“Animal” may be an accurate description and “delighted” is an understatement if you ask Rowdies fans, because the team's next stop is Columbus, and Wednesday night, Ralph's Mob, the independent supporters group of the Rowdies, came out in their usual numbers, volume and intoxication. Or, maybe that was just me.
Wednesday night wasn't your average league match to see who would win the North American Soccer League (NASL); this was to see who could win America. And as we know, America is the ultimate prize. After their 1-0 victory of the United Soccer League's (USL, third division) FC Cincinnati Wednesday night during the third round of the 103rd installment of the US Open Cup, the Rowdies head to the Ohio capital and the MLS’s Columbus Crew.
This isn’t like watching a baseball game; there’s no sitting down, golf clapping, sipping $125 beers and eating half a bag of $45 peanuts.
“Welcome to Tampa Bay” was the Mob’s greeting to Cincinnati. Complete with a banner – or tifo – of the famous Rowdies player, Rodney Marsh, featuring his famous middle-finger salute to the crowd.
The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is a competition composed of the 38 professional American clubs from the MLS, NASL, and USL as well as 48 amateur teams from lower leagues all over the nation; and Tampa Bay advances. One step closer to winning America.
"I'm delighted to be in the next round of the U.S. Open Cup," Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said. "From a selfish, personal standpoint, I love cup competitions. I had some success in them back in England, but I've had zero success with them over here as a player and as an assistant coach. Now as a head coach, I wanted to go out and win. It's a completely different animal, playing in the cup."
Back to the crowd: This crowd is where you go. This crowd is where you bring your sports-hating friends and get them drunk enough to trick them into liking sports. This crowd is where you pour beer down each other’s throats, put your arm around your buddy, and sing for 90 straight minutes while forgetting for a moment where you are and why you are doing this.
Chants led by capos and a bass drum work to get the Mob “fucking mental” through it all. With little help from the Rowdies newest mascot, Pete the Pelican better known to the Mob as ‘Petey Fucking Pelican’), The mob can be clearly heard from the stadium through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.
90 minutes ticks away. The Mob gets louder, we get drunker, and the fight to stave off a 1-0 lead given to Tampa Bay by Bulgarian international Georgi Hristov, continues, to which the crowd chants, “Release the Bulgarian!”. This isn’t like watching a baseball game; there’s no sitting down, golf clapping, sipping $125 beers and eating half a bag of $45 peanuts. Rowdies games are a night to remember. When it comes to sports, there is where the real passion lies.
Meet goalkeeper Matt Pickens. Pickens is the boss and his bear is king. Fear the beard.
Colin O'Hara
And passion it is. The passion is alive and well in the world of footba — er, soccer (yes, even here in the U.S.) — and when there is passion, sometimes there are those who wish to quash it. This win was for a well-known Mob member, who yesterday was handed a lifetime ban from the stadium by the St. Pete Police. A little too rowdy for the Rowdies? We stand with you, Dave. As for the group of Cincinnati fans ushered out by police? Well, have a fun drive home.
P.S. To the Orlando City fan sitting with Ralph’s Mob: We saw you cheering with us.
Colin O'Hara, Intrepid Sports Reporter, writes about sports for Creative Loafing and is the only CL writer to ever been banned from a certain Croatian stadium, which makes him sort of a bad-ass. Follow him as he Tweets smart-ass sports shit.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2016.