Tim Robbie, Fort Lauderdale Strikers President

Tim Robbie came out of the starting blocks like a sprinter.
Already, he has hit the radio stations and papers across town in his quest to get the word out that South Florida's most successful soccer team, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, is back! This afternoon he started off with an appearance at 640 AM Sports radio. He spoke to the Big "O" Orlando Alzugaray about his commitment and mission to make the new Strikers a success. You can listen to the full interview HERE
Following is a video from the Sun Sentinel:



Here are a few more links from Blogs and news sources covering the naming of Tim Robbie as the new Fort Lauderdale Strikers President.

Sun Sentinel
El Nuevo Herald (Spanish)
http://www.fllstrikers.net/
Inside Minnesota Soccer
Strikers.com
FutMob
Miami Soccer Fan
South Florida "Football Fanaticos"
FC Tampa Bay
FC Edmonton
South Florida Soccer

SF Soccer News: Robbie takes over Strikers. Ray Hudson 4 Life campaign and Gold Cup

Here is a recap of South Florida Soccer news for today.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers
The Sun Sentinel announced yesterday that the Strikers will have a press conference today to announce that Tim Robbie will take over as the Strikers President, replacing Aaron Davidson who will now concentrate on his role as NASL CEO.
The press conference was scheduled for today at noon at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Reports tell us Robbie has been on the job since Monday. Here are a few quotes from today's event.

"I am convinced that soccer in South Florida is here to stay"
"We are starting a venture that has the foundation for tremendous success"
"We intend to put a team on the field that will...compete for a championship in a reasonable amount of time."
Tim Robbie

The Robbie family has been involved with the South Florida sports community since 1966 when they brought in the Dolphins and the old Fort Lauderdale Strikers to our area in 1977. By bringing Tim Robbie into the mix Traffic Sports, owners of The Strikers (And most of the NASL) have brought immediate credibility to the Strikers name as well as someone that is very much respected in our community for his contribution to soccer and sports in general.

For more information please visit www.strikers.com
UPDATE: Full audio at NASL.com http://nasl.com/media/audioPlayer/id/10336

Ray Hudson 4 Life

South Florida soccer fans and supporters group the Miami Ultras have started a campaign to retire the number 4 jersey belonging to former Strikers player Ray Hudson.

While there have been many great players for the Strikers, there has been only one that truly left his mark on South Florida soccer. When you think of the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers one name comes to mind above all others and that name is Ray Hudson. Ray has left his mark on South Florida soccer like no other. He wore the hoops longer than any other Striker, commentated and coached for the Miami Fusion, still lives in Fort Lauderdale and can be heard on Gol TV.

If you want to read more about this and contribute to this noble cause visit www.miamiultras.com
You can also join the Strikers 4 Life facebook page

Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is coming to Miami and matches are set to play at FIU Stadium on June 10. The games will be :

Jamaica vs Guatemala at 7:00 PM

Granada vs Honduras at 9:00 PM

Major League Soccer players that may be involved are:

Jamaican National team
Dane Richards New York Red Bulls
Omar Cummings Colorado Rapids
Ryan Johnson San Jose Earthquakes
Shavar Thomas Sporting Kansas City
Shaun Francis Columbus Crew
Lovel Palmer Houston Dynamo

Guatemala National team
Carlos Ruiz Philadelphia Union

Honduran National team
Marvin Chávez FC Dallas
Roger Espinoza Sporting Kansas City
Mauricio Castro New England Revolution

For ticket information visit Gold Cup.
You can also join the page on  facebook

Hope Solo... Welcome to South Florida. Burrito loves you!

