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WELCOME TO MLS, WHERE THE RULES ARE MADE UP, THE POINTS DON'T MATTER, AND EVERYONE'S JERSEY IS BLUE It's Friday, March 7, 2014, and tomorrow begins the 19th Major League Soccer season, the top mens' league in the US and Canada. No new expansion teams this year, but NYCFC and Orlando join next year, and every joker with a stadium concept and a NASL/USL connection wants a crack at the next expansion list. San Jose's stadium is on its way; DC is fighting for theirs. New England hey look over there that dog has a puffy tail. League took over Chivas USA and will rebrand it next season. Toronto decided to spend Liberace Money and brought over Jermaine Defoe and Michael Bradley. Anyone's guess how much longer it is before, say, Jozy or Shea get wise to the Bradley and Dempsey returns. Oh, and the Rapids don't have a coach, and the referees are in a lockout, to be replaced by scab/substitutes this weekend. Schedule's still unbalanced. Two week break in June for World Cup group stage games. All-Star Game in Portland. Trophies and tournaments to be won, besides MLS Cup: CONCACAF Champions League, Multilevel Marketing Canadian Championship, Supporters' Shield, US Open Cup. TV coverage: Nationally, NBC Sports, ESPN/ESPN2, and Univision/UniMas/Galavision. Locally and online, MLS Live, which is traditionally a free preview over opening weekend. SHOULD I GET MLS LIVE? Yes. (You won't get any NBC, ESPN, Univision games on it, and a few teams still black out games that are covered locally, but otherwise, this is a service worth your subscriber dollars. Exception: You are a Columbus fan in Ohio and TWC has told you to go to hell). SHOULD I GO TO A GAME? Yes. If you've got an MLS, NASL, NWSL, USL, PDL, etc team in your area, get out to a game if at all possible. It ain't gonna be Bayern Munich vs Barcelona, but you'll have a good time and meet fun people. Likewise, if there's folks in your neighborhood who meet up at a bar for viewing parties, drop on by. Best way to experience American soccer is to show up and have a good time. ..... WHAT'S IN THIS THREAD News, views, discussion, running jokes, and CascadiaChat about MLS. Probably gonna see some NWSL. NASL/USL/PDL, the lower divisions, get their own thread. NCAA soccer chat--Tomorrow's Draft Picks and Waiver Claims Today!--might show up in the fall, might not. General US national team crap is here. Live weekly or monthly in-game threads for your game day OH loving HELL commentary will be posted separately. ... FANTASY Someone was talking about Kyle Beckerman and--oh, not that fantasy. B.B. Rodriguez posted:It's almost that time boys and girls! The deadline for the first round of MLS fantasy is Mar 08 2:45PM EST. So get your team in, set your line-up, and pray your favorite players aren't sent off by scab refs! ... REFERENCES PROVIDED BY AN ACTUAL LIBRARIAN Boys Girls Schedule, boys Schedule, girls Transactions Du Nord, Soccer Insider, The Equalizer The coolers are packed. The jerseys are bought. The banners are painted. The mohawks are bleached. The referees are locked out. The stars have aligned. Let us celebrate the opening of the 2014 MLS season with the adding of chocolate to milk and the team intros and running jokes to this thread. Hoover Dam fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Mar 7, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 23:37
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Winner of Goon Cup 2014 will now win a wonderful LA Galaxy scarf! Wear it with pride, disrespect the colors, or burn it in effigy! You decide! 
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Team Name New York Red Bulls Year Founded 1996* Manager Club legend and all time appearance leader. Mike Petke. Entering his second year as head coach, Mike has stable roster for what feels like the first time in club history. After abandoning a overly complicated 4-3-3 to go with a defend first and counter 4-4-2. New York stormed up the table in the second half of 2013 to take the clubs first significant hardware in 18 years of competition in Major League Soccer. This season now will be a chance to build on the previous success, and maybe go out in the second round of the playoffs for once. Maybe even win a playoff home game.  Uniform  Primary: White/Red Secondary: Navy/Yellow *new for 2014 Stadium Finished in 2010, the once crown jewel of MLS is still one of the nicest places in the country to go and catch some kicky-socky ball. To bad the Port Authority of New Jersey is shutting down one of the Path lines on the weekend. If you're thinking about coming out for a match, I'd recommend starting here for some general tips and what-not.  Significant Achievements  2013 MLS Supporters Shield. Historical Rivalries The New York vs DC United [aka Atlantic Cup, aka The one with the plastic trophy, aka childish win-ne-bego] is one of the oldest and storied natural rivalries in the league. It's origins are lost in time, but it's wikipedia page is excellent. Supporter's Groups The Viking Army, The Empire Supporters Club, and the The Garden State Ultras. Together they comprise the "South Ward", and get up to mostly harmless acts of bad behavior. Notable Former Players Too freakin many. This team goes through rosters like goons go through Trilbies and neck-beard creme. If there's a player in MLS who's been around for more than 7 years who hasn't done a shift in New York, I'd be surprised. Notable Current Players Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, Dax McCarty, Lloyd Sam, and Jámison Olave are some names you should know. Compare your team to a Burrito It's a big, expensive burrito that has some good ingredients but most people will tell you tastes like losing. Watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU9rvZ-0No0 and see what kind of feels you get. SA Forums representatives, supposedly. There might be a few more.
Supporter Shenanigans    * Founded as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Club purchased by Red Bull in 2006. WangNV fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Mar 10, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 23:40
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The fact that the season is finally here has me giddy beyond belief.
