I pass the Citrus Bowl every time that I visit Orlando. I never see it as something out of the ordinary, but last time that I passed it, I was greeted with the purple and gold colors of the all-new Orlando City Soccer Club. Even as I drove down I-4, I saw dozens of gold lion heads on the back of cars as they sped by. It was obvious that the addition of this new Major League Soccer team had already had an effect on Orlando.

I never saw myself as a big soccer fan. Like most kids in Florida, I participated in a few soccer leagues when I was younger, but once I stopped playing, I had no real interest in keeping up with any of the countless professional leagues around the world. I would always support the United States every four years at the World Cup, but then I would forget about the sport again once they were eliminated, much like the rest of the country.

This all changed when Orlando City started playing. I started to actually care about this new soccer team. I checked up on all of the players, followed the team's progress through the wins and the losses, and I even bought an Orlando City jersey the first chance that I got.

I wasn't the only one. Orlando has welcomed this new soccer team with open arms. Over 62,000 people packed into the Citrus Bowl for Orlando City's opener against New York City FC, shattering all previous expectations. Orlando City's Twitter account has nearly 100,000 followers, because people genuinely want to keep up with all of the news about their new favorite soccer team. Purple jerseys are popping up everywhere I look, as people from Central Florida race to embrace this team as part of our city's identity.

And it all makes sense; Orlando's professional sports identity hasn't been particularly defined over the past five years. While Tampa has seen the Lightning rise to prominence in hockey over the past year and North Florida has ridden the success of the Seminoles, Central Florida hasn't had the same luck. The Orlando Magic haven't been very successful over the past half decade, and my hometown has been desperate to find a team to be proud of. I believe that we have found that team in Orlando City SC.

Last week, Orlando City finally won their first home game in remarkable fashion, defeating the defending champions, the L.A. Galaxy, four goals to nothing. I see that win as the turning point for this team, and being the moment that defines Orlando not as a basketball town, but as a soccer town. This club is finally giving the City Beautiful something they haven't had in the sports world for a long time: hope.