Sure hope some former Strikers get on board, I mean people like Ray Hudson, Teofilo Cubillas, Ken Fogarty, Thomas Rongen. They could give a lot of credibility to the project
going to be a huge mistake if they don't do a full rebrand and rename. It must be the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. Not the Miami Strikers who play in Ft. Lauderdale. Haven't seen anything conclusive that they will do this the right way and all fears regarding Traffic ruining this brand are still on the table.
ya we've all noticed, don't worry. The timing of the announcement and the substance of the announcement reek of rushed decisions. I hope it works out.
It's not gonna be Miami at least. It may or may not be "Ft. Lauderdale Strikers" though. I think the team FO knows that they have to do this right. They have a responsibility to treat the Strikers brand and legacy with respect and do things the right way. Hopefully they go all out for 2011.
Even if they do change the name to "Ft Lauderdale Strikers", this is the only team we have in South Florida. True soccer fans in Miami need to support the team and drive up like I do.
With the word "incorporate" used, I have a sinking suspicion it's going to be South Florida Strikers and rather than move to Lockhart full time they'll probably continue to split time between Broward and Dade.
At any rate I could put this sticker on my car, although it would confuse people here up in Nashville.
MFC already have moved to Lockhart full time. They are playing every game in 2010 at Lockhart. They(Traffic) are trying to buy the adjacent Ft. Lauderdale Baseball Stadium and have plans to convert it to a soccer academy and training facility. My personal opinion is that they can be the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and still reach out to and appeal to all of South Florida. Like the Miami Heat and Dolphins do. Trying to win fans in Miami-Dade by going with a generic region name isn't gonna work. If calling the team Miami FC and playing in Miami for 3.5 seasons didn't do it, then they certainly won't come see the "South Florida Strikers" either. So they might as well go all out and call them the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. Anything other than that and you lose some of the effect of bringing back the old name, because it just won't be the same.
I guess I didn't realize they had gone to Lockhart full time. That's a good thing. I do agree with you about the naming, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up South Florida instead. Something inside me just thinks they'll end up screwing it all up. Just for the heck of it, in honor of the apparent Strikers rebranding let's see a picture of the late great Colin Fowles.
Even if they bring back the whole name and brand things will be difficult, but I believe that the Tampa Bay Rowdies are doing a great job so nothing is impossible
I think the arrival of the Rowdies is a big part of this. Let's face it. Miami FC v. Tampa Bay Rowdies doesn't mean much, but Fort Lauderdale Strikers v. Tampa Bay Rowdies meant something and can again. How about another picture? Here's Rocky saying hello to Zeljko Bilecki.
Yep the Rowdies return has a lot to do with this. Strikers-Rowdies I think is the greatest Florida sports rivalry of all time. It's the only inter-state rivalry that actually means anything. Every other good rivalry has been between locals and the transplants(Dolphins-Jets/Pats/Bills, Heat-Knicks, Marlins-Mets/Yankees). They've tried to manufacture rivalries between the Marlins-Rays, Heat-Magic and Panthers-Lightning, but it has never really happened. If Traffic can pull this off right it could truly revive pro soccer in Florida, the way it should be. A strong Strikers-Rowdies rivalry in D2 with good crowds in both cities will no doubt pave the way for an eventual MLS return. I'd be more than happy to let team 20 go somewhere else if Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa Bay can re-join MLS together as teams 21 and 22. Yes it won't be easy, but as Tampa Bay has proven, if something has worked in the past, it can work again. There was an article in the local paper today, "Why hasn't pro soccer stuck in South Florida?". Maybe it's as simple as the name. The original Strikers moved because of the poor indoor facilities here and imminent NASL collapse. The 2nd Strikers lasted just as long and pulled in good crowds for a D2 level league. During that time the Rowdies did well too. Fast forward to MLS and we got the Fusion and Mutiny and neither caught on and both were disbanded. Perhaps if MLS embraced the NASL legacy early on rather than push it away, MLS never leaves Florida. We can only cross our fingers and hope for the best down here.
Any news on that front? If Traffic gets control of both Lockhart and the baseball stadium and set up a full time, year round soccer academy and training facility, then they've got a real winner on their hands. It doesn't hurt that Lockhart has a long soccer history with the Strikers and the Fusion, and has hosted a few MLS combines too. Absolutely. Not every pro sports club in South Florida has to be named for Miami or for Florida. Ft. Lauderdale has a connection with soccer and with the Strikers and that should be recognized. It's analogous to the situation with the San Jose Earthquakes. It's not Oakland. It's not San Francisco. It's not California. And dear Lord, it's not Golden Bay (if any of you remember the Earthquakes brief indoor soccer experiment in the 1980s). It's San Jose. San Jose Earthquakes. I think the San Jose Earthquakes and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers have a similar history: finding pro soccer success in the "smaller, less well known, not as sexy" cities nearby the big old "major league" cities which have repeatedly failed to support pro soccer (San Francisco, Oakland, Miami). That's not to say that those cities might not also find success supporting pro soccer eventually, but they'll have to wait.