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Mar 7, 2014 23:41
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I'd like to clarify that last place in the Goon League gets the Wooden Spoon, not the loser of Goon Cup 2014, which is the final of our play-offs. Also, if people would like to donate scarves to the pot for the winner of Goon Cup 2014, that is appreciated as well. edit: The LA Galaxy are going to wipe the floor with you all this year. Keane scores 30, Donovan with 15, Jaime Pinedo saves all the goals. Word. B.B. Rodriguez fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Mar 7, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 23:46
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This is the year the Fire take it all! Oh wait we got rid of all our defenders hahahaha lol 
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Mar 7, 2014 23:49
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Team Name Chicago Fire Soccer Club   Year Founded 1997 (#cf97 on Twitter) Manager Frank Yallop, replacing Frank Klopas.  Also of note are assistant coaches C.J. Brown (former Fire great) and Clint Mathis. Uniform Home - Blue/Red monstrosity, Away - Blue, Third - Black  Everyone hates these.  Fire fans pray for the day that these return.  Boring third kit. Stadium Toyota Park, Bridgeview, IL  Toyota Park stands in a large field of gravel in Bridgeview, an industrial suburb bordering Chicago's south side. It's about 10 miles from downtown, and one can see the skyline from the upper deck. It's also close to Midway Airport. It was built during the first wave of soccer-specific stadiums, so it doesn't have as much fancy stuff as many of the others. It's not the prettiest place, but it's our home and we love it.  Significant Achievements MLS Cup Champions - 1998 MLS Cup Runners-up - 2000, 2003 US Open Cup Champions - 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006 US Open Cup Runners-up - 2004, 2011 Eastern Conference Champions - 2003 Western Conference Champions - 1998 Central Division Champions - 2000, 2001   Historical Rivalries FC Dallas - this rivalry dates back to the early days of MLS. Back then, Dallas was still known as the Burn, and the rivalry was (and still is) called the Brimstone Cup. It used to be one of the most heated and anticipated games of the year, but it's lost luster as other teams have joined the league. Chicago fans dropped the Cup itself two years ago and dented the hell out of it. This rivalry is for old-school fans only. Sporting KC - no matter how successful KC is, the Wiz will always be Little Brother to Chicago fans. That's just how it is. New England Revolution - For a period in the early-mid 2000s, this was one of the premier rivalries in MLS. One team knocked the other out of the playoffs for many years running - 4 or 5, I think. Both teams always played hard-nosed, physical soccer and the games were always brutally entertaining. Blanco's 2009 dagger to knock NE out of the playoffs is one of my all-time favorite Fire memories. Alas, the rivalry has diminished somewhat as both teams dropped out of the top echelon of MLS. I never miss a chance to post this. (Funnily enough, Larentowicz is one of Chicago's captains now) Columbus Crew - Geographically, that yellow fuckin' team is our closest rival. There's lots of hate between these teams. We send a couple of buses down to their stadium made of soda cans every year. From their wannabe hooligan fans to their awful color scheme to the very fact that they're located in Ohio, Chicago supporters generally hate everything that has to do with Columbus. Supporter's Groups Chicago has one over-arching supporters' group - Section 8. Named after the section in the old Soldier Field where we used to stand, Section 8 is an Independent Supporters' Organization that coordinates between different smaller groups. These include Barn Burners 1871 (OG Fire ultras group), Husaria (mostly Polish fans), Ultras Red Side, and Whiskey Brothers Aught Five (the two biggest groups). The vast majority of supporters, however, simply consider themselves independent members of Section 8. Most of Section 8 sits together in sections 116, 117, and 118 in Toyota Park, but a small contingent of supporters called Sektor Latino sit at the other end of the stadium. They're pretty awesome too.    (yes, we did the Mario display.  ) "Business as usual will not be accepted by the people of Chicago" - Mayor Harold Washington Notable Former Players Peter Nowak - all-time MLS and Poland legend. Went crazy and nearly burnt the Union to the ground as a coach. Lubos Kubik - backbone of one of the league's best defenses in the early days of the team. Hristo Stoichkov - International goal-scorer, one of the prototypes of what we would today call a Designated Player. Broke a dude's leg once. Cuauhtémoc Blanco - likely the best player to ever play for Chicago. Mesmerizing, infuriating, breath-taking, slow as hell - Blanco had it all. Brian McBride - hometown boy. Came back for a few seasons after a long career in the dark hinterlands of Ohio and London. C.J. Brown - current assistant coach. One of the longest-lasting single-club men in MLS history. Arne Friedrich - German international, defensive stalwart, all-round awesome guy. DaMarcus Beasley - a Hoosier like myself, USMNT great. Still kickin' it. Carlos Bocanegra - had a horrible haircut. Another former USMNT regular. Eric Wynalda - rear end in a top hat, but our rear end in a top hat. Freddie Ljungberg - terrible Collins John - even worse Nery Castillo -  Notable Current Players Chris Rolfe - one of the more underrated players in MLS. Getting older, but still able to hit a mean shot from the outside. Patrick Nyarko - great winger. He can pass, dribble, run, and defend with the best - just don't ask him to shoot. Dilly Duka - silly name, crafty player. Harry Shipp - new guy, homegrown player, looking to make his mark in his first year of MLS. Sean Johnson - once considered heir to the USMNT throne, still one of the best goalkeepers in MLS. Mike Magee - Magic Mike, reigning MLS MVP. Hometown boy. After only 3/4 of a season, he's already a Fire legend. Goal-scoring machine. Playing style The early bruiser years of Brown and Kubik gave way to flowing passes and long-range bombs under Blanco. This in turn became deep-sitting counterattacking under Frank Klopas. Booting the ball up the field to Dom Oduro became a way of life for the Fire. It was pretty dire to watch. Last year, some flashes of technical skill showed with the additions of Magee and Duka. The new regime of Frank Yallop looks to build on this and play a high-press, active style of soccer. Thoughts on the Current Roster Instead of spending big during the off-season, the Fire tried to bring in some established MLS veterans and young guys to fill in the gaps. I think this is a solid strategy, even if it doesn't necessarily get the attention that signing big players does. The Fire's offense looks pretty great, with Nyarko, Duka, Rolfe, and Magee joined by new players Harry Shipp, Matt Watson, and Benji Joya. The formation will definitely be attack-minded. After giving up far too many goals last season, Yallop has tried to add by subtraction. He dealt away Austin Berry and Jalil Anibaba (two promising youngsters) for the stability of veterans Lovel Palmer, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and Patrick Ianni. They will join Bakary Soumare (experiencing somewhat of a renaissance in the back for Chicago) and the venerable Gonzalo Segares on the back line. This roster lacks some of the flash of past years, but I think it's more solid overall. Thoughts on the Previous Season 2013 started like hell for Chicago. We couldn't get a win for the first month and a half of the season. Trading the rights for Robbie Rogers to LA for Mike Magee turned out to be the difference maker. Magee turned Chicago's season around, nearly winning MLS Golden Boot and capturing MVP. I can't stress enough how much Magee's arrival meant to Chicago fans last season. His arrival brought some of the best soccer I've ever seen out of a Fire team. Inability to close out games doomed Chicago down the stretch, though, and the Fire disappointingly missed a playoff spot by a handful of points. Thoughts on the Upcoming Season This team has gotten a makeover. New coach, new players, new strategy - and hopefully new life. One got the feeling that the Fire were stagnating under Klopas, and I an optimistic about Chicago's chances under Yallop. Shoring up the leaky defense is going to be the key to the season; Chicago has no shortage of firepower up front. I'm especially excited to see Harry Shipp; I think he's going to be a great player in MLS. Compare your team to a Kyle Beckerman's Bare Thrusting rear end Smells significantly less like patchouli, but more like the paper mill down the road from Toyota Park. SA Forums representatives Hello Towel Giovanni_sinclair Tacubo Grim2k3 There are a few others who pop in sometimes too. Supporter Shenanigans    
Hello Towel fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 7, 2014 23:50
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Is there a template for what's expected of the intros? Questions to answer, etc?
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Mar 7, 2014 23:51
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I might go to a few MLS games this year, and actually try to follow the league more closely. It looks like the closest team to me is Sporting KC...what is their supporters group like
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Mar 7, 2014 23:51
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Ho Chi Meeeeee posted:I might go to a few MLS games this year, and actually try to follow the league more closely. It looks like the closest team to me is Sporting KC...what is their supporters group like I can't speak for their home support (I assume it's great), but of the dozen or so Chicago games I went to last year, the one against KC was the only time I saw Toyota Park's away section actually packed.
