Thursday, February 13, 2014

Are we ready to admit Florida is a soccer state?

More than 5,000 people watched the New York Red Bulls play the Philadelphia Union
in a MLS preseason match in Jacksonville. (Photo by Will Brown)


By Will Brown

Thirty minutes before kickoff three teenagers were standing in the drizzle egotistically trying to see how hard they can kick a soccer ball.



Northeast Florida has numerous elite soccer programs, but the boys did not play on one of them, which made it all the more impressive that the  goalkeeper, midfielder and forward made their way to EverBank Field to watch a preseason game between two Major League Soccer teams.

The boys, members of the Raines High School boys soccer team, were among the 5,656 people who watched the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union prepare for the 2014 season on a rainy night far removed from either clubs supporters.

“I think it was good for us. It was the preseason game, so we had some minutes to show the coach (what we can do),” said Red Bulls defender Roy Miller, a Costa Rican international who entered the match in the second half. “Now, I think from today’s game we can take very positive things. It’s one more game. I think we’re doing well and I’m happy with the work we put in today.”

Miller and the Red Bulls had the best regular season record in MLS last year. Philadelphia finished 13 points behind their opponents from Wednesday night. Thomas Marks, one of the three Raines players who braved the rain, said he wanted to watch the teams play so he can get better in his final two years.

If Marks was taking his cues from No. 14 in white, then he certainly learned a few things.

Thierry Henry is a legend who has won silverware in England, Spain, France and the United States. He’s a World Cup and Champions League winner who was marketed as the star of Wednesday’s game by event organizers Sunshine Sports Group.


Henry certainly delivered in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. In the 16th the former Arsenal forward nutmeged a Union midfielder, juggled the ball seven times while fending off a challenge seven minutes later and scored a goal in the 36th minute.

The goal wound up being the game-winner as New York won 2-1.


Afterward, there was not much time for Henry, Australian international Tim Cahill, or Philadelphia’s Andre Blake, the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, to speak with the local media. The two teams were in a rush to make it to Jacksonville International Airport for a charter flight for Newark, N.J. before returning to their respective mid-Atlantic homes.

Dave Rowan, the Union’s Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, said chartered flights are an anomaly in Major League Soccer. All 19 teams fly commercial, and all the players fly coach.

“The players understand that’s part of it and they have no issue,” Rowan said. “It’s what you get used to and that’s what you have. I look forward to coming back next year and having dry weather and an exciting game.”

Afterward, Mark Frisch, the owner of the North American Soccer League franchise that is slated to start play in Jacksonville next year tweeted that he would love to see the Union play his club in the 2015 preseason.

It remains to be seen whether Frisch’s hope will become reality next year. However, what is undeniable is that Jacksonville, and the rest of Florida, are quickly embracing the soccer culture.


Marks, the Raines forward, was introduced to the sport by his friends. His teammate DeAngelo Denson joked he was peer pressured into playing soccer, adding: “I just got into it in high school. I’ve been playing since middle school, but found it more interesting the better I get.”

There are 108,000 youth soccer players in Florida and another 30,000 who play varsity soccer. There are professional clubs in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, while Orlando and Miami will have MLS teams by the end of the decade. 


“By Orlando City being granted the 21st team, it is great testament to the state,” Rowan said. “I think you’ll see, MLS grow in the Southeast because of the family affinity to the sport.”
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