The decision by the city on the Lockhart complex proposal hasn't been made yet. I believe MFC has both stadiums rented until July of next year. They are currently training at the baseball stadium. The other group that wants the land wants to build a waterpark. I'm not 100% sure but I think the plan MFC wants to do is to convert the baseball stadium into a SSS, kinda like Portland, just not on as grand of a scale. And then they could still rent out Lockhart for bigger games. We'll see what happens. The Broward school board(who operates the stadium) contract at Lockhart is up next year I think, so HS football will probably be leaving. I think whatever the case, if they are in for the long(ish) term(at least 3-5 years) for the Strikers effort, then they need to fix up both stadiums. Lockhart needs a makeover. It's a sun-baked, faded ghost of the the Fusion days right now. If they truly want to make it their home they'll need some new seats and a paint job at the very minimum. They could fix it up and really make it a great D2 stadium. Trash the old endzone bleachers to reduce capacity and replace maybe with picnic areas or something. Fix up the crappy press box and "suites"(tents atop the sideline seats with deck chairs and ceiling fans), overall generally give the place new life again. If they want to go nuts maybe spring for a new scoreboard capable of video replays. The old blue and yellow paint, painted tire chips and Fusion seats are really a downer, especially for former die hard fans of that team. And with the move to the red and yellow of the Strikers next year, it will look even worse. At least the MFC colors are similar to the old Fusion ones.
Ah, the east end zone bleachers where I spent so many summer evenings in my youth at Strikers games. It's where I first discovered what marijuana smelled like when it wafted up from under the stands.
If they want to make this D2 team big I think they would have to name the Strikers, South Florida Strikers FC, Ft. Lauderdale Strikers would alienate me, and alot of Miamians.. Im sorry to say it but, Miami is Miami and ft. lauderdale is ft. lauderdale... Miami Dolphins is Miami Dolphins, and is everybodys team in south florida, but a team with the name beginning with ft. lauderdale and expecting for Miami fans to cheer on for them is not cool.. I would never go for a ft. lauderdale team, its just not in me, i have friends and cousins that live in ft. lauderdale, and we always at it with each other about which city is better, and I just wouldnt be able to cheer on for a team that doesnt represent me, or Miami... Miami is my city, not ft. lauderdale... as a matter fact, Miami is everybodys city, if it wasnt for Miami there wouldnt be no ft. lauderdale, or hoomestead, or WPB.... Maybe that is why Miami is Miami and any other city is just another city.. What does ft. lauderdale do for me? Either name it Miami Strikers F.C. or South Florida Strikers F.C.... Im not rooting for FT. laudy daudy Strikers... Dont call me a true soccer fan, because obviously I am, I want my team to represent my city, not my neighboring city?
What does ft. lauderdale do for me? Either name it Miami Strikers F.C. or South Florida Strikers F.C.... Im not rooting for FT. laudy daudy Strikers... Dont call me a true soccer fan, because obviously I am, I want my team to represent my city, not my neighboring city?[/QUOTE] You're southern legion... You don't show up anyway! The ULTRAS show up and they're everywhere from Port St. Lucie down to the southern tip of Miami-dade. Ive missed ONE game this season and I swear to you I wont miss another. You've been to how many games this season? 2? Miami doesn't come to lockhart, didn't come to tropical, and didn't come to FIU... So my question is, What does it matter? Show up to games and Ill take you seriously.
What's the difference? How come the Miami Dolphins can be "everybody's team in South Florida", but the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers can't? When I say where I'm from I say Fort Lauderdale(although technically I've lived almost my entire life in Plantation). But I consider Miami and all of South Florida my hometown. It should be the same for people from Miami. If fans in Broward can cheer for teams in Miami why can't the opposite be true? Bottom line is this: You are one of the small handful of fans Miami FC will lose if they choose to go with Ft. Lauderdale Strikers as the new name. They have much more to gain from such a move then they stand to lose. You're not a real soccer fan if you refuse to support our only local team because they are called "Ft. Lauderdale". I drove 45 minutes to Tropical Park and FIU for almost every game to see a bad D2 team in Miami FC. I wear my MFC gear with pride, wherever I am(pictured here atop the Empire State Building): If I can back Miami, people in Miami can back Ft. Lauderdale. I own 6 Dolphins jerseys, 5 Heat jerseys, 2 Miami FC jerseys and even a 1957 throwback Miami Marlins minor league Satchel Paige jersey. I've created and passed out flyers that read "MLS Miami" in Kendall to try and bring MLS back. I was ready to buy season tickets for FCB Miami at FIU. I played in the 24 hour Soccerthon in 2009 to help save Miami FC. I represent Miami more than most people that actually live there. Slapping a "South Florida" in front of a team that plays in Ft. Lauderdale, at the home of the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, isn't going to get masses of people in Miami to suddenly back the team. Miami fans didn't go to see the team when they were called Miami and played in Miami. Miami fans didn't go see the Miami Gatos/Toros in the 70s, and as a result they moved to Ft. Lauderdale and became the most successful soccer team South Florida has ever had. Miami fans didn't go see the Miami Freedom/Sharks in the late 80s/early 90s, while the Strikers of that era outdrew them at the gate by a wide margin. Both of those Miami teams played at the Orange Bowl. You can't get much more Miami than that. I don't get it. Regardless of team ownership, marketing, or what division the team is in, pro soccer should thrive in Miami. It simply never has. The only thing that has ever worked in South Florida has been the name Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Not the South Florida Strikers, not Strikers F.C., not Florida Strikers. You "Miami-snobs" need to swallow you're pride and back South Florida's team, whatever it's called. We're all South Floridians, and we're only gonna get one team in each sport. I'm not holding out for Plantation to get NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB teams. I support what we have. Like it or not, Ft. Lauderdale is your town too.