Re: Attendance Enjoyed reading all of the reasons non Miami people gave for why some Miami people will not be at the games or dropped the team or may not like the new name. I thought you guys wanted to drop the subject? Guess not.
Re: Attendance Well, another nice crowd at Lockhart tonight, announced at 4,442. We knew Game 2 would drop a bit, plus it was a Friday night game, but still a very nice total. This means the Strikers finished their two game homestand with an average of 6402 + 4442 = 10,844 / 2 = 5,422!!! Incredible! Nice promotion at the game tonight too for people to pick up tickets to the Rowdies and Impact home matches next month. I hope Traffic does some more local advertising during the week leading up to the Rowdies coming in. If they do, we should be in for another nice crowd!!!
Re: Attendance In these first two games they might have eclipsed the COMBINED Miami FC attendance from all of last season, including the two USOC home games. Another great crowd tonight. A slight dropoff, but a good crowd nonetheless. I have a feeling the next home game vs. Tampa will beat the home opener in terms of attendance. Good times!
Re: Attendance We had 4,442 attending last night. Good, all things considered. Evidently the Strikers expect near 10K for the TB match. I'd love that. We'll see. Hopefully I can get my son to attend again, too. We had a good time at Lockhart last night, just like we've done in the past with the Sun & the Strikers 2.0. I hope we can do it again, often. Maybe w/my 3 year old grandson attending, too. That would be super, IMO.... But, they need kids T-Shirts in sizes smaller than Youth L. A Youth S might do the trick for a really little guy. We are not going to spend $65 for a Youth S game jersey. Too much $$$ for a short useage life. Unless, of course, we save it for his little cousin or his baby brother that is due in July/August. Hmmmmmmm. Hadn't thought of that last night. May have to present the Idea to my son. He might like it. Still, T-Shirts in smaller youth sizes are needed.
Re: Attendance I think the only way May 14th beats the opener is if the Strikers have the guts to promote the game as Rowdies vs. Strikers. That's what the NASL needs. By now it's obvious what effect the revival of Strikers brand has had. The obvious next step is to do the same with the Rowdies. We know the Tampa ownershpi wants it, they tried to do it last year. The league needs to get invovled and help Tampa get the rights back, or at the very least, help them work out an agreement to use it at least in the short term. They're still using the Rowdies colors, you know they have to still be trying to figure this thing out. Rowdies vs. Strikers might have the potential to completely re-energize this league to the level it needs to get to in order to start building some legitimate stability. The Strikers seem to already be on the path. 4,100 for the opener in Tampa was good, but I just can't help wondering if a similar opportunity to market themselves as a continuation of the original NASL legacy wouldn't be able to make things even better. But anyway, back to May 14th. I think this long road trip gives the Strikers brass here at home to come up with some really nice promotion for the Rowdies coming in. Build up the original rivalry, one of the best all time in the history of North American pro soccer. It's the perfect opportunity for a first appearance of some of the original Strikers. The Rowdies have got to wear their green and yellow kits. If they really do things right, that game could absolutely propel the attendance figures and excitement for this team all the way through the rest of the season!
I think the next game is huge. They have a month to promote it and I have full trust in them that they will. They have seen the results that the offseason wave of advertising has done. But now they have actually started playing games, and they have footage. How about a TV Commercial during a Heat playoff game on SunSports showing shots of the games and the crowds? Might be expensive, but EVERYONE watches the Heat, so the results would be incredible. Also, now that we already have lots of new fans, those new fans tell other fans, etc. etc. which means that every time there is a new fan, he has the potential to bring many more. Our job is to promote the team everywhere we go. I do my job at school and when I ref. You guys can do it at work, wearing your gear, etc.
I'm a teacher and wore my Striker jersey to work Friday. I heard a lot of "are they back" comments from fellow teachers. It was fun to see the looks on their faces when I said "Yep"! It was even more fun giving a "high five" to a student the hall who wore his new jersey. Maybe I'll offer extra credit for students that bring their game ticket stub - they'll go to games just for that!