Hola muchachitas y muchachitos! Burrito want to tell you about his new love. Her name is Hope Solo and she gonna play in South Florida! Well, at least that's what SI.com say and Burrito believe anything they say cause they always have the swimsuit issue an if that no give you credibilitys then nothing will!
Si señoras y señores, Burrito's new chew toy is muy bonita and is maybe the best goalkeeper in the WPS. She will play with the MagicJack's Washington Freedom or a name something like that and will play at FAU stadium in Boca Raton.
But before Burrito continue he have to put up picture of Hope in Bikini!
Ay Chihuahua! Bueno, someone say it not Hope in Bikini pero sure do look like her... si? To continue, Hope is coming off of an injury so we "Hope" she is recovering well and will start for the home opener versus the Boston Breakers Saturday April 23, 2011.

Other than Burrito's girlfriend Hope Solo, the MagicJack's Washington Freedom (or whatever their name will be) will have some of the best womens players in the world like U.S. internationals Christie Rampone, Shannon Boxx, Lindsay Tarpley, Abby Wambach and Australian Lisa DeVanna only to name a few.

Here is video of Hope Solo:


For more information on the team follow them at http://www.womensprosoccer.com/dc

Southern Derby

Morning South Florida Soccer fans. Yesterday Kevin Stephens from Atlanta, GA  sent a email about creating a Southern Derby and here is the email:

Hi,

My name is Kevin Stephens and I am one of the leaders of the Atlanta Silverbacks supporters club “Westside 109”. I am writing your group to see if you would be interested in starting up a fan derby cup competition? We have done this in the past with Charleston and Carolina in the old USL. Unfortunately from my understanding, the original Cup is being used by the USL2 clubs(Charleston,Wilmington,Charlotte). I propose our four supporters groups(ATL, Carolina, Tampa, Ft Lauderdale) buy a new Cup and claim it as the “Real Southern Derby” Cup. I am checking on pricing right now and it seems like if each supporters group chipped in around $50 we can get a really nice Cup. Thoughts????
I’ve emailed you each separately or had a contact email you but once I get a response back from each of you we can all start talking to each other and figure out the details

Here are the Rules of the Cup(from the past):

The Southern Derby is a fan-based cup competition between teams based in the South-Atlantic region of the United States (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama.).
The system of play shall be the league system, with each team playing two matches (home/away) against each of the teams.
The Matches composing the Southern Derby will be the last home and away matches of each team during the regular season unless otherwise negotiated by the members of the respsective supporters club prior to the start of the season.
Points will be awarded on the 3-1-0 systems. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Overtime wins are treated like regulation wins an awarded 3 points.
The winner of the Southern Derby shall be the team having the greater number of points obtained in all the designated Derby matches.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above criteria, the tie-breaker shall be determined as follows:
Goal difference in all the Derby matches.
Greater number of goals scored in all Derby matches.
Greater number of points obtained in all Derby matches between the teams concerned.
Goal difference resulting from all Derby matches between the teams concerned.
Greater number of goals scored in all the Derby matches between the teams concerned.
It is up to the team that is in possession of the Cup to pay for shipping and handling to get the Cup to the new winners at the end of the current competition.

Thanks,
Kevinstephenskevin@bellsouth.net

This is something all of south florida fans should think about and consider joining in. 

Mitchell Rivera

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers Pub Crawl.

I'm a little late putting up these picture's because it took me that long to recover. The Strikers held their first Pub Crawl which helped fans and staff reach out to soccer fans that support European teams. We met up with Newcastle, Celtic and all sorts of casual followers of the beautiful game.
The schedule was to cover 3 pubs in the Broward/Palm Beach County areas closer to Lockhart Stadium. The team hired a bus that took us to our first stop the Fox and Hounds  located at 4812 N. Dixie Highway only a mile or so from the stadium. Later we headed South to Mickey Byrne's in Hollywood. Finally we arrived at the Lion and Eagle in Boca.
It was an all around good time. I hope this becomes a tradition! Vamos Strikers!

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Pub Crawl.

