Rodney Marsh Testimonial, 9/14/79

Try and imagine an alternate world in which former Buccaneers LB Derrick Brooks -- rather than being released by the team following the 2008 season -- instead decided to retire. The Buccaneers, in a show of respect and gratitude for his 13 years of service, then would announce they would host a game at Raymond James Stadium in his honor.

The Green Bay Packers, a team tormented by Brooks over the years, would graciously provide the evening's opposition. Former Buc Warren Sapp, in a show of solidarity with his longtime teammate, would even agree to make an appearance in a red and pewter uniform for one last hurrah.

Brooks himself would not only play in the game, but act as the head coach of the Buccaneers as well. To top it all off, all financial proceeds from the game would go directly into his own pocket.

In the parlance of the international soccer world, such a game is called a testimonial. While a game of this sort for Brooks or any other football player seems unthinkable, such an event occurred in honor of Tampa Bay Rowdies great Rodney Marsh at Tampa Stadium on Sept. 14, 1979.

Just over one month earlier, Marsh announced that the 1979 season would be his last as an active player for the Rowdies. He planned on calling it quits to pursue a career in coaching, and per the custom common in his native England, Marsh had a testimonial coming his way for his many contributions to the franchise.

The testimonial also gave Marsh the opportunity to go out on his own terms, something that did not happen during the NASL championship game earlier that week.

On Sept. 8 at Giants Stadium, the Rowdies faced off against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Soccer Bowl '79. For the second straight season, the Rowdies found themselves one win away from a championship, and for the second straight season, came up just short.

For Marsh, it was a particularly bitter pill to swallow. Trailing by one goal late in the game, coach Gordon Jago benched Marsh at the 78:32 mark in an effort to bring his team's struggling offense to life. Marsh, for one, didn’t buy the strategy.

"In my opinion, I have played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies for four years," Marsh said after the game," and whenever a clutch play was needed, Rodney Marsh was the one who supplied it. I can't make a clutch play sitting on the bench."

Marsh certainly wouldn't have to worry about being benched by Jago or anyone else in his testimonial game. Jago bowed out of coaching the game, citing his terrible record in "friendlies" and a preference for enjoying the game in the stands with his family. Jago's decision thus left Marsh as the player-coach for the game against Tampa Bay's long-time rivals, the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

A crowd of 20,655, as well as former teammates joining the action on the field, turned out to say farewell to Marsh in the first-ever testimonial game to be played in America. Fittingly, the night belonged to Marsh both in spirit and on the field.

He tallied the game's first goal in the 9th minute on a nifty setup by Jan Van Der Veen to give the Rowdies a 1-0 lead.

NASL scoring leader Oscar Fabbiani set up Marsh's second goal in the 39th minute and Perry Van Der Beck added a goal in the second half to round out the scoring for Tampa Bay. Ft. Lauderdale failed to get on the board, and Marsh's playing career in Tampa came to an end with a shutout victory.

A night for Marsh that included two goals, gifts from team sponsors, a plaque from a local 11-year-old and a payday of roughly $50,000 concluded with a gift from Marsh to the fans: his thanks.

Following the game, Marsh retired to Tampa Stadium's press box where he got on the mic to address the crowd.

"I would like to thank the magnificent players of the Tampa Bay Rowdies for four wonderful years," he said. "The spirit on the club is magnificent. There is only one thing better in my mind and that is the spirit of you fans. You have given me four years that I will never forget."

Marsh made one final promise on his way out.

"I'll be back," he said.

True to his word, Marsh returned to coach the Rowdies beginning in 1984 and stayed with the organization as an executive until its dissolution in 1993.

Although 30 years have passed since the testimonial game, Marsh has endured as one of Tampa's most iconic sports figures. Former Rowdies play-by-play announcer Jack Harris recalls what Marsh meant to the community.

"Rodney Marsh made the Tampa Bay Rowdies part of soccer lore," Harris says. "He was the heart and soul of the team and the catalyst for its near- greatness. It was Rodney that people came to see, and he seldom disappointed."

His legacy, however, is perhaps best summarized in his own words.

"I think you won't notice how good Rodney Marsh was for Tampa until he is gone," he once said. "Good for Tampa, good for the Rowdies, on and off the field."

Rodney Marsh Bids Farewell, 7/30/79

On July 30, 1979, the face of the Tampa Bay Rowdies decided it was time to walk away. Rodney Marsh – to this day one of the most memorable personalities this area has ever seen -- announced his retirement effective at the end of the season.

