On Saturday, while watching the NY v. Philly MLS match, I wondered if the NASL would be doing any streaming of matches. Sure enough there was a link and I was able to watch the match online. It looked great. I mean if you would have told me 28 years ago after the Strikers packed up and moved to Minnesota that I would be watching on the internet the Fort Lauderdale Strikers playing an NASL match in Lockhart in their familiar red and yellow hoops, I would have said "What the hell is the internet?" And then I would have said you were crazy. The Sentinel article mentioned that the attendance was greater than the original Strikers home debut in 1977. Well done to all involved, from the club to the fans. I was there in spirit. The real trick now, other than getting wins, will be to not let this be an anomaly. Sure 6400 each match might not be expected, but at least a 4K average should at least the goal. Keep up the excitement and the passion. And give the We Wish We Were Called The Rowdies hell when they come to town next month.
It was really something to see. My first and only experience with live soccer was Miami FC before Saturday. I lost interest in the game as a kid because when I played, MLS and the Fusion did not exist yet and the APSL Strikers weren't on my TV like the Dolphins, Panthers, Marlins and Heat were, so I had no soccer heroes to look up to. I rediscovered the game after the 2002 WC and started following Miami FC in 2007, and I must say it was a hell of a thing to see more than 1,000 people in attendance for a local team. I think a 4K average for the season should be the bare minimum goal and pretty easily attainable. They gotta get to winning and make the playoffs though. And oh yeah, we'll be giving the "Rowdies" everything we've got every time they come down, and every time we go up.
The only bad thing I would say about the internet broadcast is that the guy doing the announcing was annoying as hell. He's one of those guys who thinks he has to start screaming any time the ball gets near the 18-yard box.
I'm curious to see the footage. I hope it gets archived and put online soon. I'll be at every home game and 3 road games so I won't be seeing any live home webcasts.
There seems to be a genuine interest in the city for the Strikers, which is why I wonder why their website is so poor in information. The layout is good, but the info is pretty useless, and so are the articles posted, too. You can't even figure out who played in the starting lineup when visiting Strikers.com, which is something they ought to change as quick as possible.