2012 NASL Matchday 2: Rowdies vs Edmonton discussion thread

The Rowdies did not get off to the start we all hoped for this past Saturday as they fell 1-0 to Puerto Rico despite being up a man for most of the second half.

This weekend Edmonton comes to town as we open the season at home for the first time as the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Edmonton is coming off a loss of their own after falling 1-0 to Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday night and will be out to get their season on track as well, so we'll need to be at top form both on the field and in the stands to ensure we come away with three points.

The Rowdies deployed a 4-3-3 against PR which seemed to work very well at times and at other times the guys seemed a little out of whack. We created plenty of chances though and if not for some shoddy finishing we could have come away with points.

So what does everyone think? Who should be starting and do you still like the 4-3-3? What are your score predictions?

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Permalink Reply by Berlin on April 16, 2012 at 5:22pm

The bottom line is people aren't going to fill the stands for a minor league soccer game played on a baseball field, especially when most people aren't even aware of a game being played; the commercials are great but they need to do more then that. Also they need to be playing in Tampa, i live in sarasota and love the drive to st.pete but lets be real. On the other side of the token lets be fair, these things can take years to get any real interest. Those that think this area is not a good sports town consider the Lightning finished the season averaging 18,500 in attendance for a sub par, disappointing season. Also before the 2010 NFL season began, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had sold out every preseason, regular season and postseason game at Raymond James Stadium!

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Permalink Reply by Whitestar Warriors on April 17, 2012 at 12:17am

So what happens if Rays move to Tampa?

1. The team needs to win.win.win

2. Buy a player that will not break the bank but someone popular, didn't SA sign a popular mexican player?

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Permalink Reply by Francis Novoa on April 17, 2012 at 9:15am

Team does need to Win. Win. Win. But will that be enough? I don't know.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Cundiff on April 17, 2012 at 1:12am

1. Be thankful we had any advertising before the season.
2. Local media ignoring us hurts, but isn't necessarily critical.

When will we just admit we are actively losing fans? Think about this, nearly 4,000 fans that went to the first game in 2010 have never come back. That's right people, we have been losing fans since Day 1.

So the question is, how do we get those people back?

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Permalink Reply by Whitestar Warriors on April 17, 2012 at 1:32am

Well first off in 2010 if I was one of those fans: the stadium would turn me off. 2. No star players 3. Team started losing.

Maybe we should have more $1 beer nights.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Cundiff on April 17, 2012 at 8:27am

Even better, we have 1/2 price tickets if you buy in advance this Wednesday. Of course, the team have barely mentioned it on their website or FB pages, let alone actually using it on the TV or billboard advertising.

We were losing fans long before it became apparent the team was losing on the field in 2010. And then look at last year, we finished in 3rd place, and lost fans regardless.

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Permalink Reply by Francis Novoa on April 17, 2012 at 9:14am

Stephen's right. We are losing fans. I never really thought about it before until he made his point. Perfect point, I might add.

When do we realize that soccer might not possibly work in Tampa Bay?

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Permalink Reply by Aron Retkes on April 17, 2012 at 9:18am

Courigans said not a chance, and Nellys decided to provide only bud select for the ticket.

BTW, if anyone is planning on watching the archived game to see how our TIFO looked on camera, don't waste your time, cuz we didn't get a single sweep of the crowd....