The Iron Lion Firm Video From Saturday..

Props to the firm….

The Iron Lion Firm shows up in force for the preseason opener…

Monday morning forward…

*Doug Garber will have an open door meeting with Orlando City supporters and fans this Thursday March 1st 12:30pm Mojo Cajun Bar And Grill.  Doors will open at 11:30a.m.

*Philadelphia Union captain Danny Califf discusses the game against Orlando City.

*The Orlando City Soccer page on Big Soccer has a thorough discussion thread on long term stadium options for the team.  It is a must read for hardcore fan of the Lions.  If I could have a beer with Phil Rawlins, one of the first questions I would ask him is what/if any discussions the team has had with the Tavistock Group.  Few people in this area know that this privately held investment group based here in Orlando owns Tottenham Hotspurs.  Considering that they own so much land out by Lake Nona and have had a history with MLS in their initial launch, i’m curious what if any discussions the team has had with the cash flush investment company.

* Check out the Reeves Army blog.  The blog focuses more on news and happenings that are occuring with Orlando City and soccer in Central Florida.  Informative site that is constantly updated. 

 

Who is Logan Emory?

The standout performance for Orlando City against the Philadelphia Union came from young defender Logan Emory.  His tenatious and dynamic play captured the attention and imagination of many fans last night.  

So who was this curly-haired young footballer that stood out in his opening game for the Lions? Could this be the beginning of ‘Logansanity’?

Born in Boise, Idaho, Emory was a prep standout who received a soccer scholarship to the University of Portland.  The University of Portland’s soccer program has an outstanding history with alumni including american internationals Kasey Keller, Coner Casey, Steve Cherundolo and Heath Pierce. At Portland, while he a good career, Logan also played for the Portland Timbers u23 team and in the USL Premier Development League. 

It has been in the last year however that Logan has started rasing eyebrows in the american soccer sphere with his quality of play.  After finishing  college in 2010, Emory signed a one year contract with the Puerto Rico Islanders, one of the most legendary american lower division teams.  In 2008, the Islanders made it all the way the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals, only to get beat by Cruz Azul of Mexico in penalty kicks in heartbreaking fashion. To this day, the 2008 Islanders semi-final run in the Champions has to be considered one of the greatest cinderella tournament runs in CONCACAF history. 

Logan logged the most minutes of any Islander player in his 2011 campaign as a rookie.  He was a key player for the 2011 Islanders that made it to the NASL semi-finals and won the Caribbean Football Union Championship. 

So now Logan Emory brings his talents to Orlando City after a breakout campaign with the Islanders.  At the age of 24, Logan is perhaps just now beginning to fully blossom as a football professional.  Under the tutelage of Adrian Heath, Logan’s best days may be yet to come.  I’m sure nothing would please Phil Rawlins more then this…

The bandwagon still has plenty of room…

Orlando City is currently in the process of finalizing the schedule for their summer friendlies for 2012. I have received inside word as to who our opponents might be, which out of respect for the team, I will not share who the possible three clubs are. Suffice to say however all three are English Premier League teams that will excite our core fan base. Unfortunately therein lays our problem. As successful as we have been, Orlando City has plenty of room to grow beyond our core group of supporters. Orlando City needs to look beyond the Sassenach to cultivate support.

Under the leadership of Phil Rawlins, Orlando City understandably has many connections with the EPL and the FA. As a direct result of these relationships, Orlando City has been able to bring players like Lewis Neal and John Rooney to play for the Lions. They have also been able to schedule blockbuster friendlies like Newcastle United, Bolton and a pending series of games against EPL opponents this upcoming summer. These are all without question positives for our club. These friendlies and acquisitions have fueled our core group of fans who are most all supporters of the EPL to different extents and are likely major fans of the sport in general. This ‘hardcore’ group of fans will be there regardless.

Orlando City however should not just look to motivate their core fans like myself with EPL friendlies throughout the summer. Management needs to think outside the box to cultivate new fans. What do I mean by this?

