![]() Into these cavernous stadiums the Mutiny were never able to average more than 13,106 fans, which they achieved in the first season at Ray Jay. Both sites were primarily NFL venues, with seating capacities of 74,301 and 65,857, respectively. The stadium in question was originally The Big Sombrero, Tampa Stadium, with the team moving to Raymond James Stadium when that facility opened in 1999. There were some talks with groups that wanted to build a stadium on the other side of town, but that never came to fruition.” “They never found anyone that would sink that much money in because frankly if you did own the team you had to get out of that stadium and had to get your own stadium built. “They didn’t come that close at all,” according to Page. Tampa Bay Times sportswriter Rodney Page, who has worked for the paper since 1996 and covered the Mutiny for several years, was kind enough to speak to me about the franchise and says the team never even got close to finding an owner. From start to finish the Mutiny were orphans, as the franchise was never able to attract an owner, instead being owned and operated by Major League Soccer itself. To be clear, all signs indicated that the Mutiny should be successful, yet looking at it now the team never had a chance at success. Within a stretch of six years the Mutiny would emerge, fly high for a season, slowly decline, and ultimately fade into the Gulf sunset. That success and that team would not last long however, thanks to factors both benign (low attendance, high stadium rent) and malicious (embezzlement!). Siphoning the momentum and popularity boost afforded the sport thanks to a hugely successful turn hosting the 1994 World Cup, MLS kicked off in stadiums around the country two years later, including a team in Florida that would be the cream of the crop in the standings that first season, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. ![]() Outside of the meteoric rise and fall of the NASL in the late 70s thanks to teams like the legendary New York Cosmos and all-time great players like Pele, Johan Cruyff, and Franz Beckenbauer, there had been nothing even resembling a successful professional soccer league in the United States before the formation of Major League Soccer in 1996. Josh ( being the second most-played youth sport in America (behind only basketball), soccer has had a difficult time capturing the nation’s imagination on a professional level. ![]() Enjoy the tale of the Tampa Bay Mutiny, a team that begs the question: If a team is really good but no one is around to see it, how long will it be until said team folds?Ĭlick the social media buttons in the top left of the page to Like Forgotten Franchises on Facebook and Follow the site on Twitter! Subs: McGaughey, Frye, Diffley.For our second post I decided to focus on a more recent team-no-more, as well as one from the place I’ve called home for the last four years, Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay - Budnick, Hejduk, Kooiman, Yallop, DuHaney, Ralston, McKinley, Backman, Wise, Vargas, Ferruzzi. Lindsey, Duffy, Louden, Dorsett, Caraci, Farmer, Quinn, Witchey, Rusek, Adamovsky, Fudor. Goals: Adamovsky 81 Ferruzzi (Kooiman) 10, Ferruzzi (Hejduk, Vargas) 15, McKinley (Backman) 53,įerruzzi (Wise) 60, Hejduk (Ferruzzi) 86. Tampa Bay was without Carlos Valderrama and Roy Lassiter (national team commitments), Martin Vasquez and Giuseppe Galderisi (vacation), and Mark Dougherty (hip pointer). Hejduk completed the scoring with a tap-in of a centering pass from Ferruzzi. Radin Adamovsky pulled one back for Sarasota in the 81st minute on a 20-yard shot to the right post. In the second half, Ivan McKinley scored on a 25-yard blast before FerruziĪdded his third. Tenth minute, and five minutes later he tapped in Frankie Hejduk's cross after a fine through ball from Nelson Vargas. His diving header from a Cle Kooiman cross opened the scoring in the 15.įerruzzi, Tampa's first-round selection in the recently conducted MLS Supplemental Draft, scored twice in the first 15 minutes. ![]() Newcomer Marco Ferruzzi scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Tampa Bay Mutiny defeated the Sarasota Futbol Club All-Stars 5-1 before 1,500 fans in Sarasota Feb.
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