This week's Fan of the Week is Season Ticket Member Angela Porter!
This week’s Fan of the Week is Season Ticket Member Angela Porter!
When did you become a soccer fan?
“I became a soccer fan because that was the first organized sport my parents put me into as a kid. I think I started in, what was known back then as the under eight league, the under eight and under ten timeframe. Just Green Country Soccer Association, this was pre-Tulsa Hurricanes back when there was only one recreational league to play in this area of Oklahoma. I was just a fan from playing the game from the under-eights to playing for my army companies team all the way up to about 21 to 22 years old.
When were you introduced to FC Tulsa?
“I was a Roughnecks fan as a kid. When you win state championships and such you got to walk out with the Tulsa Roughnecks on their field at Skelly Stadium for home games the way you see around the world now where professional players are walking out with children. So, if you were on good enough teams that did good enough things you got that prize of being able to attend the Roughneck games and be on the field with players. So that is how I became a Tulsa Roughnecks fan, but of course, they went away and there wasn’t a whole lot of US Soccer to get behind so I have always just been a huge fan of the women’s national team from the late 80s and an English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur fan.”
What is your favorite Tulsa soccer moment?
“One of my favorite moments was an Open Cup game where we won a shootout [2017 U.S. Open Cup Third Round vs. San Antonio FC] in one of the early rounds. It was one of the most exciting games, one of those where you run onto the field and throw the goalie up on your shoulders. That was [Fabian] Cerda who was in goal for us, it was Cerda’s first season with the Roughnecks. It was just a great game moment, having the whole team out there and rushing the field on that great PK save that won us that game.”
What are your thoughts on going from Tulsa Roughnecks to FC Tulsa?
“My original take was that we are going away a little bit from our history that is pretty unique for any USL Championship team as far as being former Soccer Bowl champions before Major League Soccer was Major League Soccer. We were one of the smaller towns that actually had a big-league club with a long, storied history. Changing the name, changing the logo and the colors, I’m absolutely 100% excited and on board with it. I think it is a better representation of who we are and where we want to be. But the new look with the colors, everything, is representative of the city and in line with how soccer is run around the world. It is bringing us into the same fold as hundred-year-old clubs, and I couldn’t be more proud or happier to see this kicked off the ground.”
How do you feel about FC Tulsa in 2020?
“I have never been more excited, I felt more optimistic and more enthusiastic getting FC Tulsa and this team started this year, than I did the very first season they brought the Roughnecks back in 2015. I honestly thought this was the start that should have been, and I am chomping at the bit to get this season with this team and this front office, the entire package they have put together this year for me was the start of professional soccer in Tulsa again.”
Who is your favorite player on the current team?
“I am going to have to go with [Rodrigo] da Costa. He is the player I know the most based on past performance, being a returning player and you know what he can do with the ball at his feet. He is a good leader on the field and really just a good all-around player for us and just one of the guys we need right now so I am going to have to go with the ole #16.”
Do you prefer the City or State Kit?
“I like the State Kit better, that black with the gold for me is my go-to. I do have both kits, but the black kit is my favorite. I had to get the white one just so I could have one, especially for the inaugural FC Tulsa season, and it is probably a wiser choice in the summer months. But I gotta say that State Kit is tight.”
What were your thoughts on the first game of the season, a 1-1 draw at Sacramento Republic FC?
“Are you kidding me?! A draw against Sacramento on the road…I’ll take a draw any day like that. If we would have won, I would’ve been completely ecstatic, but that draw on the road to Sacramento. They didn’t give up, that goal came late, and it wasn’t a junk goal either. It was quality stuff. It was really quality play at the end of the game and the guys just didn’t give up, a 100% effort that got us that goal.”
When did you become a soccer fan?
“I became a soccer fan because that was the first organized sport my parents put me into as a kid. I think I started in, what was known back then as the under eight league, the under eight and under ten timeframe. Just Green Country Soccer Association, this was pre-Tulsa Hurricanes back when there was only one recreational league to play in this area of Oklahoma. I was just a fan from playing the game from the under-eights to playing for my army companies team all the way up to about 21 to 22 years old.
When were you introduced to FC Tulsa?
“I was a Roughnecks fan as a kid. When you win state championships and such you got to walk out with the Tulsa Roughnecks on their field at Skelly Stadium for home games the way you see around the world now where professional players are walking out with children. So, if you were on good enough teams that did good enough things you got that prize of being able to attend the Roughneck games and be on the field with players. So that is how I became a Tulsa Roughnecks fan, but of course, they went away and there wasn’t a whole lot of US Soccer to get behind so I have always just been a huge fan of the women’s national team from the late 80s and an English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur fan.”
What is your favorite Tulsa soccer moment?
“One of my favorite moments was an Open Cup game where we won a shootout [2017 U.S. Open Cup Third Round vs. San Antonio FC] in one of the early rounds. It was one of the most exciting games, one of those where you run onto the field and throw the goalie up on your shoulders. That was [Fabian] Cerda who was in goal for us, it was Cerda’s first season with the Roughnecks. It was just a great game moment, having the whole team out there and rushing the field on that great PK save that won us that game.”
What are your thoughts on going from Tulsa Roughnecks to FC Tulsa?
“My original take was that we are going away a little bit from our history that is pretty unique for any USL Championship team as far as being former Soccer Bowl champions before Major League Soccer was Major League Soccer. We were one of the smaller towns that actually had a big-league club with a long, storied history. Changing the name, changing the logo and the colors, I’m absolutely 100% excited and on board with it. I think it is a better representation of who we are and where we want to be. But the new look with the colors, everything, is representative of the city and in line with how soccer is run around the world. It is bringing us into the same fold as hundred-year-old clubs, and I couldn’t be more proud or happier to see this kicked off the ground.”
How do you feel about FC Tulsa in 2020?
“I have never been more excited, I felt more optimistic and more enthusiastic getting FC Tulsa and this team started this year, than I did the very first season they brought the Roughnecks back in 2015. I honestly thought this was the start that should have been, and I am chomping at the bit to get this season with this team and this front office, the entire package they have put together this year for me was the start of professional soccer in Tulsa again.”
Who is your favorite player on the current team?
“I am going to have to go with [Rodrigo] da Costa. He is the player I know the most based on past performance, being a returning player and you know what he can do with the ball at his feet. He is a good leader on the field and really just a good all-around player for us and just one of the guys we need right now so I am going to have to go with the ole #16.”
Do you prefer the City or State Kit?
“I like the State Kit better, that black with the gold for me is my go-to. I do have both kits, but the black kit is my favorite. I had to get the white one just so I could have one, especially for the inaugural FC Tulsa season, and it is probably a wiser choice in the summer months. But I gotta say that State Kit is tight.”
What were your thoughts on the first game of the season, a 1-1 draw at Sacramento Republic FC?
“Are you kidding me?! A draw against Sacramento on the road…I’ll take a draw any day like that. If we would have won, I would’ve been completely ecstatic, but that draw on the road to Sacramento. They didn’t give up, that goal came late, and it wasn’t a junk goal either. It was quality stuff. It was really quality play at the end of the game and the guys just didn’t give up, a 100% effort that got us that goal.”
