Strikers Derailed by Carolina, Tampa on the Horizon & Strikers Open Online Shop

We are just days away from the biggest rivalry in sports! Okay maybe not really, but who here isn't pumped to see the Fort Lauderdale Strikers take on the green and yellow puke from Tampa Bay?

First things first. The loss last night to Carolina may have been demoralizing after a decently successful road trip, but the announced crowd of around 2,000 makes it even worse. Carolina has a great team and it seems no one cares. But we care and this Saturday will be huge, we're hoping to see at least 10,000 fill Lockhart Stadium. Whispers have been flying around that the crowd will sing the national anthem, but as long as we just chime in at the end with a "HOME OF THE STRIKERS!", this Striker Liker will be one happy camper.

Also of note, you can shop for your favorite official Striker gear here. There are only a few items available but come on people! If you're a Striker Liker there isn't one thing on the site you shouldn't have.

If you want to be a hardcore Liker, visit the Football in Miami and Beyond here for a laundry list of the necessary items it takes to look the part of a real Striker Liker.

P.S. - A reliable source has confirmed that magicjack's owner has decided to coach the team himself.

2 Weeks Down!

Has it already been 2 weeks? I guess it has. 2 Weeks, 2 games, 2 goals, 1 point but most importantly: 10,000 fans!

That's right, backing up opening day's 6,000 was last Friday's 4,000 crowd that saw the Strikers hang on and find a way to get a goal back and tie NSC Minnesota.

It's a promising sight for us Striker Likers who have been clinging on the distant memories. Now we've got a future to look forward to.

Let's be critical of our disappointing start, but not discouraged. Remember this is a new team, although the core of the Miami FC still exist, there are a lot of new pieces and these first few games are still feeling like preseason games.

After this upcoming road trip be prepared to see a Striker squad welcome their instate rivals from Tampa Bay and give them a thorough bashing.

A Kick in the Grass

So you're angry, you might be a little mad. You keep telling yourself how much you would want an MLS squad suiting up in your backyard. You want pro soccer. You want the pride of dressing up in hometown colors on Saturdays and going to a stadium to consume beer, salted pretzels, arepas and frozen lemonades. You want to be at that big rivalry game. You want to yell at visiting players and coaches and you definitely want to tell the referee he isn't worth his weight in anything. You want it all and you want it now.

Well wait no further.

This Saturday is your chance, if you decided to at least go to one Miami FC game this year, make this the one. It's early in the season so no one is out of playoff contention yet. The team may be still trying to gel but the excitement of a new season is still in the air (even though we are 3-4 weeks in). The cherry on top is that the Miami FC are playing the dreaded Rowdies. That's right, Tampa Bay has the gaul to put forth a team and come to our house.

I'm seething. I want a 4-0 thrashing and an attendance of at least 5,000. Who wants to dream with me?

We don't hold grudges, really

So last week, the USL version of the Tampa Bay Rowdies unveiled their new logo and website. As a fervent Striker Liker you would expect me to bash whatever these guys came up with, but I must say, I am at a loss for words.

I'm actually sad. The logo is so bad I feel sorry for the Rowdies fans. The icing on the cake is the reasoning behind this logo on their new website here. You know, they actually paid someone to do this!

Now the original Rowdies logo wasn't the Mona Lisa, but at least it had spunk. It was a kick in the grass as they used say.

One thing is for sure, the Strikers already look cooler than the Rowdies will ever be. Ha-ha.

Striker Liker, out.