http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/soccer/11990862.htm Ditto everything in this article. Props to Donovan for being above it all, and not taking the heat too personally; he knows what the real deal is. Seriously, the Sharks should buy the Quakes (again), tear down the HP Pavilion and build an SSS right on top of it. Then send Uncle Phil a thank you note and two tickets to the first game there.
Agree on your comments about Donovan...I posted basically the same thing on the San Jose thread. Going into the game, Landon made some comments that we all took as very naive (things like "I'm not sure what to expect, but it's hard to hear boos from fans that I spent 4 years playing in front of......I'd hope they would respect me more....") He didn't seem to be able to appreciate why San Jose fans can't just "forgive and forget" and be happy for him. Then he kept saying how he thinks the fans think he moved because he'd rather play soccer for the Galaxy than San Jose, and "it wasn't about soccer, it was about life outside of soccer". This just upset fans more, because frankly we don't care what it's about, we feel that this was one of many ways that AEG have taken care of LA at the expense of San Jose. But now he seems to finally get the fact that San Jose fans are pissed at AEG more than him (maybe a little at him), but also that going to the bitter rival of the Earthquakes is going to get you booed. And that it's probably a good thing for the league to intensify the rivalry. And that getting booed like he did really is a sign of respect, that he is the ultimate symbol of our hated rivals right now. He even laughed about the "Landon pinata" that was put up, saying "Sweet...they got the hairline right too."
Let me say first off that was a great game to watch on TV. The SJ fans really brought it. It truly shows what MLS and SJ can be with a little passion. It would be a shame to lose that rivalry. After that, I have to say half way through the match I started laughing. The thought entered my mind that if every Galaxy fan in the HDC started booing every ex-Galaxy player who plays for the Earthquakes now they'd have to boo the whole game.
In the first half when they played some of Landon's audio, he mentioned something to one of his ex-teammates about how it's nice to see a crowd at Spartan for a change, or something to that effect. When he said that, I thought to myself, "See, he still doesn't get it? It's always gotta be about Landon." Then during the halftime segment, Wynalda mentioned that he thought Landon really had to let it go and just play. So it was refreshing to read about Landon's acceptance of the situation in your post, it'll just be interesting to see how he bounces back from Saturday. And that was one of the best league games I've seen in years. Kudos to the Quakes and the fans for producing such a ringing endorsement for the league given the national broadcast and time slot.
Agree - or if San Jose booed every ex-Quake. When Dunivant was introduced, he got some applause (he was traded from the Quakes in the offseason). The Landon thing is more than just him ending up on LA, it's how he ended up there, the fact that he's a lot better player than Dunivant, so fans are going to single him out more, etc. Someone said that what the fans really wanted was for someone from AEG to show up on the field and he/she would get booed a heckuva lot more than Donovan.
For the record, Two of the Casbah regulars (who don't post to the boards as far as I know), told me of their idea for the AEG banner during the RSL game on the 18th. I thought it was an outf***instanding idea. When an ESPN2 cameraman came to the Casbah pre-game to record the Anti-Donovan t-shirts and banners. I told him to get a shot of the A(nti) E(arthquakes) G(roup) banner. He copped out by saying "he'd do it later". Guy
That would have been the best. I mean, that is truly original. Good that a fan thought of it; I thought maybe the writer had thought of it.
Props to Donovan? For what? I'm not saying he didn't react with some grace, but what do you expect when you are a traitor? A hero's welcome? Bah.
He didn't say anything to the effect of "for a change." He knows about the huge crowds for LA/San Jose games. They happen every time. He wasn't insinuating it was about him at all.
Jaysus, isn't that the truth? And they're all doing fine too! Rehabilitated well Must be the organic food and pilates.....
gotta say, NoCal is way more into the whole organic thang. It makes 'em feel good, and it's another feather in their cap that makes them feel superior to we inferior mortals who steal their water and best players. As for pilates and any exercise phenom, NoCal more into pilots, if ya' catch my drift. LA starts way, way more exercise fads, motored by The Industry. (The latest: pole dancing. I'm serious!)
I hope Ann Killion realizes that its not just AEG that Quakes fans should hate. We also hate Donovan. We understand that he left for Germany. We didn't understand why he was a little b***h about the whole deal and came home less than 6 months later. If the play is too rough, look at Starvin Marvin Beasley and see how well he's doing with PSV. Donovan is arguably the top offensive player this country has, and he should do well anywhere he goes. His problem is that he only plays when he wants to. I don't think Donovan's return to the Galaxy so soon was massively orchestrated between him, MLS and AEG, but i do believe that MLS and AEG played the biggest roles. As long as Dallas stays at the top of the Western Conference (or preferrably, the QUAKES in a couple of weeks) i laugh at what the Galaxy had to give up for Primadonovan. YEah it was fish-out-of-water Ruiz, but Ruiz has Eddie Johnson to take the pressure off of him. If anyone benefitted the most out of Donovan going to the Galaxy it was Dallas FC. ----sidenote: Why is it FC Dallas? In England, its (Team Name) FC. Basic English naming procedure is (City Name) Football Club. The Cowboys aren't the American Football Club Dallas Cowboys. They're the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. Who owns Dallas FC in the first place?
I don't know, maybe to please hispanics? Seriously, it's even more troubling since there's a huge youth club named FC Dallas, who are still pissed off at the MLS because of the name stealing.
The word "huge" overstates their size a bit. And FWIW, HSG were the first to register "FC Dallas" with the US Patents and Trademark Office.
First to file doesn't ensure ownership. If the FC Dallas youth soccer group can show (and are willing to put in the effort) they were using the "FC Dallas" phrase prior to HSG, they most likely would be able to establish trademark ownership. If nothing else, they could lease the trademark back to HSG.
