First Game Played April 13, 1996
Historical Moments
1996:On April 13th, The Mutiny were welcomed to Tampa with their inaugural game against the New England Revolution. The result was a 3-2 Mutiny victory. There were many stars on the team, including Carlos Valderrama, Steve Ralston, and scoring machine Roy Lassiter, who scored a record 26 goals in the season. Thomas Rongen also coached the team. As for the season, the Mutiny claimed the best record in the league at 20-12 and were the first winners of the Supporter’s Shield. In the playoffs, they would be taken to a third game by the Columbus Crew before eliminating them. In the conference final, though, the Mutiny’s remarkable season would come to an end as they were swept by eventual champions DC United.
1997:In a season that saw coach Thomas Rongen leave to take the New England Revolution’s vacancy, the Mutiny would replace him with John Kowalski. Under him, the Mutiny would continue to play well and finished the season with a record of 17-15. But the Columbus Crew would get revenge on the Mutiny for the previous year by sweeping them. After the season, Kowalski resigned from the club.
1998:In addition to getting a new coach, Tim Hankinson, Star Carlos Valderrama would leave his original club to join their new Florida counterparts, the Fusion. As a result, the Mutiny would struggle through the season, finishing with a record of 12-20 and miss the playoffs for the first time.
1999:Looking to rebound from their disappointing year, the Mutiny would get back Carlos Valderrama, and statistically and record-wise, didn’t help the team much, but even with a record of 14-18, the Mutiny would make a return to the playoffs. But like two years ago, they would be swept by the Columbus Crew in the first round.
2000:The Mutiny would struggle through the first half of the season, but would pick it up again near the end of the season, finishing with a mediocre 16-12-4 record. But in the first round of the playoffs as the 4th seed, the Mutiny would be swept by the 5th seed Los Angeles Galaxy.
2001:Coach Alfonso Mondelo replaced the fired Tim Hankinson, and the Mutiny would struggle mightily. In the middle of the season, Mondelo was fired, and Perry Van DerBeck attempted to revive the struggling franchise. On September 4th, the Mutiny would drop a 2-1 decision to the Columbus Crew, and their record stood at 4-21-2. Unfortunately, that would be the last game the Tampa Bay Mutiny would ever play as the September 11th attacks on America canceled the rest of the season. The Mutiny, along with the Miami Fusion, ceased operations on January 8, 2002, because they couldn’t find local ownership, and the horrible season seemed to drive fans away.
Mutiny Stadiums
Houilhan's Stadium 1996 - 1998 | Raymond James Stadium 1999-2001 |
Mutiny Memories
Mark Dougherty 1996-1997 | Guiseppe Galderisi 1996-1997 | Cle Kooiman 1996-1997 | Ivan McKinley 1996-1997 | Nelson Vargas 1996-1997 | |
Martin Vasquez 1996-1997 | Carlos Valderrama 1996 MLS MVP | Frankie Hejduk 1996-1998 | Ray Lassiter 1996-1998 1996 Scoring Champion | Frank Yallop 1996-1998 | |
Mike Duhaney 1997-1998 1997 Rookie of the Year | Gilmar 1997-1998 | Thomas Ravelli 1998 | Alan Prampin 1997-1999 | Musa Shannon 1997-1999 | |
Jan Eriksson 1998-1999 | Mauricio Ramos 1998-1999 | Chris Houser 1998-2000 | Dominic Kinnear 1998-2000 | Raul Diaz Arce 1999-2000 | |
Manny Lagos 1999-2000 | Steve Ralston 1996-2001 1996 Rookie of the Year | Carlos Valderrama 1996-1997, 1999-2001 | Eric Quill 1997-2001 | Josh Keller 1998, 1999-2001 | |
Chad McCarthy 1998-2001 | Joseph Addo 1999-2001 | Scott Garlick 1999-2001 | Ritchie Kotschau 1999-2001 | Steve Trittschuh 1999-2001 | |
Mamadou Diallo 2000-2001 2000 Scoring Champion | Devin Barclay 2001 | Ali Curtis 2001 |