We Bleed Red & Yellow

So the question presents itself as whether or not a Striker Liker should support any type of professional soccer here in South Florida.

To answer logically, once devoted-always devoted. But as a wise man once said, "You're leading about 2 things, Jack and Shit. And from the looks of things, Jack is long gone."

What we're getting at is we know there is about no chance in the immediate future that the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers will be resurrected. There will be no more Lockhart Stadium. And the days of George Best and Gerd Muller are long gone.

But we are still believers. Now, when teams pop up in Miami or in Palm Beach it scratches at us like an ugly blister. But that's the problem, isn't it? Support in South Florida is fickle and hard to even come by. This area isn't as small as some make it out to be.

If a team were to play at Dolphin Stadium under a different name, we'd be there though. But only as Striker Likers.

Semi Pro

Well slap me around and call me Suzy! We just can't wait. But why couldn't this have been about the Washington Dips or the Jacksonville Tea Men?

GOL TV

The other night on 'American Soccer', it sounded as if Tampa Bay were joining the USL. Phil Schoen and Company were dropping hints about a West Ham or other European interest for a Tampa USL franchise. No other reports have surfaced online or otherwise.

As a Striker Liker, this is bad and good. Bad because it's another soccer franchise not in South Florida. But good because the Strikers are going to need their old nemesis in order to have a complete existence.

Oh the Rowdies are, a pain in the ass.

Thanks for the Laughs

We're not breaking news here that England have failed to qualify for Euro '08 by losing 3-2 to Croatia at home, but some stories are just too good to give up on.

What this has to do with bringing the Fort Lauderdale Strikers back to life is quite trivial. All we can say is, "Hey, great leagues don't lead to national team success."

Just look at England and Spain. England claims to have the best league in the world and Spain is not too far off. But with one World Cup and one European Championship between them it goes to show that club soccer and the national game have differing contrasts.

Now we won't go into to detail here because this post is just to apply a little more salt to England's wounds.

Oh, don't they wish they could have an American goalkeeper, just one.

Happy T-Day Everybody! What are we thankful for?

Well, for starters, let's take a look at what we're not thankful for:

1) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers haven't played a match since the early '90's
2) The last two professional soccer teams in South Florida had the name 'Miami' in their title
3) Lockhart Stadium, once the first soccer specific stadium in the USA, is being demolished
4) All memories of a storied franchise can be found on one website and in youtube clips from other clubs (see below NASL Soccer Bowl '80-which the Strikers lost and the clip seems to focus mainly on the Cosmos, showing the Strikers only when they foul and a biased ref called a PK that so blatantly wasn't)

NASL Soccer Bowl '80


But there must be hope and we must believe. Don't look at the failures of the Miami Fusion and the struggles of Miami FC (great name). Fort Lauderdale has what it takes. We have had big crowds for international friendlies. We have training facilities on every street corner. And we have Sawgrass Mills, what else do we need? Oh yeah, an investor.

It is a little scary that the last four expansion moves by the MLS make it seem that South Florida is some sort of soccer-quarantined zone. Houston, Toronto, back to San Jose, and now Seattle. MLS is sending a strong hint that no one cares about us. But we have a chance to prove them wrong.

That's why we started this blog. We need to learn from the past 15 years of pro-soccer mistakes. We want our Ft. Lauderdale Strikers back! We want them in Ft. Lauderdale, not in Miami.

Dolphin Stadium

Now that Lockhart Stadium, once the fortress of Striker power, has officially been condemned (for those of you unaware the stadium will be demolished to provide breathing room for the Baltimore Orioles' new spring training facility), a home for our future Strikers seems questionable.

Luckily they are signs of life in Broward County that people want soccer and they want it real bad. Last Saturday, Dolphin Stadium drew 20,000 plus (which might just be more than any Dolphin or Marlin game this year) for an international friendly between Honduras and Guatemala.

Could Dolphin Stadium be the future home of the Strikers? Highly unlikely, but the night's atmosphere and attendance proved yet again that we need soccer down here more often. Can I get a witness?

Nine Nine Eighty Nine

Nine Nine Eighty Nine. Remember the date.

It was the Strikers only national title in their history. Back in 1989, American professional soccer was split into two divisions; the ASL (the American Soccer League) and the WSL (the Western Soccer League). The Ft. Lauderdale Strikers were powerhouses in the ASL but it was in 1989 that the Strikers took that dominance to the Left Coast.

On September 9th, the Strikers faced the San Diego Nomads in San Jose. After 90 minutes the Strikers were crowned champions with a convincing 3-1 victory.

So just remember the date.

Nine Nine Eighty Nine.

I'm a Striker Liker!

If you've gotten this far then I applaud you. You are officially a Striker Liker. What that means is not simple but in basic terms it means you are fan of soccer in Fort Lauderdale dying to see a professional soccer team back in Broward County (not in Miami and not in Palm Beach).

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers weren't a storied franchise in the now-defunct NASL and APSL, but they did have some big name players, future US National Team players, and they gave hope to a generation of youngsters who thought they could one day play pro-soccer.

This space is here to let everyone know that one day the Fort Lauderdale Strikers will once again take the field in their signature red and yellow bumblebee kits (with black shorts). This site is not for nostalgia (although photographs and stories are welcome). This site is for bringing professional soccer back to Fort Lauderdale.

To view the only known existing Fort Lauderdale Strikers informational page, visit:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dulyjs/strikers/strikers.html

I'm a Striker Liker, are you?