Follow City Away!
By Orlando City UK member, Josh Keeble
It’s been a few days since I landed back in London after my latest trip stateside, and it’s probably fair to say it was my most hectic yet!
When Major League Soccer released the 2025 schedule at the start of the year, one fixture in particular stood out as a must-see. That fixture was Orlando City SC’s first-ever visit to St. Louis, Missouri, conveniently scheduled in the middle of summer when I was finally unshackled from university commitments.
The St. Louis CITY SC game, though, was just one of seven sporting events I attended last week, as my ambition to make the most of this trip drained me both physically and financially.
A delayed start and a newfound love for baseball
My week started off in typically alarming fashion, as my Monday morning flight from London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare was delayed by an hour. When booking the trip, I had been conservative enough to give myself two hours to make my connection to St. Louis, but I was still dreading the customs queues after my O’Hare nightmare last summer.
The reason for my dread was that I was eyeing up that evening’s ballgame between St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. This past year, I have also developed a surprise passion for America’s pastime, although for some time I couldn’t find that perfect team to root for.
That team turned out to be neither the Cardinals nor the Cubs, but I still would’ve been gutted if I missed it. Luckily, O’Hare was kind to me this time, and I made my connection to the Lou in plenty of time.
Not even finally acclimatising to the Florida humidity could’ve prepared me for the brazen temperatures of the Midwest, so I was forced to take refuge from the sun in the sheltered, uppermost tiers of Busch Stadium.
Still, the breathtaking views of the St. Louis skyline from inside the ballpark made it clear I had to return the following night for the second game of the Cardinals’ homestand.
Double duty in St. Louis and Sauget
This time, however, I had bigger plans than just making one ballgame in a night. After I’d spent Tuesday morning decorating downtown St. Louis in my dual Norwich City / Orlando City SC stickers, I caught the first three innings at Busch before making the short hop over the Mississippi back into neighbouring Illinois.
Just a few miles away, Frontier League side Gateway Grizzlies were facing Evansville Otters that same night. I eventually found out that I had missed an all-timer final few innings between the Cardinals and the Cubs, but I was still happy with my decision.
The Grizzlies’ comparatively tiny ballpark was equally charming, offering a spectacular view of the entire St. Louis skyline (including Busch Stadium itself). The ballgame itself wasn’t quite as enthralling, but when else will I find myself in Sauget, Illinois with the opportunity to hit two completely contrasting games in one night?
Orlando City SC’s first-ever MLS visit to St. Louis CITY SC
With the baseball over (for now), it was time for the big day itself. Technically, I was on media duty for the Orlando City SC game, meaning I had to limit my alcohol consumption somewhat before heading into Energizer Park to collect my credentials.
But I was not going to travel all the way there and not support the boys from the stands with the rest of the travelling City fanbase. I had never seen Orlando win away from home in league play, so you could imagine my disbelief when we found ourselves 3-0 up in twenty minutes.
The rest of the game wasn’t quite so comfortable, but Oscar Pareja’s side did enough to grind out three valuable points on the road. Afterwards, I had to revert to being professional at the post-game interviews, where I quizzed man of the moment Ramiro Enrique about his rejuvenated performances after a difficult start to the season.
Unfortunately, we ruled out a Rowdies away-style night out to celebrate since we all had early-morning flights on Thursday. I was up at three in the morning myself, as for some unknown reason I’d booked the 6:00 am service to Washington, D.C. with hopes of catching that day’s 2025 FIFA Club World Cup fixture at Audi Field.
In reality, I had hours to kill in D.C. before the game. Facing off in their final group fixture were Wydad Casablanca and Al Ain – both already eliminated from the knockout contention following defeats to Manchester City and Juventus.
Like the Grizzlies game, it wasn’t exactly a memorable encounter, but I was glad that I’d managed to catch a glimpse of this newly-revised tournament and kept up hopes of hitting seven games in seven days on this trip.
Wrapping up an unforgettable seven-day sprint
Friday morning meant that it was time to start heading south for Orlando’s weekend matchup with FC Cincinnati, but only after I’d made the pilgrimage to Norfolk, Virginia to see the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in action that night.
As a Brit, and with no active Orlando-based major or minor league baseball franchises, there was no natural team for me to root for. However, upon learning of the Tides when attending an International League game in Charlotte, North Carolina last summer, I finally found the answer to my dilemma.
Hailing from Norfolk, England, I had no choice but to support the Tides. It was a strange feeling exploring a city someone from my birthplace founded 400 years ago, and a massive shame that the Tides lost to Gwinnett Stripers that night. But I’ll definitely be back.
As Saturday arrived, I realised that it had been an entire year since my last home game at Inter&Co Stadium. I was once again on media duty for the Cincinnati game, but there no way I couldn’t support the boys from The Wall on such a huge occasion.
Ultimately, FC Cincinnati were just the better side on the nighyt. It was a disappointing way to end the trip, but the whole week served as a reminder that we have the best fans and club in the whole of Major League Soccer.
I’ll try not to leave it so long to make my next home game, especially if we make it to yet another massive play-off tie later this season.
If you’d like to read my MLS Multiplex pieces from the St. Louis and Cincinnati games, click below:
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