https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b6d4bf/mas_brothers_talking_to_bill_edwards_about/
Mas brothers talking to Bill Edwards about Strikers IP?
https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/construction-development/beckham-soccer-stadium-98188
“We’ve been in conversation with those involved with the Strikers brand,” Mas said. “We want to be very respectful to the history. We have some very cool ideas.”
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.bisnow.com/south-florida/news/construction-development/beckham-soccer-stadium-98188
David Beckham's Soccer Club Tries To Win Over Miami While Flirting With Fort Lauderdale
David Beckham's new Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami, has gone through a lot — multiple proposed-then-nixed stadium sites, a key public vote, legal challenges and scads of political battles — to get where it is now: negotiating to build a 25,000-seat stadium and $1B mixed-use project on a city-owned golf course.
In the meantime, because the team is scheduled to start playing in 10 months, it went to Fort Lauderdale for permission to redevelop that city's Lockhart Stadium to use for pro matches for the first two years and for training after that.
This divvying up of team operations has upset some Miamians who fought for the team to be based there, expecting more than just 18 or so pro games per year. So now Beckham's group is in an awkward position of convincing Miami it is still its No. 1 city while Fort Lauderdale's lipstick is all over its collar — lest the whole Miami deal fall through.
Whereas the Miami negotiations have been marked by careful maneuvering, the team was easily welcomed in Fort Lauderdale. Mayor Dean Trantalis was in a celebratory mood at a Bisnow conference last week, the morning after his Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted to move forward in talks with Beckham's team rather than a rival soccer startup that has long wanted the space — and feels Beckham's group undercut it.
“David Beckham has landed!” Trantalis said in his opening statement to the audience. "Fort Lauderdale is going to be the center of soccer. We’re so pleased and so happy that the commission unanimously voted to make that happen."
Now, a week after winning approval in Fort Lauderdale, Inter Miami is tackling its next big obstacle: the Miami City Commission. The commission is expected to vote on lease terms by September.
Jorge Mas, the managing partner and lead investor behind Beckham’s franchise, spoke to Magic City Soccer on Monday about plans for the publicly owned Melreese Country Club site.
Mas faces an uphill task at the Miami City Commission, where Inter Miami appears to be one vote short for approval of his plans. Commissioner Manolo Reyes has been one of the primary critics of the deal, and if he votes against the project, the final decision may rest with Willy Gort, whose district includes Melreese and surrounding neighborhoods.
In Monday’s interview with Magic City Soccer, Mas appealed to the commissioners directly, detailing how the team has been hosting focus groups and community meetings to gauge concerns in their districts. He also reminded them of the election result last November: Miami voters overwhelmingly supported the city entering into negotiations for the Melreese site without having to consider competing bids.
Mas framed the project at Melreese, dubbed Miami Freedom Park, as an “economic engine” for the city. He cited the importance of his fellow investors in the franchise, who include Masayoshi Son and Marcelo Claure, the CEO and chief operating officer of SoftBank, respectively. SoftBank controls significant stakes in Uber and WeWork, through its Vision Fund, the world’s largest tech and private equity fund.
“What we are trying to develop at Miami Freedom Park is a technology hub that can be the home of the creative minds of young men and women in South Florida, that can establish high-paying jobs,” Mas said.
The franchise claims that Miami Freedom Park would result in $44M in annual tax revenue to local governments. Mas also defended the decision to play their first two years at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, which will house the team’s youth academy and technical headquarters. That site would also host Miami’s USL League One affiliate, which would play in the American third division of soccer.
Inter Miami negotiators committed to branding the affiliate team with a Fort Lauderdale identity. Different iterations of a pro team called the Fort Lauderdale Strikers have played at Lockhart on-and-off since the late 1970s.
“We’ve been in conversation with those involved with the Strikers brand,” Mas said. “We want to be very respectful to the history. We have some very cool ideas.”
Hours after Mas spoke with Magic City Soccer, an opponent of the stadium deal, Miami-based attorney William Douglas Muir, filed a fresh court challenge. He had already sued, alleging that the city of Miami should not have been allowed to negotiate a closed-bid deal for Miami Freedom Park. He lost that challenge, but is now appealing. See Also: Will Miami Marlins Finally Build Youth Academy That Was Promised In 2007?
See Also: Will Miami Marlins Finally Build Youth Academy That Was Promised In 2007?
Related Topics: David Beckham, Jorge Mas, Miami MLS, Miami CRE, InterMiami
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b6pmll/brianhattab33_tampa_bay_rowdies_gear_on_sale_at/
[brianhattab33] Tampa Bay Rowdies gear on sale at the Tropical Field!
good spread the love
This is very cool. A solidly branded section, too...
COYR!
(Follow link for full article.)
https://twitter.com/brianhattab33/status/1111374689576738816?s=21
Brian Hattab
@brianhattab33
.@TampaBayRowdies gear at the Trop. SYNERGY. #RaysUp #TogetherRowdies
2:09 PM - 28 Mar 2019 from St Petersburg, FL
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b73vb9/does_anyone_have_any_scouting_info_on_lufc/
Does anyone have any scouting info on LUfc? Anything at all?
