It’s safe to say that one of Rising’s center-backs is relishing the challenge of a playoff final on Sunday.
“If you’re a player and you don’t live for these type of moments, then you shouldn’t play the sport,” Damion Lowe said. “The adrenaline rush, all the expectation, your family, people who have been looking up to you, people who you have emulated your style of play and your lifestyle off of, especially for my dad.
“I want to make him proud. I want to make my family proud. I want to make my kids proud. It’s an awesome opportunity for me to put my name in the history books. To come in to Phoenix with just five, six games left in the season and be able to help the guys over the finish line.”
For Lowe, who has been with the club for just around over a month, contention for the big prize was always on the cards.
“That was always the vision,” he said. “When I spoke with Rick [Schantz] on the phone, and with Bobby [Dulle], the vision was to help the team win the championship. My ultimate aim is to do that. Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve won trophies, so it’s natural. It comes natural to me. I’m a fighter. I’m a warrior. I always want to win, no matter what. I live for big moments, so coming in and helping the guys out, it’s an honour.”
Lowe joined as a short-term signing through to the end of the season, ahead of a move to Qatari club Al Markhiya. Despite an agreement being in place to see him head to the Middle East, the defender says he can still opt-out of the deal, and other clubs have shown interest.
Of course, after going down injured against San Diego, it’s possible that that short spell could have been cut even shorter.
“I was really worried,” Lowe said. “I thought my knee was gone, but thank God, nothing happened, really. Just a slight strain, and a little bit of scar tissues and tear, but I recovered really quick. I’m a disciplined player. I have to invest and take care of my body because of the way I play and I’m very athletic. I’m strong. I have power. So I always have to be on the healthier side. I just went in, did my treatment, did my strengthening, and thank God that I was able to recover that quick. I wasn’t supposed to recover that quick, but I have and I’m grateful for that.”
Instead of a prolonged spell on the sidelines, he returned to the action in time to help with the playoff campaign. Thanks in part to his efforts at the back, the team has lifted the Western Conference trophy, which several players celebrated with a locker room rendition of Elton John’s Rocket Man.
“It’s like a tradition, because every time we hear the song, we get a good result,” Lowe said. “We’re in Reno, we were walking through the hotel, we heard it playing. For some games, randomly, it just started to play. So we just took it on as like ‘OK, this is our song. This is our good luck charm.’ We just have to keep it going.”
Now, the celebrations are over, and it’s back to business. A trip to Florida awaits the team, and it’ll be a return for Lowe to his 2017 club.
“It’s kind of a weird feeling, because I really had a good time there,” he said. “Tampa is like family to me. They treated me really well, one of the best, favourite clubs that I’ve played for.”
Lowe expressed his appreciation for the Tampa Bay fans, yet they aren’t the only familiar faces waiting in St Petersburg.
“I look at it as a homecoming, or a family reunion,” he said. “Family that you haven’t seen in a long time, regardless of the competitiveness on the field. I have a good relationship with Lee [Cohen], the GM, and I have a really good relationship with Neill [Collins], and some of the players that I left there like Seba [Guenzatti] and Leo [Fernandes].”
Don’t expect him to take it easy, though.
“Once the whistle blows, all of that aside, it’s going to be a war,” Lowe said. “I’m going all out to get that cup.”
That relationship with Neill Collins developed on the field. A center-back himself, Collins lined up next to the Jamaican during the latter’s time with the Rowdies.
“It’s going to be weird to see him coaching, because you’re used to seeing him next to you,” Lowe said. “It was fun, because Neill was more of a veteran player. Experienced, he could read the game well, he could push me around, direct me. I’d do the dirty work, and he would just clean up for me. He taught me a lot, and I learned a lot from him. He brought his experience, and it has turned me into the player I am today. Especially playing with Joe Cole and Marcel [Schäfer] and other players, but Neill really helped me a lot. Really good guy, and a really good friend of mine. I respect him a lot.
“As I said, in Tampa, it was fun. Always happy days, we won a lot. But that’s in the past. I’m a Phoenix Rising player, and that’s who I’m going to win the championship with.”
So if they are going to win, who’s going to get the goal? It’s safe to say that Lowe isn’t lacking in confidence, as he volunteered himself.
“I haven’t scored,” he laughed. “I usually average at least one or two goals a season, so this is the best opportunity. Off a header, you never know, let’s see. But for me, like anybody else on the team, as long as we win, doesn’t matter. It’s not Damion Lowe that wins, it’s Phoenix Rising, so that’s all that matters.”