Judging by the number of times, ' where can I watch the football (soccer) match? ' gets asked on the Orlando Villas forum, and by the number of replica football shirts seen in the theme parks, there are a good number of soccer fans visiting Orlando at any given time, so how about visiting an MLS ( major league soccer) match?
Orlando City joined the MLS league in the 2015 season and played their inaugural game against New York City FC on the 8th March 2015. In the words of Max Boyce ' I know, ' cos I was there! '
First a bit of background. . . . . . bear with me as it' s relevant to my attendance at this particular game. For nearly forty years I have been married to a soccer fan, I have 2 sons who are also serious soccer supporters and with the advent of televised soccer games and Sky Sports on TV I have followed the game, not necessarily by choice but I have absorbed it via osmosis through my pores. My family support the blue side of Manchester ( yes, I know, I know) and when I say support, it has not just been a case of picking a team, buying the shirt and saying you are a supporter but my husband in particular has been there through thick and thin ( mostly thin! ) and they are all season ticket holders at The Etihad Stadium, for my husband and youngest son this is a round trip of over 300 miles for every home game so it' s pretty serious.
Over the last couple of years anyone who supports MCFC cannot fail to have heard about their affiliation with new MLS side New York City Football Club ( NYCFC) who will are the MLS' s 20th franchise and are co-owned by MCFC and the New York Yankees (New Yorks Major League Baseball team) The famous sky blue strip of MCFC is now worn across the Atlantic and England' s Frank Lampard joined the US side in June 2015 at the end of the English Premier League season.
In our household there have been many conversations about trips to New York in order to see NYFC play in the MLS, something even the women folk have approved of. . . . . . . . just think of all the shopping and trips through Central Park!
When the fixture list for the 2015 season was released my other half was somewhat excited to find that the inaugural game for NYFC was an away fixture against Orlando City FC, right in the middle of our vacation, it must have been written in the stars! There followed considerable online searching of the club sites to keep up to date with the ticket details so that on the day that the tickets were released we were able to place our order. This in itself caused great debate about where to sit, The Orlando Citrus Bowl seats 60, 000 plus spectators, where do the away fans sit? Given the distances involved are there any away fans? It' s a bit different traveling a few thousand miles than the few hundred miles an away game in the Premier League might involve. According to Orlando City' s website, before they joined the MLS they played at WDW Wide World of Sports and the average match day attendance was less than 10, 000 so were they really expecting to fill a 60, 000 seater stadium? In the end we plumped for seats similar to the situation of hubby' s seat at The Etihad Stadium, second level on the edge of the penalty box.
Booking online from any of the MLS clubs defaults to Ticketmaster and if you don' t already have a Ticketmaster account you will be required to set one up but it' s quick and simple to do and once your transaction is complete you can print your tickets.
Continued in part 2
Orlando City joined the MLS league in the 2015 season and played their inaugural game against New York City FC on the 8th March 2015. In the words of Max Boyce ' I know, ' cos I was there! '
First a bit of background. . . . . . bear with me as it' s relevant to my attendance at this particular game. For nearly forty years I have been married to a soccer fan, I have 2 sons who are also serious soccer supporters and with the advent of televised soccer games and Sky Sports on TV I have followed the game, not necessarily by choice but I have absorbed it via osmosis through my pores. My family support the blue side of Manchester ( yes, I know, I know) and when I say support, it has not just been a case of picking a team, buying the shirt and saying you are a supporter but my husband in particular has been there through thick and thin ( mostly thin! ) and they are all season ticket holders at The Etihad Stadium, for my husband and youngest son this is a round trip of over 300 miles for every home game so it' s pretty serious.
Over the last couple of years anyone who supports MCFC cannot fail to have heard about their affiliation with new MLS side New York City Football Club ( NYCFC) who will are the MLS' s 20th franchise and are co-owned by MCFC and the New York Yankees (New Yorks Major League Baseball team) The famous sky blue strip of MCFC is now worn across the Atlantic and England' s Frank Lampard joined the US side in June 2015 at the end of the English Premier League season.
In our household there have been many conversations about trips to New York in order to see NYFC play in the MLS, something even the women folk have approved of. . . . . . . . just think of all the shopping and trips through Central Park!
When the fixture list for the 2015 season was released my other half was somewhat excited to find that the inaugural game for NYFC was an away fixture against Orlando City FC, right in the middle of our vacation, it must have been written in the stars! There followed considerable online searching of the club sites to keep up to date with the ticket details so that on the day that the tickets were released we were able to place our order. This in itself caused great debate about where to sit, The Orlando Citrus Bowl seats 60, 000 plus spectators, where do the away fans sit? Given the distances involved are there any away fans? It' s a bit different traveling a few thousand miles than the few hundred miles an away game in the Premier League might involve. According to Orlando City' s website, before they joined the MLS they played at WDW Wide World of Sports and the average match day attendance was less than 10, 000 so were they really expecting to fill a 60, 000 seater stadium? In the end we plumped for seats similar to the situation of hubby' s seat at The Etihad Stadium, second level on the edge of the penalty box.
Booking online from any of the MLS clubs defaults to Ticketmaster and if you don' t already have a Ticketmaster account you will be required to set one up but it' s quick and simple to do and once your transaction is complete you can print your tickets.
Continued in part 2