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Rivalry..... Renewed? Rekindled? Just continuing?

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Photo Credit: Tormenta FC South Georgia and Greenville will renew their rivalry Saturday night at Tormenta Stadium as the Triumph come calling to Statesboro. Do you renew rivalries? It's not really like Netflix where you renew your subscription each month. I guess if it was something like college football and teams changed conferences and stopped playing each other for years and then either found themselves in the same conference or just scheduled non-conference games against each other, that would constitute renewing a rivalry.  But Greenville and South Georgia play each other every year. Multiple times a year. And they play each other three times this season. Last year I saw enough of Greenville to last a lifetime. I still wish Lyam MacKinnon a lifetime of personal and professional joy as long as that professional joy does not entail returning to Tormenta Stadium as an opponent. Anyway, regardless of if the two teams are renewing their rivalry, rekindling their rivalry, just con...
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Chaos at the Cup

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It almost happened y'all. Tormenta was fourth coming in to the final match of the Jagermeister Cup Group Stage and needed everything to break perfectly to advance. And for a brief window, all those things looked to be falling into place. The most obvious thing needed is that Tormenta had to win against Miami and score at least two goals. That wasn't looking so good early as Miami were able to maintain possession for a lot of the first half and had several chances that, fortunately for Tormenta, didn't come to fruition.  And it stayed that way until just before halftime when Kevin Hoyos put Miami ahead in the 41st minute.  As that was going on, we were also keeping an eye on Greenville and Naples as Tormenta needed Greenville to lose to Naples while scoring three or fewer goals. Naples started out doing their part, getting a goal in the second minute from Tyler Pasnik to give the Florida squad a very early lead. But South Georgia also needed Tampa Bay to lose and be shut out...
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Never Tell Me The Odds

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After a disappointing 1-0 loss to Madison on Wednesday, Tormenta now completes their 10-day, three-city world tour with a trip to Miami for the final group stage game of the Jagermeister Cup. They are mathematically alive to advance but they are essentially the same as Lloyd Christmas going out with Mary Swanson in the movie Dumb and Dumber.      Lloyd Christmas : I want to ask you a question, straight out, flat out, and I want you to give me an honest answer. What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and girl like me ending up together?      Mary Swanson: Well Lloyd, that's difficult to say. We really don't...      Lloyd Christmas: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you Mary, just.... The least you could do is level with me. What are my chances?      Mary Swanson: Not good.      [the background soundtrack music suddenly stops]      Lloyd Christm...
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If you only had one shot (with apologies to Eminem)

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Photo Credit: Tormenta FC Tormenta lost 1-0 to Madison last night with the Mingos getting one shot on goal the whole night. It was a fantastic shot following an errant pass by Tormenta's Aaron Walker, setting up Madison's lone goal of the night. But only one shot. With apologies to Eminem (and to the tune of "Lose Yourself" ) here's my recap: Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment would you capture it or just let it slip? The teams were sweaty, knees weak, legs are heavy Perspiration on their jerseys already, hot and sweaty They're nervous but on the surface they are calm and ready It's a big game, both teams needing a win The game starts, the whole crowd goes so loud They knock it around but the ball just stays out No scoring, how? Defense is strong, wow. The clock runs up, nearly halftime, blaow. Following a turnover, Dourado Pereira He's open on the left, he shoots, it's so good Sam Jones w...
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Battle of the Birds, Part Duex

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Ibises and Flamingos, together at last. It's another Battle of the Birds tonight as the Ibises of South Georgia take on the Flamingos of Forward Madison in Wisconsin. It's the second of a three-game road trip for Tormenta, who defeated Union Omaha 2-1 this past Friday and play in the final group stage round of the Jagermeister Cup Saturday night in Miami.  Let's go to the tale of the tape: Flamingo: Height: 3.9-4.7 feet; Weight: 4.6-9 pounds; 37 mph flight speed Ibis: Height: 1.9-2.3 feet; Weight: 2.2 pounds; 30 mph flight speed. On paper, things don't look good for South Georgia. Madison has a decided height, weight and speed advantage all which could spell doom for Tormenta. They'll have to play smart, not make any mistakes and take advantage of their opportunities if they hope to come away with a victory. Wait, I'm being told that they're going to just let the human players play the game and efforts to train birds to play soccer have been never actually b...
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Knock a little louder sugar

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B-52s front man Fred Schneider. His appearance here will make sense once you read on. Or maybe not. We'll see how it goes. Sam Jones did his best Fred Schneider impersonation Friday night as Tormenta earned their first ever victory over Union Omaha, 2-1.  Yaniv Bazini scored two goals sandwiched around the line Omaha goal all within the first 20 minutes and .... What's that?  I can't just make some weird references to Fred Schneider and move on like everyone knows what I'm talking about? You want some kind of an explanation. Fine. That's fair.  Schneider is one of the lead singers for the Athens, Georgia based B-52s. They're not as popular as the other famous Athens band, R.E.M., but they had hits like Rock Lobster, Roam, and, for our purposes, Love Shack. You know Love Shack. "The Love Shack is a little old place where we can get together." The video has a "before he was famous" appearance by RuPaul. Kids, ask your parents. Or just click on...
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Where is everybody?

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Photo Credit: Tormenta FC Saturday's game against Knoxville started out great. Niall Reid-Stephen scored off a beautiful pass from Mason Tunbridge early to electrify the crowd as Tormenta went ahead 1-0. About that crowd though. There were only 496 in attendance for the game that saw a delay of more than an hour following lightning nearby (perhaps I shouldn't have said electrified the crowd in that last sentence.) Before the delay, the heat index was again more than 100 degrees at kickoff and while the threat of storms never materialized at Tormenta Stadium, there was enough of a threat that it likely kept some fans home. A few weeks ago, Richard Strickland over at Southeast Soccer Report took a look at Tormenta's attendance, or lack thereof, and tried to figure out what's going on . It's a good article and worth your time. He noted that Statesboro is home to Georgia Southern and its 26,000 students, its proximity to Savannah and a region with 430,000 people in it a...
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