Inquiring minds wanna know. The Rowdies article only talks about... Well ... The Rowdies.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b7bp7p/unused_substitutes_the_bench_vol_4_issue_1_oc/
Unused Substitutes’ The Bench: Vol 4, Issue 1 (OC)
Unsub team: Thanks for your research, insight, and questionable humor! I look forward to the podcast every week, and now The Bench!
Interviews with Georgi Hristov, Shawn Barry, and Jordan Doherty inside.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.theunsubs.com/wp/2019/03/30/the-bench-volume-4-issue-1/4277
The Bench – Volume 4, Issue 1
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.theunsubs.com/wp/2019/03/20/episode-195-in-the-pzone/4268
Episode 195 – In the P’Zone!
The 2019 home opener is in the books, and the guys share their thoughts on the new season, on and off the pitch!
In this episode:
Rowdies 2:0 Riverhounds
Shawn Barry MOTM, TOTW & International call-up
Even our parking garages are Rowdie
The Yellow & Green Dream
Eastern Conference Wrap Up
STL Preview
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.theunsubs.com/wp/2019/03/23/matchday-mixer-rowdies-at-st-louis/4271
Matchday Mixer – Rowdies at St. Louis
We had a chat with Phill Grooms, host of St Louis Soccer Report, about this weekend’s matchup, offseason moves for both clubs, and how STL’s MLS push is impacting the current USL club
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.theunsubs.com/wp/2019/03/28/episode-196-balls-deep-in-the-outfield/4274
Episode 196 – Balls Deep in the Outfield
It’s week 4 of the season, your Tampa Bay Rowdies are TOP OF THE TABLE, and the guys are here to talk through it all!
In this episode:
St Louis 1:1 Rowdies
Eastern Conference Update
Notes from Training
Loudoun Lowdown
(Follow link for full article.)
https://stpetersburgfoodies.com/podcast/interview-with-stephen-schrutt-from-hunger-thirst-group-st-petersburg-foodies-podcast-episode-30/
Interview with Stephen Schrutt from Hunger + Thirst Group – St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 30
Interview with Stephen Schrutt from Hunger + Thirst
Welcome to the St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 30. Our featured interview today is with Stephen Schrutt. Stephen is the owner of Hunger + Thirst Group. They operate the restaurants and bars: The Avenue Eat + Drink, Park & Rec, and No Vacancy in downtown St. Petersburg. Stephen grew up in Tampa, and is an avid sports fan. He announces his brand's expansion in Tropicana Field just in time for the start of baseball season. Our featured local music is from Speakeasy. Speakeasy's Bassist Brendon Porter answers The Fast Five Foodies Questions, and we feature the song 'It's Great to Be Back'.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b7jhhb/rowdies_remain_unbeaten_in_2019/
Rowdies remain unbeaten in 2019
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rowdies/2019/03/31/rowdies-remain-unbeaten-in-2019/
Rowdies remain unbeaten in 2019
Satruday’s scoreless draw against Loudoun United leaves Tampa Bay at 2-0-2
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b7h8it/checking_in_coyr/
Checking in! COYR!
Such a perfect night. (Minus the result.)
that's not far from my seat - must be section 112, yeah? I'm in the last seat, last row of 111
Yeah it was 112 row 6
They aren’t my seats though my dads coworker couldn’t make it so he let us use them
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b7jij2/rowdies_atmosphere_of_cheers_chants_amps_up_sense/
Rowdies’ atmosphere of cheers, chants amps up sense of community
Wow...TWO articles from the Times tonight...very cool...
(Wonder if they’ll make the Sunday paper...)
This was a really good write up that does a great job explaining why this is the local team I support in terms of season tickets. I'm going to be a bit petty and not give them any credit for the other article - it was just a rewrite of the recap the team released. There was no media outside of Dan & I talking to Neill and Andrew after the game.
nice write up!
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rowdies/2019/03/31/rowdies-atmosphere-amps-up-cheers-chants-and-most-of-all-community/
Rowdies’ atmosphere of cheers, chants amps up sense of community
Ralph’s Mob, vibrancy of downtown St. Petersburg, enhaces the draw for soccer fans
As I made my way to Al Lang Stadium Saturday, one question kept entering my thoughts.
Do I want to enter the belly of the beast?
For the uninitiated, and prior to Saturday I was among the uninitiated, the belly of the beast is the center of Section 307 at Al Lang. Behind the northern goal at the home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a group of fans known as Ralph’s Mob set up there.
They do not sit there.
They stand, cheer, chant, beat drums, wave flags and deliver an electric pulse that reverberates across the pitch, off the Mahaffey Theatre and into the nighttime sky above the bay. It’s not part of the game, it is the game – as integral as the stellar play of keeper John McCarthy or the defensive strategies of Coach Neill Collins.
They started immediately in Saturday’s game against Loudoun United, lighting torches that blew yellow smoke and singing a song that sounded vaguely familiar. Thanks to my knowledge of 1970s music, I detected the melody: Supertramp’s super hit The Logical Song. Thanks to Google, I learned that the Western Sydney Wanderers football club in Australia rewrote the song as a call to arms for its fans.
But you knew that, right?
This is the kind of fun that draws Palm Harbor’s Jackie June and Abigail Cilmi to the Rowdies games. June, a native of Britain, likens the constant cheering, drumming and clapping to an authentic English soccer game.
