Reeves' Army

The tension is so thick, you can cut it with a knife.

We have the strongest team in our history, bolstering an already-potent away attack; we were 9-2-1 (W-D-L) with a +13 GD in 2012 on the road.

Our supporters are preparing to storm Al Lang Field like the Royal Rooters stormed their own ballpark during Game 7 of the 1912 World Series.

Ralph’s Mob has to be change-your-pants scared right now. So much so, some of their usual propaganda is unintentionally complimentary.

They know we’re coming in force, and they know we won’t be quiet.

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Hundreds of Orlando City fans will be in attendance, including the two busloads of our supporters (both sold out; dozens others have been forced to drive and will meet us there).

The bus trip starts from XL Soccer World, and will leave there at 3:55pm. It will then pick up more fans at Buffalo Wild Wings at The Crossroads in Lake Buena Vista. Traffic pending, the buses will leave there at 4:30pm. It will be a short stop.

Alcohol is permitted on the bus. But do not bring anything to throw. ESPECIALLY not smoke bombs. Al Lang’s staff are flaming hypocrites, and don’t permit much from away fans.

Orlando City finished their training schedule last night with a 6-0 win over the University of Tampa.

Dom Dwyer was on fire again, this time racking a golden sombrero (pen. 28′, 35′, 42′, 68′). Jamie Watson (pen. 35′) and Kevin Molino (20′) added to the total. Dwyer now has eight preseason goals.

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The next match for the Lions is the away tie in the I-4 Derby against Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday night at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg. Kickoff time is 7:30pm. The team already has a preview.

And with that, yesterday afternoon the supporters sold out their bus trip. They currently have 121 people on two buses, and have locked in more tickets for those driving themselves.

Shock and awe, indeed.

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Orlando City will be hosting a season ticket pick-up party downtown at Harry Buffalo sports pub at Garland Ave. and Church St. It will get started at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:30pm. There will also be a player meet-and-greet there.

Tick-tock-tick-tock…

The road trip to the away leg of the I-4 Derby is fast approaching. One bus is full (which means we will already travel twice as many as Ralph’s Mob could muster for our home leg), and we have at least one more waiting. More can be arranged if need be.

And now we are double-barreling sales. Both The Ruckus and the Iron Lion Firm are now selling tickets. These are both for the same bus trip, so you don’t need to buy again if you have already bought yours. Tickets are $25 a piece, and come with a ticket into the game and a round-trip bus seat.

Keep in mind, the line closes at the end of the day next Tuesday, March 26. So buy your tickets now.

The Ruckus has arranged for a group rate get-together at an Orlando Solar Bears game. All OC supporters are welcome.

The particular game is Sunday, February 17, hosting the South Carolina Stingrays. Game time is 3pm.

The tickets are at the group rate of $13. To get into our section, call the Solar Bears ticket office at 407-951-8200 ext. 105. Just let Scott know you’re with the Orlando City supporters.

All Orlando City fans are welcome. But since it’s a supporters function, expect it to be rowdy.

Saturday is going to be an enormous day for sports in Orlando. And I intend to be in the eye of the storm.

It starts at 11am, when I will head to Buffalo Wild Wings UCF on University Blvd., just east of Rouse Road, for UCF’s final Conference USA Football Championship against Tulsa. The kickoff for the game is at high Noon.

As soon as that game ends, I will head over to XL Soccer World near Winter Park for the big Ruckus-ILF supporter summit and 2012 MLS Cup watch party. I will be there in my typical straw hat, Ruckus jersey and Houston Dynamo scarf.

Not only will unification of the supporters’ groups be at issue, but undoubtedly the stadium will become a hot topic after VSI made the shock claim of plans for a $400m retractable roof SSS and other facilities somewhere in Tampa.

VSI are the owners of a USL Pro expansion franchise for 2013, and also plan to build a modular temporary stadium similar to the one that hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps for most of 2011. The stadium will be built by Nüssli, the same contractors who built Empire Field.

The call has been made for the supporters groups of Orlando City–The Ruckus, the Iron Lion Firm, Los Guerrilloz, Space Coast Alliance and other groups–to unify for the 2013 season.

The first independent pan-supporter summit will be held two weekends from now on Saturday, December 1, at 4pm at XL Soccer World in Winter Park. It’s the central meeting place for the ILF, an indoor soccer facility not far off Lee Road (SR 423), off I-4 exit 88. It will be centered around the playing of the 2012 MLS Cup, a rematch of last year between Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy.

During this meeting, hopefully the logistics of such a unification will be ironed out, including the naming of a unified group of whatever alliance apparatus emerges from the meeting.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today, I will treat myself to an Orlando City victory over Rochester Rhinos. For the team website, Adam Soucie has the match preview, while Brittany Dansereau crunches the numbers. We also finally have a match preview from Rip Roaring 11.

