- [Adolfo] I think that Utah Blitzz was the reason why soccer in Utah grew so fast.

- It's the most popular sport in the world with billions of fans and thousands of athletes turn legend.

But the love wasn't always apparent for soccer in Utah.

Sure, now we have Real Salt Lake, which put Utah on the map for soccer around the world.

But before all that, other teams tried to build buzz for the game in the Beehive State, one more successful than the rest.

I'm Liz Adeola, and This is Utah.

We're gonna take you back to a time when the Utah Blitzz cracked the code for professional soccer in Utah, building a lasting legacy from the ground up.

But first, we'd like to shout out our sponsors, the Willard L. Eccles Charitable Foundation, and Lawrence T. & Janet T Dee Foundation.

(pensive music) - You know, you learn everything about someone when they have to deal with adversity, and ultimately what was great for us was the players.

Everyone in the franchise fought to the very, very end.

- [Liz] It's the United Soccer League's National Championship game between the Utah Blitzz and the Charlotte Eagles.

The Blitzz were down early in the game, but they clawed their way back.

Now tied, there's a round of sudden-death penalty kicks.

- [Chad] You could have wrote the script where they take the PK and we make it and they make it and then we miss it, and they miss it.

But then it's down to the last shot.

And if he saves it, we win the game.

And Wheel stepped up.

He did his thing.

He touched the posts.

He went to a side that I think he usually doesn't decide to go to.

Just touched it, saved it, win the game, and pretty amazing event, pretty time, in all of our lives.

- I remember breaking down for several reasons, because we had just won, but also knowing that it was over.

The Utah soccer scene in the '90s was that there was no professional soccer at that time here.

There had been a few attempts in the late '70s, early '90s, but nothing lasted more than a year.

And I had researched how to put together a professional soccer franchise, and launch it in Utah - [Liz] The next step would be to find players.

Team scouts scoured the globe to find talented young soccer players to make their dream a reality.

- I grew up playing soccer in Argentina and I just played it.

That's what I wanted to do, just play soccer and I pass a tryout.

And right after that, I flew to Utah to start be one of the players on the Utah Blitzz.

- I'm Chad Sackett.

I was a goalkeeper for the Blitzz.

I'm a local kid, so it was a big, big thing for me.

The ultimate goal for a lot of kids is to play pro soccer.

And so, the fact that you can actually play in front of hometown and play in front of your friends and family, it was a pretty big deal.

- So my name is Adolfo Ovalle.

I'm originally from Santiago in Chile and Oscar Pisano called Chris and says, "There's a guy from Chile that could be really good for your new club."

- And he sent me an old VHS tape.

I sat and watched an hour of Adolfo and his highlights.

I immediately said, "I want to have this player come in and help build this franchise with me."

- Jumping on the Blitzz bandwagon right now.

And he joins us live from Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Rod, it's a lot of fun out there.

- He played a couple of preseason games and had no goals to show for those games.

So I thought we might be in a little bit of trouble if I don't find somebody that has the talent to put the ball in the back of the net.

So I went down to Las Vegas to attend an adult soccer tournament.

I happened to stop on the end of the field that the Doxa Italia team was attacking, and I saw the ball get played to the back post.

This big red head comes running outta nowhere, jumps above everyone, heads the ball, it's going straight into the goal.

As the whistle was blown, I walked up to him and I said, "Hey, I'm coaching Utah Blitzz."

He proceeded to say, "I've heard of you, I would love to play for you."

(crowd cheers) (upbeat Latin-style music) - You know, a lot of different leagues, teams would fold or leagues would fold, so I was really hesitant.

But coming to Utah, coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium and just seeing the, you know, the attendance in day one was pretty unique.

(Spanish pop song plays) - [Sportscaster] Goal!

(crowd cheers) - [Sportscaster] Against the Riverside County Elite.

Brought a new grass for the Blitzz in Utah, feeling right at home at Rice-Eccles Riverside, threatening to score.

Damien Munoz coming right out to clear it out right before crossing the line.

Great save on... (crowd cheers) - Okay, wanna introduce Chris.

Now, Chris, you're the head coach for the Blitzz.

- Yeah.

- And you guys are having a phenomenal season.

- We are.

- Tell us about it.

- Well, we're undefeated and last year we did very well.

We won the Western Conference Championship and this year we think we've got an even better team.

- [Reporter] Professional soccer playing at Franklin Covey Field.

And their fans were out in force.

And this one going down to the wire, final minutes of the game.

William McNichol open for the shot, but it gets stopped by the goal.

Sterling Westcott gathers the ball, controls, and Jorge Estrada, he sneaks it in for the game winning goal.