“I love baseball, but there’s no real atmosphere at a baseball game unless it’s the ninth inning and it’s the last out,” said June, who later explained that every member of Ralph’s Mob gets a songbook with lyrics. “With soccer, it’s 90 minutes of action and the fans are involved. It’s amazing.”
An amazing game on an amazing night. Downtown St. Petersburg’s vibrancy rose with the spectacularly breezy and pleasant night. Everyone seemed to be out for a good time on a Saturday. That included a 200-plus wedding party that paraded from Station House to the Dali, accompanied by a New Orleans-style jazz band playing When the Saints Go Marching In.
All of the district’s amenities — it’s bars, it’s walkability, it’s watery vistas — also bring out Rowdies fans from far and wide. But it’s the gameday atmosphere that keeps them coming back.
Sarasota’s Bill Cantrill and Jamie Aungst were among a number of fans from south of the Skyway. They found their way to the Thirsty First near the corner of First Street and First Avenue N. a typical pregame gathering spot for Ralph’s Mob. Gulfport’s Mitchell Lauster, a former Indiana high school player who now lives in Gulfport.
“This is my first year in the Mob,” Lauster said. “I had been coming to the games, but it brings more excitement to have a group of people to cheer with.”
The cheers engage, the guy dressed like a pirate with the bubble wand is cute, and the stadium – especially if you arrive early enough to see cruise ships sailing by on the horizon — is pitch perfect, pun intended.
Yet, it’s the sense of community that proved to be a theme throughout the night. Ian Linn founded the Skyway Casuals, a group of Rowdies fans who hail primarily from the Bradenton/Sarasota area and not only attend home games, but gather at Shamrocks Bar in Sarasota to watch away games.
It’s a full official 501-c7 with scarves, stickers and a flag. Linn loves the game, but he also loves the camaraderie.
“It’s the in-stadium experience,” Linn said. “It’s the singing, the chanting, the smoke bombs. We like to come and make a day of it."
At day’s end, however, the game matters to these fans. They come for the fun but to also see a winning team, and in the 2019 version of the Rowdies, they believe they have a group strong on defense and youth, with only one player over the age of 30.
It’s an approach akin to the Rays, whose ownership purchased the soccer club last year — and it may prove to be a formula that gives this burgeoning community more to chant, cheer and celebrate.
You know, the belly of the beast is actually warm, cozy and a blast.
That’s all I’m saying.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://loudounnow.com/2019/03/31/loudoun-united-records-shut-out-draw/
Loudoun United Records Shutout Draw
Loudoun United will have to wait another few weeks to score its second goal or record its first victory, but it did achieve the team’s first shutout on Saturday in its match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
“What a great effort from the team to get a point on the road against Tampa. They are a very strong team physically, as well as quick and aggressive which makes the game very difficult,” Coach Richie Williams said. “We have seven players on the field with this being their first year as pros and their third game on top of that, and to be able to go out there and compete and get a point is incredible.”
Goalkeeper Earl Edwards recorded three saves during the match. Tampa, which stands second in the USL Championship Group A season standings at 2-2-0, controled the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game.
“I knew it was going to be tough coming down here to play against Tampa, they are one of the better teams in the USL. To be able to come down and contribute and help the team get a shutout was an accomplishment for everybody,” Edwards said. “Defensively, I thought we were great, to get a shutout at a place like this is hard to do so I am glad we were able to get that done. Going forward I think we could have been better on the ball but like I said this is a tough place to play so we will take what we got.”
Loudoun United (0-2-1) will next play the Ottawa Fury FC (1-1-0), at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 13, in Canada.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/norwich-city-loan-watch-marshall-on-target-1-5970481
Norwich City loan watch: Marshall on target at Leeds as Oliveira closes on Reading return
Over in the USA left-back Caleb Richards again played the full match as Tampa Bay Rowdies maintained their unbeaten start to the United Soccer League season, drawing 0-0 at home to Loudoun United in the Eastern Conference of the second-tier Championship.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/2019/03/28/stuart-sternberg-rays-should-be-good-late-sellout-problematic-nothing-new-on-stadium/
Stuart Sternberg: Rays should be good, late sellout ‘problematic’
Principal owner says opportunity is there to add to team for playoff push.
ST. PETERSBURG — Principal owner Stuart Sternberg said he goes into the season “highly optimistic” about a Rays team he expects to win at least 90 games, there is “nothing new” on the search for a stadium and opening day not selling out until Wednesday night was "problematic.''
Talking to Tampa Bay media before Thursday’s game, Sternberg said, among other things:
* He expects the team to be in the playoff race.
"I’d like to get to 90-plus wins, and we can’t control really what happens after that,'' he said. "Our division and the number of games we play against especially the two top teams makes it quite difficult, but I will take our chances. Unfortunately, 90 wins didn’t even get us a smell. ... If we get to 90 and not even close again it will be a bit frustrating, but I’ll take my chances with 90.
* There are multiple reasons for his optimism about the team.
"We feel as good about this club as any as we’ve had in the recent past,'' he said. "There’s been times when others have been more optimistic about the team than I have. I love the balance that we have, I like the depth we have minor-league-wise, and I like the opportunity we’re going to have to add if necessary because we’ve got ... some room payroll-wise, we’ve got some pieces we could move potentially if we chose to try to get better come June or July.
