It is plastered throughout the Citrus Bowl as the official credo for the organization.
The Lions were going to defy expectations off the field and fill the Citrus Bowl with soccer fans for their opening game. They were going to maintain that attendance momentum throughout the season. They were going to establish a soccer culture and maintain everything they had built in USL Pro at this bigger stage in MLS.
Check on that.
Orlando City is one of the top teams in terms of attendance. The organization had to change its stadium plans to fit more fans.
Where the Lions have not defied expectations is their stated goal and (maybe) expectations on the field. Orlando City is in the Playoff race, but fading slowly away from the picture. There has been only one win in two months as the Lions have over-relied perhaps on Kaka and have faced injuries.
Really, it feels like the struggles of the last few months are one that you would normally see in an expansion franchise. This is a team largely made up of the cast offs of other teams and young players brought up from the USL Pro team. The Lions opted for a very specific build up with stalwarts like Kaka and Brek Shea helping guide the team to relevancy immediately.
Injuries have hit this team hard. Brek Shea may play his first game since June 24 when Orlando City plays at New England this Saturday. Kevin Molino tore his ACL in a friendly. And it has been an ever-evolving lineup of some players disappointing (Amobi Okugo was already shown the door) and the team still finding its way.
This feels natural for a new team. It just came with the added weight of the team’s success at lower divisions and the star power that comes from signing a former international soccer player of the year in Kaka.
The frustration fans feel from the losing is real because they saw what the team could be early in the season and are not seeing it come to fruition.
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wrote the expectations is the only thing that has marred Orlando City’s inaugural season:
In actuality, what we’re seeing now is what we should have expected all along. After Saturday night’s rain-delayed 1-1 draw with the cellar-dwelling Chicago Fire, the struggling Orlando City Lions have only one win in their last 10 games. Although they are still mathematically in the playoff hunt; they are now playing more like the worst team in the league than the best.
This, for all of us nouveau soccer fans, is what happens when the new-car sights and smells wear off and you are left with the sight of bird poop on the windshield, Little Bobby’s mud-caked cleats littering the backseat and the smell of those fast-food french fries that fell between the seats last week.
Yes, this is the reality of being an expansion franchise. A good dose of it will help the organization and franchise grow.
The Magic were an expansion franchise once too. They did not have the built-in advantage of being able to sign a player of Kaka’s caliber or bring in a Brek Shea or even retain a Kevin Molino. Their roster was built entirely of players acquired in the expansion draft.
Reggie Theus is no Kaka.
The results were predictably much worse than Orlando City.
Despite a fast start to the season — Orlando surprisingly stood at 8-11 to start the season — the team eventually faded. Talent won out.
What did not change throughout the Magic’s season though was the enthusiasm and excitement for the team. Fans remained engaged with this new thing and new franchise throughout the 18-win season of those first 82 games. Record did not matter.
Eventually it would, but not in the first year.
What Orlando City tried to do in building a playoff team was extremely admirable. With just 10 teams in each conference and six teams making the Playoffs from each conference, it would be silly not to try to build something that can compete.
The Lions definitely compete. They are struggling right now, but they are at least in the conversation. The Magic were quickly out of the conversation and not relevant until they drafted Shaquille O’Neal.
That was about the time when the shiny newness of the team was wearing off. Orlando needed to win at that point and O’Neal was a godsend to keep the franchise’s energy going.
Orlando City still has a lot of energy and a lot of momentum from strong marketing and support from fans. The frustration from losing is a natural growth process for the fan base. The season ticket base is strong — 2016 season tickets already sold out.
At some point that patient runs out.
But that may not be for some time. Orlando City has put together a team that can compete and can quickly build to continue competing. It may not be very long for the Lions in the expansion stage at the end of the day.