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Mar 7, 2014 23:53
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WangNV posted:Q: Why does red bull come in cans? I'm just going to quote this and then never post in this thread again. You're welcome.
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Mar 7, 2014 23:53
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 Team Name Houston Dynamo Year Founded 2006  Manager Dominic Kinnear, known for his gentle and soft-spoken nature.    Uniform Home - Orange/White, Away - White/Orange, Third - Blood Orange.    Three of these guys don't even play for the team anymore. WTF Hungryjack? Get some new photos!  Houston Dynamo get in the bin! Stadium BBVA Compass Stadium in downtown Houston, TX    BBVA Compass Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Houston. The stadium opened on May 12 in the 2012 Major League Soccer season and cost $95 million. The stadium has a capacity of 22,039. The primary tenant is the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. The venue also hosts Texas Southern University football games. The stadium is located southeast of Minute Maid Park—within the East Downtown district (which is undergoing revitalization efforts) and east of Downtown Houston. The stadium was nicknamed "The Oven," due to the Houston warm and humid climate, which makes it difficult for other teams to play in. From 2006 through 2011, the team has played in 32,000 seat Robertson Stadium at the University of Houston. That stadium was home, but it left much to be desired. Significant Achievements
Historical Rivalries
Supporter's Groups
  Notable Former Players
Notable Current Players
Playing style In the early years, Houston had a reputation around the league as a physical team, due in part to having many six-footers who elbow and jockey for position inside the box on incoming set pieces from the foot of Brad Davis. This image of the team is largely outdated and a better description for them would be methodical. This is a team which is happy to have a slow buildup of 20 or more passes to get all the pieces in position for a scoring opportunity. If the Dynamo can find a way to reliably put scoring threats on the end of Davis' set pieces like in 2006-08 and 2011, then the Dynamo are likely to go deep into the playoffs again. 2010 was a poor year for the Dynamo, but other than that, the team always finished in the playoffs--often very deep into the playoffs. Houston's two MLS cups arrived on the back of very stingy defenses. Coach Dominic Kinnear loves playing 4-4-2 with outside backs making deep runs into enemy territory. Last year, he broke with tradition and switched to a 4-3-3 in the summer with good results. Kinnear will use the US Open Cup tournament and any international games as opportunities to play reserve players and focus his attention on the push to the playoffs. Thoughts on the Current Roster Brad Davis is the only remaining players from the 2006 championship team, along with Ricardo Clark who has returned to the Dynamo. Tally Hall, Corey Ashe, Giles Barnes, Will Bruin, Jermaine Taylor and Boniek Garcia all stand to be major contributors and once again, the team will be looking to cash in on the fruits of Brad Davis' set piece skill. Boniek Garcia controls the right wing like no Dynamo player has since Brian Mullan. Omar Cummings spent nearly all of the 2013 season on the bench recovering from a leg injury. He played very few playoff minutes, but managed to sneak in two devastating playoff goals against a much stronger New York team. The real X Factor is going to be young DP Alex Lopez from Honduras. He was a mid-season pickup, but played very few games. I can't call the guy a bust because he didn't exactly let me down. He just didn't have much of a stage to display his skill. If he lives up to the hype, Houston may end up having one of the more dangerous attacking sides in the league this year. One big question mark is the central defense. Long-time veteran Bobby Boswell is gone and everyone is wondering who will step up and pair with Jermaine Taylor to stop the incoming attck. Our current options don't inspire a lot of confidence. Thoughts on the Previous Season 2013 started off as the best season in franchise history before settling into the summer doldrums. As is his way, Kinnear gave no fucks before the All-Star break and that was when Houston quietly went to work winning just enough games to settle into the playoffs as the 4th seed before knocking off supporter's shield winners New York. After that it was on to Kansas City as part of an epic 7 games in 21 days. Ultimately, fatigue and injury and a strong SKC side put them away 2-1 and the season came to an end. Alex Lopez made headlines as a young DP, but the splash never happened. I haven't given up hope yet. Thoughts on the Upcoming Season BBVA Compass stadium continues to be a place where teams don't want to play due to Houston's stifling heat and humidity and also their very strong home record. They open at home once again against New England on March 8th. I expect them to start decently, work quietly through the summer, and then surge into the playoffs just like they always do. Compare your team to a Kyle Beckerman's Bare Thrusting rear end Darker SA Forums representatives
Supporter Shenanigans    * Terms and conditions apply. Void where prohibited.
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Mar 7, 2014 23:56
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Wicka
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Captain Trips posted:Is there a template for what's expected of the intros? Questions to answer, etc? Just copy what Hungryjack did. That's basically the same format we've done for the past couple of seasons.
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Mar 8, 2014 00:02
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Why is the KC supporters group called the Cauldron?
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Mar 8, 2014 00:07
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 TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB First Season: 2007 General Manager and President  Tim Bezbatchenko and Tim Leiweke. The Tims. Coach  Ryan Nelsen If he was playing against Mexico maybe he would be in the World Cup this summer and Mexico wouldn't, but instead he's coaching us. Oh well. Uniform  Stadium  BMO Field. It's a tin can and pretty much completely exposed to the elements, including the nearby lake. Seagulls come and shat all over it so thoroughly that we bought a hawk to defend it. We managed to name it Bitchy by popular vote. We might be ripping the stadium apart to accommodate the Toronto Argonauts, a Canadian football team that sucks and is poo poo and I hate them, Oskee Wee Wee. Significant Achievements 4 consecutive Voyageurs Cups  and a Champions League semi-finalist participation ribbon. Also most consecutive play-off non-appearances. (7, so far.) We've been bad. Real bad. Historical Rivalries Montreal. Because Toronto and Montreal. Vancouver. Because they're the other Canadian MLS team. If there's ever a fourth, we probably won't care as much. Columbahahaha are you loving kidding get out of here. Otherwise we're pretty chill and all about relaxing, hanging out and sharing some points with friends. Supporters Groups  Red Patch Boys is still probably biggest, and the U-Sector, and then a bunch of small scattered groups. In the spirit of supporting a team in the most multicultural city in the world, it's not unusual to hear "Oh When The Reds Come Marching In" set to steel drums. Notable Former Players Club Legend Danny Dichio, who owns and is awesome and did this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhXLf2zkhGA Torsten Frings, who sadly died last year of being old and German and playing for Toronto FC. His dying words were 'haha so glad I handled that ball in the World Cup on those idiot fucker Americans' only it was in German. Mista I guess? Carlos Ruiz, who's noted for being a huge piece of poo poo. Canadian national team anchor and hometown boy Dwayne De Rosario. He did a big embarrassing display asking for more money, so we cut him loose to play with poo poo teams like DC. In a coincidence, around that time we decided he was poo poo. Notable Current Players Spurs Legend Jermain Defoe. Possibly going to the World Cup with England, and definitely going to score roughly 20-45 goals this year with us. Michael Bradley. Definitely going to the World Cup with U.S. America, and we're going to lump the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's already put on the