Meh. I'm not sure what to think of this game since Vancouver is as big of rival in the same way that Seattle, Portland, El Lay, Colorado or San Jose are. I guess "meh" about sums up the game for me. Anyway, Vancouver played to a 2-2 tie with El Lay and RSL just thumped Portland 1-0, so make of it what you will. Prediction: RSL over Vancouver 2-0. Goals by Saborio and Plata.
If we give Vancouver opportunities in the middle of our defense like we did with Portland, we'll get buried. A bit nervous. Hoping for a strong defensive performance - which we haven't seen for a couple of weeks (outside of GK).
Measuring rivalries, I do not place Vancouver into the same slot as LA of Colorado. They are a Conference opponent and the games are intense as with all of our conference foes, but I do not view them as a "rival" per se. Nor do I view Seattle, Portland and SJ in that way. I like our chances against them Saturday, at home. Especially if Plata sees a lot of playing time. I expect to see smarter play from the mids as it relates to stupid turnovers in bad places. I think RSL 3-1 Whitecaps is a reasonable prediction.
Darren Mattocks scares the shit out of me with how slow our defense can be. You add in a guy like Miller who is nearly as clinical in his finishing as Robbie Keane... RSL defense has to show up. And the midfield? Lets pass the ball to the team in red this game.
I think Vancouver is dangerous. Probably the most underrated team in the west. They've got a lot of good players and lack of chemistry is probably why they're not blowing anyone away with their performances so far this year. If we play like we did against Portland they'll probably tear us apart like they did to NYRB in their season opener. Mattocks is scary because he is playing much smarter and less selfish. I know last year he'd blow a lot of chances by not looking for a teammate, but now he's more willing to let go of the ball. That's got him 3 assists already.
I hope we have a good showing. I'm a little bummed since I'll probably miss this game. The joys of getting to do car repairs instead. It'll feel weird since this is likely the first home game I'll have missed in about 3 years.
You guys seriously don't view Seattle as a rival? Anyway - I have a feeling we will see lots of goals on Saturday night. I'm going with 3-2
I don't view them as one. You can't call everyone a rival or it dilutes the meaning. For me it's always the cRapids, and to a lesser extent, LA, since we always seem to be going up against them. I'm not a fan of teams like Seattle and KC, but I wouldn't call them rivals.
Think that all you want. There is a cup competition between us and Colorado. Seattle is just another team in the western conference. Of course, we want to beat all the western conference teams, but we can hardly be rivals with all these teams that have been supposed to be our rivals over the past couple of years: Colorado Los Angeles Seattle Portland San Jose Kansas City That many rivals dilutes the meaning of the word. Rival is 1, 2, maybe 3 teams. It is sustained over time, not just recent competitive history due to both teams being viable contenders for a particular prize. It is important regardless of which team is up and which is down, the game always matters to both teams. Seattle isn't a rival, we have disdain for their fans because of their arrogant "we invented football" attitude and one players whom we dislike due to violent playing style: Alonzo. Los Angeles is not a rival, we have disdain for them because of the special treatment the organization gets from MLS. Portland is not a rival, we have respect and admiration for a city and club that is doing it right who always is competitive even if they appear to be landing on the wrong side of things against us and particularly this year. We get up for those games because they are very worthy opponents who bring a good game. San Jose is not a rival, we have disdain for the thuggish and ugly brand of football they play: their loft and crash the box offensive 'tactics'. Kansas City is not a rival. There is something personal between the two teams dating back a while for unclear reasons. Note for San Jose in particular, we dislike them because of their current playing style. It wasn't always that way, and if they changed their playing style (new coach, new players, no more Lenhart, for instance) we'd probably not care much more than 'must beat teams in our conference'.
Our form to start the season: WDDWDDW So I'm fully expecting a tie out of this one, probably in the form of a late goal given up, possibly in added extra additional stoppage time on top of the normal stoppage time.
We should make a game of it. "What minute of extra time does the other team equalize?" and "Whose fault will it be?" Guess correctly for fun prizes.
Just saw this on the PRO website: Real Salt Lake vs. Vancouver Whitecaps Rio Tinto Stadium (9:30pm ET) REFEREE: KEVIN STOTT AR1: Baboucarr Jallow AR2: Felisha Mariscal 4TH: Tyler Ploeger http://www.proreferees.com/mls-assignments-04-26-14-04-27-14.php
Considering the name, I have absolutely no idea on the gender of AR1. But, if he/she were up for "official of the year", they would win.
That will happen, but it won't come from me. If she has close to 20/20 vision and can actually get into the correct positions she will be an improvement over many of the ARs I've seen so far this season.
haha, yeah. I figure everyone messes up though and this has already happened in other leagues around the world. Yeah, you'd probably need thick skin just to survive. I'm hoping the "don't cross the line" will stop people from doing that, but I know some people are just assholes regardless.
A bad call is a bad call. I do not discriminate based on race, religion, or sex. I am an equal opportunists when it comes to booing the ref.