Orlando is a city of theme parks and tourism, not professional sports. But with the emergence of the Orlando City Lions as a premier minor league soccer team, that image might just change. Central Florida sports fans are starting to recognize good talent when they see it, and Orlando City is very talented. Soccer in America is not as prominent as basketball, football, or even baseball, but the fan base is growing.
“I think people in Central Florida are really starting to give soccer a chance, and they are realizing how great of a sport it is,” said Junior Jamie Malugen, Trinity Prep varsity soccer player.
“There’s nothing better in sports than witnessing a goal in person,” Malugen said. “I think all of Central Florida is beginning to realize this.”
The Orlando Magic has the ability to pull a large fan base due to the lack of professional or collegiate sports in the area, but the team’s lackluster performance the past season has really diminished the number of fans in attendance. This has made it possible for Orlando City, one of the best minor league soccer teams in the country, to assimilate these fans into their own culture. Junior Jake Smith is an avid Orlando City fan and believes that soccer has drawn a lot of Orlando sports fans.
“Orlando only has one professional sports team, and that’s the Magic,” said Jake. “There’s a huge fan base right now in Orlando that doesn’t necessarily associate with the Magic, and a great deal of those people are avid soccer fans. You’ll be amazed if you go to an Orlando City game with an attendance north of 10,000 people… the atmosphere is incredible.”
A new era is being ushered into Central Florida that brings excitement, youth, and innovation. The excitement is sparked by Orlando City’s addition of a new stadium and possible assimilation into the MLS (Major League Soccer.) The youth consists of a new fan base, one of inexperience and raw emotion. The innovation, correlating with the youth of the fan base, is a necessity; it is creating new traditions, writing new fight songs, and making a lasting impression on the Orlando City franchise.
Ironically, according to Trinity Prep Varsity Soccer Coach William Milsten, this has not increased interest among Trinity students. In fact, the recent attendance of soccer games has dipped drastically.
“I’ve been here ten years, and although I felt like there was more interest in high school soccer the first four years I was here, we would have games at Lake Highland where about 200 students would show up and we would quadruple the amount of fans that they would have and it was awesome,” Milsten said. “We haven’t had that in a while, and I don’t know why that is.”
This has not correlated with Orlando itself, according to Milsten.
“In the city [of Orlando], and overall, it is amazing to me how much soccer has grown,” he said.
The excitement can only grow, with the promise of a new stadium and the prospect of an official MLS soccer team on the horizon. The new stadium will seat 18,000 and provide a more enclosed area for fans to disrupt opposing teams than the Citrus Bowl did, since the Citrus Bowl is much larger than the stadium being built. A new venue presents an image of a growing organization who is doing things the right way, by winning soccer games.
“Residents of Central Florida wanted a winning team and they got it with Orlando City,” Malugen said. Orlando Magic fans will have to take a back seat to the Ruckus, the Iron Lion Firm, and the Orlando National Riddim, the Orlando City fan bases.. Winning takes priority in a city that has been deprived of a champion on both the collegiate and professional level. Maybe Orlando City can turn the tide.
