The Orlando Pride began their success even before Alex Morgan officially arrived on the team. The superstar Morgan’s signing only boosts the strong support.
Things have moved really quickly for the Orlando Pride since they officially came into existence a little less than two weeks ago.
The Pride were birthed at Lake Eola to much fanfare with former U.S. Women’s National Team coach Tom Hermanni taking the helm. The rumors began immediately that the Pride would be bringing in some pretty heavy hitters.
It culminated today with the team announcing it had acquired Ashlyn Harris, a local product from Satellite Beach and backup goalkeeper from the 2015 Women’s World Cup champion U.S. team.
The roster is beginning to take shape and excitement and support are steadily building. As of last week, club chairman Phil Rawlins said they had sold 1,500 season tickets. That number has surely grown.
The big get though, the driving force and biggest draw for the team’s first season, was undoubtedly the one announced last Monday.
Alex Morgan was the highlight of a big weekend in women’s soccer in the City Beautiful last weekend. She scored the opening goal in a 3-1 U.S. win over Brazil in front of 32,000-plus. Morgan is the kind of players that gets attention as she has become the most marketable women’s soccer player in the world.
Her play has earned it to.
More than anything though, Alex Morgan is just a part of the story in Orlando. Just like Kaka is only part of the story for the Lions.
Soccer has found a home in Orlando and extending that to the growing NWSL in the wake of this summer’s World Cup victory is only a natural extension of that.
“You guys have done so well in just creating such a community for this club,” Morgan said in her introductory press conference. “You have so much passion and pride for this club and it shows. This city has just embraced this sport and embraced this club. I’m really excited to be a part of it.”
And Morgan is really a part of it, not all of it.
Wherever she went — and this would not be the case in Portland where she was playing before Orlando as Portland has a fantastic soccer community — Morgan was going to be a star. But there are only a few places where soccer thrives no matter who is there. And specifically women’s soccer. Orlando would almost assuredly be among the top teams in attendance in NWSL without Morgan’s presence.
Morgan is just a bow on top.
Her arrival and her almost targeting Orlando as a place for her — and it helped her husband Servando Carrasco joined Orlando City this past summer — was more a sign of Florida and, specifically Orlando, becoming a place for soccer in the Southeast, if not the U.S.
“It was kind of a dream come true for me to play in a city like this,” said Kaylyn Kyle, who played for Canada’s national team. “It’s incredible to see [the fan passion]. For me, it was a no brainer and to finally be with a club and a community that is embracing women’s soccer and supporting us. I’m just super grateful to be here and so thankful to have this opportunity to represent this club.”
It is that support built in before Morgan and the team arrived that seems to suggest Morgan is only part of the equation of success for this team in the fledgling league rather than the main reason for the groundswell of support. She certainly boosts things for that inaugural year and makes the team seemingly instantly competitive.
Orlando City as an organization, including the Pride, has built up the academy and youth leagues to support soccer in the area. This is vitally important in developing soccer talent in the area — and potentially for the team itself for both the men and women.
Florida has long been the untapped market in soccer. MLS had false starts in Miami and Tampa in its early years. Orlando persuaded MLS to give Florida another try and found great success.
The NWSL gets its crack in the Florida market now. And what has become, as Rawlins has styled it, the Soccer Capitol of the Southeast.
“In Florida there are so many great NCAA women’s soccer teams in college that have such a presence,” Morgan said. “I think that is translating to the professional side of things and just showing how youth, club and college can translate into becoming professional soccer players as females, and successful ones at that.
“I think it is something this region just hasn’t had before, but every time the national team comes down to Florida we have great attendance records. I know that a women’s team is going to do great here and watching the city rally behind Orlando City the last couple years, especially this year in their inaugural season of MLS, I just know it is going to take off.”
Morgan is helping launch it into the stratosphere for sure. But the ball was already rolling with women’s soccer and Orlando. The support was built in.
Orlando Pride’s likely ultimate success was forged in the support the city already had for the game and the sport. Morgan’s arrival is only taking it to another level.
Carson Ingle (@caingle) contributed to this report.
