LOL I guess the qualities I hate in players is different from others. I tend to hate spoiled, self righteous players like Donovan Ruiz reminds me of the kids in Tijuana that try to sell you gum and they pick your pocket when you're not looking. Sure I may not bring him into my house, but at least he doesn't pretend to be something he's not. He's got those 3rd world street survival characteristics that don't generally offend me. I don't mind a diver that plays hard. What I don't like is a diver that plays soft
I always hated Twellman after he shoved Stokes into Rimando and Stokes wound up with a concussion. In fact, I would say it was Twellman's reckless nature which led to the very concussions that ended his career, so maybe it was karma. As for Ruiz, his diving never bothered me because it was always overblown (just like Davies, IMO). Forwards are going to do whatever they can to get a call; sometimes they get it, sometimes they get called on their BS. Personally, that type of behavior is dependent upon refs; good refs will make the right call, bad refs won't. For better or worse, gaming the system is a part of soccer, so hating a player for that behavior tends to miss the point: if it wasn't a moderately successful tactic, a player wouldn't try to get away with it.
You're certainly not alone in this point of view; lots of other people feel that way, and have voiced that opinion here. But I can't decide to be OK with it. To me it's logically analogous (yes, I know it's nowhere near as significant; I'm not saying it is -- just that the logic is the same) to saying that gaming the financial system, as Enron did or AIG did or whoever did, is part of world finance and people wouldn't try to get away with it if it wasn't often successful: that may be true, but I'm still not going to be OK with it.
My POV is different. I was never much of a diver as a player, but coming from Romania many players I played with embellished a little. The English and Germans always like to make a big stink, but that same guy will break someone's leg 5 minutes later. I think as a league we'd be better off hating the hack with no skill than the diver who actually tries to play soccer. A diver can always be fixed with a red card, but you can't fix a broken leg with a card I'm not trying to say diving is OK but the reaction of some people is way out of proportion
This Sh|t can't be f\/cking real.....I cant stop crying!!!!!!!!!! I cant...I cant......NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! WHY!!!!!!
Ahh, the old false dichotomy. It isn't the dive or the broken leg. All skilled players don't dive and all hard workers don't break legs. I admire skill, but I also admire hard work. I especially admire the player who gets the most out his skill by hard work. I think that's Benny 2.0. What I dislike about Ruiz is the petulance and all the off the ball crap. A dirty player in my estimation. asitis
But pretty much every player does it (stretching reality to get a call) to some degree, so you must be drawing a line somewhere. Yes, Ruiz does it to a higher degree than nearly anyone, but you don't seem likely to take the position that you're against Enron, but not against someone who just sank one small, local S&L.
I hear you. I do have a lot of distaste for hacks who consistently play recklessly or with actual intent to injure; probably my least favorite player on the European scene is Nigel de Jong for that very reason. I guess I don't feel more venom towards hacks/serial injurers in MLS than I do about Ruiz because there really isn't anyone in MLS right now that impresses me as a hack to the degree that Ruiz impresses me as a diver. (probably one of the closest is someone else that we signed during the offseason -- Thorrington -- and I *did* kvetch about that at the time, since I was maybe 5 yards away from when Thorrington did what he does to Jaime very early in this video)
And this is the difference. There's a type of player that you hate because he's on the other team. Like Petke. But when Petke came here he became a fan favorite. Ruiz isn't that kind of guy. Ruiz is the kind of player you hate because he exists. It's not like I'm gonna turn on United because they brought Ruiz onto the team. He'll be gone soon enough, and United will remain. But I'll tell you one thing: when Ruiz pulls his usual crap, don't expect me to defend him. I won't.
I am not in with most people here, I don't care what he did in the past, all I remember is that he's been a scoring machine every team he has played for. If he's still fit OK, this is the kind of forward we've been looking for for a long time, the one that if we had it last year may have actually taken us all the way through (being MLS champions)
I don't have much of an opinion on him but maybe Olsen can calm some things down. Olsen doesn't give a damn when it comes to benching ANYONE so that can help. Maybe the Disciplinary Board handing out fines and suspensions will have an influence as well. It looks like many of you are as ticked as I would be if we signed Lenhart.