* Needing until Wednesday to sell out with a reduced capacity of 25,025 was not a good sign.
"It’s problematic, and the sellout isn’t 33 (thousand) that we have or 38 (thousand) or 42 (thousand),'' he said. "Twenty-five thousand seats, given everything that we are, the way we finished last year, the team we have, 4 o’clock start, it should be a layup to use a different sport’s phrase. But it is what it is, and I always say for the people that are here, the 25,000 that are here, whether they bought their tickets a month ago or they bought them yesterday, we’re going to put on a great show and they’re going to have a great time.
* His Wednesday meeting with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman to talk about the stadium situation was just an update.
"Nothing new at all, other than I told him, I had promised him back in January we’d be back to him by some point in the summer and I reiterated that to him,'' he said. "(In the) next couple of months, we should be able to come in with something. It might be great news, it might be awful news, I don’t know what it will be. And don’t read into that in any stretch. We promised an honest assessment by summer, and that will be the case.''
* There will be “hiccups” with making Tropicana Field cash-free, the organization may have been a year early in doing so, but fans eventually will see the benefits.
* His biggest concerns are not about the closer-less bullpen but, in order, over-optimism, how the new players mesh with the returning group and the lack of enough veteran presence to help the team down the stretch.
* He expects the team will use the blue-lighted roof during games at some point this season.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://aftn.ca/vancouver-whitecaps-1979-soccer-bowl-winning-season-part-one/
Their Finest Hour: Vancouver Whitecaps 1979 Soccer Bowl winning season (Part One)
Parkes, Parsons, Craven, Kenyon, Lenarduzzi, Lewington, Ball, Valentine, Hector, Whymark, Johnston.
Some names go down in a football club’s folklore. Players that conjure up fantastic memories of moments, skills, and success many, many years after hanging up their boots.
Some years give teams a season to remember. A pinnacle in a club’s rich history, never to be forgotten and often to be celebrated by generations of future supporters who can only wish that they were there.
For Vancouver Whitecaps, 1979 was that season. Their finest hour. The year that the ‘Caps became North American champions and won the NASL Soccer Bowl. September 8th 1979 is the day etched in history and the starting line-up above is the team that got them there in a 2-1 championship game victory over Tampa Bay Rowdies at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Heading into the season the ‘Caps were confident of having a good year, but there weren’t many people that expected them to go all the way.
They’d won the Western Division of the NASL National Conference in 1978 by 32 points, having lost only six matches over the regular season, the best record in the league along with the New York Cosmos. They’d easily got past Toronto Metros-Croatia in the Conference quarter-finals before unexpectedly crashing out to Portland Timbers in the semis.
It had left a feeling of what could have been around the club, so nothing much has changed there in terms of playoff performances against Cascadian rivals in the MLS era! But 1979 was a different story.
The Whitecaps once again won their Division, this time with a record of 20 wins and 10 defeats. Dallas Tornado were dispatched 3-2 and then 2-1 in the Conference quarter-finals, then the ‘Caps lost their first Conference semi-final 3-2 to the LA Aztecs after a shootout, before winning the second match 1-0 and then winning the deciding ‘mini game’ by the same scoreline.
The Conference championship matches against the New York Cosmos became stuff of legend. The ‘Caps won the first match 2-0 at Empire Stadium, but fell 3-2 after a shootout loss in the second match at Giants Stadium. That set up the mini game, which also went to a shootout, but Vancouver shocked their hosts and spoiled their dreams of playing at home in the Soccer Bowl.
A week later and Trevor Whymark was the hero in the same stadium, scoring a brace against the Rowdies and writing himself and the team into Vancouver sporting history for eternity.
That was then, this is now. Forty years later and it’s the ruby anniversary of that Soccer Bowl winning season. The hoop is back for the Whitecaps strip, Carl Valentine is regaling people with wonderful stories, and it’s been fantastic to hear that the club will be honouring their greatest achievement to date throughout the season. And so will we be here at AFTN.
We love out footballing history and over the coming months we’ll be taking a weekly look at the Whitecaps from 40 years ago – the matches, the moments, the players, the talking points, and more, as we look back at a season to remember, dig into some ‘Kick’ matchday magazines to capture the mood of the game in North America at that time, and bring you some chats with key players from that famous year.
Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the Whitecaps 1979 season kicking off with a Friday night home game at Empire Stadium against the visiting Dallas Tornado. How did that one play out? Find out tomorrow!
To get you all in the mood, have a look over the full results from that championship winning season and the movers and shakers that saw the Whitecaps lift the NASL trophy come the end of it (scanned from some programs from the time). Enjoy!