captains armband for us, and he's going to be expected to play box to box for us, and score free kicks, and sell beer at half time. Júlio César, for some loving reason. There's a guy who may well be lifting the World Cup in a couple of months and then come back to Toronto and it is beyond me, but we're in a strange world now, people. Gilberto is another DP we signed from Brazil, but not just to keep César company. He also scored 14 in 24 in the Brazilian top division last year. Hey, aren't we only allowed 3 DP's? Well, the thing about that is shut the gently caress up about it. Canadian national team anchor and hometown boy Dwayne De Rosario. Turns out he missed us. Also, he's really good again. Playing style Who the gently caress knows? It's been route one pretty much the entirety of Toronto FC history, and with our depth of attacking options, and lack of anything else, I can't imagine how tempting it's going to be, but it's possible we might just want to let Bradley get a touch or two. On the other hand, Nelsen has only slightly more coaching experience than I do, so does he even have a style? Give it to the expensive players, kick it in the net, win 5-4, who cares. Thoughts on the Current Roster I mean, you can't have a much better off-season. All of those notable players are brand new. We've got a pair of veteran defenders in Caldwell and Orr, a couple academy kids kicking around who have a real chance to learn from some experienced players (or get shipped off to North Carolina), and...not much else. The Tims say they have room to make moves, and I'm calling them liars, so I think what we have is what we're going to have to deal with. But I'm obviously excited to see what happens. Thoughts on the Previous Season Not aware that one was played. Thoughts on the Upcoming Season I'm throwing away my cautious optimism and going all in, emotionally. When this all falls apart like literally, literally every time before, please call the Toronto Distress Centre at 416-408-HELP and give them a heads up. Compare your team to a Kyle Beckerman's Bare Thrusting rear end No. SA Forum Representatives my son bort PK loving SUBBAN Guitar_Hero Drunk Canuck me, I suppose Supporter Shenanigans  
Azerban fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 00:08
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Ho Chi Meeeeee posted:Why is the KC supporters group called the Cauldron? It's a Kansas City Wizards/Wizard of Oz/witches exist thing.
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Mar 8, 2014 00:08
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Azerban posted:It's a Kansas City Wizards/Wizard of Oz/witches exist thing. lmao Wizards is a billion times better a name than Sporting KC
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Mar 8, 2014 00:09
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Ho Chi Meeeeee posted:lmao Wizards is a billion times better a name than Sporting KC no doubt
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Mar 8, 2014 00:10
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Ho Chi Meeeeee posted:lmao Wizards is a billion times better a name than Sporting KC I preferred the Kansas City Bullets, but Wizards is a close second. VVVV Kinda cheesy Hungryjack fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 00:14
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I liked the Whiz. They were my favorite.
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Mar 8, 2014 00:15
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Ho Chi Meeeeee posted:lmao Wizards is a billion times better a name than Sporting KC Sporting KC is a terrible name, second only to Real Salt Lake, but at this point I've gotten used to it in a terminal illness kind of way
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Mar 8, 2014 00:31
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Can't wait to be at RFK again tomorrow. I've sufficiently suppressed the memories of last season* (does not apply to US Open Cup memories). I think our ceiling this year is "quiet competence", which is kind of sad, but after last season, I'll take it.
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Mar 8, 2014 01:54
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Team Name Columbus Crew Year Founded 1996 (MLS Originals  )Manager  Gregg Berhalter, he of the 2009 MLS Cup winning goal and 44 USMNT caps. Also the first American to manage a European club, with Hammarby in Norway. (No, Joe Enochs doesn't count, he was an interim manager for two weeks) Uniform Home - Yellow/Black  Away - White/Yellow/Black  Stadium Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium in MLS. Built in 1999, it currently holds 20,455 fans (before the stage was built in 2008, it held 22,555). It cost $28.5M to build, all of which came from Lamar Hunt's checkbook. It's also played host to the USMNT since 2000, and the Yanks are undefeated there, with a 7-0-3 record. Dos A Cero was born here, and continues into the foreseeable future.   The supporter's section is the Nordecke, in the Northeast corner of the stadium. "Nordecke" (nor-DEK-uh) is German for "North corner", which is a reference to the city's German heritage. Supporter's Groups which call the Nordecke home are listed below. Yes, the scoreboard caught fire last year before April's match against DC United. It has been replaced and updated. Significant Achievements
Historical Rivalries
Supporter's Groups
Notable Former Players - In no particular order:
Notable Current Players
Playing style Who even loving knows? In previous years it was a slow-building 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield, but those were the Warzycha days. Berhalter seems to be focused on a strong defense, but we've been lethal up front so far in preseason, so we're still without a strong identity going into this season. There were rumors of a 3-man back line, but those were squashed when Parkhurst was signed. I personally think we'll see the same formation as last year, with a quicker, more counter-attacking style. Berhalter has spoken of using wingbacks, so look for the Crew to play out wide more often this year. Thoughts on the Current Roster There was a huge overhaul this season, as the new ownership (Anthony Precourt) and management cleaned house and brought in new faces. Oduro and Higuain will be our leading scorers again, and Josh Williams will look to fill the gap at the back left by Chad Marshall's departure. Beyond that, it's really a "who's that guy?" type of lineup. We'll see how it shapes up in the first few matches, but it's going to be interesting to see how these guys gel together early on. Thoughts on the Previous Season In a word: Ugh. Easily the worst season in recent memory, and the only high points were the 3-0 win over Chicago and the departure of Robert Warzycha. There was no bite to the attack, even though there were some fine-looking goals scored by Higuain and Oduro. Thoughts on the Upcoming Season Cautious Optimism. The new ownership has spent a lot of money trying to upgrade the facilities (including the new scoreboard that won't catch on fire and actually looks like it belongs in a major league stadium in 2014) and hopefully that mindset continues onto the field. There's a solid core group coming back from last year, even with the overhaul around them, and the new faces like Parkhurst and Steve Clark (Goalkeeper) can inject some new life into the Black and Gold. Compare your team to Kyle Beckerman's Bare Thrusting rear end Sub out the dreadlocks for Dominic Oduro's mohawk. SA Forums representatives
Captain Trips fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 02:05
