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Rowdies Aim For 1st Championship

Rowdies Aim For 1st Championship

The Rowdies, our downtown St. Pete professional soccer team, has made it to the NASL Championship!! But the pesky Minnesota Stars (who won the series last year) stole the first "away" game with a 2-0 win. So in the second, the Rowdies need to score at least two more goals than the Stars to stay alive this Saturday, October 27th at 7:30pm at Al Lang Stadium. Join us in cheering them to victory!

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Need some incentive? Al Lang Stadium has a star-studded history that dates back to the 1920s. In fact, the Yankees’ very first spring training field is on the spot where the Rowdies play today. Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle all trained on the same breezy field of dreams before heading north for historic seasons. The current field opened in 1947 and has been the spring home of the Giants, Cardinals, Mets, Orioles and Rays over the years. The field was prominently featured as the setting for the first 10 minutes of the 1955 flick Strategic Air Command, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Motion Picture Story. Tell that to the kids!


Top photo from The Captain’s Blog. Bottom photo from Baseball-Fever.com

Our Rowdies are the only permanent fixture at Al Lang Field. They, too, have a pretty unique history. The team won two titles in Tampa between 1975 and 1993 before folding. In 2008, it was announced that a new club would revive the name. And In 2009, the new and improved club became one of four co-founders of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which began play the following year. The league now has eight teams from Puerto Rico to Edmonton, Alberta and is adding two more in upcoming seasons.

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Once again, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Downtown St. Pete/iLovetheBurg.com are teaming up to fill as many seats as possible. With 11 players on the field, we’re looking for a full stadium to be the "12th man" to cheer the team to victory! Al Lang Stadium is going to be louder and crazier than ever. Whether you’ve never been to the stadium or are a fanatic that attends every home and away game, THIS is the big one! Bring your friends, family, coworkers and archenemies to the stadium on Saturday!

The Rowdies earned a second consecutive NASL Fair Play Award, three players were named to the 2012 NASL Best XI team, and coach Ricky Hill was awarded the 2012 NASL Coach of the Year. Plus, Ralph’s Mob was named this year’s "Best of the Bay" Best Fan Group. In other words, 2012 is the year of the Rowdies!


Photo by Tampa Bay Rowdies/Matt May



Won’t you be the 12th man and root the Rowdies to victory? Tickets are available here for $12 today and tomorrow, and start at $16 on gameday. Kickoff is at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 27th so come early and let’s get rowdy! Enter below to win one of five pairs we’re giving away TODAY!

The 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th person to answer this question correctly will win a pair of tickets to Saturday’s big game!

Question: What club did the Rowdies beat in the NASL Seminfinals to make it to the Finals?

Contest is over. Thanks for entering!

ANSWER: The Rowdies beat the Carolina Railhawks 5-4 in aggregate goals scored.

If you didn’t get an email (don’t forget your junk mail!), join us on Saturday to cheer the Rowdies to victory! Purchase tickets here.

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