Welcome to the latest Gloucester Groundhopper blog post.
We were in the United States of America on holiday in Orlando for this chapter, so we decided to catch some Major League Soccer play-off action as Orlando City took on Nashville SC at the Exploria Stadium.
It's All In The Name
The 4th U.S. Artillery under the command of Ltc. Alexander C. W. Fanning established Fort Gatlin, as the Orlando area was once known, on November 9, 1838, during the construction of a series of fortified encampments across Florida during the Second Seminole War. The fort and surrounding region were named after Army physician John S. Gatlin, who was killed at Dade's Massacre on December 28, 1835.
Orlando was formerly known as Jernigan before being given its current name. This name comes from the first European permanent residents, cattlemen Issac and Aaron Jernigan, who travelled from Georgia and acquired land 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Fort Gatlin near the west end of Lake Holden in July 1843 under the conditions of the Armed Occupation Act.
At a meeting in 1857, there was considerable discussion about the town's name. Pioneer William B. Hull reported how, during a dispute, James Speer (a local citizen and important role in the traditions surrounding the naming of Orlando) stood up and declared, "This place is sometimes referred to as 'Orlando's Grave.' Let's get rid of the word 'grave' and make Orlando the county seat."
Although the origin of the name is unknown, at least five stories have been told about how Orlando obtained its name. According to popular belief, the name Orlando was derived from the story of a man who died in 1835 during an attack by Native Americans in the region during the Second Seminole War. Several of the legends recount an oral history of the Orlando marker, as well as the double entendre, "Here lies Orlando." One version has a guy named Orlando travelling by on his way to Tampa with a herd of oxen, dying and being buried in a marked grave.
A marker of some kind was thought to have been discovered by one of the original pioneers, but Speer's family has since claimed that Speer simply used the Orlando Reeves legend to help push his plan for naming the settlement after the Shakespearean character from As You Like It, his favourite play. This is the most widely accepted explanation for how Orlando got its name.
The Lions is a nickname that has stuck around in connection with later efforts to bring professional football to the area. The 'Lions' nickname pays homage to the original Orlando Lions team.
Some Notable People From Orlando:
Wesley Snipes-Actor
Kathryn Newton- Actress
Billy Beane- Baseball Player
Jonathan Jackson- Actor
Howie Dorough- Singer from The Backsteet Boys
Some Notable Former Players:
Kaka
Julio Baptista
Nani
Alexandre Pato
A History Lesson From The Gloucester Groundhopper
The club was founded in the city of Orlando in 2010. On 25th October 2010, Phil Rawlins and his Orlando City Soccer Club investor group announced their intention to join Major League Soccer within the next three to five years. Orlando City announced on 28th February 2011, that it had met with commissioner Don Garber and league officials to discuss expansion. The demographics of the Orlando market, local corporate and fan support for football, and developing a roadmap for a future MLS franchise in Orlando were all discussed. On 10th November 2011, Orlando City team officials met with MLS Commissioner Don Garber again to discuss joining the league as its 20th club (which ultimately went to New York City).
Orlando City SC was announced as the league's twenty-first franchise on 19th November 2013. The team's new logo was unveiled in May 2014, and a month later, former Brazil international Kaká was signed to an MLS contract. After being released by A.C. Milan, Kaká became the team's first Designated Player and was immediately loaned to Sao Paulo until the start of the MLS season. Orlando City announced a partnership with Benfica the same month. As part of that collaboration, Orlando City later signed two Benfica U19s players, Estrela and Rafael Ramos, to MLS contracts on 7th August 2014. Adrian Heath, the club's head coach, signed a contract extension on 21st November 2014, committing him to the club until the end of the 2017 MLS season. Orlando had the first overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft as an expansion team and used it to select Canadian forward Cyle Larin.
The team played their first MLS game in front of 62,510 fans on 8th March 2015, at the Citrus Bowl against fellow expansion team New York City FC. Kaká scored in injury time to earn a 1-1 tie. They won their first game by defeating Houston Dynamo 1-0 on the road the following week. On March 21, Orlando suffered their first defeat when Octavio Rivero of the Vancouver Whitecaps scored in stoppage time. Orlando City finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and 14th overall in their first season, missing the playoffs by one point. Larin scored 17 goals as a rookie, breaking Damani Ralph's rookie record of 13 goals, and was named MLS Rookie of the Year.
Midway through the 2016 season, following disappointing results and performance of the team, head coach Adrian Heath was fired in July 2016. He was replaced by Jason Kreis. However, the Lions ended the season missing the playoffs once again.
The Lions relocated to the purpose-built Orlando City Stadium in 2017. With the team once again struggling, they attempted to improve during the summer transfer window by signing Sporting Kansas City striker Dom Dwyer, who had previously played on loan for Orlando City's USL Pro team in 2013, scoring four goals in the USL Pro Championship Final. The club traded $1.6 million in incentives, a record trade between two MLS clubs at the time. The team once again failed to make the playoffs. Kaká announced his retirement from Orlando City shortly after announcing his departure.
After nearly two seasons, Orlando City fired head coach Jason Kreis fifteen games into the 2018 season. Two weeks later, USL club Louisville City FC announced that former defender and assistant coach of the original Orlando City franchise James O'Connor would take over as head coach. However, O'Connor only managed two victories in 18 games as City missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and set a new MLS record with 74 goals conceded. O'Connor was fired at the end of the 2019 season, after the team missed the playoffs for the second time and finished 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando hired former Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas head coach scar Pareja ahead of the 2020 season. With the season halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orlando participated in the MLS is Back Tournament in July and August at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The Lions advanced to the final, where they were defeated 2-1 by the Portland Timbers. On August 12, the MLS regular season resumed. After missing the playoffs for the previous five years, Orlando ended the joint second-longest MLS playoff drought in history under Pareja's leadership. The Lions advanced to the conference semi-finals after defeating New York City FC in a penalty shootout in the first round before falling to the New England Revolution.
