Elevators are incubators of small talk and quiet epiphanies. Overheard recently was the kind of question you might ask your co-worker in the breakroom.
“Did you make it to the game on Saturday?”
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It’s a question that seldom requires specifics because the games being discussed are either regionally or nationally significant.
As nothing more than an innocent eavesdropper, I immediately think, “Base… Hock… what game are they talking about?”
Conversational buzzwords like 'exciting' and 'suspenseful’ followed. It dawned on me that these two weren’t talking about the Rays or the Lightning, they were talking about the professional soccer team that could. They were talking about the Rowdies.
Yes, if it hasn’t already folks, the Burg is becoming a soccer town. As St. Pete's business, arts and and skyline continue to evolve, so too does the landscape of sports and entertainment.
The Rowdies opened their season with a 3-1 victory over the San Antonio Scorpions, last year’s NASL champion, and continued that momentum with a nail-biter against Minnesota United in front of a sold out crowd at their home opener. The game ended in a draw but a clear message was sent to the city and the team: The Rowdies are St. Pete’s sports team.
Missing are the annual debates of stadium feasibility, the whining for an alternative and the temporary influx of traffic that has minimal impact on downtown businesses’ bottom lines.
On the flipside is a man that’s a true fan of the Burg investing in the right team, at the right time, while having a major impact on local businesses because of a mutually beneficial relationship with the community. In short, soccer has embraced St. Pete and in return, St. Pete has embraced soccer.
The home opener festivities saw fans by the thousands decked out in green and gold. Mayor Kriseman even got in on the fun by singing the Tampa Bay Bay Rowdies theme song (can we make that a regular thing?). Before and after the 90-minute game, many spent their time enjoying everything else that downtown St. Petersburg has to offer.
The game mobilized the fans. Central Avenue had the kind of crowd you’d expect on First Friday. Beach Drive saw diners pile in like it was last minute on Valentine’s Day.
While Tropicana Field may forever be an easy identifier for the city along with the inverted pyramid, to call St. Pete a baseball city would also go against the numbers.
In Forbes valuation of MLB teams the Rays came in dead last. The Rays were also at the bottom for opening day payroll. This valuation of course is not indicative of on-field success. The Rays have made the postseason 4 out of their last 7 seasons with a World Series run in 2008.
Despite the success, the team's relationship with the city of St. Pete has diminished. Now with some of their premiere players getting traded off including David Price, Wil Myers and Ben Zobrist, not to mention the loss of Joe Maddon, confidence and morale has sunk. Many are calling this season a "rebuilding year," without much hope of a title in the years to come.
With these developments, the unending debate about the future of Tropicana Field and its place in Tampa Bay has all but overshadowed the game of baseball itself.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, April 11, the #COYR tag flooded Twitter and Facebook. Images showed those who couldn’t make it to the game a myriad of perspectives of the action. Fans took selfies covered in green and yellow paint and others took glamour shots of the new and improved stadium. The excitement is emblematic of the Rowdies’ promising future here.
The road to an NASL championship is long and by no means easy. But with new talent on the field and seasoned vets running things behind the scenes, a Rowdies run to the top seems possible. The city's commitment to the squad emanates beyond social media and tailgating. As the new seats at Al Lang read, attendance is measured in decibels.
Does louder support for the team mean the more likely the prospect of the Rowdies becoming a MLS team? We shall see.
There was a flicker of baseball enthusiasm when the Red Sod Sox and Yankees were in town. It’s always a well-trafficked event when either squad come to town. After getting swept by New York and winning 2 out of 3 against the Sox, things seem to be going back to normal at Tropicana.
While walking around Publix days ago I saw residents clad in dark blue and bright red. They were donning the logos of the visiting teams. What St. Pete needs is a team they can rally behind.
In 2013 Orlando City SC was bumped up from the NASL to the Majors. They played their first Major League Soccer game at the Citrus Bowl in March of this year in front of a crowd of over 62,000 fans. More than St. Pete becoming a soccer city, Florida is becoming a soccer state.
One of the requirements was that Orlando make their home a 22,000-seat soccer specific stadium. Though that may be a lofty goal for St. Pete at the moment, the point should be made that while renovations on Al Lang are completed, its development is far from finished.
–BB
Burg Is the Word by Brian Bailey, founder and publisher of I Love the Burg.
If you see him around downtown, please be sure to say "hi." You can also follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
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