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.

Rongen Gongen

So last week, former Striker player and manager Thomas Rongen was sacked by US Soccer after failing to qualify for this summer's U-20 FIFA World Cup. Tis a shame, but it was a long time coming for some and now we are left to wonder; will Rongen return to the Strikers to resurrect his coaching career?

On a real Striker tip, another tie on this road trip and another almost win ripped out from underneath us in the final minutes. Good thing is we are not losing these games and we are up by one with only minutes left. Chemistry and cohesion will be the fix, but the real problem is in the fact that all our goals are coming from the penalty spot.

Kudos to Chacho Coudet for being spot on from the penalty spot, but someone's gotta step up!

Wednesday night game this week against a surging Carolina, 7pm, hopefully the web feed will work this time around.