Orlando City’s 2018 Season in GIF Form

The 2018 MLS season was a campaign to remember for Orlando City. Of course, it is memorable for all the wrong reasons. From win streaks to losing streaks, from Jason Kreis to Justin Meram, and all that happened in between, here is how the season unfolded in GIF form. 

The season started out hot. The Lions made numerous changes in the off-season, and the team look primed for a playoff run. The team and fans alike were ready to see what the year would bring. Before the season started, most people were ready for Orlando City soccer. 

And fans got their money’s worth at the beginning of the year. The team went 0-2-1 in the first three games, but then flew towards the top of the standings with a six-game win streak. The play was not always great in that run, but a win is a win, and they were coming in bunches. At that point, the team felt unstoppable. 

What followed that six-game win streak was pretty ugly. The team played well, but the results weren’t coming. Every week it looked like the Lions might turn it around, but come game day, the fans were just disappointed once more. The six-game win streak was followed by a losing streak that led to the next GIF. 

June 15, 2018. The day Jason Kreis got fired, and things officially started to look “not good.” True, the team was on a six-game losing streak, but Orlando was still in a playoff spot at that time. Was the timing of the Kreis firing correct? I’ll let you debate that, but the Lions were in a tough place moving forward. Surely things couldn’t get worse. Right?

Well, actually, it could. It got much worse. Orlando City won just twice more and had three more draws on the season. There is not much else to say to describe the season. It got worse and worse and worse. 

There was a small sliver of hope when Head Coach James O’Connor got hired. All of the right things were said, and O’Connor looked like the man to turn things around. That, of course, never happened, and Orlando City ended in last place in the Eastern Conference. 

The season as a whole could be described as hopes and dreams being shattered. But you know what they say: When it rains, it pours. 

The above two GIFs can be used to describe the mood around the team right now. There is a plan moving forward. Some people still don’t believe it will work. Others just want to believe. Whatever the team does this off-season, it can’t be worse than 2018. Can it?