San Juan, Puerto Rico FC Win Restrepo Award for Top NASL Away Day

Who's ready for a road trip to San Juan?!

By: Brandon Cockrum (@brew_wallace)

Congratulations to Puerto Rico FC and the city of San Juan for winning the first ever Top NASL Away Day! The island club is the first ever recipient of The Walter Restrepo Away Day Achievement Award.

While this is likely the only “hardware” that the expansion club will win in 2016, it’s nonetheless an accomplishment worthy of pride. In just over one month of play in the NASL, the football club, owned by pro-basketball player Carmelo Anthony, has already established itself as the most desirable city for NASL supporters to visit. The chance for soccer travelers to make a beach holiday out of the away match certainly helped San Juan's chance at winning, but the club’s supporters, stadium and match day experience were also significant features that appealed to voters.

Puerto Rico FC play their games at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, PR. The 22,000 seat, former-baseball stadium hosts nearly 5,000 supporters of PRFC for each home match.

"When you come to Puerto Rico you come to paradise! When you come to Juan Ramón Loubriel, you'll see some of the most passionate fans in the league. Electric atmosphere! Everybody is welcome to our Island!" - @BarraNaranjaPRFC (@BarraPrfc)

More than five hundred votes were cast in the competition pitting all twelve NASL cities in a bracket-style tournament to determine the NASL's most appealing city to visit. San Juan beat out Indianapolis in the competition’s final round, with 62% of voters preferring a trip to the island territory. In previous rounds, San Juan also edged out Tampa Bay, Edmonton, and Ottawa. Indianapolis advanced to the finals with wins over New York City, Minneapolis, and Oklahoma City.

The prestigious, international award is named after professional soccer player Walter Restrepo, currently on loan to the USL’s Bethlehem Steel from MLS’ Philadelphia Union. In 2014, Restrepo was traded from the NASL’s Ft. Lauderdale Strikers to the San Antonio Scorpions for the eye-catching price of “free lodging and transportation during Fort Lauderdale’s two road trips to San Antonio in 2014.” The creative deal has been recognized as one of the most unique trades in sports. On the field, Restrepo has twice been named to the NASL’s Best XI and twice lifted the NASL’s Soccer Bowl as league champion.

Final Round: Top NASL Away Day

If you could visit any NASL city for a match, where would you go?

By: Brandon Cockrum (@brew_wallace)

After three weeks of voting we have eliminated ten cities from the Bloody Shambles Top NASL Away Day tournament and are down to our finalists. 

Midwest-region winner Indianapolis topped East Coast-region champ New York, winning 63% of votes. The International-region representative, San Juan, Puerto Rico, narrowly edged the Florida-region's Tampa Bay, 51% to 49%. BloodyShambles staff were starting to develop a tie-breaking contest to determine a winner, when the deciding was vote was cast at the last minute.

          

Our final matchup features the club with the league's best attendance over the last three seasons, Indianapolis, against the newest member of the league, San Juan. The Midwest city, provides great tailgating and large crowds on match day, and has a growing food and culture reputation to explore in a visitor's free time. The Puerto Rican capital offers an international travel and match experience, as well as the always-popular sun and sand.

Voting for the final round will remain open for approximately three days. Voters should NOT vote for their club's home city. (If you don't want to vote against your own club, don't vote in that bracket.) Vote for the city that you would most like to visit for an away match. Criteria for casting your vote could include the opponent's match day experience and supporters culture, your desire to also visit an away city for food or culture, or any other personal travel preferences you might have. (Quality of local breweries and waterparks are key criteria for me.)

Cast your vote today for the NASL's Top Away Day:
VOTING HAS ENDED

Final Four: Top NASL Away Day

If you could visit any NASL city for a match, where would you go?

By: Brew Wallace (@brew_wallace)

After two weeks of voting we have eliminated eight cities from the Bloody Shambles Top NASL Away Day tournament and are now to the final four. On one side of the bracket we have the sun and sand cities of Tampa Bay and San Juan squaring off. The other matchup features the noisy newcomer, Indianapolis, versus the Empire City, New York. While some of the results of the first round might have been predictable, anyone city could advance from this round to compete in the final.

Voting for the regional winner round will remain open for approximately four days. Voters should NOT vote for their club's home city. Instead vote for the city that you would most like to visit for an away match. (If you don't want to vote against your own team then you don't have to vote in that part of the bracket.) Criteria for casting your vote could include, but is certainly not limited to, the opponent's supporters culture, the expected match day experience, your desire to visit a city, or any other personal travel preferences you might have. (Quality of local breweries is a key criteria for me.)

With the formalities out of the way, let's get it on!