Good ideas, guys. Another one might be to email Michelle Kaufman @ the Miami Herald & the Sports Editor there to get an occasional mention in the paper. Kaufman's Sunday column was a good one on the Portland Timber's home opener, with a finish admonishing Miami fans to support soccer here if they want an MLS franchise. "It takes an Army to raise a club" was her salute to the Timbers Army supporters group that helped to bring MLS to Portland. However, there was no mention I could find about the Strikers in Sunday's paper or, even worse, Saturday's paper. That annoys me. Maybe we should let the good folks there that we appreciate all the help we can get. That includes a game summary and a byline report the day after a game. Just a thought.
Antique - I agree with your comments about the Herald. It is a shame there has been absolutely no mention of the Strikers. We should focus on them as well as The Post! One other thing we should not forget - we should let the Sentinel know that we recognize and appreciate the coverage they've been providing. There have been quite a few articles over the past few weeks, including an excellent article on Martyn Lancaster last week. And by the time I got home from the game friday night they had already posted an article on the game on their website! If you serach "strikers" in the sports section of their website you'll see eight articles since April 8! Who would have imagined that a few short months ago? So while we should be reaching out to the papers in both Dade & Palm Beach, we should not forget to also let the Sentinel know that we notice and appreciate their coverage.
Re: Attendance I agree but at this point in time FC Tampa Bay and the trademark is messed up, but I don't see Arsenal with "Gunners" on their jersey's. So everyone knows they are the "Rowdies".
Re: Attendance You Mob guys have GOT to get all over the Tampa front office to make sure the team wears their Green and Yellow kits for the game here on May 14th. Here's the thing, and it goes for this game on the 14th as well as it does my comments on Tampa as well as the league working to acquire the Rowdies name - The Strikers or Rowdies by themselves are still meaningful brands in their respective communities. However, when you put the two of them together recognizably they become the biggest draw the NASL has, what with Montreal leaving after this year. The Strikers wearing their hoops, and the Rowdies wearing proper Rowdies colors will make May 14th just that much more special.
Re: Attendance It isn't just a matter of what name goes on the crest or the jersey; it is also a marketing problem (how would Arsenal fans feel if their club couldn't even mention the name "Gunners" in their marketing?). Not being able to use the Rowdies name, is, IMO, probably hurting FCTB(R)'s marketing, which probably hurts the attendance. I can't prove this, it's just a hunch. Playing in green and yellow hoops will say "Rowdies" to those who know the score (ie, old timers and young 'uns who know their history), but a lot of people won't get it if the word "Rowdies" is not included in the official marketing. That does hurt. The sooner the situation is resolved with those trademark squatters in Texas, the better.
Re: Attendance The new owners have had this bee in their bonnet from day one about adding blue to the list of official Rowdies colors - they did this even with their original crest and merchandise from a few years ago, before the lawsuit from those trademark squatters in Texas. Blue isn't a Rowdies color. If they want to do an occasional "throw back" jersey to honor the Mutiny history, that's great. But blue and Rowdies do not mix. I don't know why the secondary kit is blue; it is just bizarre. I really wish the owners would drop this idea. If they get the rights to the Tampa Bay Rowdies name, stick to green and yellow and use the original Rowdies wordmark. They don't have to slavishly copy the 1970s kit design, but they do need to stay within the parameters of their classic "look". Notice the New York Cosmos people are sticking with their classic logo, not inventing something totally new which doesn't look as good and has no history behind it. And they certainly aren't changing the Cosmos colors, or adding new official colors just for the heck of it. Blue: boo.
Re: Attendance We understand this. I wonder how well we'd be doing with the Strikers in Blue on Blue hoops? Not as well, I'd imagine. Fortunately, the Brazilians in charge listened to the fans and decided to go as far as they could afford to actually give the Strikers an honest rebirth, and I'm going to add that they have done a damn good job of it so far....... When you folks from Tampa come here try to have your ownership count the number of red/yellow hoops, from all eras, in the stands. That is part and parcel of the fuel that is giving us the fun atmosphere at Lockhart. Plus, it damn sure brings those of us that remember Strikers 1.0 thru the gate w/a paid ticket stub in our hand, and, in my instance, my 1st ever season tix with any team.... Good luck to you guys. Except when you play us, of course...
Interesting idea from the Strikers FO...3v3 tournament on the same day as next home game against Rowdies. Entry fee includes 5 tickets. http://nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=422 I do have to say that I like all the different angles I see the new Strikers FO taking to increase attendance. I truly hope this game has a huge crowd!