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 Founded at the dawn of the league and playing their first season in 1996, The LA Galaxy are among the most storied clubs in our league's short history to the tune of four MLS Cups (out of eight MLS cup appearances, by far the most in the league) four Supporter's Shields, two US Open Cups and a CONCACAF Champion's Cup (the predecessor to the current CCL format). The team used to reside in even more historic Rose Bowl, but gently caress Pasadena, so now they play in The Stub Hub Center  A 27,000 seat stadium which can expand to about 32,000 is a relatively bare-bones affair, but the ease of access (provided you have a car) and the simple navigability of the concourses make for an extremely pleasant game-day experience week-in and week-out. Starting at the top of the organization, you have the steady ownership of the Anschutz Entertainment Group. AEG has owned the Galaxy since the beginning and has actually cared about the team for most of it. Now that Tim Leiweke is off living and starting a revolution in the arctic goddamn wasteland that is Canada, the financial operations of the team are run by the much less outspoken Dan Beckerman (bare thrusting rear end is not confirmed). So far we haven't noticed anything burning down. So I guess he's doing a fine job. Moving on down, the General Manager and head coach of the team is someone you know and love/hate/love to hate, 2 time world cup head coach for the USMNT, 4 time MLS cup winner and 2 time MLS Coach of the Year, and, of course, USMNT goal keeper for one friendly in Israel, none other than Bruce Arena.  Seen here complaining about one of the many, many injustices perpetrated on him and his team, The Bruce is known for shrewd signings, bringing out the best in his star power and, I swear to god, tactical flexibility. And also for just winning a whole fuckin' lot. After a ton of will-they/wont-they drama surrounding Frank Lampard, the Galaxy ended up setting on the DP group of Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, and Omar Gonzalez.  Keane thinking "Who's this rear end in a top hat who thinks he can take my golden boot and MVP trophy?"  Donovan thinking "Stop saying I'm in a roster battle with Zusi! I can play on the left with him on the right, dammit!"  Gonzalez thinking "Remember when everyone thought Tim Ream was better than me?" These guys should be providing all the offensive and defensive stability and, let's face it, dominance that one would expect from a crop of Designated Players on a team as rich as the Galaxy. Of course, they wont be doing it alone, we've brought in new depth while maintaining the core of the team. There are several question marks, specifically surrounding three players in particular: Juninho had two incredible seasons in 2011 and 2012, but not so much in 2013. He was perfectly consistent and was never in danger of losing his spot, but we're going to need him to contribute more offensively in 2014. Gyasi Zardes: Just how good is he? Seriously, nobody knows. He could be anything from the next big thing in MLS to just another flameout. Stefan Ishizaki was brought in to take over the width of the team and provide service as players streak into the box. The real question is going to be weather or not he can play in this league. Now let me tell you 'bout my best friend. Rob Friend will come to represent the difference between 2013 and 2014 for the Galaxy. Last year, we were beaten by teams that bottled us up in the middle and took away the lanes Keane and Donovan used to make defenses look outrageously stupid. RSL and Portland were particularly effective at shutting down the attacking tandem. But now, with this friendly fire on our side, we'll be able to take advantage of that size and strength to occupy defenders and open space back up to make *everyone* look outrageously stupid. With him, and our other new big man up top, Samuel, I expect the Galaxy to be flying the friendly skies all through 2014. And they'll be looking good while doing it in these refreshingly distinct Home, Away and Third kits  No team likes to go out to a quiet stadium. To provide that much needed raucousness we have three main supporter's groups"  The Angel City Brigade is the largest (and best) of the three. Found behind the goal chanting most of the same chants every supporter's group everywhere chants, plus one or two almost original ones.  The LA Riot Squad, the perennial runner up, wants to be the much more rowdy group. They tend to be drunker and heckle the other team more. But hey, they bring a presence to the other side of the stadium.  The Galaxians are the day-1 Galaxy supporter's group. They've been here since the beginning and while their numbers have dwindled to almost nothing, their resolve remains as strong as ever. SA Forums Reps B.B. Rodriguez Tigren CubanMissle Mr. Wiggles All that are right and true in the world Pigma_Micron fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 02:12
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Azerban posted:I'll do a Toronto one if no one beats me to it. No one's going to beat you to it.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:14
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Just stopping by to dump this here/not unlike like Jermaines career I dont mean to badly troll/its just that this picture makes me lol 
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Mar 8, 2014 02:37
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DEAD MAN'S SHOE posted:Just stopping by to dump this here/not unlike like Jermaines career That's loving hilarious.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:38
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DEAD MAN'S SHOE posted:Just stopping by to dump this here/not unlike like Jermaines career I'm pretty sure Billy Corgan is stoned in that picture.
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Mar 8, 2014 02:45
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I hope the Union do well this year 
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Mar 8, 2014 02:50
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double sulk posted:I hope the Union do well this year same here, op
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Mar 8, 2014 02:51
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Chicago writeup is up, if you scroll up to the top.
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Mar 8, 2014 03:04
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Team Name San Jose Earthquakes  Year Founded 1994 as San Jose Clash  Manager Mark Watson is starting his first full season as manager after taking over for Frank Yallop.  Watson was made the interim manager on Yallop’s departure, then was given the full-time job in the off season. In the portion of the season Watson helmed, the Quakes were 11-5-3 with the highest PPG in the league over that stretch. Uniform The Quakes underwent a major rebrand before the 2014 season began, in an attempt to more closely connect to the club’s original NASL heritage, as we’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first San Jose Earthquakes team. The Badge was completely redone (as seen above) and the Home/Away kits are brand new. The Away is a direct homage to the NASL Quakes, who used red as their primary color. Home - Black/Blue / Away - Red/White  Stadium Buck Shaw Stadium 10,525.  This piece of poo poo stadium is back in action for 2014 since construction issues on the new stadium forced them back a full year. It’s falling apart and is a terrible experience all around. Buck Shaw has two supporters sections with one on each side behind the goal. Section 109 is where the 1906 Ultras sit and the Cashbah/Faultline are on the other side. However, we are (theoretically) one season away from this sexy new soccer specific stadium:  Significant Achievements • MLS Champions - 2001, 2003 • Supporters' Shield - 2005, 2012 • Western Conference 2003, 2005, 2012 Historical Rivalries Los Angeles Galaxy, “The California Clasico" - Probably the most physical games in the league every year, other than any game that involves Aurélien Collin. This is probably the only “rivalry” that both sides actually care about for the Quakes, to the point where we generally play our Clasico matches in Stanford Stadium, which has a larger capacity than our shitball home field. A lot of this rivalry can be attributed to general animosity / longstanding sports rivalries between Northern and Southern California. Seattle Sounders/Portland Timbers- Quakes fans like to think there is a rivalry here, but IMO a rivalry is two sided and these teams couldn’t care less. See: The Heritage Cup. Supporter's Groups 
*The Casbah - Older crowd that has been supporting the Quakes the longest of the SGs *Faultline - A few ex-1906 started this and there is like 5 of them, so I have no idea Notable Former Players - In no particular order:
*Ramiro Corrales - Original MLS player who finally retired as the Quakes captain in 2013. Miss you, guy. *Troy Dayak - Huge ripped guy that messed up his spine. *Eric Wynalda- The first player to play in the German top division, and all time-leading USMNT scorer until Landycakes overtook him in 2007. Part of the inaugural San Jose Clash team, and scored the first goal in MLS history. Now serving as a pretty terrible analyst for Fox Soccer. *Others. Notable Current Players
