I was able to recently attend an Orlando City Soccer Club game at the Citrus Bowl that is the city of Orlando’s professional Soccer Team that plays in the United Soccer Leagues (USL). After attending the game, I am ready to jump on the bandwagon and support “The City”. This is our guide to attending an Orlando City Soccer Club game at the Citrus Bowl. Note that the Orlando City Soccer team is playing at Disney’s Wide World of Sports for the 2014 season.
Orlando City Soccer Club Games
Attending an Orlando City soccer game is the perfect remedy after following and cheering for an overpaid basketball player that was offered over a hundred million dollars to play in our city and we were then told where we could shove that money.
Orlando City Soccer Club consists of a team of professional soccer players that are playing the game that they love in front of a family-friendly crowd cheering them on. Attending the game had me reminiscing of the days when I used to watch UCF Football games in the Citrus Bowl before they were in Division I and you would have 8 or 9 thousand dedicated fans cheering on the hometown team. The sport of soccer under the lights along with the fans has you feeling that you are attending an international sporting event. It’s just like Fifa Soccer on the Xbox.
Orlando City Soccer Game Tips
All in all, the soccer game I attended was a great time and tickets from scalpers could be had in the single digits. Here are some tips when attending the games:
- The name of the team is the Lions but nobody calls them that. When you cheer on the team, you need to yell “Go City!”. It is like we are the New York Mets of Professional Soccer.
- There is a section of “City” fans in section 119 of the Citrus Bowl called the Ruckus that play the drums the entire game and continue to cheer when nobody else is cheering. They tend to segregate themselves from the rest of the fans that is one of the strangest setups I have seen in sports, especially considering there are only a few thousand fans to begin with. Stating that, they are a dedicated bunch in all red (see video below).
- Parking is $10 just outside the Citrus Bowl.
- Orlando Health and Legoland are big supporters of the team along with several other businesses. The half-time show has one of the Legoland men playing goalie with children taking shots.
- The concessions are currently a lot more limited than on football game days but you can still grab a hot dog, popcorn, and a soda.
- The Orlando City Soccer Games are one of the most affordable nights out with your family in Orlando that you can have.
In 2016, we will update this article as the Orlando City Soccer Club will begin their second season in the Major League Soccer League in their new stadium in Downtown Orlando.
Orlando City Soccer Club
Orlando City Promotional Video 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrPQSovC69g
Citrus Bowl Map