Orlando City SC hasn’t had much of a problem attracting star power for their inaugural MLS season set to kick off in a little more than a month.
From Brazilian millionaire owner Flavio Augusto da Silva, his friend Kaka, an international star who became the club’s first Designated Player, and US national team midfielder Brek Shea, the new club already has plenty of caché.
Now they have their most famous fan.
Former Major League Baseball star Ken Griffey Jr., an Orlando-area resident, became OCSC’s 10,000th season ticket holder, the club announced Thursday.
"I've played professional baseball in many cities where soccer is a big success, and the buzz here for Orlando City is unlike anything I've ever seen,” Griffey said in a team release. “My family and I are anticipating the arrival of Major League Soccer in Central Florida."
Griffey may not be Jack Nicholson or Spike Lee, but his name carries plenty of weight with baseball fans. Griffey, who the club says is a lifelong sports fan, is a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee whose 630 career home runs ranks sixth on Major League Baseball's all-time list.
But Griffey isn’t all about baseball.
His son, Trey, is a wide receiver on the University of Arizona football team. Griffey is also an avid golfer who recently told ESPN he’s hoping to become a “scratch” player. Now he can add soccer supporter to the list.