* Chris Wondolowski- Our main goal-scoring threat. Golden boot winner in 2012, tied the single-season scoring record. Played most of last year with a broken foot, hoping to see a return to form in 2014. * Alan Gordon- Bash Brother #1. * Steven Lenhart- Bash Brother #2. * Others. Playing style Physical and straight forward. Don’t expect too many fancy passing sessions or tiki-taka goals. We’ve got a lot of big dudes who score off the headers, and we get a counter attack in every once and a while. Wondolowski has a preternatural ability to be in exactly the right spot at the right time so often strategy is just “get it to him.” Worked in 2012, didn’t last year. Thoughts on the Current Roster The current roster is largely unchanged from last year in the sense that we didn’t lose anyone big, with the possible exception of Beitashour. But we did pick up a few interesting additions in the off season, including Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, Andreas Gorlitz, and Yannick_Djaló. I’m very excited to see what they bring to the team. Thoughts on the Previous Season Womp womp. Thoughts on the Upcoming Season We were actually quite effective in the latter stages of the season once the FO dumped Yallop. Between that encouraging end, Wondolowski having some time to rest and heal, and a couple of interesting new additions, I’m feeling pretty hopeful about 2014. Compare your team to Kyle Beckerman's Bare Thrusting rear end Something something goonies whatever. SA Forums representatives DoHimJob (surprise!) Eelface Woof! Woof! Others. (I know there are more of you but i'm drawing a blank. Yell at me in the thread and I'll add you.) DoHimJob did the most of this and is a good guy Eelface fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Mar 16, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 03:10
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Kids, there's a lot to be done. Lot of foot to watch. You like foot, and I do too, because foot is cool and good and I like it a lot and so do you because you watch MLS so you've got that American Brain Damage™. It's pretty good and I like it. You should learn about a team that I like, and you should like if you're in the general vicinity of the District of Columbia. Not Washington, mind you. gently caress Washington. That's where the crazy people yell on basic cable and the newscasters write down every word. Washington is where people with too much money work and and live. I'm talking about the District of Columbia, man. Where the weird food trucks and hardcore punk rock and bicyclists and lifelong residents are. It's a transplant town, and if you find yourself transplanted here, I suggest this as your life. Come to the family, man. Come to DC United.  THE TEAM: DC United, a member of the Original Ten from 1996, a crest only slightly altered once, tied for the most MLS Cups, and holders of the most major titles in North American history. Still clad in black with red accents, though the sponsorship switched from union-friendly German vehicles to an American defense contractor.  But let's be honest. Black shirts are still cool. Every league in every sport in every country needs to have a team in black. Black makes you seem like the bad guy automatically. And considering the history, old MLS heads will always consider us the bad guys, which is just the best thing. gently caress you, other teams. Kiss the stars. THE HISTORY:  You know how you'll hear people talk about MLS 2.0? That's because Seattle supporters (not the ones here, thankfully, because we're gonna be friends whether we mean to or loving not) seem to think we rebooted the league somewhere between Beckham getting signed by LA and Drew Carey talking Microsoft into fronting a football team. But it's just not true. Just as Green Bay's titles count despite it not being called Super Bowl the first two years, just as Minneapolis' NBA titles count despite them coming before the age of the shot clock, DC United's titles count despite the backwards-counting clock and penalty-shootouts instead of ties. Boasting South American flair from club legends like Jaime Moreno, Marco Etcheverry and Raul Diaz Arce, a superior American coach in Bruce Arena, and a multicultural fanbase who gladly ate the new team up, and you have the first dynasty of the MLS era. From 1996-99:
Only the pinnacle of the Beckham/Donovan Galaxy years can even hold a candle to DC's dominance over the league, and perhaps the continent...and they had to hire our old coach to do it. THE COACH:  Ben Olsen. Club legend, thrust into the role after the coach at the time proved to be awful. He's now the longest-tenured coach in United history; Arena was tapped to coach the United States national team after three years, and we've now had three and a half years of the Lionheart. And his teams tend to be scrappy sorts, never tiring, never giving up. And for the vast majority of that tenure, that's also come with a lack of tactical cohesion. 2014 may well be his last chance to prove himself; after spending the offseason shadowing the coaching staff of Inter Milan, it's now entirely on him to show whether he has any plan whatsoever beyond “run all day and pray.” THE STADIUM:  Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the opposite of modern sports. Three times as large as necessary for the support it draws; the metal is rusting, the concrete is crumbling, the amenities are scarce, the luxury boxes are few. If you're one of the prawn-sandwich brigade, avoid RFK at all costs. Having said that, from all the places I've watched a game in the past, nothing is more electric than the supporters' side on matchday. The thin metal bounces, and with sufficient friends, you find yourself in a beer-soaked, full-throated electric trampoline. Nobody builds anything like RFK anymore, because the eye is toward the 1%, the legislators and contractors and titans of industry. But RFK is a populist stadium. Come down to the loud side and find yourself singing along, and you'll discover why RFK's A Piece Of poo poo, But It's OUR Piece of poo poo. LAST YEAR (regular season):  Wasn't really so good. 2011 MVP Dwayne DeRosario never found his form after 2012's injuries. Chris Pontius spent most of the season broken. Nick DeLeon regressed mightily. Lionard Pajoy was offside, off-target and off-putting in every respect. Our back four were a disaster. Our midfield was a directionless series of garden gnomes. We won our home opener on an own goal in a 1-0 victory, and it never got better. Name a metric for futility, and 2013 DC made it. Least goals scored, fewest wins, most losses in the post-shootout era. We were a gift for every team. We were the kid in middle school who thought “Well, at least we're not as unpopular as THAT guy,” not realizing that we were both equally pariahs. 2013 was the sort of year that taxes you as a supporter. At one point, we felt compelled to point out that we paid the highest ticket prices in the league by far, and for what? For THIS? Because truly, this team was wretched. And at some point in mid-May, a cold and rainy Wednesday where the Houston Dynamo was simply wrecking United at RFK 3-0 after 75 minutes, everyone in the corner seats looked at each other and agreed. This wasn't gonna get better. It was only gonna get worse. So we had to decide why we were here. What was the point? Why spend your money to watch the worst team in North American history? We decided to have fun. Around the 80th minute, as La Barra Brava stood stunned at what they saw on the pitch, as the Screaming Eagles tried to rally themselves, as the few remaining casual fans started casting an eye toward the traffic, the District Ultras and La Norte exploded into a maelstrom of madness, chanting as if we were winning 3-0 instead. Shirts were ripped off, revealing pasty man-flesh for all to see. Smoke bombs were set alight. The drums became deafening. The party had begun. For the faithful few, the regular season became more of an appointment to meet up with our friends and bleed energy, regardless of the result. In a way, the support had begun to reflect the on-field product; relentless fury with no tangible result.  Sound and fury that signified nothing, perhaps. But as awful as that season was, we were going to have fun. Because that's what loving sports are, man. If you aren't having fun, why are you spending your money? LAST YEAR (US Open Cup): And then came the Cup.  