Photo courtesy of Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride want you to see them play so badly that they are giving away two free tickets to anyone who lives in Central Florida and has never been to a match before. Seeing this, that’s exactly what Pulp City Magazine did, and it was really simple. I just filled out a short online form, gave up my email address and phone number, and two tickets magically appeared in my app. Because I am an Orlando City supporter, I already had the team app. Your tickets could come in other forms, all digital. 

I spoke with Pedro Araujo, chief marketing officer for the Orlando Pride, before the match. He told me they believe in the product on the pitch and the experience in the stadium. “Part of it is continuing to grow our fan base,” Arajuo said. “Part of our job is to get them to come back and become fans.” The most recent match had an announced attendance of 8,140, and Arajuo told me it’s “fair to say there is room for growth.” He mentions that while the Black Swans supporters are amazing, there are not enough of them to create the same amazing experience on “The Wall” that you see at Orlando City matches. 

Rain dampened the crowd a bit when I attended the May 29 match against Bay City FC at Inter & Co Stadium, but the free seats were a pleasant surprise. They were general admission tickets for the upper sections between 133 and 135, right in the center of the pitch. I sat right behind Alana Difrancesco, smiling that she was seated under cover during the rain that delayed the match for about 50 minutes. “You can see literally everything,” she told me, saying she brought her friend by signing up for free tickets. “I just love women’s sports, so I wanted to check it out and see what is going on.”

We got to see Barbara Banda, the Pride star forward, score twice. I goaded Pride CMO Pedro Arajuo to admit what was going on in my mind. “Barbara Banda is the best player in the world right now. It’s playing in the best league. It’s being the top scorer in the league. She is a difference-maker in every game… It just feels like she is on a totally different level.”

Then there’s Marta. If you don’t know, she’s what they call the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). “That’s undisputable. Marta is the greatest player to ever play the game of women’s soccer,” Arajuo crowed, but even more important is the look on the faces of the little girls and teenagers when Marta takes the pitch. “She is a trailblazer,” Arajuo told me, pointing out that when Marta started in the sport, there were only male soccer role models. Now, when the girls cheer for her, “they can look at her and say I can be a professional player.” While Marta did not enter the 3-1 Pride win against Bay City just before the World Cup break, she will be back for the stretch run.