News: MLS and RBNY Provide FREE Bus and Tickets for Traveling DCU Fans

I'm actually disgusted with this. I mean truly disgusted with how this played out tonight.

New York sandbagged the snow cleanup and the league just went with it.

 

Yeah, I thought there was a bit of over-reaction from DC fans on the venue switch, given the extenuating circumstances, but this one the league just completely screwed them on with no excuse.

 

Preface: i'm a Red Bulls fan. Was a season ticket holder before moving to North Carolina after last season. I was constantly talking to friends who were in-stadium tonight.

The 'effort' to clear the field was absolutely baffling. After the initial clear (in what was the pre-game time), there appeared to be nothing but a skeleton crew of people working on the field. On TV i was seeing what genuinely looked like ticket sales reps shoveling. Why do i say this? I saw guys wearing peacoats and slipping in their dress shoes while shoveling. These weren't people who are accustomed to doing this sort of thing.

A friend in stadium says one of the fitness coaches was out there along with academy players numbered 1-11 shoveling.

I have been in constant contact with my parents since Monday warning them to prepare for this storm. Utility companies, since Sunday, have been warning people to expect power outages again. At no point since Monday has snow left the hour-by-hour forecast for the region.

All that lead time and THIS is the effort we get to clear the field? Academy players? What are either tickt reps or interns? A handful of guys with shovels?

Within an hour, they could have headed down to the Walmart in Kearny (minutes away), bought up every snow shovel, and had 50 people clearing the field all game long. During goal kicks, get 50 guys to make a pass...once in each direction, and this game could have easily been played.

Or better yet, buy up a bunch of shovels and get the manpower on monday and tuesday. Maybe even get a couple machines to help clear the field?

Or better still, make the call to postpone earlier today, before 11 buses leave from DC.

Completely embarassing from a neutral perspective, and i feel for the DC fans.

If our team pussed out, we should have just forfeit.

 

In another news, due the lack of available days to schedule the second leg, the League ordered that NYRB advances to the Conference Finals. In case of the weather continues to affect NY/NJ area, the MLS Cup will go directly to the Red Bulls...

 

It was amateurish to say the least. However, what strikes me most, it is that those few half-heartly cleaners actually pulled off the service. The field was constantly ready to play.

 

I hope NY gets routed by DC. MLS completely ********ed this up.

 

You know, far more than I hope for any result of any kind in the match, what I really hope is that tomorrow, someone from either team (or hell, even a ball kid) kicks a ball that leaves the playing area, hits Garber in the crotch, and forces his testicles to be amputated. That's what I want right now.

 

Yup. This one, there's absolutely no good excuse for how it was handled.

 

Just got home to the Bronx about to watch the DVRed KC/Houston game.

Sitting in the upper deck as game time came and went it was clear MLS was wrestling with whether to postpone the game.

I had thought the game could easily be postponed due to dangerous travel conditions for fans but once the few fans were already there not clear why they didn't have the field covered and simply remove the tarp and play? The snow was lightening up as game time approached.

Had fun though giving the DC players and co-owner Chang the razz as they saluted the traveling fans.

What a comedy of errors.

 

When I talked to Jack Frost earlier today, he promised only a light dusting!

 

Pathetic MLS.

Get all those fans, staff and players to drive out these in dangerous life threatening conditions and then call the game because it's a little slippery. Does MLS not get the weather channel? WTF? Why are these decisions being made after the weather event?

Also that field cleaning effort was pathetic. Does nobody have the phone number of a nearby rental company to rent a skidsteer?

And lastly Backe is a bitch. I've seen champions league games from Scandinavia with more snow than this game.

 

It's funny how much hate I see from Red Bull fans towards Garber when we talk about NYC2

But when Garber starts skewing things in your favor suddenly the league is infallible and everyone else is being stupid and petty.

Pathetic hypocrites

At least I called out Garber's BS when he gave us Adu and everyone else was frowning. I don't approve of a league FO that plays favorites.

 

You know if DC were eliminated because a funny bounce from the snow or something similar your entire fan base would have whined about the game being played....

 

But for a different reason. You know, the one we were already complaining about: the change in home field advantage.

Nothing to do on playing in the snow tonight.

 

Did we ever figure out what happened to the traveling DC contingent? Seriously feel bad for those guys now.

 

I was actually quite baffled that there seemed to be no actual piece of snow removal machinery/equipment, nor any other equipment that could have been outfitted with a plow or one of those turf brushes. Frankly, I saw no mechanized equipment out there at all.

IIRC, at the Final Four in St. Louis a few years ago they had to clear that field of snow.

Nothing says "Major League" more than your Commissioner scraping snow off of a field like it's his elderly neighbor's front walk.

I hate to say it, but its the price they pay for not attempting to get a different venue for last weekend and for their greed in trying to keep a NYRB home gate.

 

Free buses available again on 11/8 apparently, for those who can spare the 13 hours or so.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...hannel-their-fans-energy-rescheduled-ny-match

 

Each team gets one home game. Where is the advantage?

 

I joked with my wife that they couldn't use the machines due to New Jersey union rules. A few guys got pretty cold feet clearing the field in Cole Haan loafers.

 

In the event of a tie, ET and PK will be in NJ. not much, I know, but that is the advantage.

 

Read the MLS competition rules. 2nd seed gets the 2nd home game. This is basic fundamental competition rules that every club agrees to at the beginning of the season.

Nowhere in the competition rules does it state that a team's home game only counts as a home game if it's played in that team's stadium. A club has flexibility to change its home venue in case of emergencies.

 

Bullshit

Never in my 17 years as a DC fan have I ever blamed a loss on weather. I also support a club in Europe that regularly plays in worse weather than what we had at Harrison last night.

I wouldn't expect your team's fans to use weather as an excuse or any other fan in MLS.

 

RB took the tarps off the field hours before it began to snow and began snow removal around the time the teams were supposed to warmup. They had interns and staff shoveling (even DC staff until they limited the people who could help). Geiger and his crew never instructed the people shoveling what needed to be done for the field to be playable. They had at least one tractor with a front end plow. It was all a joke. The players wanted to play. DC front office and coaching staff never backed down. Either it should have been postponed much earlier or it should have been a forfeit.

 

The dream final would be: N.Y. (Henry) vs L.A (Becks).

Also, no more "Buck Shaw" headache to contend with...