Depending on who you talk to, the US Open Cup is a waste of time, a holdover of a bygone era where big teams test their youth and small teams dream of glory. But not to everyone. For Chicago, they consider it a mark of honor to be Kings of the Cup. For Seattle, their early MLS years began with a threepeat in the USOC, causing them to revel in their pursuit of silverware, like any good club should. And most importantly, there's a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League and a truck full of allocation money for the winner. Remember this part for later. Our season had already become a lost cause by the time MLS teams entered the Cup, as the minnows gave way to the minor league teams. But we'd been given a gift; our own USL Pro feeder team, the Richmond Kickers, were our draw for the Third Round. So we cup-tied whomever seemed could be useful and we all hopped into our cars 100 miles south. DC is known for having some of the more elaborate tifo in MLS, but our message at kickoff was simple that night: code:Thing about the Cup? You find out what you have in the tank. DC United has Bill Hamid as the regular netminder, but Joe Willis is no slouch. Joe Willis is just this kid from Missouri who looks like a blond version of Darryl from the Walking Dead, and his glory is blocking penalties. He came in cold in the 2012 playoffs and stymied New York; here, with desperation in the air, he stymied Richmond not once, not twice, but three times. We finally won the shootout and flares were struck on the north end as I kissed that pretty girl in jubilation. Incidentally, if you haven't kissed a girl while surrounded by flares, fix this.  Onward to the Fourth Round, we faced our new blood rivals, the Philadelphia Union. The 2013 season's prelude involved a friendly that ended with a two-game suspension for Dwayne DeRosario over a skirmish, because the Union and United absolutely despise one another. I think I hate them more than RBNY at this point, honestly. Going to our summer poo poo-shack, the Maryland Soccerplex, DeRo had his last great moment for United with a hat trick against the Union and a 3-1 victory. People started to joke that we should pretend every game is a Cup game at this point. The quarterfinals involved the New England Revolution, once again at the Soccerplex. As casuals watched on the lawn, as the supporters screamed from the stands, they saw the improbable once again. If you can believe it, Lionard Pajoy scored a goal! DeRo scored a header! Pontius even scored! 2013 was dire in the league, but 2012 seemed to be in the air for the Cup as United won 3-1 yet again. Onward to Chicago, who wanted it just as bad as we did. And yet, it happened again. There it was – an open net, Dwayne De Rosario, and a chance. Fire 0, United 2. The Final was quite a haul away – into the Rockies and onward to Real Salt Lake, one of the most solid teams of recent time. 2009 MLS Cup champions, a coach well-renowned for his tactical prowess, a solid backline and a goalkeeper who spent the summer reasserting how deep the American goalkeeping pool is in World Cup qualifiers and Gold Cup glory. And it was time. I'm gonna diverge here and talk about the point of all this madness. Look at this thread, man. The MLS thread is about having fun. The level of play isn't Premiership. You know this, I know this. But it's not unwatchable, and like all American things, we see an opportunity to go outside and be sociable. Another reason to watch MLS is if you want to hang out with friends. It's sunshine and liquids and human beings in unison. It's tribal frivolity and base instinct of MY TOWN BEST TOWN. I love this poo poo. And when I saw that there was only going to be one high point in this whole ridiculous season, you better believe I set aside some money, grabbed a friend, hopped in a car and drove across America to see this game.  If you've never done this, I can't recommend it enough. Fly if you must; some of us have jobs where we've got to be back by 0800 tomorrow. But if you can take a week to drive across North America, loving do it. Sleep in rest stations and shower in truck stops. See the Rocky Mountains approach from the horizon until you find yourself diving into canyons. Discover how compact the Northeast really is. Wonder if the roads in the south ever curve. Figure out where you can cross into other countries. Find the good radio stations in Wyoming. Discover how far you can push your debit card before your bank thinks your wallet got stolen. loving TRAVEL. I can tell you that because DC United exists, I got to take a drive that I meant to do twelve years previous to break up the wedding of my high school sweetheart, and instead I got to beat a PVC pipe on a stair fairly off-beat and hope to God that I'd driven 37 hours straight for something cool. And I did. I got to go see a good stadium, meet some very cool people from Idaho, and marvel as LEWIS loving NEAL scored when we needed him to, again. He doesn't score often, but when he does, it's loving useful. And RSL became known as the chokers of MLS as they lost yet another final at home, the papers ended up reading “Another DC Shutdown,” and we got to celebrate the one and only point of light in our whole stupid season.  Pictured: the friendliest Croatian, the fanciest ho, my traveling companion and the straight-edge punk. And Chris Korb in the purple, as he was injured. And he thanked us for driving; apparently even the CLUB had heard about two guys driving cross country for this. So that's good for the ego – however ephemeral, I'm now a tiny tiny piece of club folklore. Not to mention the best part – even in our darkest season, we still win glory.. OFFSEASON: Well, for starters, everyone died. Lionard Pajoy was sent away, never to be spoken of again. DeRo was offered up to the waiver gods and landed in his hometown of Toronto. The entire backline was jettisoned. The homegrown Ethan White was turned into Jeff Parke. An international spot that we'd proven to be rubbish at scouting was traded for Davy Arnaud. Millions in salary were jettisoned as high salaries were cut, traded to cool places like Shimizu S-Pulse, or murdered in a back alley by having his ankle crushed with a framing hammer. Seriously, gently caress a Carlos Ruiz. The starting XI for DC is nearly a complete overhaul, befitting a team that sucked that badly. Eddie Johnson was brought in using the allocation money won in the US Open Cup, proving just how vital that competition is; EJ yelled PAY ME and now the league itself is paying him. Fabian Espindola was brought in from New York in the Re-Entry draft, and we can only hope that he finds his RSL form. Davy Arnaud was brought in from Montreal to anchor the midfield and hopefully get some kind of service. And Jesus Christ, an all-new backline. The wretched pairing of Dejan Jakovic and Brandon McDonald (and later, Ethan White) have turned into a returning Bobby Boswell and the aforementioned Jeff Parke. Sean Franklin was brought in from Los Angeles to add an attacking option, hopefully mirroring that of Andy Najar. Cristian Fernandez is a La Liga castoff, which could be anything, but theoretically better than Chris Korb on principle. Really, we only have two holdovers. One is Perry Kitchen, our young up-and-coming central midfielder who tends to anchor everything, defend well, and keep people organized. He's going to be captain one day, and I'm going to be okay with that. The other is Bill Hamid, a man who isn't starting with the USMNT solely because he's got Tim Howard, Nick Rimando and Brad Guzan in front of him. He'll get his payday one day. THE FUTURE: Preseason has shown the players slowly starting to gel, and with an increase in talent at nearly every position, playoffs are a possibility. But really, all anyone is asking this season is a watchable product. And with the talent that's been brought in, I can't see that not happening. They'll score, and they'll ship a few as the backline continues to gel, but this is a team that'll win more than three games. And if they take the USOC as seriously as they did last season, they should cakewalk it. I wrote that bit before the opener, wherein we got crushed by Columbus 3-0 in roughly the same way as 2013. The pieces have NOT come together yet. Under Olsen, we may never come together. The real question then becomes the Champions League. Will random games in Panama injure/exhaust our best? Can I actually drive to Costa Rica? Who will I trade scarves with next? I don't know, honestly. We'll win more than three games, of that I'm certain. The rest is up to God and deflections. But if you're on the fence and you live in the VA/MD/DC area, you need to get your rear end to RFK. Come to the river. Meet Natty. Go to the big tailgate and meet Howdy. Yell HEY FANCY rear end HO when you see the District Ultras flag and wait for the loving WHAT in reply. Let's have fun this year. The foot is back. Let's enjoy it together. 