The 34-year-old had just come off a two-goal performance on July 28, a 5-2 victory over Detroit at Tampa Stadium. He chose the team’s weekly Monday afternoon Centre Circle luncheon to drop his retirement bombshell. While not entirely unexpected given his age and desire to transition into a coaching career, the timing of Marsh’s announcement left many surprised.

“I have been thinking about (retirement) for quite some time,” Marsh said. “This is a very, very sad day for me. I have had four tremendous years in Tampa.”

What a four years those were.

Signed by original Rowdies owner George Strawbridge in 1976, Marsh brought an immediate flair to the organization. A former captain of Manchester City's English Premier League team and member of the English national team, Marsh also became one of the biggest names in the entire North American Soccer League.

In short, Tampa had its first bona fide superstar.

Marsh’s time here started out shaky, being named captain of the team by GM Beau Rogers over the objection of then-head coach Eddie Firmani. He had his captaincy stripped by Firmani less than two weeks later, a move that permanently soured their relationship. Still, he scored 11 goals in 21 contests in 1976 while helping the Rowdies to a division championship.

Along the way, he began earning the adulation of Rowdies fans for his passion and personality, on and off the field. In a time when athletes and fans still freely mingled at local bars or clubs, after home games one could always find Marsh out on the town surrounded by “Fannies,” the team’s celebrated die-hards. They took to Marsh because he personified the character of the team: charismatic, brash and in-your-face.

George Strawbridge once said Marsh “showed soccer can be fun, and above all, entertaining, which is exactly what the Rowdies are about.”

The Rowdies and Marsh, however, suffered down seasons in 1977. Marsh recorded just eight goals in 24 games, and Eddie Firmani quit during the season to become the head coach of the New York Cosmos. The Rowdies finished 14-12 and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

The fortunes of both the Rowdies and Marsh turned around in 1978 with the arrival of head coach Gordon Jago from England. With stability restored under Jago, the once-again team captain had his best season, notching 18 goals in 26 games. He led the Rowdies to an American Conference title and a berth in the Soccer Bowl championship game.

At the time of his retirement, Marsh netted 11 goals through 20 games and had the Rowdies, in first place at 19-7, poised to make another deep playoff run. His recent two-goal performance showed he still had the ability to take over a game. That is one of the reasons, Marsh said, that he chose to hang up his cleats.

“I think it is better to quit when people say, ‘why now?’ instead of ‘why not now?’ My belief is that I should quit when I am at the top.”

Marsh shuddered to ever think of Rowdies fans seeing the team’s two-time MVP on a bench instead of on the pitch, or merely playing out the string as a shadow of his former self. So, he decided to exit on his own terms.

As a tribute, the Rowdies announced that they would host a testimonial game for Marsh following the conclusion of the season. The first of its kind in America, the event would give the fans a final chance to honor Marsh. The game – held at Tampa Stadium on September 14 -- would turn out to be an affair to remember.

Rowdies Lose Grudge Match, 6/23/79

Near the midway point of the 1979 season, the Tampa Bay Rowdies had every reason to become complacent. The Rowdies, winners of four straight and nine in a row at home, sat atop the NASL's American Conference with 109 points and a league-best 13-4 record.
Yet despite the presence of a British film crew in town to document a portion of their season, the Rowdies made a move unprecedented in their five-year history: an entirely closed practice. No parties were spared: media, family members, fans, kids from the "Camp Kickinthegrass." All were considered persona non grata as the team geared up for a June 23, 1979, showdown against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

Coach Gordon Jago described the move as "a little quiet time for ourselves. It ought to give us a calming effect."

Perhaps the Rowdies needed some calming after a blowout 4-0 win at Tampa Stadium over the 12-3 Houston Hurricane in their previous game. Sweeper Mike Connell hoped to see his team play even better against Ft. Lauderdale before crowning Tampa Bay as the team to beat in the NASL.

"If we can play like that Saturday against Ft. Lauderdale,” he said, “that's when I'll say we have a great side."

The upcoming contest against the Strikers began taking the shape of an inter-state grudge match. Ft. Lauderdale, on an impressive streak of their own, came in to Tampa winners in seven of their previous eight games.
English comedian Jasper Carrott, host of the documentary being made about the Rowdies, glowed about the prospects of the rivalry between Tampa Bay and Ft. Lauderdale.

