyond that now,” he explained. “Life is enriched by connections. It is why clubs and I guess society exists! It’s just a common bond and it makes life so much more interesting- everyone has a story within them.”

As Owner of the Menominee Wild Rice, Gregory’s club has had success in it’s short existence, qualifying for the 2022-23 League One Playoffs and currently eyeing a promotion spot for the Premier League as they currently sit second in the table at the writing of this piece. Although he has been with the Robin’s in spirit since their founding, he has plans to make a pilgrimage to Lansing and then going north to experience the inspiration behind the ever-growing dice game.

“When I retire and can travel, I intend to visit Lansing, but also places like Mackinac Island and Menominee,” he said. “Also, the Great Lakes look just absolutely stunning. Plenty of places to explore for 6 weeks I’d say over summer. Have met two ‘owners’ when they were in Sydney for FIFAWWC so kind of like to do that with fellow owners and just enjoy the friendship.”

- Rich Schenck

For anyone interested in joining the Northern Michigan Faux Football League: @NMFPLsoccer