Sacramento, CA - Sacramento Republic and USL writer Josh Dickinson reportedly hid 4 made up teams in his USL 2020 season preview to see if anyone would notice as he published his 20,000 word magnum opus on all the teams in the league.

“Oh sure everyone knows Sacramento and New Mexico, but what about the Plano Pirates, the Montgomery Barons, Loudoun United FC and the Wichita Linemen,” stated Dickenson to The Nutmeg News. “I figured that anyone who clicked on the article probably checked out after the introduction of the piece and just went to see what I said about their team. I guess we will find out if anyone is paying attention.”

Dickinson reportedly stated that he believed the Plano Pirates could find their way into the USL Championship Playoffs this year if they managed to shore up their previously porous defense, a thought that USL expert Deryk Sanderson believes to be true.

“Plano struggled at times last year,” stated Sanderson on his Geology and Soccer podcast TalkingSchist. “But if they can fix up their defense I could see them really seizing control of the USL Central Midwest North Texas division.”

With Dickinson making up facts, other news outlets were quick to seize on the opportunity to copy his work as they flushed out their own takes with SBNation starting up a blog for the Wichita Linemen and requesting any new writers in the area to apply for the honor of running the website.

The Nutmeg News will have more on this as Wichita charge up the standings and try to make the playoffs after acquiring a centerback from the Barons for a collection of rare Hummel figurines and a new showerhead.