If the coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets and trash can don’t give away how big of a Tampa Bay Rowdies fan that Lizze Burda is, she says that’s your problem.
- Lizze Burda, 88, is a sassy soccer lover
- She's been a supporter of the Rowdies since 1975
- Now she's encouraging others to support the team
The 88-year-old sassy soccer lover isn’t just any fan, she has some authority, too.
Burda was the vice president of the Rowdies fan club, called the Fannies, more than 40 years ago. She said some players wanted that fan club’s name changed.
“There were a lot of English players, so they suggested we change the name and like I said before, aint gonna happen,” she said.
Burda said she rarely misses a game and always brings her tambourine.
“This is my tambourine that I drive everybody crazy with and bang the heck out of it on a metal railing,” she said.
It’s something she’s done since her first Rowdies game back in 1975. She still has the ticket and says she can remember it like it was yesterday.
“The announcer up there was just as green as I was and then he said 'Goal, goal, goal!' And then he says, 'Oh excuse me, it’s not a goal.' What do you mean it’s not a goal!" laughed Burda.
That was a different time, different stadium and now, it will be a different league if the Rowdies have their way. The team is starting the process to hopefully join Major League Soccer.
“To think that the second time go-round Rowdies can get into the MLS is very good because it gives us hope that our Rowdies will be here for a long time,” Burda said.
It’s something she’s counting on and encouraging more people to attend a game and she’s giving a convincing reason why.
“I would describe it as something you want to come and see a bunch of good looking guys out there running around after a soccer ball. And sit up there with us cheering on and drinking beer and it’s a hell of a lot of fun,” she said.
Hopefully the word spreads and the team gets its way.