The Greater Central Florida region is full of soccer fans from around the world. They won’t just support Orlando City because they are a third tier soccer club that represents the region they now live. We need to give them a reason to come out. Bringing in teams from their native country or region could be the perfect opportunity to expose them to the amazing product we have all contributed in creating here in Orlando. Bringing in 2-3 EPL opponents this summer will excite our core hardcore fan base and English expatriates but unless we are playing against a big name opponent like an Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester (City or United) or Liverpool, we are doing little to cultivate and bring in new fans.

CF Monterrey of Mexico is arguably the most talented and one of the most popular teams in North America today. They are also a partner affiliate of Orlando City Soccer. The defending CONCACAF Club Champions are a squad loaded with world class players like Chilean Humberto Suazo and Mexican Ricardo Osorio. Bringing a club team like Monterrey would bring a whole new potential group of fans to the Citrus Bowl and expose them to the Orlando City Soccer. Our club is much better served bringing in teams like Chivas de Guadalajara of Mexico, Deportivo Cali of Columbia, Atletico Nacional of Columbia, FC Caracas of Venezuela or bringing a Brazilian squad like Flamengo FC. Those teams all play in countries with a huge population of individuals here in Central Florida. Let’s bring them into the proverbial tent to see what Orlando City Soccer is all about. Have them come see for themselves the quality of play our boys bring to the pitch. Have them hear the singing and chanting in the south end. Let them feel the organic, genuine soccer environment we as fans create. They will be hooked. All they need is a carrot to get them in the Citrus Bowl.

Phil Rawlins has done a phenomenal job. So much so, that individual like me are enthusiastically spreading the gospel of Orlando City Soccer throughout the Central Florida. We can still improve and strive to get the word about our club out there. Bringing in club teams from Latin America and beyond England will expose many others who otherwise would have never thought twice about coming to see Orlando City play…

Remember, remember 1994…

Miscellaneous pictures around Orlando

Panoramic view of the Citrus Bowl

Ireland vs Mexico Recap

Belguim vs The Netherlands Recap

The Netherlands vs Ireland Recap – Most important game ever played in Orlando

Paul McGrath – The goal that never was

 

Orlando vs Tampa, the stakes may never be this high again…

Like Manny Paquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Orlando City and The Tampa Bay Rowdies are taking far too long to take advantage of an obvious business opportunity, developing a natural geographic rivalry and giving the hardcore fan basis of both teams what they want.

This is an obvious opportunity for two teams that are still floundering in the purgatory which are the minor American soccer leagues and aspiring to greater goals.   The two teams are moving in very different directions however and are currently about as close to crossing paths with respect to talent and support as we likely ever will be. 

The Tampa  Bay Rowdies are a team named after the historic NASL franchise that was founded in 1975.  The Rowdies achieved a great amount of success, including winning the NASL title in it’s first year.  The team was well supported in the community, reaching a peak average attendance of over 28,000 fans in 1980.  The Rowdies set the roots for the Tampa Bay Mutiny, one of the original ten MLS franchises.

With star players like the great Columbian legend, Carlos Valderrama and MLS record breaker Roy Lassiter, The Mutiny achieved a decent amount of success on the pitch making the playoffs four of six years, finishing first in the regular season in the inagural year and winning the first supporters shield.

The Mutiny however were only met with mediocre support at the gate, always finishing well below average in attendance in every year of it’s existence.  In it’s final year, the Mutiny had it’s second ever worst year at the gate, averaging just under 10,500 fans per game and finishing in last in the Eastern Conference of the MLS.  While many Tampa soccer fans will tell you that the team folded in 2001 beause of mismanagement and the inability to find a local buyer, fan support for the club certainly was not exactly a favorable variable in the team going bust and becoming insolvent.

In 2010, the second coming of the ‘Tampa Bay Rowdies’ was founded in the new NASL, nine years after the death of the Mutiny.  The new club has received modest support, averaging just under 3,500 fans per game in it’s first two seasons.

In talks of MLS expansion, Tampa is not even in the conversation. The most ardent Rowdies supporter would likely admit to as much.  That said, Tampa has a rich soccer history and technically plays in a higher division then Orlando City.