Whether or not this is the biggest crowd of the year, it's sure to be the best in terms of atmosphere. The visiting Tampa supporters combined with what should be a crowd AT LEAST as large as the 6400 that showed up for opening night, should provide an electric environment for this game. We're a stupid trademark dispute away from finally having the Florida Derby back the way it was meant to be, Strikers-Rowdies. If FCTB wears their proper green kits, it'll be close enough.
I am a little baffled about what kind of crowd to expect at this point. We're just 9 days away from the Rowdies match, and if you go to the online ticketing site on the team site, there still seem to be very good reserved seats left (section 123 still available). Isn't this about the time before the opener that we were hearing the reserved seats were sold out? I know the team has done some really nice ticket specials for the GA seats this time around. During the Stars game they had that two for $15 special I think it was, or was it a straight buy one get one? Then they had that one day Groupon special with two tickets and two drink vouchers for $15 which ended up selling just shy of 700 tickets it looked like. So maybe they're expecting a bigger crowd this time around based on GA sales instead? Do they have a special GA section set up just for the Rowdies fans? Somewhere over on the east side perhaps? I guess I'm just confused as I've seen people posting that team officials are saying they expect an even larger crowd than opening day, but I'm not sure the small bit of evidence there is to find out there about ticket sales to this point looks in line. I'm absolutely certain we'll at least make what our average is so far (5,400), but I can't help but think that the inability of the team to be able to promote this as "Rowdies" vs. Strikers won't wind up having smoe kind of affect. Anyone heard any whispers or got any team officials to give up a recent estimate on what they're expecting this time?
Just was listening to the interview with Tim Robbie on the NASL site.. http://nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=427 In it he says that the GA ticket special for the Rowdies game is a $10 ticket which comes with a drink & sandwhich from the Hard Rock Cafe in the tailgate area. This game is being promoted by the city as well as part of the Ft. Lauderdale centennial celebration. He says they are expecting a big crowd as well but doesn't give any numbers.
He also mentioned a "new, fan enthusiastic group called Strike Force to pump up the crowd". Who are they? Where will they be located in Lockhart? The Ultras, Flight 19 & SFU don't do a good enough job? Or is it that Tim & the Strikers wish to control the fan groups somehow? What's up with this???? It was an interesting interview from several angles, but this was the most interesting thing he said, IMO.
Somehow I'm guessing this is probably going to be similar to other things we see at our pro stadiums in Florida, girls (the Strikers Girls of course in this case) and a mascot (hot shot) dancing around and maybe throwing t-shirts into the stands at halftime and such. Hopefully nothing during the match that would distract from the game. I'm thinking they haven't really done much with the Strikers Girls so far, so maybe this is it. From the perspective of you guys in the supporters groups, I wouldn't sweat it at all.
I imagine this "Strike Force" will be like the "Marlins Maniacs" or the "Panther Patrol", not cheerleaders per se but the guys who shoot the t-shirt cannon and have signs to pump up the normal crowd.
Hopefully both of you are on the right track. It could be done before the game, at halftime, and, maybe at the end of the game. We're certainly going to find out all about it is on the 14th. We'll see what we'll see...
Smoke and Mirrors, don't look to much into what is available online. The day before Opening Night, you could find seats in Section 123 when they said Reserved Seating was sold out. I expect that entire side of Reserved Seating to be sold out, as well as the entire GA area that has been open all the games, with a little overflow into the other sections. The Strikers were selling GA tickets at Weston, Fort Lauderdale Select, Group On, and with the City of Fort Lauderdale, so I expect that they have already sold a bunch of those. And if they were targeting GA, its because they either "sold out" Reserved Seating with Season Tickets/Individual Tickets, or that they are pretty close. With a last marketing push this week by the team and by us, the fans, getting new fans to come, we should be in good shape
This is what I want to see for the rebirth of Rowdies vs. Strikers. We need Lockhart to be absolutely packed and LOUD. With all of that and a good showing on the field, I know it'll get the fans that are there for the first time this season to come back. It really seems to be building beyond everyone's expectations, and I hope it continues! In the meantime, let's get a win in Minnesota Saturday night, go Strikers!!!