Abdullah Alfaris and Abdulmajeed Alfaris
Tampa Bay Rowdies
In 1975,
the Tampa Bay area had only one professional
sports team: the Tampa Bay Rowdies. They were the first sports franchise in Tampa, beating the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers by one year and existing long before the Lighting or the Rays.
(TBT IAN) The Rowdies, which was made up up mostly of young foreign players,
won the North American Soccer League (NASL) championship their very first
season in 1975 and were embraced by local fans. (TBT history)The Rowdies went
on to reach the NASL finals in 1978 and 1979. The NASL folded in 1984, but many
of the players that were former Rowdies stayed in the Tampa Bay
area and were instrumental in supporting local soccer. In 2008, a group of
investors purchased the rights to a professional soccer franchise and with
that, brought professional soccer back to the Tampa Bay
area. The new team began playing in April 2010, and
History -
The original Rowdies competed
in the NASL between the years of 1975 and 1984. During that time, the games
were played at the Tampa
stadium.
Andrew Nestor, a young
entrepreneur from Boston, decided to give the
Rowdies a second life in Tampa
Bay. Andrew Nestor played
soccer and hockey in high school, and later attended Boston University,
majoring in finance. After college, he worked in New York, and eventually decided to form the
Citrus Sports group alongside college friend Hinds Howard. He traveled around
the United States
looking for somewhere to start a soccer franchise, and in 2008, the Tampa Bay
Rowdies were revived after 17 years. He chose Tampa
Bay because of the region’s history
with the NASL, including some of the impressive players and old traditions that
existed, but also because “the Tampa
Bay area is a great place
to live.” The Rowdies revival did not come easy for Andrew Nestor. He many faced
problems in trying to bring back the Rowdies, including a losing bidding war
with Nike, a lawsuit over the trademarked name, and a loss of many fans to the
change in stadiums. When Nestor sought to bring back the Tampa soccer team, The Rowdies name was owned
by a Dallas-based apparently company, Classic Ink, which forced the team to be
renamed as FC Tampa Bay. In 2011, Nestor settled the lawsuit over the
trademarked name without disclosing the terms of the settlement, just saying
that they were “significant but reasonable.” To Nestor, reclaiming the name of
the original soccer team was in important part in the franchise because he
wanted the local community to maintain the identity and the history of the
original club. (TBT ina name) Reclaiming
the old name allowed the Rowdies to use the old team’s logo and have Rowdies
written across the front of the jerseys. When the Rowdies were revived in 2008,
they played their games at Steinbrenner Field on Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, but because that field is used for
minor league baseball, Nestor decided to move the Rowdies games to Al Lang
field. Nestor intended to create a “soccer-specific stadium that fans can
appreciate.” (CL)
Nestor created a team that was
comprised of both soccer veterans and young players.
Multiculturalism…
Current status –
Ricky Hill
is the coach of the current Tampa Bay Rowdies. He is an Englishman who played
in the English Premier League for 15 years and who also played on the original
Rowdies for one season.
Won the 2012 North American
Soccer League (NASL) champtionship
Upcoming
season
Supporters –
Supporters
of the Tampa Bay Rowdies call themselves “Ralph’s Mob.” Ralph is the Rowdies
mascot, a cartoonish muscular figure with a handlebar mustache that wears the
green and yellow Rowdies colors. Before home games, fans typically gather at Crowley’s Downtown Grill & Pub in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Ralph’s Mob are modeled after European fan groups, meaning that unlike many
American sports in which tailgating is the norm, Ralph’s Mob gather at a nearby
pub and walk to the games together. Marching down Central Avenue to the Al Lang stadium on
game days, Ralph’s Mob often chants songs like “We love the Rowdies, we do, we
love the Rowdies, we do, we love the Rowdies, we do, ohhh, Rowdies, we love
you.” The fans that make up Ralph’s Mob are known as welcoming; the Crowley bar manager Dave
Griffin said that “If you don’t know a think about soccer, they essentially are
an open-arm group that will talk to you step by step through the process.”
(Girandola) Ralph’s Mob’s president, Charlie Cole, is usually found banging a
bass drum leading chants during the games. Andrew Nestor, modern Rowdies
founder, describes Ralph’s Mob as a key element to the success and longevity of
the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He compares the subculture associated with soccer to
that of an indie rock band, implying that the way in which the Rowdies connect
with the fans is on a more intimate level than with many other sports.
The Tampa
Bay Rowdies were the first team in Tampa.
However, the two teams have played in the same stadium. These two teams were
founded in 1975 and 2008. The Rowdies were made of foreign players, but they
are the biggest local fans. The Tampa
Rowdies are a significant part of the history of Tampa because it is existed before the
Lighting, the Rays, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Works
Cited
Encina, Eduardo A. “A look back at Tampa Bay Rowdies
history” Tampa Bay Times. April 14,
2010.
Encina, Eduardo A. “Tampa
Bay’s pro soccer team reclaims the
Rowdies name” Tampa
Bay
Times. December 15, 2011.
Encina, Eduardo A. “Tampa Bay Rowdies to get new life in
USL” Tampa Bay Times. June 19,
2008
Girandola, Chris. “Why the Rowdies Rule.” Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
March 28, 2013.
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