"In England, many of the teams are located just a few miles apart," Carrott said. "Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale are a couple hundred miles apart, but the rivalry is there. We want to see the crowd's reaction. We know it will be large and several thousand people will attend from Ft. Lauderdale. We'd like to see how an intense rivalry like this is handled here."

Tampa Bay's best, and most visible player, had a special role in stoking the budding rivalry. In 1978, Marsh called Ft. Lauderdale fans uneducated about soccer and suggested they would learn more about the game by watching the Rowdies instead of their own team. His remarks drew jeers from the fans in South Florida, and some aggressive play directed his way on the field may have cost Ft. Lauderdale an important game. He predicted nothing short of a repeat performance.

"Let them be mad at me," Marsh said. "That'll take their minds off playing the game. I would say the pressure is all on the Strikers."

In front of a season-high crowd of 41,102 fans at Tampa Stadium, the Strikers handled the pressure well in the early going. Former Rowdies goalie Arnold Mausser played brilliantly for the Strikers, stopping 10 shots on goal by Tampa Bay in the first half, including a point-blank save on Steve Wegerle just seconds before the end of the half.

"We should have gone up 3-0," Marsh would say after the game. "They held on and we just didn't put them away."

Ft. Lauderdale would get on the board first, scoring at the 48:41 mark of the second half on a goal by Peruvian Teofilo Cubillas to make the score 1-0. Tampa Bay responded just over seven minutes later as Marsh and Wes McLeod assisted on a goal by Peter Baralic to even up the contest, 1-1.

Prior to the game, Marsh predicted that if the Strikers scored the first goal, the game would be low scoring because Ft. Lauderdale, he said, would sit back and try to defend their one goal. This is exactly what happened, and the teams played it even to the end.

Tampa Bay had a late scare, however, as a Ft. Lauderdale goal was disallowed due to an offsides call. With the score tied, the game then headed into overtime.

In the extra period, Gerd Mueller would make Tampa Bay pay. The West German star took a Ray Hudson corner kick off his chest and put the ball past Rowdies goalie Zeljko Bilecki at the 103:11 mark to give Ft. Lauderdale a 2-1 upset victory. The goal stunned the Tampa Stadium crowd who had not seen their Rowdies fall to Ft. Lauderdale since 1975, when they were known as the Miami Toros.

Despite the loss, however, neither Marsh nor Jago were sold on the Strikers.

"There is no doubt in my mind," Marsh said, "that we were the better team."

"I'll back us against Ft. Lauderdale any day," Jago said. "I don't fancy their program any."

Jasper Carrott, noting the lack of good-will between the teams, surely must have been smiling all the way back to England.

Catching Up With Rodney Marsh, Part II

Rodney Marsh will be forever linked to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. For many years, Marsh was the team’s most recognizable face and a fan-favorite. The one-time captain of the Manchester City Football Club and member of the English national football team, Marsh played for the Rowdies from 1976-79, and then served as head coach from 1984-86. Marsh also spent more than a decade in the team’s front office, serving as the club’s chief executive. Today, Marsh is enjoying retirement and proud to still call Tampa his home. He recently sat down to talk about his career and time with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The following is Part Two of my interview with Rodney Marsh.

Q. You were captain of the Manchester City team, so was there anything extra special about playing Manchester United in Tampa in an exhibition game in May 1978?

A. Definitely, to establish a credibility factor. The fact that we beat Manchester United in Tampa gave us worldwide credibility. People all over the world were saying North American Soccer League was a minor league -- and it was -- but the fact that we could compete with Manchester United was definitely a turning point.

At the time in Tampa, there was somebody who was championing our cause. His name was Tom McEwen, the Tampa Tribune sports columnist. He would write articles about the Rowdies and Manchester United that went around the world. Previously, we had a hard time getting in the American national newspapers. Then because of the Manchester game, we'd be in newspapers in London and throughout the world with Tom McEwen's byline writing about the Rowdies in Tampa Bay.

Q. Did the win over Manchester United help legitimize the NASL around the world?

A. I think that was part of it. But also at the same time, Pele signed with the New York Cosmos about six months before I joined the league. He gave the league massive, massive credibility. He's the greatest ever to play, still is in my opinion. So there’s the Manchester United game, there was an American All-Star team that played against other countries and we did well with that. So there were a few things that added together. The Cosmos would beat teams. They would play teams like Chelsea and win those games. So the more that you did, the more credibility you got.