Blitzz win one, nothing, the final in Utah has their first ever E3 soccer championship.

- It just brought another big scene to Utah like, "Hey, wow, there's a team that's making it to championship and they're hosting it."

- We just knew we were going to leave it all on the field and try to win the first championship for Utah.

- It was crazy, but I think it was one of the best memories that I have.

Going to grab my Chilean flag, it was something that I've seen before on other players and it was my turn to do it.

So it's something really special for me.

(soft music) - Kind of in this euphoria of our championship win.

And four days later, the world changed with 9/11.

As soon as I saw those images come up on screen, I knew that deep down inside we were gonna be in trouble.

Dale Nichols, our financial backer of the franchise, the owner at the time, he said, "I've gotta pull the plug on the franchise."

I then said to him, "Look, why don't I take the franchise from you on a note for the debt?"

I knew it was coming in a sense, but I also knew that we had built some value.

- [Adolfo] Chris decided to create the Junior Blitzz program.

We were showing the kids the different drills.

I love to be working with kids and help them to maybe experience what I had growing up.

- [Chad] Every kid that you could think of and they're coming out with a little Utah Blitzz logo on 'em.

They were all playing soccer.

- [Liz] The junior Blitzz started as a way to get kids active and engaged in soccer, but it eventually became a lifeline for the Utah Blitzz.

Every child enrolled in the program got game tickets, which in turn filled the stands with families and future fans.

For a small market team, that steady support made all the difference.

- All of a sudden there's like a thousand kids and 2,000.

And I remember by year three or so, there were 16,000 kids playing recreation soccer in Utah.

Nobody will convince me otherwise, that the Blitzz was the main reason why that happened.

- [Chris] You look at the youth clubs in Utah, most of those are coached by former Utah Blitzz players to this day.

And it built those programs significantly.

- [Adolfo] Soccer is a lot more than a hobby.

Soccer is a way of life for our kids.

- Having a good team that you communicate makes your soccer experience so much better, especially like when you're all friends on and off the field.

- I think soccer has definitely given me just like friends for life.

Being able to meet amazing people, coaches.

- It's just had a big influence in like my whole life.

Just in general.

- Being coached by a professional player, I feel like they just have a lot more experience and they know how to coach you a little better and they push you a lot harder and they make sure that you're doing the best you can all the time.

- It's always been a part of my life.

When I was younger, I watched my older sister play and I just wanted to play.

And it's just something that I love to do.

- It teaches discipline, teamwork, it teaches them to fight for something they love.

It's amazing.

- [Liz] By 2004, the Utah Blitzz was at its peak, averaging nearly 7,000 fans per game.

Dominating on the field and building a lasting legacy through the junior Blitzz.

Behind the scenes, the team was poised for an even bigger leap, hoping that their success would book their ticket to Major League Soccer.

- In all the years of putting together and building Utah Blitzz, our ultimate goal was always to build the franchise in time to the Major League Soccer level.

And just as we were waiting for the documents to arrive, somebody had come in and purchased the rights to the Major League Soccer franchise and were willing to do it the following year.

So we knew going into our 2004 season, before we even kicked a ball that it would be our final season.

- [Adolfo] A lot of mixed feelings 'cause you hear that the MLS is coming to town, what exciting news.

But then they're gonna take your spot away.

That was really sad.

It was hard to take it as a player, but as a soccer fan, it was huge to have an MLS team in Utah.

(crowd cheers loudly) (drum plays) - [Sportscaster] Today, many of these former players, coaches, and staff, still call the great state of Utah home and have played a significant role in laying the foundation of youth soccer for the next generation.

So please join us in celebrating their lasting contributions to soccer in our state.

(crowd cheers) - So we're 20 years away from when we last played, but this is an incredible setup.

Looks like they're doing it right, see the fan atmosphere outside and maybe we had something to do with that as it started.

So that's a good feeling.

- Coming together with the entire group?

Amazing.

I mean, I saw guys that I haven't seen in 20 years and that was a really good feeling and an emotional opportunity for us to be together.

So it was very, very special.

- I ended on a great note in the Blitzz.

I was part of the story for five years.

I won two national championships with my teammates and I felt like the mission had been accomplished.

- You talk about bittersweet or a mix of emotions.

All that being said, it was an experience I wouldn't change for anything.

- Really never know the impact you'll have when you're in the thick of doing something great.

The Utah Blitzz legacy lives on, much like the athletes here at the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

Well, we're working on so many new stories for "This Is Utah," and if you wanna be one of the first to watch them, go ahead and hit the subscription button and the notification bell, so you never miss out on one of our adventures.