New to town and looking for a local team to root for, we decided to check out the Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League. Even a casual fan of soccer would know their star midfielder, Marta, as GOAT in the women's game, so getting the chance to see her play in person was too good to pass up. Truly we picked the right team at the right time. The environment is fun and supportive, and the club just had arguably the best regular season in NWSL history, setting numerous records along the way. The league just keeps growing, and it's been refreshingly fun following this team all season long.
- Kurt Mensching
FanSided Senior Sports Director
Best fan moment of the year
From individual accolades to team records broken, it feels like there are too many big moments to count in 2024. In May the team made NWSL history with an eighth consecutive win. They ran up an unbeaten streak that passed another record before finally ending after 23 matches in October. And by the end of the year, they'd set a record for most wins and points in league history. Along the way, striker Barbra Banda was nominated for the prestigious Ballon d'Or in women's soccer as one of the best players in the world. All that said, capping off 2024 with an NWSL championship (and being Orlando's first pro sports team to ever win a title) will just be an unforgettable moment for any Pride fan.
What we’ll remember about this fandom a decade from now
We could look back at this as the turning point for a team now in the ninth year of its history. Before this season, it had made the playoffs just once. A recent ESPN article referred to it as once the “laughingstock“ of the league. Now the renewed front office is building an organization that will be great not just for one season but for many more to come, and the fan base is rapidly expanding because of it. 2024 could be the start of something very great for the Orlando Pride.