Re: Attendance I'm bypassing watching my MLS side......my "hometown" team play the Pink Cows on ESPN to watch my NASL side reborn at its home opener. Priorities.......and whatever floats their boats. I never knew 'em so I couldn't miss 'em..........
Re: Attendance AmericanMag & luckyStriker, I am right with you guys and everything you said. The Strikers, like the Dolphins, are the only two, truly unique South Florida pro sports franchises. The Strikers were a huge part of the pro game in North America at its peak, its true birth. The Dolphins have not been around as long as the Bears or Packers, but I'd contend that the people who that would actually matter to the most, are so old they don't care, or no longer with us. Post-merger, the Super Bowl era of pro football is what today's fan relates to. And the pride of all Dolfans at the accomplishment of '72 just solidified their standing as the top dog franchise in South Florida, probably for all-time. The Strikers belong to the entirety of South Florida, just the way the Dolphins do, despite their name and which county thay play in. It's sad to hear former Ultras, people who supported pro soccer at what was certainly its lowpoint in this market, have abandoned the cause. Going way back to the beginnings of my debates with Lucho on these forums, I said it isn't something personal, it's a simple numbers game. Miami FC was putrid, all the way around. Something had to change if pro soccer was going to work here. Miami got all the chances first, even going back to the Fusion. Teams named Miami, or playing in Miami just haven't worked. Period. That small group of fans that Traffic lost by reconnecting their team to the Strikers legacy of the past is miniscule compared to the legions that rebrand has brought to bear. I told him this would be the case. But that's the thing about two people on opposite ends of a situation - one is going to be disappointed. Who can blame Traffic? They finally did what they should have done right from the start, and by God how could anyone argue with the results? Reserved seating sold out for the opener. Season ticket sales beyond even their hopes. Tim Robbie back leading the Strikers. A team that is already becoming part of the fabric of the community again. How could anyone who is looking rationally and reasonably at the events of the last two months really ask for something more, or different? Weren't these former Ultras listening to Garber? If MLS is all they care about, he SPELLED IT OUT, plain as day! SUPPORT THE STRIKERS. That's the only way they're going to pay attention. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. Lucho, if you're one of the nay sayers, my offer still stands for a beer on me this Saturday. Everyone else, all I can say is, it's just two more days until I can sit in my seat in Lockhart and watch my Fort Lauderdale Strikers once again, just like when I was a boy. Only this time, I get to have my son sitting right next to me, just like I sat next to my dad way back then, and developed a love for this game that never left me through the years. I hope HIS Strikers do the same for him. Thank you Traffic for making this a reality. GO STRIKERS!!!!!!!
Re: Attendance I've been with dr fighting the good fight with the dissenters from Miami. Believe me, S&M, we have pointed out Mr Garber's admonition repeatedly. Sadly, we've done it to deaf ears and blind eyes. All we ever hear in return is how evil Traffic Sports is and how much more evil Aaron Davidson is. Over & over & over, the same refrain. They want this team as a quasi-Euro/South American entity playing in Miami. Period. They want a stadium built in downtown Miami to their specs, immediately. Then some dashing sugar daddy will come, build it & he will come...,... & give them a world class team to rival Barca by 2015. Or something like that. Ain't gonna happen. Our only route to MLS is through the Strikers, with Traffic or without Traffic. Our only route is through The Strikers & NASL Div 2, another thing that seems to irk the hell out of them because their "world class city" deserves MLS NOW, or else. I can understand some of their feelings about Traffic Sports. They've performed like a monkey screwing a football with Miami FC. Their efforts have been well under world class standards. However, after 5 years of ineptitude they seem to have found the magic formula with the Strikers, and if anyone doubts their seriousness the addition of Tim Robbie as President should rid you of that fear. In their 6th year they seem to have started to do things right. Finally... Support this team if you want MLS. They and Traffic are our only hope of ever seeing a return to MLS. It may not be a road that seems to your liking, but it is the only one available. Until then...GO STRIKERS!!! Welcome home, team. You should have been our 1996 entry into MLS. If you had been we'd still be in MLS. Hopefully, your our road back. Maybe someday you'll be competing there, red & yellow hoops and all. I'd love that...
Re: Attendance How much of an issue is there with Miami people boycotting? That really makes no sense to me. Are they really that upset?
Re: Attendance Some of them are, yeah. Some because the team has "abandoned Miami", some because they feel Traffic will never step up and bring MLS. It's all downright stupid and very disheartening to see when you personally know some of the people involved. I mean, most of these guys were in the room when Don Garber flat out said "Support the team you have now, the Strikers, if you want MLS to return". They don't seem to be able to come to terms with the fact that whether Traffic are the one's who will back it or not, supporting the Strikers does help with the goal of bringing MLS back. They are abandoning local soccer now, when it promises to be the best product and game day atmosphere since we had MLS with the Fusion(heck maybe better). In the end it's not really an issue, because as will be made very apparent this Saturday, the Strikers will easily make up for anyone they may have "alienated", and then some, with the crowds and ticket sales this season. I'm as pro-MLS as anyone down here, I'd love nothing more than to see division 1 soccer in our market again. But boycotting live local soccer is not a way to do that in my opinion. If these people want to cheer at a TV screen, or fly to NYC to see RBNY, and they think that's what will impress investors and MLS, whatever, good for them. I'll show my support for soccer in south Florida by standing and cheering for my local team, in section 113 at Lockhart and on the road in Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
Re: Attendance WARNING: This post is done in a Kerouac stream-of-conscious style. I apologize in advance. This matter with the Miami ultras who don't want to follow the Strikers confuses me. Was their loyalty with the sport? The club (which is the same in essence, just another name)? Or is it the location? Obviously I am a Newcastle Utd. fan... have been for years. My wife is from England and we have had those talks about moving over there and what it would be like. One of the things that I have always said was that if we were to move, regardless of where it was, I would be a supporter of the club of that village/town/city. Even if it was some third/fourth level club (as is the case where she is from. I would end up supporting Havant and Waterlooville FC!) it would still be part of the culture and area that you are a part of.