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.royalgazette.com/soccer/article/20190330/marsh-set-for-all-stars-celebrations
Marsh set for All-Stars celebrations
He also played in the United States for the indoor side Tampa Bay Rowdies, whom he also coached in the 1980s.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.blackandredunited.com/2019/3/30/18286285/tampa-bay-rowdies-loudoun-united-2019-live-stream-time-tv-schedule-how-to-watch-usl-online
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Loudoun United FC 2019: Time, TV schedule and how to watch USL Championship online
The ponies look for their first win against a tough opponent.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/sports/detroit-city-fc-add-suites-shipping-containers
Detroit City FC to add suites from shipping containers
Semi-pro club bought six industrial shipping containers for Keyworth Stadium
Four containers will become 12 suites, and 7 have been leased so far; 2 become bars
Suite season lease is $10,000 and aids DCFC's bid to turn pro later in 2019
(Follow link for full article.)
https://aftn.ca/vancouver-whitecaps-1979-soccer-bowl-winning-season-part-two/
Their Finest Hour: Vancouver Whitecaps 1979 Soccer Bowl winning season (Part Two – The Season Opener)
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/soccer-and-beer-and-memphis-a-perfect-combination/Content?oid=19945907
Soccer and Beer and Memphis: A Perfect Combination
The last professional soccer game I attended was the Memphis Rogues. I played the game a little in lower school, but can't be accused of taking it seriously. If I'm going to be honest, I'm one of the few University of Alabama alumni who doesn't take that sports program seriously either. I have, however, been to enough baseball and football games to know that what, and more importantly, how you drink at these things is crucial. And that may be the real sport.
Memphis has a professional USL soccer team now, the 901 FC, and I felt compelled to see its inaugural match-up with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Admittedly, soccer is a lot tighter on the clock than football, and baseball doesn't even have one. Soccer games all run 90 minutes, more or less, so you haven't got hours to burn. The good people over at the Bluff City Mafia — the 901 FC's supporter club — got around that hurdle by kicking off the pregame festivities at 2 p.m. down at the Brass Door. This was followed by a short, boozy march — complete with flags and chanting — to AutoZone Park for the 6 match. Good people.
So, given the time involved, Game-Day Drinking is like its cherished cousin, Day Drinking: It's important to set the right pace. You don't have to dial it back to "lunch with Grandmother," but you certainly need to keep it a click or two below peak "Warren Zevon."
For her part, the enchanting Mrs. M thought that arriving at the Brass Door at 4 p.m. was the perfect touch of fashionable lateness. By that time, the place was filled with an impressive amount of whooping and hollering. Impressive, because there was absolutely no reasonable cognitive association these happy people could possibly have for a team that had never played before. Except, of course, that it was Memphis' soccer team. And there they were, leading bar-wide cheers with perfect strangers. It makes a fella proud.
Beer-wise, there was a lot of Guinness being slung about, but there always is in Irish bars. And for a game-day brew, it's not a bad choice. The ABV is a relatively low 4.2 percent, and while it tastes heavy, the truth is that at 125 calories, it's only 15 more than Bud Light.
Outside, the steam was rising from a recent rain, and inside, it was crowded — and I'm fat. So I went with a Wiseacre Ananda — light and crisp — but you might want to avoid it for a long haul. Mrs. M had a Bud Light; a lady is entitled to her mysteries.
The lovely thing about soccer is that it is one of the few times Memphis seems cosmopolitan, as you move through a crowd hearing Irish-English, Australian, along with some lively Spanish in Latin American accents. Mrs. M's grandfather was English, so I was curious — for purely sociological reasons — to see if all these chants and beer-swilling would trigger some first-rate English football hooliganism in her. She was too busy making friends with some people from Philadelphia, but the night was still young.
We marched and chanted and finally turned the corner into AutoZone Park. For some reason, being in a stadium always makes me slink back to domestic brews, although you can get a limited selection of local craft beers at the game.
The readers who had to google to find out just who the hell the Memphis Rogues were might not have the association of cheap domestics and sports, but they work well. You want it to be tasty and drinkable, but you also don't want to think about it too much either. I had a big, tall Budweiser. True, soccer really isn't America's game, but Bud is owned by the Belgians now, so it's a topsy-turvy world these days.
Incidentally, Mrs. M never went even remotely hooligan on me or anyone else. That woman is a delight.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://orangeandblacksoccercast.com/news-1/usl-championship-power-rankings-watch-week-3
USL CHAMPIONSHIP POWER RANKINGS WATCH: WEEK 3
After 3 weeks of USL Championship soccer, we are starting to see less movement in the power rankings. Saint Louis FC broke the trend of teams ranked number 1 falling the next week, as they retained the top spot after earning a point against a good Tampa Bay Rowdies team. Sacramento Republic FC was finally able to move out of the 5th spot after being stuck there since the pre-season, and are now 2nd on the list. North Carolina FC had the week off from USL Championship action, and remain 3rd and Tampa Bay’s draw against the top team kept them in 4th. Rounding out the top 5 is Louisville City FC, who earned a full 3 points against a week Hartford Athletic team that is surprisingly not ranked last (that honor goes to Tacoma Defiance this week).
Orange County SC is stuck in the lower half of the power rankings after again coming up win less in their most recent match against New Mexico United. Their struggles to put together a solid 90 minute performance have resulted in dropped points, and have resulted in the 2nd furthest drop in the rankings since the pre-season (San Antonio FC is first, dropping 16 spots from 10 to 26).
DYLAN
After watching St. Louis and the Rowdies play this weekend, I can’t actually believe St. Louis are still on top of the power rankings. But their defense got a good test in, and held up well. They seem like they’re pretty good when no one gets sent off. It was a bit of a disappointment with the top two teams in the East going at it. Sam Fink giveth and Sam Fink taketh.
