The Dark Clouds are celebrating their 16th Annual End of Year Awards and Charity Auction on Thursday, October 10th at the Black Hart of St. Paul.
The celebration–which honors players, members of the MNUFC community, and the volunteers that make the Dark Clouds possible–consists of two main events;
1. Charity Auction – We auction off pieces of memorabilia, and Minnesota soccer related oddities donated by Dark Clouds members, people from the Minnesota soccer community and from our partners. If you’re interested in donating an item, please contact us at partnerships@dark-clouds.com . If you donate an item as an organization, we’re happy to feature your donation on social media.
2. Awards – Every year, the Dark Clouds give awards to people and players who have made an impact in our world. Please check your email for a link to vote in this year’s election. Voting will remain open until Thurday, 10/3. Categories and previous winners can be found at the end of the article.
DETAILS AT A GLANCE:
WHO: Dark Clouds and Friends
WHAT: 16th Annual Dark Clouds End of Year Awards and Charity Auction
WHERE: Black Hart | 1415 University Ave W, St Paul
WHEN: Thursday, October 10th | 6:30 PM
Tentative Auction Item List
| The Daves I Know Podcast Guest Appearance + all the RumHamms you can drink! |
| 55.1 Podcast Guest Appearance |
| MN Futbol Show Guest Appearance + Swag |
| Bennedeti Watch |
| Mason Toye Maracas |
| Bark and the Bite Gift Certificate |
| New Bohemia Gift Certificate |
| $25 Gift card and Free Growler Fill |
| Something from Talisman |
| Mingo-Loons scarved autographed by JC Banks & Conor Tobin |
| Allianz Field Experience |
| USOC Spiderman Split Scarf |
| Allianz Scarfs |
| One year of Growler Fills from Barley Johns |
| Lake Monster 15 pack of beer and $25 Gift Card |
| We Call It Soccer Podcast Guest Appearance |
| Something from Summit |
| Surly Pack including shirts, pint glasses and brewery tour certificate |
| 1998 Minnesota Thunder Warm-Up jacket (size XL) worn by Thunder Central Defender John Coughlin |
| #ISAWATCH T-shirt(s) |
| NSC premium seat – Blue (old supporters section) |
| Growler carriers |
| Gopher Women’s Soccer – ??? |
| A Storied Past Flies Home At Last” C-Print 16×20 |
| Portrait Session |
| Ike Opara Cleats (signing pending) |
| Yaya Toure jersey (Man City) |
| Bang Brewing 6 pack o’ pours |
| Cats on Tap Gift Bag(s) – Cats on Tap pint glasses, shirts and swag |
| Sparkle Donkey Sparkle Pack(s) |
| HOURCAR $25 driving credit |
| Chris Lidholm will record your outgoing voicemail message |
| Bent Paddle Tin Sign |
| Budwesier Sign (neon) |
| Germany World Cup Gift Basket (new, with tags Adidas 1990 World Cup Germany (#10) jersey, German candy and German bier) |
| 5 signed and framed matchday rosters ( 2x Calvo, 2x Romario and Rodriguez and 1x Darwin) |
| 2 Custom MNUFC-inspired wristlets |
| Giant Utepils Stein, Large T-shirt, $10 gift card |
| Clockwerks Brewing Growler w/free fill |
| Signed team jersey |
| Barley Johns Free Beer for a Year (One free growler fill each month, Flagship & select seasonal) |
| MNUFC GK jersey |
| MNUFC player beanie |
| Dark Cloud/Loon necklaces |
Previous Award Winners
Player of the Year:
- 2004 – Dustin Branan
- 2005 – Freddy Juarez
- 2006 – Matt Schmidt
- 2007 – Nic Platter
- 2008 – Nic Platter
- 2009 – Nic Platter
- 2010 – Andres Arango
- 2011 – Kyle Altman
- 2012 – Matt VanOekel
- 2013 – Pablo Campos
- 2014 – Miguel Ibarra
- 2015 – Justin Davis
- 2016 – Christian Ramirez
- 2017 – Bobby Shuttleworth
- 2018 – Miguel Ibarra
Newcomer of the Year:
- 2004 – Jay Alberts
- 2005 – Nate Knox
- 2006 – Alfredo Esteves
- 2007 – Brian Farber
- 2008 – Ricardo Sanchez
- 2009 – Lawrence Olum
- 2010 – Simone Bracalello
- 2011 – Justin Davis
- 2012 – Miguel Ibarra
- 2013 – Calum Mallace
- 2014 – Christian Ramirez
- 2015 – Sammy Ndjock
- 2016 – Jeb Brovsky
- 2017 – Jerome Thiesson
- 2018 – Darwin Quintero
Buzz Lagos Award (presented to individual (club or community) for lifetime achievement
- 2005 – Buzz Lagos (Namesake, original coach and leader of the Minnesota Thunder)
- 2007 – Liz Schorn (Thunder team trainer and photographer)
- 2009 – Claude Duran (Thunder team mascot, Thor)
- 2010- Manny Lagos (Original player, former coach and now club administrator)
- 2012 – Chris Lidholm (Broadcasting voice of the Minnesota Thunder, Stars, United)
- 2013 – Kevin Friedland (Player and man of one thousand hats that kept the team going thru many lean years)
- 2014 – Dan Barnes (Owner of original USL Discussion Boards, fan community in the early days)
- 2016 – Angie Blaker (Team Operations)
- 2017 – Brian Quarstad (Inside Minnesota Soccer)
Jackass of the Year (presented to Dark Cloud Supporter of the Year)
- 2005 – Keith Kramer
- 2007 – Kevin Joseph
- 2008 – Neal Logan
- 2009 – Tim “SuperRookie” Hayes
- 2010 – Scott Kerssen
- 2011 – Anthony de Sam Lazaro
- 2012 – David Smith
- 2013 – Ben Pfutzenreuter (Arts and Crafts); Wes Burdine (Discourse); Tim Alexander
- 2014 – Nachiket Karnik and Doreen Hartzell
- 2015 – Abe Opoti
- 2016 – Rich Harrison, Teresa Peterson, Sam Solberg
- 2017 – Jim Oliver
- 2018 – Andy Reierson
Misc:
- 2008 – Kevin Friedland – Humanitarian/Man of the Year
- 2018 – Matt Lampson
Iron Skillet Award: (presented by Dark Cloud leadership to a member who have fixed or improved organization)
- 2014 – Brandon Maurisak
- 2015 – Jeff Rueter & Jake Rueter
- 2016 – Nachiket Karnik (Nach)
- 2017 – Ben Krouse Gagne and Phil Cross
- 2018 – David Martin
Tom Donovan Award: (presented to Dark Cloud traveler of the year as selected by Travel Committee Chair)
- 2017 – Andrew Lovgren
- 2018 – Brett Schading