It should be noted that forward Max Griffin has been loaned to Los Angeles Blues again. In exchange, we have received forward George Davis IV. He hasn’t scored yet for the Blues in 2012, but he got seven goals last year for Dayton Dutch Lions.

Don’t forget the tailgates. The Ruckus tailgate at 4pm in Lot L, and the ILF tailgate at Lot U. In addition, in the main area of Lot L, United World Soccer will have their tailgate starting at 5:30, with free hot dogs, beer and T-shirts while supplies last.

For this weekend’s Orlando City matches in Antigua, we will have watch parties.

Tonight’s watch party, hosted by the Iron Lion Firm, will be at RS Busby’s. It is a pub within the XL Soccer World fronton off Lee Road. Take I-4 exit 88 and turn westbound on SR 423, Lee Road (left off eastbound I-4, right off westbound I-4). Go around the curve to the light at Adanson St., and turn left (southbound). The first stop sign is Courtland St., where you should turn left. XL Soccer World is right there; you can park on the curb if the parking lot is full. There will be a good amount of construction, as they are building outdoor pitches there. RS Busby’s is inside XL just to your left. Game time is 7pm.

Sunday’s watch party, hosted by The Ruckus, will be at The Milk Bar, which is at the corner of Bumby Ave. and Robinson St. Coming from I-4, exit SR 408 (the East-West) at Exit 12A, and immediately turn left on Bumby after paying the toll. Coming from SR 417 (the Greeneway) or SR 436 (Semoran Blvd.), take Exit 12B (Crystal Lake Dr.), go straight through Crystal Lake (you’ll be on South St.), and turn right on Bumby. Going north on Bumby, turn right on Robinson St. (eastbound). It will be right there on your right. Game time is 4:30pm.

See ya there!

Orlando City’s supporters’ clubs are releasing their pregame plans for Saturday’s home match against Richmond Kickers.

All the festivities will kick off with Reeves’ Army’s Pre-Pregame Meetup downtown at Frank & Steins at Church and Magnolia at 11am. It will be beer (300 varieties), brats (the best wieners in town) and Buzztime Trivia (with yours truly, the leader of the winning bar for Buzztime’s Sunshine Showdown trophy tournament). I hope to get a bunch of Orlando City fans together to take out a few rounds of digital trivia.

The plan is to break that party up at 3:30pm. From there, it’s on to the Citrus Bowl for the supporters’ tailgates.

Iron Lion Firm will be meeting for their tailgate at Lot U starting at 4pm, with pulled pork on the menu (alternative being planned for non-porkers).

The Ruckus will meet for their tailgate at Lot L, along the paved Lot H. As a play on the Kickers mascot, Kickaroo, their chef is planning a special: kangaroo chili.

Yes, as in real kangaroo meat. They actually eat kangaroo in Australia.

Los Guerrilloz, Riddim Section and Space Coast Alliance will all meet around The Ruckus as usual, with SCA further down Lot L, and the others actually in Lot H.

Over the weekend, the 2012 season for Major League Soccer got into full swing. We saw various things, including the #ChampsLiveInLA hashtag backfiring on Galaxy, Houston waking up after napping through our Pro Soccer Classic, and Chivas failing to fill a tarped-off SSS. Badly.

Seriously, there’s no way in God’s green acres there were 14,000 people at their match. We’ve had stronger crowds than that.

But I digress. Tonight, the real fun begins as Portland Timbers host Philadelphia Union, and the most powerful supporters’ organization in North America, Timbers Army, takes the stands once more.

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK1wgM73YGQ width=480]

Their supporters’ clubs were undoubtedly a major selling point for their admittance to MLS. They drew over 9,000 per match in their final season in the minors, 2010. They averaged 18,827 last year in MLS, which is about 95% of capacity at Jeld-Wen Field.

A member of the TA, BigSoccer member IceFunk, recently gave some information to Orlando’s fans. Many of the points he made are things I have alluded to in the past.

The most important of them is supporter unity. Supporters culture is more effective when the groups work together as one on gameday. It’s alright to have subgroups based on geography and stadium section, but on gameday they need to stand united.

The groups need to get together and form an alliance. From there, they need to coordinate so that on gameday their passion shines through the brightest.

There is no better way to get this point across than to observe Timbers Army in action.

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko2eONX5NVs width=480]

Everyone heard of how they all sang the National Anthem prior to their inaugural MLS match last year. And that was during freezing rain.

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50SvZm9jQE width=480]

There’s also their ever-famous Tetris Dance

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7mo3_I9ltY width=480]

And even crazier things.

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFm-TzIWzt4 width=480]

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0gvdQ7E790 width=480]

Your homework tonight is to watch their home opener; they’re hosting Philadelphia Union. The match is on ESPN2 at 9:30pm EDT. If you can’t watch it live, DVR it. If you can’t do that, watch it on ESPN3 later. Listen to the difference a large, united supporters group can make.