ALAN
What a week! Energy FC gets a drumming from Sacramento Republic led by a hat trick from Cameron Iwasa. Luca Lobo scores like 15 more goals for Tulsa and is leading the Golden Boot race early. What looked like early troubles for Orange County, now look like they ran into hot teams in Tulsa and New Mexico. Colorado looks pretty real right now too with two wins already in the early season. Fresno is another club that will be interesting to see where they end up after the first 10 games.
In the East, it was hard to argue that Saint Louis and The Rowdies wasn’t a fun watch, with Saint Louis a hand ball away from getting all the points from their first three games. Louisville has beaten up on lesser opponents, which is what playoff teams do. Nashville did not look great against the baby bulls and should have walked away with a loss, but managed to hold on to the draw.
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/03/28/bobby-moffat-dallas-tornados-soccer-missionary-returns-role-book-film
Bobby Moffat, the Dallas Tornado's soccer 'missionary,' returns to role with book, film
The cigarette smoke at J's Breakfast & Burgers spills out the front door the moment you open it, as though the place is on fire; it hits you in the face like a glass ashtray. Ah, Addison, that time-warp town where coughing into your coffee is the price you pay for 24-7 bacon and eggs.
The man sitting in the very back — somewhere through the fog, in the non-smoking section — picked this Midway Road establishment because he likes the food and knows the waitstaff. They serve him greasy-spoon grief with a stack of pancakes; he gives them good-natured guff in the dialect of a man born and raised in the dockyards city of Portsmouth along the southern England coast.
Fitting, I guess, this is where I meet Bobby Moffat — at least for the first time since I was 8, if memory serves, when Mom took me to shake his and Kyle Rote Jr.'s giant hands at the old Cullum & Boren sporting good store in NorthPark Center. J's is only a couple of stoplights away from the Greenhill School campus where Moffat once served as groundskeeper to make extra money when his pro soccer contract paid pocket change.
Moffat, now 73, was a childhood hero of mine; maybe yours, too. He was a longtime star on a Dallas Tornado team full of household names in a lot of North Dallas households, back when every restaurant in this city boasted white ceilings rendered a dull shade of cancerous. He played at Texas Stadium, like the other pro footballers in town; then, at Southern Methodist University's Ownby Stadium.
Former Dallas Tornado soccer player Bobby Moffat at his home in Collin County (Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer)
Moffat sent me a note a couple of weeks back with a story pitch: He's helping raise funds so a Los Angeles-based filmmaker can finish her nearly completed documentary about the late North American Soccer League, of which Lamar Hunt's Dallas Tornado was a charter member in 1968. The doc had been Moffat's idea, an offshoot of the 50th anniversary NASL celebration in Frisco last fall for which he'd helped raise the cash and awareness while FC Dallas offered the accommodations.
The league's history "has been pasted over," Moffat said. But it was huge: The NASL introduced young Yanks to soccer before David Beckham was born, boasted among its investors Elton John and Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman, and counted among its fans Mick Jagger and Robert Redford.
Dallas Tornado midfielder Bobby Moffat (14) goes up for a header against New York Cosmos star Pelé during a June 1975 exhibition game at Downing Stadium on Randall's Island in New York. (The Associated Press/1975 File Photo)
The NASL was ultimately a financial failure, said Moffat, who kicked the winning shot in the '71 best-of-three semi-finals against the Rochester Lancers and tussled with Pele on national TV when the Brazilian icon made his U.S. debut in '75. "But it didn't fail when it came to establishing the game on this continent."
In his email about the documentary, Moffat introduced himself first as a longtime reader of this newspaper. I suspect that's because his name appeared in The Dallas Morning News — and the Dallas Times Herald — hundreds of times in the 1970s. Over time those mentions faded, along with memories of the league that brought Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, George Best, Johan Cruyff and other faraway heroes to American soil for a few tumultuous but glorious years of what writer Ian Plenderleith dubbed Rock 'n' Roll Soccer in his terrific 2014 NASL history.
in his email, Moffat described director Rachel Violett's in-the-works film about "the game which changed the sporting face of North America." The son and grandson of pro footballers in England played every position, save for goalie, on Hunt's Dallas Tornado squad from 1970 to '77. And he served as the team's director of soccer camps, in which countless North Dallas boys and girls took part.
Moffat said he invited Violett to Frisco last year for one very simple reason: "I want the NASL's story known." The doc, he said, "will cover the league's history and the reasons why the league made the inroads it did before its early demise. A legacy that Major League Soccer has built on."
If you did not grow up here, it's hard to explain how big the Tornado were for a brief and glorious moment. The team had a nickname — the Tors. KRLD-AM broadcast every match; this newspaper, too, reported on every tussle and transaction, giving prominent coverage to a team that played in a nascent league full of "Commies and fairies in short pants," per an infamous, widely circulated quote by a writer whose name has been lost to history.
The team began infamously enough, with a wild world tour of 1967 and '68 that became the subject of a book in 2016. But by the 1970s, in a city where football meant the Cowboys and nothing else, the Tornado were pop and popular enough to merit front-of-the-sports-section stories, especially when the team in 1973 signed former Highland Park High School quarterback Kyle Rote Jr., son of a local legend.
