A Kick in the Grass

This week's blog continues with local sports teams. This week another one of my favorites..the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Rowdies played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 until the league folded in 1984. You may say...SOCCER ??? I never watched much soccer before or after the Rowdies but watching that team was great fun. 

The North American Soccer League had 20 teams located in all the big cities..the New York Cosmos, the Boston Minutemen, the Miami Toros, the Chicago Sting, the Dallas Tornado, and the Los Angeles Aztecs to name a few.

In the first Soccer Bowl the Rowdies defeated the Portland Timbers 2-0 to win the championship

There was a parade in the streets

John Boyle celebrating the win

The Rowdies had many great players and characters...this guy was both..the great Rodney Marsh

Rodney was a fan favorite

Some other Rowdie greats were

Mije Connell against the Cosmos in the 1978 Soccer Bowl...notice the crowd size

Derek Smethurst

Steve Wegerle

Farrukh Quarishi

T Shirts like this were seen all over town. The Rowdies would return to the Soccer Bowl in 1978 and 1979 losing to New York and Vancouver.

The Rowdies routinely drew crowds of over 20,000 and had a home attendance record crowd in 1980 of 56,389. The NASL tweaked the offsides rule so scoring goals was somewhat easier and the crowds loved the games. 

  

The Tampa Bay Rowdies...they really were....A Kick in the Grass