My beef with Davies was that he sucked, and then complained that he wasn't getting enough playing time. I'm happy with this move. Ruiz may be a bitch on the field, but I've never heard of him being a bad locker room guy, and I hate bad locker room guys WAY more than I hate divers.
The one and only time I have ever thought good thoughts about Ricardo Clark was when he ********ing kicked Ruiz, I thought that was his one heroic moment in life. Though it doesn't help, I don't think I hate Ruiz because of his diving (hell, honestly, I think Jaime Moreno was one of the greatest divers in MLS history), but because of his grabbing, holding, I imagine biting, bullshit he pulls when he matches up against center backs. I hate that crap. Plus he fakes being injured very poorly yet always seems to get positive calls for it (I put him on an even keel with Guavara, Blanco, and Stoichkov here). I don't know him personally, but I'd bet money he's a disgusting prick - so I am unhappy with this move - but it's my team so I'll hold my nose. I won't go out of my way to boo, but I won't hold back if I think it might be deserved. I am sure as hell not cheering for the little ********. (rhymes with something baseball players do when they aren't man enough to hit)
My earliest recollection of Pescadito is when he intentionally, stud-up, fouled Howard in a WCQ in Guatemala and took the ball that was coughed-up by an injured Howard (who was lying on the field in pain) and scored a goal. I am losing my patience with Coach Ben Olsen.
For me it's simple. I think he'll be a good for us results-wise. If he gets goals I'll cheer. If he flops I'll boo. If he flops and gets a goal then I'll troll the other team's forum.
Some of you people act like this team never had bad people on the team or unsavory players on the team. Need I remind you: This is the team that once employed Geoff Aunger, Dema Kovalenko and Ivan McKinley, three of the hardest, dirtiest players in the history of a league with more than its share of hard, dirty players. That a HS dropout, baby-mamma havin', drug addict once flicked off the fans at RFK.... and got welcomed back for a second term with the team. That one of its best forwards ever is a convicted felon who spent time in jail for B&E and has a long, publicly documented issue with creditors. That a guy who once screwed his friend and teammate's wife was our club captain and is still employed by the team as a broadcaster. That, as others have noted, Freddy Adu and Charlie Davies AND Jaime Moreno and Marco Etcheverry, did a little flopping and we happily celebrate the goals they helped DCU score and the trophies (not in Davies' case) they helped the team win). And let's not forget how many of us cheered for Davies - both against Costa Rica right after his accident and while he played here - despite the fact that it was his selfish, bone-headed decision to break curfew and get in a car with a drunk driver. No one seemed to have a problem with that at the time. Hristo Stoitchkov - a notorious bully on and off the field - committed arguably the dirtiest, most violent play in the history of MLS, even if it was in a scrimmage, while wearing a DCU kit. That two (married) players on the team once had a three-way with a ridiculously drunk fat-chick at a hotel in Columbus and while the charges against them were dropped, that was as much because of the credibility of the accuser and that even though they are free in a court of law they still showed poor judgement in getting themselves in that situation to begin with.... and we stayed by them. That Judah Cooks partied his way out of a very promising pro soccer career while wearing a DCU uniform and now we trust him to develop our academy players. That among the league's all-time leaders in fouls and yellow cards are former United players like our current coach, Richie Williams, Carey Talley and Jesse Marsch, all of whom began their careers here. Most of the people that have played for DC United are good guys. Hell, even most of the people listed above are good guys, even the ones with the off-field issues. But for all the saints DCU has had, there have been plenty of sinners, too. So, I think we can somehow manage to tolerate a conniving, diving, flopping, dirty-trickster like Carlos Ruiz wearing a DC United uniform.
I will say this, one thing I do love I "seeing" so many old faces on this board. Whoda thunk Ruiz was such a Uniter? [/rim shot, runs]