Five years later, Rote's Complete Book of Soccer was published by no less than Simon & Schuster. I still have a copy, along with a child's-sized 1974 home jersey and a plastic Tornado beer mug that sits on a bookshelf in the den. I have no Cowboys memorabilia at all.
Over our Sunday breakfast, Moffat mentioned, too, that he's written an autobiography that doubles as NASL history. He has yet to find a publisher and the book is still a little rough around the edges, but it's nonetheless a breezy memoir — the story of an Englishman who came to Dallas in 1970 with nothing, worked in the Hunt Oil mail room (a "not highly esteemed occupation") and sold vacuums and encyclopedias, left after a season with even less, then returned for good to become attraction enough to get kids like me to drag our folks to Burger King meet-and-greets and soccer camps.
Violett said this week of the NASL players and executives she interviewed that she believes "they were glad someone was doing this." The film, The NASL Project, is about 70 percent finished now.
Violett has her own connection to the league. The former pro tennis player is the daughter of Dennis Viollet, who played for Manchester United, Stoke City and England's national team before he became head coach of the NASL's Tea Men of Boston and then Jacksonville, Fla.
"Over the years, for whatever reason, the NASL has been kind of forgotten," she said. "And it played such an important role in not only putting soccer on a mainstream level for the first time, but putting American pro soccer on a world stage."
Rote once told me that of all his teammates, Moffat was soccer's best missionary in Dallas. Turns out, he still is. Except now it's not just about the playing, but the remembering.
"It's turned into that," Moffat said as we sipped diner coffee and inhaled restaurant smoke like it was 1973. "It's history. It can't be erased. It has to mean something."
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http://www.fox13news.com/sports/rays/team-fans-mayor-hopeful-for-future-of-tampa-bay-rays-on-opening-day
Team, fans, mayor hopeful for future of Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FOX 13) - Just before the Rays took the field for Opening Day, owner Stu Sternberg said he hopes to have a pitch to make to the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County for a new ballpark by the end of summer.
"I wish I had more faith," one fan said on their way into the ballpark. "We can't lose the team, we will never get another team back."
Sternberg and Mayor Rick Kriseman confirmed the two sides met informally on Wednesday.
"We have a good relationship," Kriseman said. "We haven't talked specific numbers at this point and time yet, but we are continuing to talk, and the fact that we are still talking is why people ought to continue to be optimistic."
Kriseman, after seeing a deal for an Ybor stadium die in Hillsborough, has instructed St. Pete city staff to proceed with plans for the Tropicana Field property, with and without a stadium.
"If they didn't care about the community, if they didn't care about baseball in St. Pete, they would not have made the investment they made over the past off-season in the stadium," Kriseman pointed out.
Kriseman indicated part of his job would be to convince them they can make it work attendance-wise on this side of the Bay.
Owner Stu Sternberg spoke to media before the game about hopes for the season and a new stadium.
Now that upgrades to Tropicana Field are done, he says they'll turn attention to funding a new park. He hopes to have an updated plan by this summer.
"It might be great news, it might be awful news. I don't know what it will be. I don't know what it will be. Don't read into that in any stretch," he said. "But we will come and promise an honest assessment by summer and that will be the case."
For fans, the only thing certain is that nothing is. And that feeling makes it tougher to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
"I don't think they are going to have a deal, but what do I know?" a fan said.
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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2019/03/28/jabil-opens-innovation-center-part-of-three.html
Jabil opens innovation center, part of three-building campus overhaul (Photos)
"We got courted but when it comes down to it, we're a St. Pete company," Jabil's CEO said.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b7kujr/j_kings_corner_tbr_v_lod_week_4_00/
J King's Corner TBR v LOD (Week 4) 0-0
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b84ud2/three_things_rowdies_0_0_loudoun_united/
Three Things: Rowdies 0 - 0 Loudoun United
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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/1008601
THREE THINGS: ROWDIES 0 - 0 LOUDOUN UNITED
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b8124n/hows_the_season_going_lads/
How’s the season going lads?
Morning from across the pond, ladies and gents. Been following you guys since the club partnership was announced and am glad that your season seems to be going well.
I had a few questions, if that’s alright.
How do you feel your season is going?
Has the tie-in had a noticeably positive effect?
How’s Caleb getting on?
(This one might seem silly) If you have a great season, how is the prospect of promotion to a higher league addressed? Is there a promotion/relegation structure to MLS, or is it more like NFL with established teams staying there until they fold or move cities?
Right, that’s about it. Obviously wishing you all the best for the rest of the season and hope we both keep the yellow and green flying high.
Welcome! Glad to have you here...I’ve been watching the few Canaries matches that get broadcast over here...big win at Boro. Been quite a run!
I’m happy so far. Last season was really rough. Four guys retiring mid-season. Spending lots of money, but 12th in the table. No good. This season, we have an identity at least. Solid defensively, press higher up the pitch, focus on work rate, attack with purpose (we used to just hold possession). It’s not resulting in a lot of goals at the moment, but we’ve not lost a game yet. (And we’ve been really bad on the road the last few years, so 4 points out of those matches is great). If we had won at home this week, I’d have been a lot happier.