The professional soccer history in Orlando can be traced back to 1985 and the foundation of the Orlando Lions, the sport made it’s real enterence to the Central Florida community with the 1994 World Cup.

Founded in 1985, the Orlando Lions existed for 11 years in various start up minor American soccer leagues from the ASL, APSL, USISL, USISLPL and USL indoor.  While hardcore soccer fans like my father introduced me to the Lions at a very young age, watching them play at area High Schools, outside of the passionate followers of the sport, it is safe to say most of the community was not familiar with the team.

Building up to the 1994 World Cup, Orlando hosted numerous friendlies and it is safe to say that the city caught soccer fever in anticipation of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.

The World Cup was a wild success in Orlando.  Every game was at or near capacity with over 60,000 fans (61,219 capacity at the time).  The city however was not able to capitalize on this triumph and bring MLS soccer to Orlando.  After the World Cup, a relative dark age period of soccer begun in Orlando while MLS was growing throughout the country.  For diehards like myself, my only fix for live professional soccer was the occasional exhibition match in the city or to make the shlep to Tampa and see the Mutiny.  The only sense of community I had among my fellow soccer fans was at my local pub in St. Andrews Tavern for the occasional EPL fixture. 

Even though we did have the Kraze playing in the PDL and a couple professional indoor teams who came and went, those looking for a steady fix of professional soccer in Central Florida were left thirsting for more.

I have always known the potential of the Orlando market is thru the roof.  Orlando has a rich history of active youth soccer leagues, a rich international community and a thirst for an additional professional sport franchise to support outside of the Orlando Magic.

In what may likely be seen as the single most important moment in the history of professional soccer in Central Florida, Phil Rawlins bought the USL professional soccer rights in Orlando and moved the Austin Aztecs to the city beautiful.  Rawlins quickly has proven to be a savvy franchise owner quickly building the most successful team and organization in the USL in only it’s first year in the market.  By supplying the appetent soccer fan base in Orlando with a professional team of their own, becoming an active part of the community and showing a genuine respect for the fans, Phil Rawlins and Orlando City soccer club are now among the favorites to land the next MLS franchise.

Detractors will quickly point out that while the first year support for OCSC was impressive, the team could still prove to be nothing more then a one year wonder.  The history of Central Florida soccer has been relatively brief and outside of the 1994 World Cup, truly insignificant if we are intellectually honest.  It is yet to be seen if this community has the support to maintain longevity.

So here we stand.  Tampa, led by it’s boisterous supporter group, ‘Ralph’s Mob,’ are looking to reestablish themselves as a soccer hotbed and MLS expansion candidate after decades of mismanagement, missed opportunities and a nostalgic desire to return to soccer glory.  While they have a rich soccer history full of high’s and lows, a recognizable name brand in the Tampa community and playing in the D-II NASL, Tampa fans still see the Rowdies as a better team then the ‘nouveau riche’ Orlando City Lions.

In 2011, Orlando City had the most successful American soccer franchise outside of MLS in it’s inaugural year. While the 2012 season is yet to be played, as an active member of the Orlando soccer community, I can tell you first hand that every indication is that not only will City be able to sustain it’s eyebrow raising inaugural year support; it will grow significantly.  I will genuinely be shocked if Orlando City averages less then 7,000 fans per game in the USL regular season in 2012.   Led by two very active and growing supporter groups, City is no longer knocking on the doors of MLS but breaking down all barriers into the top flight with a battle-axe.

I openly admit that I biased.   I think the Tampa Bay Rowdies are nothing more then a relic.  Whereas Ralph’s Mob might genuinely be a passionate group of fans that love the sport, they live in a fantasy world yearning for days gone by and thinking of what could have been with the Mutiny.   They had their chance and they blew it.  For all the excuses of having no interested buyer prior to folding, the Mutiny could have survived if the community would have supported them.  By averaging a meager 10k-12k year in and year out, Tampa proved they were not interested in the MLS.   I look at the Rowdies with a mix of pity and a touch of disdain.  Why disdain?  Well in typical Tampa arrogance towards all things from Orlando, many supporters of the Rowdies are still scoff their noses at the Lions and see us as an inferior D-III product.