Q. So by having stars like Pele and yourself in the league, with some international success you were then able to recruit other top players to come over to the United States?

A. After I signed, we signed about a dozen British players within a year. One of the reasons I came -- not withstanding all the other stuff -- was because of Pele. He gave the league credibility.

Q. Using the current example of David Beckham coming to play in Los Angeles, do you think that move has had the same impact on Major League Soccer?

A. No. All over the world, when he signed, people were saying this is serious. America signed David Beckham. This is for real. It was a brilliant, brilliant signing, but the league had no Plan B. You've got David Beckham in Los Angeles playing to a sold-out stadium, and when he goes to play in Dallas, they get big crowds. But without him, everyone else is on their own. The league doesn't have the next stage of players to sustain the interest. It was an enormous mistake, because if you add David Beckham, then a couple months later you need to sign someone like (Zinedine) Zidane to play in New York. If David Beckham doesn't play well, or gets hurt, or is away in England doing something else, then it's back to square one very quickly. MLS should have hired me for a few months as a consultant, because I would have told them this: If you do things in isolation, you'll always fail. You have to follow up, and they didn't have that.

Q. 1978 was a big year for the Rowdies, advancing all the way to the Soccer Bowl championship. What stands out about the playoff run now 30 years later?

A. It was refreshing. It was one of those things that you capture in your life, and it's a moment in time that you remember and never lose the image in your mind because it's so vivid. When I scored the final shootout goal against Ft. Lauderdale to get us into the championship, everybody invaded the pitch. There were people tugging at my shirt, there were players getting their shorts ripped off, and somebody took my gold medallion off my neck. I never saw that again. It was just one of those once in a lifetime things. You throw it all in a cocktail and that's probably the reason why I'm still in Tampa today.

Q. How would you best sum up your experience playing and managing in professional sports?

A. When I look back on my time with the Rowdies, as a player and as an executive, I'd gone 16 years and seen the gamut of everything. There is one phrase I would use, which in my opinion will never change as long as sports are played. I find it amazing that players don't get this. "Nobody is bigger than the team." I don't care who you are. It seems like about 20 years ago, or maybe a little bit longer than that, is when we started to see this "I" and "me" syndrome in life. It was like, to hell with everyone else, as long as I'm okay, I want this. It wasn't about "we" anymore. We've become an "I" and "me" society.

I was born just after the World War II. Back then it was "we are we." There is no "I." We are only we. I like that saying. Players today would do well to remember that. It doesn't matter how big you are, it doesn't matter how famous you are, it doesn't matter how good you are. In five years time, the Green Bay Packers may have somebody come along bigger than Brett Favre. For all he is today, someday he'll just be a memory, and the Packers will still be in Green Bay. No one person is bigger than the game.

Catching Up With Rodney Marsh, Part I

Rodney Marsh will be forever linked to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. For many years, Marsh was the team’s most recognizable face and a fan-favorite. The one-time captain of the Manchester City Football Club and member of the English national football team, Marsh played for the Rowdies from 1976-79, and then served as head coach from 1984-86. Marsh also spent more than a decade in the team’s front office, serving as the club’s chief executive. Today, Marsh is enjoying retirement and proud to still call Tampa his home. He recently sat down to talk about his career and time with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The following is Part One of my interview with Rodney Marsh.

Q. You were an established star in England before you came to play for the Rowdies. What brought you to America?

A. At the time, I was the captain of Manchester City, who are the big rivals of Manchester United. I was 30 years of age and coming to the end of my career, I thought. Then I was traded because of an argument I had with my coach. It was within the English League, but I didn't want to do that. The other options I had were to go to Belgium or come to America. During that time in my life, I was going through some emotional problems, having a bit of a breakdown. The furor that surrounded the trade with the papers and TV really worked me over, so I had an emotional breakdown in my private and professional life. I wanted to get as far away as possible. I'd never even heard of the North American Soccer League. I got a phone call from Elton John's manager. He said, "We've heard what's going on in England. Elton's got a private plane at Heathrow ready to leave for Los Angeles." He was investing in the Los Angeles Aztecs, and he wanted me and George Best to join the team. So we went out to Los Angeles for five crazy days, mostly alcohol- and cocaine-fueled. I wasn't doing cocaine, but it seemed like most everyone else was. Elton John gave his longest version of "Rocket Man." It lasted for 12 minutes. I don't think he knew where he was, really.

