A Kick in the Grass

So you're angry, you might be a little mad. You keep telling yourself how much you would want an MLS squad suiting up in your backyard. You want pro soccer. You want the pride of dressing up in hometown colors on Saturdays and going to a stadium to consume beer, salted pretzels, arepas and frozen lemonades. You want to be at that big rivalry game. You want to yell at visiting players and coaches and you definitely want to tell the referee he isn't worth his weight in anything. You want it all and you want it now.

Well wait no further.

This Saturday is your chance, if you decided to at least go to one Miami FC game this year, make this the one. It's early in the season so no one is out of playoff contention yet. The team may be still trying to gel but the excitement of a new season is still in the air (even though we are 3-4 weeks in). The cherry on top is that the Miami FC are playing the dreaded Rowdies. That's right, Tampa Bay has the gaul to put forth a team and come to our house.

I'm seething. I want a 4-0 thrashing and an attendance of at least 5,000. Who wants to dream with me?

It's Soccer Madness

Striker Likers, listen up. Here's a little history lesson for those who forgot the second coming of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. This is the APSL Strikers, coached by Thomas Rongen and the only Striker squad to win a league championship. I grew up with this team and if I needed soccer gear I went to one place: Soccer Madness.

Soccer Madness held offices right here in Broward County and if you needed some new adidas Copas or that new Nike track suit, this is where you would go. The catalog they produced was a bible as it also displayed top-flight European stars in Soccer Madness gear.

That was a great time, just waiting for my Soccer Madness catalog in the mail, it was better than EuroSport, it felt like a magazine, and it was home grown.

Today, Soccer Madness is a faded memory, just like those 1994 United States national team uniforms. But, the soccer store institution is a growing one. Sure you can score some cheap cleats at the Sports Authority or even Wal-Mart, but devoted soccer stores are the true hotspots for soccer passion. You can find them more often than ever before, especially here in our back yard. With the success of these shops will come pro soccer, no question. So let's give Soccer Madness our respect, as well as the Soccer Connection, I miss you guys.

Just Shoot Me

SUN SENTINEL STRIKER PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO OPEN)

It was a weekend that a league called the NASL played and a weekend in which Lockhart Stadium saw soccer action. It almost feels like a Striker Liker's dream, but not quite. It is the Miami FC who currently call Lockhart home, but the Sun Sentinel know better. They've unleashed a glorious memory provoking gallery with Striker images from the NASL and the APSL days. So enjoy the slideshow.

Speaking of the Miami FC, they staved off the mighty Rochester Rhinos, but displayed the lowest attendance record of the weekend in the NASL. It's something to be aware of, but rest assured when the Rowdies come to town, that number should quadruple.

The memories are grey but they sure are coming back.

Where's Waldo?

Probably not the post you were expecting on the eve of NASL 2.0's opening weekend, but I had a friend recently move to Greece and when I noticed Freddy Adu not on the Benfica Europa roster against Liverpool I did some searching and found this. A happy coincidence.

Jokes aside, Adu obviously isn't what we Americans have hoped for but the kid is still 21. He's no Messi and if you believe an American will be coined best in the world at this game, you are a very optimistic person. I hope it happens in my lifetime, but truly I'm not holding my breath.

But back to more Striker Liker related issues. Miami FC (soon to be known as the Strikers) take on the Rochester Rhinos this weekend at the daunting Lockhart Stadium. Not a bad way to kick off the NASL in a comfy familiar setting. The Ultras and Southern Brigade have already claimed a section so it's going to be fun to see how the rest of the public reacts. It's also going to be interesting to see how Miami FC itself gets the word out. Their 'head shaving' stunt didn't really follow through last year, but I think the ten people who saw it have already forgotten it by now.

It is a new season, a new team, a new permanent home and new results better be on the way. A win this weekend could go a long way, but also some exciting action wouldn't hurt either.

Let's get our butts to the field!