In the mean time, Orlando City supporters would like nothing more then proverbially pop the Rowdies in the mouth for their blind arrogance.  We don’t think we are better then the Rowdies; we know it.  It’s about time that they learn this as well.  Orlando City runs laps around the Rowdies in every possible dimension with the exception of team history and legacy.  The countless organic ‘we hate Tampa’ chants that were sung by the ILF practically every game were real and speak to a genuine dislike of our West Coast neighbors.

So we come full circle.  The ‘X’ and ‘Y’ intersects of the two cities professional soccer paths may never be this close again.  While I believe Orlando is on the fast track to the top flight of American soccer and the Rowdies will continue to wallow in the minors, at this precise moment we are as close to even as we may ever be on the pitch and with regards to fan support.

Make this game happen now.  While Orlando City still covets respect.  While the Rowdies would love nothing more then to put OCSC in what they perceive to be their rightful place as an inferior team.  Years from now the disparity in talent between these two squads might be so great that this potential rivalry will likely lose its luster.

Regardless of what happens on the pitch between these two squads, the Lions and the Rowdies are heading in much different directions.  The stakes and bragging rights may never be higher.  It would be wise for the management of both teams to make this game happen…

There is only one Jamie Watson…

Along with Rob Valentino, Jamie Watson has grown to be my favorite player on the team.  While at first I saw Watson as nothing more then another football pretty boy, he grew on me with his relentless effort on the pitch and his appreciation of the fans.

While a part of me wishes the powers that be in the MLS would have recognized his efforts and given him another shot in the top flight, I am happy to see that Jamie has re-signed with the Lions.

Cheers Jamie.  The south-end eagerly looks forward to celebrating with you again…

 

 

 

 

 

Orlando City and the 2012 U.S. Open…

About the only thing more antiquated and nonsensical than the BCS has been the U.S. Open Cup format.

The U.S. Open Cup made some much needed, long overdue changes in 2012.   While still far from perfect, the new 64 team bracket is now much more similar to the traditional formats seen in Europe like the F.A. Cup.  With the addition of every MLS team actively participating in the Cup, the tournament has the chance to finally live up to it’s potential in the United States.

The additional participation of lower division PDL squads and non-professional teams will create a buzz among local communities and towns around the country promoting the sport.

The antiquated ‘bidding’ process that has determined the home squad in years past is also gone (at least thru the quarterfinals).  As long as teams meet the U.S. Soccer stadium specifications standards, they will have an equal shot of hosting games in their stadiums.  This will be a shot in the arm of enthusiasm, attention and financial gain to NASL and USL teams around the country.

For Orlando City, we will have our two teams participating in the 64 team tournament.  Both our Orlando City Lions and Orlando City U23 (formerly Central Florida Kraze) will be in the field of 64.

The possibility of Orlando City hosting an MLS squad at the Citrus Bowl in a game with real meaning would be historic.  I firmly still believe to this day we would at a minimum quadrupled FC Dallas in attendance in the third round heart breaking classic last year.  For OCSC U23, the tournament gives some of our younger, developing players a greater opportunity to play teams in the USL, NASL or even MLS in a David vs Goliath like match that would serve as great experience for them.

Orlando City goes into the 2012 U.S. Open Cup with lofty expectations and the bar set high.  On paper, no team should play harder then the Lions in this years tournament.  Like Phillip Pirrip, Orlando City has ‘great expectations’.  With a USL Title under it’s belt, arguably a stronger roster then last season returning, a potential MLS slot likely coming in the next couple years and the most rabid fan support in the U.S. outside of the MLS, the Lions will have plenty of motivation to succeed in this tournament.   As a fan, I strongly believe that a successful U.S. Open Cup campaign is arguably our biggest goal on the pitch outside of a USL title.

At a minimum, the Lions should defeat all non MLS foes and beat at least one MLS squad for me to consider the 2012 Cup a success.  While my expectations are lofty, i’m sure the man below feels no different….