Q. So how did you go from Elton John and L.A. to the Tampa Bay Rowdies?

A. During the time that I was there, I got a call in my hotel room from the owner of the Rowdies. He said, "I heard you were in the country. Don't sign with anyone yet. I'll send you a ticket to come to Tampa. Spend a couple of days out here, look around, because we'd love to sign you." My first thought was, "where's Tampa?" But when I flew down to Tampa, the moment I stepped off the plane -- I don't know what it was – I just felt something. Before I even met the coach, I just knew that this was the place for me. I wanted to get as far away from England as possible to somewhere nondescript. Nobody in Britain knew where Tampa was. Hell, there were Americans who didn't know where Tampa was. Within a couple days, though, I signed.

Q. Coming from English soccer, how did you find the level of play here in America?

A. It was like Triple-A baseball. Every franchise had some fantastic players from around the world, but the majority of the teams consisted of journeymen-type players. In England, I played at the very highest level. The thing I noticed when I first got here is that I had a lot of space, but they wouldn't play the ball to me on time. It's like in basketball, when you're wide open, but the ball is passed to you too slow and someone is in your face by the time you receive it. I quickly found that the only way I would survive is to adjust to the level I was playing. Consequently, I wouldn't go looking for the ball. The ball would have to find me.
We had one player who never really got the credit he deserved, named Mick McGuire. He came here in 1978 after playing in Norwich City, England. He was a terrific player. He would give me the ball exactly where I wanted it, not too late, in lots of space. If you give any decent athlete five yards of space, in any sport, they'll kill you. So I had a lot of space to play with.

Q. The Rowdies were a good team from their inception, winning the Soccer Bowl title in 1975, while the Bucs lost the first 26 games they ever played. What was it like to represent the community's winning team?

A. Once in every lifetime something happens where the components work out, and you don't know why and you don't know how, but things come together. I've never known this, and I'd like to ask the original owner, George Strawbridge, if this was planned or it was just circumstances. The team had a fantastic, brilliant marketing campaign. It's been copied many times by major-league sports, including the Tampa Bay Bandits. It was the name of the team: the Rowdies. It gives you the idea of going out on a Saturday night and getting into a fight and having a drink. Incredibly, and I wish I knew if this was intentional, but that's what our team did.

After the games on Saturday night, we'd go out to a place called Boneshakers in Hyde Park and mix with all the other poncers. There'd be about 100 more people shoehorned into this bar because of us. You’d have all the fans, all the cheerleaders, and then regular people as well. When the Rowdies came in, everyone wanted to buy us drinks. By the end of the night, the Rowdies would be getting into fights and next thing you know, we'd be down at the Orient Road Jail. I don't know if it was planned marketing genius, but the players fit the image. It suited me down to the ground because that was my personality. We had some Scottish lads who could really have a drink and a fight too. It was a wild time.

Q. Are the great memories from your playing days one of the reasons you, along with many former players, have chosen to keep homes here?

A. Part of that is because the team was so adored, and still is. The Rowdies were a very successful franchise. The fact is the quality of life I have in Tampa cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world that I would go. It's all those things.

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. San Diego Sockers, 8/17/78

Late one summer night 30 years ago this week, Tampa Bay soccer fans took in one of the must unusual contests in the history of this area.

At stake in a North American Soccer League playoff game between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the San Diego Sockers was a trip to the American Conference finals against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. Earlier in the week, Tampa Bay defeated the Sockers in San Diego, 1-0, and earned a chance to clinch the series on home turf at Tampa Stadium.

The game carried an interesting caveat. Should San Diego defeat Tampa Bay, the two teams would immediately play a sudden-death mini-game to determine the winner of the series. The complications of such a setup presented numerous headaches for the players to contemplate.

For example, the two teams could conceivably play an entire 90-minute game with the score tied at the end. Fifteen minutes of sudden death would follow, and then if the game were still tied, a shootout would be needed to decide a winner. If San Diego came out on top, the teams would then play another 30 minutes of sudden-death soccer.

NASL Commissioner Phil Woosnam defended the league’s playoff format, saying it really wasn’t that complicated. Many Tampa Bay players disagreed with Woosnam, using words such as “stupid,” “crazy” and “messed up” to describe the possible worst-case scenario.

