Meet the New Guy: Ben Miller

Hello Mane Landers, my name is Ben and I’m the new kid on the block. Not like the Donnie and (formerly) Mark Wahlberg-led boy band, although I did see their tour bus in a Waffle House parking lot once. I’m one of the new writers for the site and I’m very excited to have been given this opportunity. I’ve been an avid soccer fan all of my life, supporting the USMNT, Colombian National Team, and Chelsea FC across the pond. More recently, that list has grown to include the Lions after attending my first game this past March against the Union in the new stadium.

I also grew up playing soccer, and still try to get out and play in some pickup games when I have the time. I’m currently in my last year of undergraduate studying to become an athletic trainer, and have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to work with soccer teams both at the high school and collegiate level, which I enjoyed immensely.

Something that really caught my eye in recent years, especially since I began to follow OCSC, is the tremendous growth that Major League Soccer is experiencing. With expansion teams coming thick and fast, the estimated worth of franchises growing exponentially every year, and more and more fans sitting up and taking notice of the league, it's a very exciting time to be a fan of any team in MLS. While foreign leagues have their fair share of excitement, there's also something special (for me at least) about having all of the action happening closer to home. With Orlando City in particular, the passion that the club's fans (including all of you) show for the team is both energizing and addicting and I'm proud to call myself a Lions supporter.    

As I mentioned above, I’ve been a fan of soccer for all my life but recently I’ve started to want to experience it even more. With my stints both in stadiums as a fan and on the sideline as medical personnel not quite cutting it, I began to look for ways to further my passion. And what should fall into my path but this lovely site? Always eager to prattle on about soccer with people who actually give a crap, I decided to try and get involved, and, voila, here I am. I'm very thankful that the powers that be at The Mane Land decided to bring me on and I'm very much looking forward to sharing my love of the game with some of the best fans in the business.