Well not the start I wanted to see for the inaugural season of the Tampa Bay Vipers but with the teams home opener Saturday at Raymond James the team looks to turn the season around against the run and shoot offense Houston Roughnecks.
Although things are looking grim for the Vipers sitting at 0-2, Saturday’s loss 17-9 to the Dragons in the first ever “Reptile Bowl” was not a total loss. Besides terrible QB play and boneheaded penalties, the team looked much better even scoring the first touchdown in team history off a 78 yard int return by Taravus McFadden. Nikita Whitlock on the defensive line also made some big plays even hitting the snake pose. Coach Jerry Granville is definitely holding up his end of the team.
Coach Trestman needs to focus on finishing drives.The team so far has not been able to score one touchdown on offense with nine trips to the end zone. Trestman’s indecisiveness at the QB position is killing this team. Although Flowers threw a costly int back upped into his own end zone I still feel the offense runs better with him at the helm. Taylor Cornelius had a nice drive at the end but he constantly over threw his receivers missing out on big plays.
Not having one singular person running the offense is messing up the chemistry between QB and WR. We have studs like Reece Horn, Nick Truesdell, and Daniel “The Threat” Williams all three of which can make a big play at any time. If Murray can’t get the job done next week Flowers should get the 1st team reps this week. Truesdell should be used has his security blanket allowing Williams and Horn to make big plays. An increase in the passing game will open up more holes for not only RB De’Veon Smith, but also Quinton Flowers to make a big play.
Hopefully being in front of the home crowd can hype the team up. Getting a win against Houston would be big, giving us moment to make a run for one of two East playoff spots. Can the Vipers shed their skin at home, this die hard fan can only hope.
Today the Buccaneers released a video hyping up the 2020 season. Images sprinkled throughout the video might be hinting at new uniforms coming soon, hopefully before the upcoming draft so our No.14 pick can show it off.
Since the 2009 season the team rocks the creamsicle unis with the Bucco Bruce helmets during at least one home game a year, usually during the “Ring Of Honor” game. But unfortunately over the past few seasons the throwbacks haven’t been seen. In the past the jerseys gained a lot of hate but with throwback culture at its height fans of all teams have come to appreciate the creamsicles. With that being said I feel the Bucs should take advantage and give the fans what they want, creamsicles!!!
I feel the right move would be to basically mash up the current uniforms with the throwbacks, using the orange and white color scheme while modernizing the look. Maybe keep Bucco Bruce in the past keeping the skull and flag design.
If the team does not go the throwback root, I would be down for maybe a Tampa Bay Bandits esque Red,Silver, and black color way. Although the team uses these colors now, I feel they have never executed them in what could potentially be a dope looking jersey.
The all red out jerseys the team currently uses twice a year are probably the best jerseys we have now, rather than the poorly designed home and always, however I do dig the hits of orange sprinkled throughout the home jerseys and the red ship.
Which ever way the Bucs go I am super excited for this upcoming season. The jersey announcement is just what the team and fans needed to spark what should be a playoff bound season for the team. I’d probably be sold on season tickets if they went with the creamsicles though, just saying.
A few years back I remember seeing #MLS2STPETE stuff flooding the down town area. I’ve never been a big soccer fan but the idea of the Tampa Bay Rowdies moving up from the USL Championship to the MLS could be just what the city needs to make the Tampa Bay Area soccers next hot bed. With plans of making the Rowdies home Al Lang Stadium into a 18,000 seat soccer specific stadium, it seemed like only a matter of time until the Rowdies would be named as the newest MLS expansion franchise. But that was a few years back and now it seems steamed has died down after Bill Edwards sold the team to the Rays in late 2018. With new expansion teams popping up in Miami, Austin, and Charlotte it seems the Tampa Bay Area might have missed out on major league soccer. But with the league sitting at a total of 30 teams the Rowdies and the Phoenix Rising might be the final two spots left to make up the league. With die hard supporters Ralph’s Mob might be able to build up steam and finally prove the Rowdies are ready for the big leagues.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies have a storied history in the Bay Area. The team originally played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) winning the Soccer Bowl championship in their inaugural season 1975. The team was able to hold an average of 20,000 fans for their first run at one point even averaging 28,000 fans during the 1980 season. Eventually the NASL fell apart leading to the end of the Rowdies, but that was not the end of pro soccer in the Bay Area.
With America’s hosting of the World Cup soccer fever was in the air leading to the creation of the MLS in 1993. Tampa Bay was given an inaugural franchise in the league the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The team was a flop from the start never, being able to gain ownership and having the lamest colors and crest in the league. The fans of Tampa had supported the Rowdies for years so why would they want to support this new trash team. Eventually the team folded in 2002, leaving a pro soccer drought for Tampa Bay fans until 2009.
In 2009 a ownership group showed interest in bringing an expansion team of the newly reborn NASL back to the Tampa Bay Area. Due to a licensing agreement the team was not able to use the “Tampa Bay Rowdies” name until 2012 rebranding themselves but still keeping the history and tradition of the original NASL team.
The two stars on the top of the logo represent the two soccer bowl championships in 1975 and 2012.
The 2012 season also saw the team win their second Soccer Bowl Championship against the Minnesota Stars which is now in the MLS under the name Minnesota FC. With players like team all time leading scorer Georgi Hristov upping the play on the field the team eventually moved up to the USL Championship the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. In their three seasons so far in the USL the team has made the playoffs twice and is looking to be contenders for USL Championship in the upcoming 2020 season.
The team currently plays at Al Lang Stadium on the waterfront of Down Town St.Petersburg. The prospect of a water front stadium intrigued the MLS with the only issue being its 7,000 seat capacity.
Bill Edwards proposed renovation of the stadium to a 18,000 seat soccer stadium seemed like the only thing keeping the Club out of MLS and in May 2017 a local referendum was passed authorizing the city of St.Petersburg to work our a deal with the team to make the dream of MLS soccer coming to St.Pete. But it seems like after the sale of the team to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 it seems the project has slowed down. Maybe out of spite because they can’t get a new baseball stadium funded with the city so why would they help bring a soccer one here. More me this is a missed opportunity on the part of the Rays. They should build of the Rowdies to show the Tampa Bay fans that they actually care about the area, instead of pissing us off by saying they are moving their team to Montreal.
With the referendum being approved I feel if the team puts up its end of the bargain the Rowdies could see a huge spike in fans. With lowered ticket prices and a new standing room only supporters section. There is no reason why the Rowdies can’t be in the MLS. Backed by two rapid fan bases on both sides of the Sky Way Bridge, the rowdies supporters Ralph’s Mob and the Skyway Casuals play a crucial role in bringing a face to the club and the fan base making Rowdies fans some of the most rabid soccer fans in the country.
On the St.Petersburg side Ralph’s Mob has been holding it down in their supporters section for years banging drums and waiving flags. The fan experience is really what helps connect the fans with the team. Both feed off each other’s energy win or lose.
If the Rays Ownership can get their act together and get the stadium renovated into one of the top soccer fields in the country I feel it would lure more fans out to the games. Once they get a whiff of the atmosphere and feed of the mob ties of Ralph’s Mob they may one day become members themselves expanding the love of soccer throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Finding a team local team I was passionate about was really all I needed to start getting into soccer and now that I support the Rowdies I am hooked. Let’s show the country what the city has to say and keep #MLS2STPETE alive.
