[Newtbomb]

You're throwing out the holy items from the altar of the Fusion?!? Arrgh...
I am proud of my collection (even the junk)! I am NEVER letting go!
I have 2 bags, a calendar, some cards, old Freekick mags, a 1998 cup, groundskeeper jerseys, etc.
All kinds of stuff!
I just recently started taking pictures of the items, in order to build a deeper Miami Fusion tribute page.
Damn, send the "giveaways" to me, Stuart (or post some pics).

So MANY memories for me....
I loved heckling Meola from behind the goal!
That playoff run in 2001 was SO magical!
The tandem scoring of Chacon & Serna! They were awesome together!

[Stuart]

Difficult to imagine that just a few months after painting that rosy picture, the Fusion would be gone forever, eh?

I wonder how we would be doing now? I think there would have been a slow, steady improvement in attendance. MLS avoided week-day games, etc., to help improve attendance.

Do you remember that last game? What a great atmosphere it was behind the goal, especially in the second half. I remember being heart-broken when our "goal" was disqualified. Bishop being sent-off and throwing his shirt at the ref (not really too smart, but it seemed justified at the time). Listening to Ray in the after-game tent. Walking back to the car and being passed by Ray, who honked his horn and waved at us. Sigh...

Did any of you sign up for the Fusion credit card? I did, and still have it. They even re-newed it last year, so it still has the Fusion badge on it.

I still have lots of Fusion memorabilia, but last week during a clear-out, I decided to start throwing some of it out (the free give-aways, etc). Time to start letting go...

[river]

South Beach Boys - Miami Fusion
Soccer Digest, Nov, 2001 by Dave Brousseau

The Miami Fusion, MLS's Cinderella team, are playing so well that even passive South Florida fans are taking notice

IT'S DIFFICULT TO TELL WHAT pleases Miami Fusion coach Ray Hudson more: the Fusion owning the league's best record at the All-Star break or the effort it took to earn that distinction.

"So far, it's been as close to a dream come true as you can get," Hudson says of the first half of the MLS season. "I don't see how we could have possibly been any better--even in the games that we lost. So it's not just the results, either. Wins and losses are symptomatic of the way a team performs, and I never dreamt our play would be so consistent and so emphatic and so entertaining."

The Fusion--whose future in South Florida was practically written off last season--are playing some of the best soccer in MLS. The team's business fortunes are on the upswing, too: Season ticket sales are up 15% over last season, revenues are up 35%, and group sales are mushrooming.