Rowdie right wing Steve Wegerle boldly predicted such madness wouldn't occur.

“There is no way (the sudden death) will happen," Wegerle said.

Oh, but it did.

In front of a crowd of more than 32,000 at Tampa Stadium on Aug. 17, 1978, the Sockers won the game with a 2-1 regulation victory over the Rowdies. San Diego opened the scoring early in the second half at 48:25 on a goal from outside the penalty box by Laszlo Harsanyi.

The Sockers kept the Rowdies off-balance throughout the game by employing an “offside trap” - San Diego moved its defenders away from its own end of the field, creating less space for the Rowdies offense to move the ball while staying onside. This plan worked to perfection, resulting in eight offside calls going against Tampa Bay and helped negate a goal by Graham Paddon that would have given the Rowdies an early lead.

“It was the right thing to do,” said Rowdies defender/midfielder Peter Anderson, “because they have a good defense.”

Not good enough, however, to prevent Anderson from tying the game at 1-1. At the 64:42 mark, Anderson found himself on the receiving end of a pass from team captain Rodney Marsh that began on a Paddon corner kick.

Less than four minutes later, some aggressive play by San Diego resulted in the deciding goal. Following a Tampa Bay scoring opportunity, Walker McCall blew past out-of-position Rowdy defender Mike Connell and put the ball just inside the left post. McCall’s goal gave the Sockers a 2-1 lead they did not relinquish. After that, the Sockers played keep-away.

Still, San Diego paid a severe price for its success with just 20 minutes left in regulation. Goalie Alan Mayer, American Soccer Magazine’s Player of the Year, suffered an injury to his thigh when, attempting to play a ball, he collided with Marsh. As a result, the Sockers played without their star goalie during the sudden-death game to decide the series victor.

As if the evening needed any more drama, a monstrous summer downpour added even more urgency to the situation. With lightning in the sky and sheets of blowing rain blanketing the entire stadium, visibility and safety became a legitimate concern. Officials delayed the start of sudden death while deciding whether to postpone because of the weather.

Tampa radio personality Jack Harris, then the Rowdies play-by-play announcer, remembers the scene vividly to this day.

“I can well recall the water cascading down the steps of the stadium like a waterfall,” he says. “For some reason we had been relegated to the roof of the old press box in a makeshift little shack. Lightning was striking nearby, and there we were holding microphones at the highest point of the stadium.”

Rowdies coach Gordon Jago capitalized on the delay by reminding his players to take advantage of the conditions and pressure San Diego’s replacement goalie, Gary Allison, who had less than a half-game’s worth of playing time all season. Just 3:24 into the sudden death, Jago’s advice paid dividends.

Arsene Auguste, who scored the only goal in Tampa Bay’s 1-0 victory three days earlier, took a shot on Allison from 25 yards out. Despite San Diego’s best attempts to guard against a long-range strike – the Sockers resumed their strategy of keeping 11 players back to defend -- the ball ricocheted off the goalie’s outstretched hands and rolled a few feet along the soggy grass directly to Rodney Marsh. In what amounted to a basketball alley-oop dunk, Marsh put the ball into the net for his 21st tally of the season.

Like the rowdy celebration earlier that day in France when three Americans became the first to cross the Atlantic by hot air balloon, Marsh’s goal set off a delirious, field-charging party by the remaining rain-soaked fans.

Despite being outplayed most of the night, the Rowdies ended San Diego’s season and advanced on to play the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers in the American Conference finals.

Following the game, San Diego coach Hubert Vogelsinger railed against the official’s decision to continue play, calling the conditions “illegal and dangerous.”

“The better team lost,” he said. ‘We were better than them out in San Diego and we were better than them here. The (Marsh) goal was rubbish. We had two great goals, they get rubbish. There’s no question who is the better team. No question.”

Perhaps Vogelsinger was correct, but the Rowdies appeared to be a team of destiny. Despite dropping their first game to Ft. Lauderdale, the Rowdies returned to Tampa and beat the Strikers 3-1 to force yet another mini-game. This time, the Rowdies won in a shootout to advance to the 1978 Soccer Bowl championship.

Unfortunately, the Rowdies ran into the juggernaut New York Cosmos, who were gunning for their second consecutive championship. Tampa Bay fell to New York, 3-1, but an exciting season and memorable playoff run helped cement the love affair between the Rowdies and their fans that remains to this day.