(and 3.) I think the partnership seems to be fruitful. Way better than one we had with São Paulo a few years ago that resulted in nothing. There’s a lot of social media crossover. I think the exposure to NCFC staff in training here was a good thing. And actually getting a player is progress for us. He hasn’t missed a minute and he’s been really solid. In three out of four games I thought he played that outside CB position in our 3 man backline really well. He’s defended well and is distributing the ball well. Plus he seems like a good kid.
Unfortunately we still don’t have promotion & relegation here. The only way to get into MLS is to buy-in via a process that has nothing to do with results and looks a lot more like bidding to host the Olympics. They may have more spots open in the coming years. Our last ownership group was bidding hard at a point...TBD on this new group. We can qualify for Champions League though if we win the US Open Cup (our FA Cup). Though that would require a hell of a run, I think we’re actually well-suited to do well in it.
Richards definitely has the potential to start for Norwich in the not too distant future. He has settled in quicker compared to other players we have got from abroad in the past. I was most concerned with his physical attributes as the USL can be tough for some young players but he has played really well so far. Of course he is still a bit raw and makes some decision-making errors but that is normal for younger players.
Norwich have been great to watch this year. Farke has done a great job with your squad and I could see him doing well in the Premier League.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b856yn/j_kings_player_form_project_week_4_tbr_v_lod/
J King's Player Form Project Week 4- TBR v LOD
Link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kcs5D_0BPsGORIv_Nf1HPXzxzqpphkIKNdybGRtynn4/edit#gid=0
Season Totals Update:
Added in season totals through 4 games. There's game by game totals added with a new sheet filled with season totals for each player.
The defensive numbers are through the roof which should be a surprise to no one. There hasn't been too many bad defensive moments for most players on the team. Richards and Morad looked shaky at times in the St Louis game but that's really about it. Fernandes, Ekra, and Steinberger all fair extremely well on the defensive metric as their hustle and effort on the defensive side of the ball has made it near impossible for opposing teams to get chances at troubling McCarthy.
And another no surprise is that there hasn't been much room to reward shooters. Steinberger has sneakily put the best chances at net by proxy of actually putting some shots on target.
Biggest negatives for individual players are Dom Oduro at -7 for passing. He's had a lot of turnovers and even simple passes have gotten away from him. Fernandes dribbling is a -6 for the amount of turnovers he's dribbled himself into.
Player Impact Notes:
As for the numbers from the game against Loudon, dribbling was at a season low of -3 while passing was back in the negative at -2 (week 1 was a -7). Team defending was mostly strong across the board. Oduro found himself in the negative with a needless yellow.
Ekra, Steinberger, and Barry didn't make the same level of impact they have in weeks past, as all three struggled to make a mark offensively.
Hoppenot may've been a -1 for positioning because of too many offsides, but he earned some back with good positioning on the shoulders of the last defender making good deep runs into the attacking zone.
Stat Updates:
Diakite has had 7 tackles, and won all of them. He's had 22 aerial duels, and won 17 of them. Tejada has won 4 of 9 aerial duels which is kinda impressive.
Five guys have played all 360 minutes: Diakite, Richards, Morad, Fernandes, McCarthy.
Morad remains the only 80%+ passer at 84%. Tinari is at 78% in limited playing time. Ekra 76%.
Ekra, Morad, and Diakite are all 50%+ in long pass accuracy.
10 Rowdies players are in the 60-69% range for passing in the opponents half. Morad is the only player at 70+ at 74%. (Taylor is 87 but limited sample size)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b83h1i/rowdies_home_attendance_thread_game_2_vs_loudoun/
Rowdies Home Attendance Thread - Game 2 vs. Loudoun United [3/30]
Attendance Thread
Well...5,893 was the number for Saturday, my friends. Based on what ticket sales appeared to be on Ticketmaster I thought it was going to be a lot more (I thought it would be 6,500+), but still a really good crowd. This is also considering the Lightning were at home (sellout, 19,092 attendance) and maybe even more impactful the Rays were at home on Saturday night at the exact same time (16,010 attendance). I wondered if the ticket staff would prioritize the Rays, but they didn't seem to as we had a pretty strong night. In fact, in the game u/UnSubMatt asked if this might be our best 2nd home game ever, so I looked back at the last five years:
2018: 5,059
2017: 4,326
2016: 4,429
2015: 5,469
2014: 4,670
So...Matt is right. It was the strongest Game 2 we've had in years (possibly ever...I didn't go back that far) - in conditions that would make it challenging to sell tix due to competition. We're also at home the next two weeks. Historically it's tough to sell tickets in three game home stands like this, because there's less turnaround time to get the sales machine up and running. Here's hoping they'll be good ones...
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/b85j2b/rowdies_testing_new_goalkeeping_strategy/
Rowdies Testing New Goalkeeping Strategy
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https://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/1008844
ROWDIES TESTING NEW GOALKEEPING STRATEGY
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm7Agqmv6SU
Rowdies Highlights vs Loudoun United FC - March 30, 2019
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Published on Mar 30, 2019
🎥 Highlights of tonight's 0-0 draw against Loudoun United FC.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vequnRpuFKA
Rowdies' Favorite Emojis
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Published on Apr 1, 2019
Which emojis do the Rowdies love to use?
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https://gritdaily.com/mls-rapid-growth-us/
SOCCER POPULARITY IS EXPLODING IN THE U.S. HERE’S WHY
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