https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/bvcukj/soccers_tampa_bay_rowdies_and_birmingham_are/
Soccer’s Tampa Bay Rowdies and Birmingham are forever connected by fight song | Bham Now
Where is the new version of the song hosted? That one looks embedded in the page.
The embedded version says:
"First here is the latest audio version of the Rowdies “Kick in the Grass” courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rowdies."
So the Rowdies organization definitely has it. I have not heard it before, and/or I have heard it at the stadium (depending on how long they have been using it?) and I did not notice that it was a new version.
The Rowdies must have provided a copy of the mp3 to Bham Now, because if you look in the HTML code on that web page, you can find the mp3 location:
https://bhamnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/A-Kick-In-The-Grass.mp3
Don’t know...never heard it outside of the stadium. We’d have to rip it...
As noted above, the Rowdies must have provided the mp3 to Bham Now.
whoa have never heard that second verse wtf?
If you mean the one that ends with "it's exciting to live in a pro soccer town", that was on the original vinyl record.
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https://bhamnow.com/2019/05/31/soccers-tampa-bay-rowdies-and-birmingham-are-forever-connected-by-the-rowdies-fight-song/
Soccer’s Tampa Bay Rowdies and Birmingham are forever connected by fight song
APRIL 27, 2019 – ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: The Tampa Bay Rowdies match against Charlotte Independence at Al Lang Stadium. The match ended in a 1-1 tie. (Photo by Matt May/Tampa Bay Rowdies)
On Saturday, June 1st, one of U.S. Soccer’s most legendary teams, the Tampa Bay Rowdies will be taking on the Birmingham Legion F.C. at BBVA Field on the campus of UAB.
Unbeknownst, to both USL teams – the Rowdies famous fight song “Kick in the Grass” was written about 45 years ago by Birmingham native Ed Boutwell, founder of Boutwell Studios and a resident of Episcopal Place.
First here is the latest audio version of the Rowdies “Kick in the Grass” courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
And for a vintage look – a rare YouTube version with Rowdies footage from the 70s or 80s.
How did Boutwell write the song?
Earlier this week, Bham Now sat down with Boutwell, who wrote the music and lyrics and Sonny Harris, a local drummer, who was one of the singers on the original piece.
Ed Boutwell with the Tampa Bay Rowdies song sheet and picture of himself at a 1980 Tampa Bay Rowdies game. Photo by Pat Byington
How they came to write “Kick in the Grass”:
Boutwell’s best friend, Tommy Little, who was from Birmingham, worked for an ad agency in Atlanta, that had the Rowdies account back in the mid 1970s. According to Boutwell, Little called him to a do a jingle for the team at the very last minute.
So, Boutwell pulled his regular gang of musicians together that night at Boutwell Studios and worked till dawn to knock out the song.
“Many, many, many jingles were recorded in the middle of the night,” said Boutwell. “I’d run down to the bus station, put it (the recording) on the bus to Atlanta and Tommy would present it at meetings in the morning like he had written it.” Boutwell joked.
“Ed was a creative genius,” added Harris. I don’t remember anything we ever attempted that wasn’t right on the money, and so was this one (Rowdies song).”
Video of Ed Boutwell and Sonny Harris singing the “A Kick in the Grass”
“I think everybody bought them (jingles) because I was so silly,” laughed Boutwell. “I really think that because I was so silly everybody could laugh at what I was doing. It was great fun.”
On the Rowdies song, Boutwell admits, he didn’t know anything about soccer, but somehow from that all-nighter they created a song Rowdies fans still sing today.
Meeting Pele
Among all of Boutwell’s stories about his experience with the Rowdies, his most memorable was when he was thanked by the team at a Tampa Bay home game 5 years after he wrote the song.
Original song sheet of “A Kick in the Grass” Tampa Bay Rowdies fight song. Photo by Pat Byington
That evening, he was honored alongside the world’s greatest soccer player, Pele.
Boutwell recounted their introduction, “Pele stands up in front of me and sings the jingle. I’m sitting there smiling like a goober. He came over and hugged me and said this is brilliant, this is great, in a very heavy accent.”
That evening, Boutwell and Pele rode in a convertible around the field at half-time.
“We had a ball, going around the field waving and waving. He (Pele) was singing the song at the top of his lungs,” Boutwell said.
