Armada FC Owner Mark Frisch Is Developing A Special Bond With Club's Supporters

Attend any Jacksonville Armada FC home match, hang out in the parking lot prior to the match, and you’ll likely bump into club owner Mark Frisch.

Despite the short competitive tenure of the Armada FC in the start of the club’s inaugural season, Frisch has already developed some match day “superstitions,” and one of those is to make sure he checks in with some of the Armada FC’s most loyal fleet of fans at the Section 904 tailgate.

As a result of this, and other interactions throughout the development of the Armada FC – Frisch also attends regular breakfast meetings with Section 904 members and has been a frequent fixture at Fan Town Hall meetings – the NASL team owner has already developed a very special bond with the hard-core of support that beats the drums and “readies the fleet” from the East bleachers at Community First Park.

Not totally surprising. Frisch is a youthful owner and, demographically, has a lot in common with the passionate, loyal, and very viral support that 904 brings. He’s not your run-of-the-mill pro sports team owner either, and while he enjoys the corporate side to his business interests, both with the Armada FC and Beaver Street Fisheries, Frisch likes nothing better than to unbutton his collar, connect with the fans, enjoy a pre-match brew, and talk soccer with the faithful.

“I love these guys,” Frisch said. “They mean a lot to me and my family. Their support is incredible. Awesome in the true sense of the word. They have done so much to contribute to the early success of our club and the atmosphere at our matches. Their support not only at home but also on the road, for an expansion club, has been truly remarkable.”

There is no doubt that Section 904 has made their presence suitably felt both on the home terraces of Community First Park but also as the Armada FC has ventured into more hostile territories. Take for example the club’s second regular season road match when Jacksonville visited the Tampa Bay Rowdies in St. Petersburg.

The Rowdies are known world-wide for their boisterous supporters section known as “Ralph’s Mob.” Matching up to the group in their own stadium in only the Armada FC’s second regular season road match may have been seen as something of a daunting task for Section 904 – but they did not disappoint. The output from the Armada FC section was more than noticeable and oftentimes drowned out the home support, so much so, that members of Ralph’s Mob ventured across following the match, which Tampa Bay squeaked by 3-2, to shake hands with their opposite numbers and congratulate them on their tremendous display.

That’s something the Armada FC owner also noted. “They were incredible in Tampa and also in Fort Lauderdale when we went there. They take time out of their lives to follow and support our team at their own expense and what they bring, both home and away, is immeasurable in terms of what it means to the team. Their enthusiasm is infectious, their noise is unavoidable, and our players feed off it.”

Frisch continued: “Think about it. As a player, you travel to a hostile stadium. You are nervous about the match, and the first thing that you see and hear when you take the pitch are those guys. You are back home again! They are amazing and absolutely give our guys a lift and an advantage. And they bring it the whole match, win, lose, or draw.”

This weekend, the Armada FC ventured to the Land of a Thousand Lakes to take on a strong and ambitious Minnesota United. It’s a long and a tough road trip for the team, and pretty much an impossible one for supporters to follow. But that won’t stop Section 904 from being represented, and Frisch made an extraordinary gesture to six members of the group to ensure the Armada FC spirit will travel with the team by offering to fly them to the match to be there for their boys in blue.

The offer is not about superstition, though, and is indicative of the genuine and special relationship that Frisch has developed with the fans.

“We are so excited,” said Sebastian Cordona, who is one of 904’s founding members. “For an owner to do this for us in incredible, and we are very grateful to Mark. We want to be there for the team and bring the Armada noise, but it’s tough to make such a long trip. Mark has stepped up to include us, and it makes us feel so valued and just emphasizes the special relationship that this club is developing with the fans.”

For Frisch, the feeling is mutual.