A match for a new Rowdies generation

She was driving to the game Saturday. She started crying.

"I couldn't help it," Nancy Bataille said as she tailgated in a parking lot near George M. Steinbrenner Field. "After all these years, I get my Rowdies back."

That old vibe was all around, and a new vibe, too, as the new club in town, the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies, made their home debut against archrival Austin. A sellout crowd of 8,082 made much merry at the first local professional soccer game here since 2001.

It looked as if every youth soccer player in Tampa Bay was in the house. They rubbed elbows with the Rowdies of the past. Nancy Bataille, 43, went to Rowdies games growing up.

"Let me tell you something," she said. "If Wes McLeod walked by right now, I would pass out."

Wes McLeod, a rowdy Rowdies left-footed god, wore white tassels on his socks for good luck.

"You had to see him," Nancy said.

Saturday was for a new generation of Rowdies fans, and for the new Rowdies fan club: Ralph's Mob, in honor of the old mascot Ralph Rowdie. Nancy Bataille is a member. The mob is 180 strong and growing.

The new Rowdies are run by president and governor Andrew Nestor, an entrepreneur from Boston. Hey, can we get a few more Boston entrepreneurs owning our teams down here already?

Another owner is David Laxer, a local who is president of Bern's Steak House, which gave me a great idea the other day: If the Rowdies score two or more goals in any game, bring your game ticket to Bern's and get a free steak - a small one, you know, just to get them in the door.

"We'll, um, have a meeting about that," Laxer said with a smile.

We'll have more ways to promote the new Rowdies, but first ...

The new Rowdies.

They're not the old Rowdies. Nor are they the old Tampa Bay Mutiny, led by Carlos Valderrama, the legendary "El Pibe," or, as translated by all-time Tribune great David Whitley, "The Pibe." No, these new Rowdies are their own men, which is fine by former Rowdies great Rodney Marsh, who did TV color for Saturday's home opener.

"Embrace the past, respect it, but don't dwell on it." Marsh said. "Make a new dynasty."

Mark down the first Rowdies home goal for Aaron King, who scored in the 10th minute on a penalty kick after Long Tan was hauled down in the box. Long Tan, originally from China, was all over the place. Just wait until his brothers Short Tan, Nice Tan and Farmer's Tan arrive. Oh, baby.

The Aztex eventually took a 2-1 lead, but the Rowdies, down to 10 men, sent everyone home happy when midfielder Jeremy Christie put home another penalty kick in the 86th minute in the 2-2 draw.

"Massive credit to the guys," Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish said.

The guys credited the crowd.

"They were awesome, they were with us all night," Rowdies midfielder Chad Burt said.

"Half the people are wearing old Rowdies gear and half are wearing new Rowdies stuff," Nestor said. "It's old and young, it's a great mix."

Daniel Wainright, 39, talked about his grandfather taking him to Rowdies games. Wainright dug in a dresser drawer, underneath old punk-rock T-shirts, for his 20-year-old green Rowdies jersey and squeezed into it for Saturday's match.

"I never did throw it away," he said.

Before the match, former Rowdies were introduced by public address announcer Jim Henderson, who covered the original Rowdies for The Tampa Tribune. Among those introduced: Wes McLeod.

Hey, somebody check on Nancy.