Your Boy Fancy fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Mar 12, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 03:14
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Away goals count now in the playoffs.
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Mar 8, 2014 03:25
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Ok, two posts from me.
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Mar 8, 2014 03:32
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Just got word that a huge "free agent" is available to a team hungry to http://www.bigdsoccer.com/2014/3/7/5482674/fc-dallas-and-eric-hassli-mutually-agree-to-part-ways
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Mar 8, 2014 03:45
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Hi friends, I'm here to sign up as a Columbus Crew plastic. I'll try to watch the games and keep an eye on Pipo Gonzalez because he owns and I want to make sure you guys don't ruin him.  You guys also got Waylon Francis who is pretty good, curious about how he does in a different league.
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Mar 8, 2014 03:56
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I love his nickname, now we've got a Pipa and a Pipo.
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Mar 8, 2014 04:00
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Go The Sounders. I can't believe this season is already here. MLS is the best league (in the USA)!
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Mar 8, 2014 04:31
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double sulk posted:I hope the Union do well this year um, double sulk posted:The Union are terrible I'll probably post some rough edits of last year's Union post tomorrow if no one beats me to it. This week sucked Hello Towel, please trigger warning that Peter Nowak picture tia Nissin Cup Nudist fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 05:00
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Let's be honest: no one else is going to do a Whitecaps writeup, so I will: Your 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps:  A Brief History Founded in 1973, this is the fourth league they've played in and will almost certainly be the longest-lasting. How about that? Moved up to MLS in 2011, stunk all season that year, and have stunk for slightly smaller portions of the season ever since. Is this the year we finally solve Zeno's Paradox? Manager  Martin Rennie didn't get over his urge to Uniforms  The new blue kit is pretty close to the old blue kit, but why mess too much with a good thing?   Last year's white home and brown third jerseys return unchanged. I still hate our kit sponsor too much to buy one. Sun rise, sun set. Stadium   BC Place, our pretty downtown stadium with the really loving ugly artificial turf, shared with the local CFL team. Still pretty, though, and seats 22k in its soccer configuration, out of a normal 55k. Achievements Won the old NASL once, the old CSL four times, the old USL First Division twice, and the MLS Wooden Spoon once. (one of these things is not like the others...) Still haven't won a Voyageurs' Cup (the Canadian championship) but so help me God, this year is our year to finally beat Toronto in a cup final. (no it isn't) Supporters Groups The main group is the Southsiders, who've been around since the USL days. Other groups include the Curva Collective and the Rain City Brigade, but I don't know much about any of them since I don't actually live in Vancouver, so hey, have some photos:     Rivalries Seattle and Portland hate each other more than us. Toronto and Montreal hate each other more than us. Ask four Caps fans which of those they care about most and you'll get four different answers. Notable Former Players Eric Hassli (F), who you may remember from goals like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Vfdx7LEh4, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGtpsOxhGcI, or most probably http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2aqALwGgbw. Good at scoring wondergoals, not so good at consistency or, indeed, staying thin. Released by Dallas literally yesterday. Camilo (M/F): Brazilian trickster and free-kickster, won the Golden Boot and scored the Goal of the Year last year. Dives Davide Chiumiento (M) who provided most of our playmaking before mysteriously being sold back to Switzerland. Still missed, however maddeningly inconsistent he could be. Lee Young-Pyo (D): former South Korean international and EPL/Bundesliga defender, retired with honour last year due to the pending failure of his nuclear fusion core. Steve Nash...oh, wait, no, Martin Nash, his slightly less famous brother. Former Caps captain and CMNT midfielder, now on the coaching staff. Notable Current Players Jay DeMerit (D): Captain, former USMNT rock, still a solid defender but getting creaky. Missed all of last year with injury Matias Laba (M): A solid young DP holding midfielder, impressed for Toronto last year and we got him for a song. Expecting big things. Nigel Reo-Coker (M): Our third DP, a strong central midfielder who hasn't lost too many steps from his days with the Villa. Darren Mattocks (F): After a stellar rookie year where he led the team in goals with 7 in 21, he had a pretty disappointing sophomore year that we'll all hope he bounces back from, especially since he's going to be getting a lot more playing time with Camilo gone. Kenny Miller (F): The last of 2012's three big Scottish acquisitions left standing. Contract expires in the summer, hopefully he wants to either earn a new one or show off for the scouts from Rangers. Thoughts on Last Season It ended in June. IT ENDED IN JUNE. Okay, it wasn't that bad, we just barely missed the playoffs despite horrible injury problems and even worse midseason transfers, but we weren't really making huge progress and I'm glad to put it behind us. Thoughts on the Current Roster Last year's goalkeeping controversy has actually started to repeat itself. David Ousted is still the number one starter, but almost-good-enough-to-start Brad Knighton has been replaced with almost-good-enough-to-start Paolo Tornaghi. Defense should be an improvement if only because new arrival Steven Beitashour is a lot younger than Lee and at least as good, but I'm still kind of iffy about Jordan Harvey at starting LB, and about DeMerit and O'Brien managing to stay healthy. But with both Reo-Coker and Laba screening them I hope to have not much to worry about. Creativity in midfield was the big flaw last year, and but we've signed three promising midfielders in new DP Pedro Morales, and Uruguayan duo Sebastian Fernandez and Nicolas Mezquida - and Russel Teibert is still looking good. We seem to be trying to replace Camilo's goals with a (very young) committee: Kenny Miller will be key, but Mattocks, Manneh, and Salgado all have room to step up this year. Even after all that we've got a lot of promising young depth in players like Johnny Leveron, Gershon Koffie, and Erik Hurtado. Thoughts on the Upcoming Season If you asked me two months ago I'd have been really pessimistic, with the long coaching search followed by Camilo debacle followed by the wacky draft, but I like Robinson as a coach, he seems to have the locker room in hand and his acquisitions suggest he really means it when he says he wants an entertaining team. I think the team will contend for the playoffs at least, but the West is so goddamn stacked that you never really know, do you? I'm finishing this post most of the way through the season opener and I have to say it looks like we'll at least enjoy the ride. SA Supporters Dallan Invictus colonel_korn Ironis goldrush I have almost certainly missed someone - most of us only appear from our secret dimension when somebody asks if any Whitecaps fans actually post in this thread. If that someone is you, let me know! Soooo hyped for the new season, ref lockout and all. CHAOS REIGNS. Dallan Invictus fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Mar 9, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 05:01
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