Miami FC's fourth season ended up with even more question marks than they had at the beginning.  Lots of doubts as well as uncertainties were left by the entire MLS bid made by Brightstar mogul Marcelo Claure and backed by FC Barcelona.  The bid itself placed Miami FC in a position or so it was said, that the team would have to fold if MLS brought a team to South Florida.  We all know what happened.  Bookended by controversy, there was a season and what seemed somewhat promising turned out to be a nightmare that no one seemed to wake up from.  It seems like decades now when the club harkened back to the Fusion days.  Yes, that magical night of April 18th is a far cry from the 9-0 shallacking they took in Carolina. 

Off-field Drama

The beginning of the season was a blessing in and of itself as early indications were that the team might not even start the season.  Add the sale and possible options that have been on the table ranging from starting a new league all the way to even having the TOA consider the MLS as their new where they can apply their craft.  This one was the lastest in possible ideas spearheaded directly or indirectly by Miami FC (Traffic brass).  So let's say that the organzation itself has never truly given fans the neccesary comfort and stability that they look for.   That is not the greatest selling tool for people that are potential fans as well.   Two weeks after this occurred, the people involved as well as covering it are still unsure as to the details as well as the future of USL and the franchises involved.  So that will be yet another piece of meat that will be left stewing in the off-season. 

On-pitch issues

If a team is banking all of their success on a 35-year-old Diego Serna, reality checked them really quick.  I don't mean to be beat a buried horse, but that was not going to work.  It is well documented how fans felt about him, and ultimately the organization itself.  There was little offensive consistency and when the injury bug started to take over, there was very little left.  To score 25 goals in 28 matches (0.89 avg.) is bordelne dissappointing, but then to allow 1.6 per match was a recipe for failure.  Paulo, Jr. was the emerging star out of all this chaos, but he was also hampered by injuries in the end.  The injury bug was also caught by the defense.  Such was the case that the Blues came up with their best and worst deals ever- on paper at least.  Gale Agbossoumonde was the US under-20 rock in the backline and was brought in by Traffic to shore up the Miami FC backline for the short term... the very, very short term.  They also made yet another Romário-like accquisition, but with not as much success.  Junior Baiano was more Diego Serna than Baixinho as he looked his 39 years of age- plus interest.  Gale's youthful exhuberance and Junior Baiano's experience were   

Commitment

If you had a girlfriend that was iffy about having a relationship with you and was always talking about being on the way out, and was more interested on what "the market"  has to offer, how long can that relationship last?  The commitment shown by the front office was pallid at best.  Their "it's not you it's me" attitude must have turned off quite a few Miami FC fans at the beginning of the season.  If the team does not come back next season it would be because of one issue- marketing.  Fans do not fall from the sky (even in a soccer-crazed nation like Brazil which is where the Traffic bosses watch from), especially here in the United States; moreso in Miami.  Marketing is a year-round proposition.  It is the way you sow the seeds of your fanbase.  That was never done, so for the team to expect sellouts or even half-capacity was beyond unrealistic, it was borderline preposterous.   I can personally tell you that there were people that lived near FIU that had no clue that Miami FC even existed.  Why do I know this?  Because I, along with Mad About Fútbol co-host George Metéllus, was one of those people selling the Miami FC brand to that fickle South Florida soccer fan.  The problem was the marketing. There was this television/movie mentality when marketing the club.  South Florida is not just glitzy Brickell, Coconut Grove, and South Beach.   The base of the soccer community is in Homestead (Mexican/Salvadorean), Little Haiti, North Dade/South Broward (Jamaican), Kendall (Colombian), North Miami, etc.  It's not glamourous, but they would have gone to games.

MVP

The Fans.  I am talking about the ones that were there at Lockhart for the season opener.  Those same ones that were there at the 24 Hour Soccerthon to help save the team.  The ones that were there when we all thought that the team hit a rut; when in reality they fell into the abyss that was capped off by their historic loss in Carolina.  Those same fans that weren't staved off by "9-0" and went to see the team in the home game that followed and were treated to a 3-1 win.  Numbers might not lie, but emotions and passion tell an even greater truth.  

Grade: D+.  Well at least they weren't Cleveland City or Austin.