Orlando has grown as a sports town in the last few years. As soccer season turns to basketball season, Orlando is ready to support its teams anew.
Orlando’s sports season has a nice division line.
The two major teams in the city’s seasons have little overlap. Basketball season goes into soccer season which goes back into basketball season again. The overlaps are short, if at all.
For Orlando City, it has been a season full of promise and frustration. Healing and dissent.
The Lions entered Saturday’s game against D.C. United below the red line for the Playoffs with just four games remaining after Saturday (just two remaining at Camping World Stadium). Orlando City was just two points behind New England to make the franchise’s first MLS Playoffs. The loss — a 4-1 defeat at RFK Stadium will hurt those chances.
It is hard to say the honeymoon for Orlando City is over. The team moves into its new stadium next season and season tickets have sold out for the team’s third season in MLS beginning in March 2017. There is still tons of excitement for the team.
But things have changed for Orlando City.
The team fired the coach that was the architect of USL PRO titles for so long to much fan criticism and frustration. The team struggled to come together and build home wins. It has been a rough season.
Yet support remains unwavering, even as attention turns to college football. This is still a college football team, no matter how much roots the Magic or the Lions put down.
Increasingly though, Orlando proves the naysayers wrong. This is not just a college football town. This is a true, growing sports town.
Orlando City drew 30,218 for its home game last week against the Columbus Crew. That game was played at the same time as UCF’s home night game against Maryland. A double-overtime loss that drew 43,197.
Nearly 75,000 sports fans in the Orlando area filled stadiums on opposite sides of town. It is proof yet again that Orlando has truly grown as a sports town. Grown enough to support multiple teams.
As Orlando City ends its second season in MLS and the Orlando Magic begin their 28th season, it has become increasingly clear this is more than a two-sport town. This is a town hungry for and expecting success on the court and for their dollar. Expecting a great, entertaining experience every time they go to the arena. And more than willing to go to the arena for a game.
Perhaps the addition of Orlando City to the sports environment in Orlando has forced the Magic’s hand some. Orlando City’s runaway success has added some excitement to the town and created some competition and comparison for the Magic.
Perhaps coming at the worst point in Magic history, the Magic found themselves having to try to rebuild their grass roots all while building a team from the ground up following the loss of a superstar.
It did not help that Orlando City was experiencing such immediate success and the grass-root fan base is one of the reasons MLS took the leap to bring its product back to Florida, where it failed spectacularly before.
The Magic have had to be on their toes some. And perhaps Orlando felt a need to become relevant again to compete in a now crowded marketplace.
That marketplace got more crowded this season with Orlando adding a NWSL team, the Orlando Pride, to its growing list of sports teams.
The Pride just completed their inaugural season Saturday and missed the Playoffs. Despite a difficult season in the relatively small NWSL, the Pride were among the leaders in attendance in the fledgling league.
The city, partly thanks to the tremendous success of Orlando City and its promotion, took to this new team quickly. In a league that has had its trouble gaining some footing.
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The reality though is Orlando can support two teams. It proves that again and again. Orlando Magic and Orlando City are not competing for attention, they share it. And Orlando is made better for it.
As another Magic season gets set to begin, the city has entered a new frontier. A reality with multiple sports teams finding their own markets and success within the city. Not as competitors but as important pieces in the Orlando sports scene.
Their successes will certainly push the Magic to change some things to create a competitive entertainment environment. And that begins with building a team that can compete for the Playoffs.
As Orlando’s soccer season ends and its basketball season begins, Orlando will shift its focus again. And do so without missing a beat.
Magic fans are hungry for success yet again. The new Magic season brings with it opportunity to deliver just that. It is another opportunity for the Magic as a franchise to make its mark in the new sports landscape in Central Florida.
As this season begins, there is no competition between Orlando Magic and Orlando City. Not really.
Because Orlando has grown from the town it was when the Magic first arrived in 1989. This is a trust sports city now, ready and abel to support multiple teams successfully.
Next: Frank Vogel has a lot on his plate for Orlando Magic
Now all the Magic have to do is deliver them a winner to support.