Do you know what a "Pub Crawl" is? Well, if you've ever been "Club Hopping" before it's the same concept except this starts at 9:30 AM and involves going to Pubs, watching the best Soccer in the world and drinking beer!
The Fort Lauderdale Strikers invite you their first ( And I hope not last) Pub Crawl!
Everyone meets at Fort Lauderdale Stadium (Behind Lockhart Stadium) this Saturday March 5th at 9:30 AM, then we get on a bus... and the bus is FREE! We proceed to hit 3 local pubs, all in an effort to support the Strikers! 
The only thing you need to do is contact Tommy Knapp and reserve your spot. But hurry before the bus gets full! For more details check out the flyer below. Remember, the bus ride is FREE! Go Strikers!

Tickets for the Strikers 2011 are on Sale Now! Call today for pricing and availability. Founding Season Ticket Holder Specials Available! Call 954.606.0400 or e-mail info@strikers.com or go to www.strikers.com

South Florida Soccer News: More Red Bulls vs Strikers, Billboard and Flight 19.

Strikers Billboard is up! If you are headed Northbound on I-95 be on the look out for this new Fort Lauderdale Strikers sign pictures captured by Miami Ultra Pabony Rivera and Flight 19 member Derek Reese. It's between Sunrise and Oakland Park.
The good news we hear is that the Strikers front office is selling season tickets like hotcakes! The bad news we have heard is that last years MVP Christian Gomez and top scorer Abe Thompson will not be back this year. (Gomez is said to be headed to China). The absence of both are a tough blow for the offense of the team which seemed non existent during Saturdays game. A notable presence Saturday was Eduardo Coudet, the Argentine midfielder who played for the Philadelphia Union last year. Former clubs he played in include Celta de Vigo in Spain, San Luis in Mexico, and River Plate.
The Strikers defense looked solid against the Red Bulls considering they had only practiced for a week before their first scrimmage. There is no doubt the Strikers need some top fire power upfront and a good playmaker. Let's see what coach Daryl Shore comes up with as preseason continues.

In the picture below, fan favorite and Strikers defender Martyn Lancaster can be seen after the Red Bulls game with  forward Theirry Henry.  

Be sure to visit www.strikers.com for more info on the team as things heat up on the road to the season opener versus FC Edmonton April 9th at Lockhart Stadium.
Following is a video by Miami Ultra Alan Guevara.

 MLS News

South Florida resident and Reuters journalist Simon Evans has launched a new Reuters Soccer blog. His latest piece is an interview with Thierry Henry.

Q: Was the fact that America is still, in some ways, a new frontier for the sport and you have a role in spreading the game’s popularity, an attraction?

No, I know that people are always going to talk about me, Rafa (Marquez), Becks, Donovan, they will talk about us but it is up to everyone in the league, all of us, to perform well and attract more fans and let everyone see that MLS is serious. When you have things like the All Star game, I know its only a friendly, but again, it is a chance to show that you can compete. It is down to everyone, to Real Salt Lake, to Dallas to all the organizations in the league to make the league better, not only what you could call the ‘usual suspects’

Be sure to follow Reuters Soccer Blog on facebook http://www.facebook.com/reuterssoccer 

Flight 19
Flight 19 is a Fort Lauderdale and Broward County based supporters group dedicated to passionately supporting our local professional club team, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, as well as South Florida soccer in general.

The group was conceived in 2010 by a handful of Miami Ultras members, as part of the broader South Florida United effort, to stir up support for local soccer in the Fort Lauderdale area, coinciding with the return of the legendary Strikers and North American Soccer League in 2011.

The group is named in honor of the flight of 5 TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that took off from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale(now Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport) in December of 1945, disappearing in perhaps the most famous incident associated with the Bermuda Triangle. Our crest is based on the roundel insignia found on WWII era US Military Aircraft, the original NASL style soccer ball and the triangular shape of the Bermuda Triangle. The story of Flight 19 is part of the history of Fort Lauderdale, and considering the home of the Strikers, Lockhart Stadium, is situated on land that was once part of an airport built to train WWII Naval pilots, it is a fitting name to represent our efforts to honor Fort Lauderdale and our rich history.

Be sure to check out and join Flight 19 and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.