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All year long, we will be bringing you up close to members of the Tampa Bay Rowdies team.

In this feature of the 2012 Get to Know the Rowdies, we spotlight defender Eddie Ababio, who is in his first season with Tampa Bay.

Ababio, 24 years old (5-11, 175), signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on August 23, 2012. He is from Accra, Ghana, but is no stranger to the Tampa Bay community. He moved to Tampa Bay when he was eight years old and grew up playing for HC United (now Tampa Bay United) and Gaither High School. He then joined the US Under-17 National Team Residency Program at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

From 2006-10 Ababio played for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, where he finished his college career with 13 goals and 12 assists. Ababio was drafted in the first round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids of the MLS.

Nickname: EA

What are you looking forward to most with the Rowdies?
Winning the NASL Championship

Do you have any gameday superstitions or traditions?
Say my prayers Psalm 23

What is your typical pre-match meal?
Rice, stew & chicken

What has been your most memorable soccer moment thus far?
Scoring a goal on my professional debut

Growing up, what soccer team did you support?
Real Madrid & Chelsea

What is your favorite thing about playing soccer?
Being able to do what you love for a living.

Who is your all-time favorite soccer player?
Ronaldinho Gaucho

Who is your favorite athlete outside of soccer?
Mohammad Ali

What is your favorite sport outside of soccer?
American football

What is your favorite sporting event to watch?
Soccer

What is the best event (sports or other) you have seen live in person?
Duke vs. North Carolina College Basketball

List your top three favorite movies.
Gladiator, Man on Fire, Superbad

Who is your favorite actor/actress?
Denzel Washington

What is your favorite song?
“I will Always Love You” Whitney Houston

What is your favorite TV show?
Game of Thrones/Seinfeld

What has been the most memorable moment of your life thus far and why?
Moving to America from Ghana in 1996 for a better opportunity to help family back home.

When was the most disappointed you have been and why?
Not winning NCAA Championship with North Carolina because I made it to the championship game once and the semifinal game twice.

What is the toughest thing you have overcome in your life?
Having to sit out of soccer for a year and returning from surgery where I was told that there is only a 40% chance of playing again.

What is your favorite meal?
Jollof, Ghanaian dish

Where is your favorite place in the world?
Ghana

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Costa Rica

Is there one destination that you’ve never been but have always wanted to visit?
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

What is your favorite place where you have lived?
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Do you have any siblings? How many?
Yes, a sister and a brother, both are younger

What is your weirdest “quirk?”
I can’t wear wrinkled clothes so I am always ironing

What is your biggest fear?
Losing a love one

What do you like doing in your free time?
Playing FIFA

Who is you hero and why?
Ricardo Kaka, class act on and off the field

If you had to pick three words to describe you, what would they be?
Passionate, Genuine, Caring

If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?
Nelson Mandela because of his contribution to humanity

Are you married and do you have any children?
Not married yet

Do you play soccer to honor anyone in your life?
God & family

Is there someone that you have met through soccer who you would consider an inspiration to you and why?Kirk Urso, he made everyone around him on and of the pitch a better person.

Choose One:

Chicken, Steak, or Seafood: Chicken
Coke or Pepsi: Coke
Gatorade or Powerade: Gatorade
Coffee or Tea: Tea
Red Bull or Monster: Red Bull
Cats or Dogs: Dogs
XBOX or PlayStation: XBOX
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
Country, Rock, or Rap music: Rap music
iPhone, Droid or Blackberry: Blackberry