Re: Attendance A bit of the club name, although they did seem to like the Striker name a bit, & a lot of the club's location - South Florida or Miami Strikers are fine. Ft Lauderdale isn't. It's a small hick town you know, while they occupy the actual center of the Universe. There was also at least one comment about the Strikers being a gringo team or a team for gringos. Make of all that what you will. I did not realize, and I am surprised, that Ultras are involved. I thought this group was strictly Miami-Dade's Southern Legion. I guess it's a mixture. IMO, they'll not be missed. If they actually heard what Garber said live & in person, & are so incredibly stupid to do anything to defeat people from doing what he said, they really are not fans that support the sport. The loss will be theirs when the Strikers become a success despite their infantile behavior.
Re: Attendance I am a new member here, but have been following the conversations for a few weeks now. It continues to amaze me that there are "soccer fans" who would boycott our team simply because they carry the Ft Lauderdale name. I feel that it is their loss, and I will focus more on the excitement of having the Strikers back! I have been a soccer fan since the late '70's, and it was the original Strikers (along with Italy's WC victory in 1982!!!) that made me a fan. I can remember attending a clinic at the local park and having David Irving teach me and my brother about soccer, and going to many Striker games after that. I can now cheer on the red & yellow hoops (or almost hoops) with my two children, which is something I never thought would be possible. I feel the rebranding has been handled with total class - from the logo to the kit to the awesome season tickets - and a few Dade County residents withdrawing their support will be totally over shadowed by the HUGE crowd we'll see on Saturday evening! Go Strikers!!!
Re: Attendance FYI, Irving now coaches the Wilmington Hammerheads of USL. http://wilmingtonhammerheads.com/
Re: Attendance Its not the ultras, it's southern legion. Most of the Miami Ultras are in BROWARD COUNTY. Southern Legion are sellouts, and they will NOT be missed.
Re: Attendance Let's be honest. They are the Southern Platoon at best. Possibly Southern Squad. There aren't enough of them to be a Legion. I agree that they'll not be missed. I now think it's time we forget about them and not miss them and move on to important more matters. Such as...... GO STRIKERS!!!....WUP ASS ON SATURDAY!!!!...
Re: Attendance No it's not all, or even most of, the Ultras. It's only a few certain former members who have bailed on local soccer. Southern Legion have pretty much been flakes from day one, so losing them is not that big of deal.
Re: Attendance Between my little brother and I, around 20 of our facebook friends have clicked attending on Facebook. Who knows iof they'll show up but it helps. And none of you listened to me and did it, but whatever. FWIW, yesterday you could click on 20 tickets in GA for Opening Night and get 20 tickets all in the same row. Today, you can't get 5 tickets together, which says a lot about ticket sales. It is a little worrying since some people might want to buy 5 together and won't be smart enough to figure out that since its GA, they can get 3 and then 2, but hopefully they will fix that. Or maybe they don't have 5 seats in the same section??? Im hoping for around 8,000 fans. These next 2 days will be huge. We ALL need to get the word out for those that still haven't heard and remind the ones that have been annoyed by us for months
Re: Attendance Tim Robbie this morning on the radio said that they were expecting around 5k for the game tomorrow. Pretty damn good!
Re: Attendance I'd like a couple thousand more......but, I'll take it as a good start. Hopefully we'll be able to continue that and build on it for all 14+ home games. IMO that depends on the "entertainment" that the Strikers generate on the field....as in winning. Here's hoping for the best ever. We'll see. GO STRIKERS...
Re: Attendance Section 114 has sold out as far as I can tell. They're now selling 115 I have a question though. If there is a big walkup crowd, are they prepared to open up more sections, or will they keep people out to create "demand"?
Re: Attendance Im kind of woried because I still haven't received my tickets which I ordered a month ago. I called Graham and he said he would look and call me back. Hasn't done it yet. An hour later I called Tommy and he said he would tell Graham. Still haven't called me back. Hopefully that means that they're busy, but I want my damn tickets!
Re: Attendance They will have a will call tent set up outside Gate C just in case. Worst case scenario is you'd have to pick them up there at the game.
Re: Attendance I think Tim is being very cautious in his prediction. I think 5,000 is already guaranteed, how much higher it goes will be dependent on walk-ups. The Marlins are out of town (not that that is a big factor anyway LOL), there is no rain in the forecast, and the team has done a good job getting the word out all over town, plus the GA tickets that are left are only $10 for adults and $7 for kids. It all sounds like positives to me. I still feel pretty good about my 6,100 prediction.
Re: Attendance So I have a situation... A friend and myself have season tickets in 113 (what is that section called?). A mutual friend is just in town and would like to go as well. Our STs say General Admission but when I try to buy GA tickets for the third person the tickets that come up are for section 115. Will he be able to come to us in the 113 or vice versa? Thanks in advance.
Re: Attendance !?!?! Just take your friend along with you. If the three of you you can't sit in your section, move to another section. I'm just an outsider looking in, but it sounds to me like it's going to be an epic night (relatively). Don't worry about proper seating arrangements. Just get out there and support the GD team! That's what it's all about anyway.