Been out of town but heard the news and wanted to say congrats. Glad the name is back, glad we didn't rename the forum. Happy days.
yeah unfortunately it seems that LOTTO is pretty limited in what they can do, what with being cheap crap and all . I hope they get a new kit producer asap.
BTW, I saw this today on the net and wanted to share it since it made me feel so grateful for having this team back! It's from the St. Pete Times in 1993: Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it!....Let's NEVER go back to this!
Hear, hear! (or is it here, here? I never can figure that out.) We need to support our local clubs to ensure they don't fold or move. I never want to see a headline like this again either. It was not a happy Hanukkah in 1983.
I decided to look that up since any year was obscured in that picture, and I believe that was July 4, 1988, according to the A-League Archives. The Rowdies won 1-0 on an early 5' goal by Derek Backman. On the strength of that promotion they drew 18,000. They typically drew 3-5k in 1988. Orlando finished 2-1 against Tampa Bay in the Tang Cup that year, including a PSO on April 22 after 1-1 regulation draw. Both were 4-5 in the overall Tang Cup; the Strikers were 8-1, only dropping an opening PSO to Miami.
Is there a link for those attendance numbers? Very interesting if a "rivalry" game between Tampa and Orlando draw far more than a typical game in that era.
He's right altough it was a July 4th game impressive: http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1988/statsasl88.htm#NJ
Orlando drew above 1k in its first iteration. I didn't know they existed until a few years ago, and even at 8 I was pretty knowledgable about the local goings-on, so the promotion was likely non-existent, and without the benefit of your history. But I think they drew better for Rowdies and Strikers games. Miami typically averaged 300. LOL
Considering the Miami partisans who refuse to support the Strikers and insist on their own team... Yes it is. The proof is in the pudding. They can keep their international friendlies. Club soccer belongs in Fort Lauderdale.
Quick question...do the Rowdies have an actual crest or shield or do they just use the word mark as their logo? I'm not very internet savvy but from what I found, it looks like the original incarnation of the team had the word mark integrated into a soccer ball or some cartoonish figure to form a crest. Just curious.
Yes, that was Ralph. Not all teams back in the day had "crests" as we know them today (you could consider the Cosmos' circular logo a badge, given where it resided on their shirts, I guess, ditto with some others like the Aztecs ). In the 1970s, the team name usually was prominently displayed in the shirt (there were no sponsors on the fronts in those days on these shores). But the fronts of the Rowdies' shirts in their original incarnation had the wordmark you see today (sans the star). The Ralph logo was used on merchandise and publications, but wasn't (to my knowledge) ever worn on a uniform. The wordmark (sometimes with, sometimes without a soccer ball) was also used similarly, sometimes with "Tampa Bay" above it, sometimes without.
And the new team has had two badges in its brief existence, but we figure they'll be phased out (if they haven't been already, we haven't seen the shirts yet):
Thanks for the info Ken...didn't realize that cartoon man was Ralph. Always wondered where the the Supporters Group "Ralph's Mob" got their name from.
I don't know if this one was the "original Ralph" or a prototype or just something they had drawn up for the cover of the 1977 media guide, but the Ralph we know and love today didn't make an appearance on anything I have until 1978. And I don't know how much the cartoon above was ever used.