A Generational Song
2018 United Way of Central Alabama Campaign Chairman, Alan Register delivering meals at the local Meals on Wheel program. Photo courtesy of United Way
For many, the Rowdies song is part of the soundtrack of their lives. In a 2018 Bham Now interview with Alan Register, Regions Bank Birmingham Market Executive, and Chair of the United Way of Central Alabama 2018 campaign, he sang the Rowdies jingle during the interview when he described growing up in the Tampa area.
When Bham Now asked about the song and the connection with his growing up as a young person, Register said, “When I talked to my mother about finding Rowdies memorabilia at our home, she said, ‘that was a pretty meaningful time in our lives wasn’t it?’ I said, yeah it really was. My dad worked for Coca-Cola and one of his accounts was Tampa Stadium. We went to all the Buccaneers and Rowdies games when I was growing up. So I was at Tampa Stadium all the time.”
Register added. “I never really played soccer, but it was so interesting to watch, and I’m so glad we did. I got to see Pele in person, Franz Beckenbauer, who played for the German National team that won the World Cup, and Rodney Marsh, who all played for the Rowdies. Got to do all this because my dad worked with Coke.”
Rowdies Visit the Birmingham Legion FC
On June 1st, Ed Boutwell and about 5000 Legion FC fans will get an opportunity to hear members of the Rowdies supporters group “Ralph’s Mob” sing their fight song – a jingle Boutwell and a band of Birmingham musicians created pulling together an all nighter some 45 years ago.
MARCH 16, 2019 – ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: The Tampa Bay Rowdies match versus Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Al Lang Stadium. (Photo by Matt May/Tampa Bay Rowdies)
“We’re happy to visit Birmingham and play in front of Ed Boutwell,” said a Rowdies spokesperson to Bham Now. “We hope he enjoys the match and the opportunity to see the Rowdies live an in-person once again. The song he wrote so many years ago remains relevant to today’s fans and is played inside Al Lang Stadium before every match. Rowdies supporters both young and old know the lyrics and sing together, bringing two generations of our fans together.”
Photo from the Birmingham Legion Football Club Instagram
Legion FC Awaits Visit From the Rowdies
Legion FC is excited about this Saturday’s Tampa Bay Rowdies visit.
“I owned a full NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies kit as a child. To this day, those bold colors and iconic stripes remain, and the club is among the most recognizable in American soccer. Generations from now, Legion FC aspires to be looked upon in similar fashion,” concluded Doug Hicks, Executive Vice President, Legion FC
Don’t miss the Tampa Bay Rowdies take on the Birmingham Legion FC Saturday night, June 1, 7:00pm.
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1. History deserves history
Tonight’s game serves as the 40th anniversary celebration of the Whitecaps’ cherished 1979 Soccer Bowl win, and with the New York Cosmos and Tampa Bay Rowdies relegated to history (the original clubs, at least), TFC suitably serves as the foil. The Caps and Reds have played 86 times, with Vancouver holding a 39W-32L-15D all-time advantage.
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Photo/Orlando City Soccer
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The topic caught the attention of Max Grossman, who has led the nearly three-year fight against the city to protect the Duranguito neighborhood from demolition. Several buildings in that neighborhood in Downtown are slated to be torn down to make room for the multipurpose performing arts and entertainment center – more commonly known as the Downtown arena.
Grossman wondered if I had any insider information about the possibility of the city building an outdoor multipurpose facility.
(Follow link for full article.)
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Aaron Dennis is in his seventh season as a professional player and his first year with the New York Cosmos. (Photo courtesy of Matthew Levine/New York Cosmos)
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Vancouver Whitecaps '79: When the city went 'crazy'
Whitecaps players Derek Possee, Ray Lewington, Peter Daniel and Bob Bolitho enjoy some bubbly after their Soccer Bowl championship final win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Sept. 8, 1979. PNG files
More than 100,000 fans lined city streets to welcome back the 1979 North American Soccer League champions, a spectacle that's never been equalled by the other sports teams in the city
They were hard players, and many had “hard” livers.
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Their city was famously and unintentionally derided as a “village,” an unfortunate turn of phrase that became a rallying cry that unified a team and the city for which it played.
It all fed the chip on their shoulders. It grew, and grew, and grew. World-famous and revered players on other teams were no more than “a bunch of prima donnas” and summarily dispatched.
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(Follow link for full article.)
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