On 12th May 2021, Orlando City majority owner Flavio Augusto da Silva announced that he was in advanced talks with Zygi and Mark Wilf, owners of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League, about selling the club, including the Orlando Pride, Exploria Stadium, and other soccer assets. The total value of the transaction was estimated to be $400-450 million. The transaction was finalised on 21st July 2021. Orlando City won their first trophy as an MLS team on 7th September 2022, defeating USL Championship side Sacramento Republic 3-0 in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final.
Orlando City SC made its CONCACAF Champions League debut in 2023 after winning the US Open Cup. In the round of 16, the team's first opponent was Tigres UANL. Tigres eliminated the Lions on away goals following a 1-1 tie on aggregate.
Honours
🏆 U.S. Open Cup (Champions: 2022)
🏆 Supporters' Shield (Runners up: 2023)
Matchday:Orlando City 1-0 Nashville SC
We travelled to Orlando on a scorching Monday evening as we looked to enjoy some American 'soccer' for the first time. We arrived at the stadium around an hour and a half before kickoff, so we sought for our parking lot.
Driving around looking for this parking lot drew some issues, mainly from the people trying to get us to park at their own parking lots. These people, armed with $20 dollar parking signs written on cheap pieces of cardboard, would walk in front of our cars, and attempt to force us to park with them. In all honesty, I know they're trying to make some money, but Jesus Christ it's annoying. Anyway, we were shown the way to the parking lot by a friendly member of staff who explained that the route was blocked by police and then directed us in the right direction. We then parked in parking lot N, and went straight to the Fanzone.
In the Fanzone, there was a multitude of activities for people to do including facepainting, 'soccer' games and food stalls. After this we attempted to go to the club shop. The issue was that the club shop shuts around an hour before kick off, which to me, is baffling. Surely you would want to maximise revenue streams, so to shut the shop at the time where most fans would arrive is silly to me.
Entering the stadium was really simple. We downloaded our tickets onto our phones, and after we got patted down by the security, we were in. We were given free towels as we entered, presumably to wipe the sweat off ourselves, then we found the small stalls selling merchandise inside.
The merchandise included pin badges, replica shirts, scarves and key rings. We bought our pin badges, however, it was cashless in the stadium. I think I might be being facetious, but I really don't like cashless stadiums. I am attempting to purchase some produce off of you with legal tender, so you should take it. It was lucky my brother had a debit card with him, so he could pay for it.
After this, we went to buy a drink at the bar. There was a good range of produce available, including some alcoholic drinks such as beers and wines, and non alcoholic drinks such as Pepsi, Cola and Sprite. A 590 ml bottle of Pepsi costs just under $8.
We then went to our place in the stand. We were placed in the stand called 'The Wall' and my word, it was so good. The fans went for 90 minutes, with music playing, flares, songs, scarves, flags, fireworks, Joey Fatone from NSync. It had it all. I genuinely don't think I've ever enjoyed myself so much at a football match in my entire life. It was awesome!
ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ
Teamsheet
Orlando City SC
Manager: Oscar Pareja
Pedro Gallese
Dagur Dan Thorhallsonn
Rodrigo Schlegel
Robin Jansson
Rafael Santos
Mauricio Pereyra (c)
Wilder Cartagena ⚽️
Cesar Araujo
Ivan Angulo
Facundo Torres
Duncan McGuire
Substitutes
Mason Stajdujar
Antonio Carlos
Ramiro Enrique
Gaston Gonzalez
Michael Halliday
Felipe Martins
Martin Ojeda
Kyle Smith
Junior Urso
Nashville SC
Manager: Gary Smith
Joe Willis
Daniel Lovitz
Jack Maher
Shaq Moore
Walker Zimmerman (c)
Hany Mukhtar
Jacob Shaffelburg
Alex Muyl
Anibal Godoy
Sean Davis
Sam Surridge
Substitutes
Lukas MacNaughton
Dax McCarty (c)
Fafa Picault
Teal Bunbury
Josh Bauer
Taylor Washington
Luke Haakenson
Brian Anunga
Elliott Panicco
Facundo Torres had the game's first chance in the third minute, but the Uruguayan international couldn't finish from five yards out after a scramble on the edge of the box thanks to a good save from Joe Willis.
Nashville then had a chance when Jacob Shaffelburg played the ball perfectly into Sam Surridge, but Surridge blazed the ball over the crossbar from just a couple yards out.
Wilder Cartagena scored a fantastic goal from over 25 yards out in the top right corner to give the Lions the lead in the 41st minute, capping off Orlando's attacking persistence. Their goal was nearly met with an immediate response, as Hany Mukhtar was inches away from tying the game in the 43rd minute, with his fantastic strike from well over 30 yards out hitting the crossbar.
Mukhtar came close again in the 59th minute, but his deflected strike was saved by Orlando custodian Pedro Gallese's legs. Orlando held on to a 1-0 lead to win the first game of this 'best-of-three' playoff format.
Scores on the Doors
Atmosphere: 9/10
Food and Drink: 6/10
Stadium: 8/10
Welcome: 9/10
Overall Experience: 9.5/10
GG
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