# @jaywilkinson3 on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BjxYR2QlSlH
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/12567465-jaywilkinson3-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/ea5f6946ab.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-06-08T17:09:59.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** John Wilkinson III (@jfw_3) — https://gondola.cc/jfw_3

## Caption

My soccer journey began in St. Petersburg, Fla when our family went to see a soccer game one Sunday afternoon at Tampa Stadium -aka the Sombrero. The @tampabayrowdies hosted a team from England called Manchester United. I didn’t know much about soccer but my dad told me it was a big deal and that ManU was the best team in the world so we went and got our reserved tickets for $6. .
The experience was magical and I was all in. From that game, I didn’t miss a single Rowdies home game (indoor or outdoor) until the NASL folded in 1984. .
Names like Marsh, Connell, Wegerle, DuBose, McLeod, VanDerBeck, Smethurst, and Tatu will forever be etched into my mind along with so many wonderful matches at The Sombrero and Bayfront Center Arena. If I had to pick one as the best, it would have be the conference finals in 1978 against the Ft . Lauderdale Strikers. (Wish there was video of this game, but not sure it even exists) Pouring rain, an additional mini game, NASL-style shootout with the subsequent full scale pitch invasion - the night when game heroes Winston DuBose and Rodney Marsh cemented themselves as household names in the Bay Area. .
I live in Nashville and work for @nashvillesc as their team photographer and tomorrow night, I will have the pleasure of shooting a game with two teams which mean so much to me - from my humble beginnings into the world of soccer, to the current realization of having a USL and soon to be MLS team in my hometown of Nashville.  Should be a great evening.
#ourtownourclub #nashville #TBRvsNSH #uslsoccer #sportsphotography #tampabayrowdies 
#rowdiessoccer

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 22
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 4

## Tags

sportsphotography, tampabayrowdies, uslsoccer, rowdiessoccer, ourtownourclub, nashville, tbrvsnsh

---
Copyright (c) Gondola