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I Now Know What I’m Calling the Orlando City-Inter Miami Series

Published

6 years ago

on

Perfection is the enemy of good. Passing up a good shooting opportunity to try to thread the perfect pass for a tap-in has meant the difference between a win and a draw (or a draw and a loss) for countless soccer teams since the sport was invented. It is with this in mind that I abandoned the brainstorming I’d been doing for the perfect name to hang on Orlando City’s series against Major League Soccer’s Florida newbies, Inter Miami CF. Long story short: I’m calling it Tropic Thunder.

Most of the names floated out there have been…well, OK at best and downright stupid at worst. One that I particularly liked was El SunPassico, but I’m so tired of the recycling of names and concepts that takes place in MLS that I have to respectfully decline. El Traffico is inspired, funny, and (sadly) true. El SunPassico is interesting in its own right, but it’s also pretty much stolen. A lot of people seem particularly inclined to stick “El” in front of any kind rivalry game name (and please note that I called this a series in the opening paragraph and not the “R” word). I’m not. Not everything has to borrow from Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. The word derby is overused too.

I thought long and hard about what ties Orlando to Miami. Obviously, it’s the state of Florida, which is incredibly vast. Just drive from Pensacola to Miami some time. What I kept coming back to is that it’s insanely hot here and ungodly humid. The other day I was thinking about what this series could be called when a thunderstorm rolled in. I have lived in five different states and in a variety of climates. I have never heard thunder or seen lightning the likes of which Florida sees routinely. I thought about hurricanes and tropical storms. And then the words ‘Tropic Thunder’ popped into my brain.

I wasn’t even thinking about the definitely not safe for work Ben Stiller movie at the time. I remember having mixed feelings about that satirical flick and for me it’s probably slightly below the Rotten Tomatoes marks it has gotten. But our David Rohe likes the name precisely because it gives him a reason to use quotes and memes from the film.

Rather, I was thinking of the actual thunder that shakes my house, of the torrential downpours that prevent me from even running full sprint from my front door to my car, because if I did, I wouldn’t have a few rain spots on my shirt. I’d look like I just jumped in a pool fully clothed.

It’s the Florida weather that continuously wrecks our team’s start times in the summer months. It halts games just when teams are settling in. It threatens to cancel matches, and sometimes does postpone them. It interrupts the frenzied noise of the Exploria Stadium — a different kind of thunder, that shakes The Wall rather than my house — when the referee signals the teams to take shelter in the dressing rooms.

When I floated the name in our TML Slack channel it was met with favorable comments. Literally no one on staff is afraid to tell me if something is bad, so I took this as a good sign. I posted the name in the SBN Soccer MLS channel and it was also well received. Again, people there are not afraid to say when they hate something. Maybe some were being nice in their silence, but that only encourages me.

So, I looked for reasons to shoot down this Tropic Thunder idea. And then I thought…why should I do that? At some point we have to call this game something and we’re going to get stuck with something bland and cookie cutter, like Florida Derby, or Sunshine State [Something]. I thought, “fuck it.” I’m calling it Tropic Thunder. I reasoned that if a lot of people don’t like it, I’m on to something good. After all, when lots of people get together to decide things, we end up making Cardi B, “Real Housewives” shows, or flat-brimmed caps popular. We elect people like…well, let’s not go there.

So, I decided to shoot out a poll on Twitter. If people roundly hated the idea of Tropic Thunder on the bird platform, then that only proves the point that I should use it. They did. So, I will. I’m not asking anyone here at The Mane Land to use it, but they are certainly welcome to it. I’m not asking other people to adopt it. But I’m using it and I reserve the right to stop doing that if and when a name I like better finally surfaces.

So, here’s what happened in the poll. I probably shouldn’t have added the whimsical third choice, but it’s the kind of choice I would have voted for, so I took that as a sign that most of those people probably secretly liked Tropic Thunder. Prove me wrong. (You can’t.)

As you can see, almost 60% of the 435 voters didn’t want to admit that Tropic Thunder is obviously a good (again, not perfect, but good) name. About 21% of the voters went with the “I just like to vote” option, which is just a secret ‘Yeah!’ vote. And just shy of 20% went ahead and admitted that they like Tropic Thunder as a name for the series. This told me that it was the right choice. It’s like when you find out someone you know is a big fan of your favorite band, but they like the overplayed pop hit rather than the much more intelligently written deep cut. Hey, “Invisible Touch” is an OK Genesis song, but it can’t hold a candle to “Domino.”

Let’s take a look at some of the responses the poll got. More than one person suggested Florida Derby, and those people likely celebrated recent MLS teams with such inventive names as Charlotte FC and St. Louis City SC. Let’s just say no to that and move on, because MLS will probably pounce on that one.

Look, I’m not letting science technicalities get in the way here. I grew up in Ohio. Any place with a palm tree is tropical AF to me.

[Insert gif of Homer Simpson saying “booooring!”]

You’re yawning after that first one, right? You can admit it. It’s OK. This is a safe space.

The second idea is interesting, but who has that kind of time to wait?

My God, that’s a lot of syllables! Even an abbreviated ‘YJF’ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

I mean, it takes a dig at Inter Miami, which I’m in favor of, but…eh.

Again with the ‘El’ name? And you threw in an accent over the O to boot. I already said I liked El Traffico, but let’s not force a Spanish-sounding name. Hey, there are a lot of Creoles in Florida. Why not a Creole name?

Sounds like a December college football game between some random six-win team from the Sun Belt Conference and the fourth-place team from the MAC.

[/thinkyface emoji] Hmmmm…that does have a nice ring to it.

Points for volume, I guess.

Ah, a man of discerning taste. A dwindling rarity on Twitter.

Another college football game.

I tried for a long time to tie in the Turnpike before giving up on that. I just didn’t like anything I have heard or came up with. Maybe I’ll come back to it someday but this isn’t quite it.

So, for me, this series is now Tropic Thunder. I reserve the right to change my mind later. I reserve the right to ignore all haters or — even better — to feed off of them. If you love it or hate it, you’re putting too much into it. It’s not there to be loved or hated. It’s there to be good, not perfect. Because perfect is the enemy of good.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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