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Goal of the Week Nominays
Posted 06 May 2008 at 02:23 AM by Dan Loney
Someone told me that Beckham wasn't leading the Goal of the Week voting this week, so I thought I would check for myself. Because man, I must have missed some terrific shots if neither of Beckham's goals is running away with it. So I watched the goals, again, and my reactions were pretty consistent.
Espindola - meh.
Van Den Bergh - set up by a lousy call, and the wall jumped out of the way. Whee.
Rolfe - "Revs absolutely falling asleep....It's amazing that Rolfe could get that much time and space right in front of the goal...." Ringing endorsement from the announcers.
Well, that settles that - Beckham had the two best goals of the week, so if he's not winning, fans must be splitting their votes.
Except, right now, it's Rolfe 50%, and both Beckham goals together add up to 44%. It's not vote-splitting. Either Fire fans are rocking the vote, or the sort of hardcore fan who votes in weekly MLS polls won't give Beckham credit for anything.
Remember how we all were annoyed at the unblinking, unrelenting, embarrassing hagiographic ultrahype the Beckham circus subjected us to? Well, taking the exact opposite tack isn't the exact opposite - it's the exact same thing. Neither the Beckham haters nor the Entertainment Tonight idiots are actually paying attention to what's going on in the league. And neither point of view is going to do justice to the players, the teams, or the fans. Chris Rolfe is a fine player who scores fantastic goals. He doesn't need your charity.
I don't know why this bugs me, except that I expect better from MLS fans. We became fans of the sport despite popular opinion, not because of it. It's only a stupid little Goal of the Week award, but I don't like seeing our fans turn into kneejerking puppets. If I wanted to deal with that, I'd picket Tom Hicks for ruining everything Liverpool stands for. (Hopefully, that post is tomorrow.)
For an opposing point of view, read (or re-read) this. What happened to this person's blog? It got off to such a wonderful start, then nothing! What gives? Why can't I have nice things?
Espindola - meh.
Van Den Bergh - set up by a lousy call, and the wall jumped out of the way. Whee.
Rolfe - "Revs absolutely falling asleep....It's amazing that Rolfe could get that much time and space right in front of the goal...." Ringing endorsement from the announcers.
Well, that settles that - Beckham had the two best goals of the week, so if he's not winning, fans must be splitting their votes.
Except, right now, it's Rolfe 50%, and both Beckham goals together add up to 44%. It's not vote-splitting. Either Fire fans are rocking the vote, or the sort of hardcore fan who votes in weekly MLS polls won't give Beckham credit for anything.
Remember how we all were annoyed at the unblinking, unrelenting, embarrassing hagiographic ultrahype the Beckham circus subjected us to? Well, taking the exact opposite tack isn't the exact opposite - it's the exact same thing. Neither the Beckham haters nor the Entertainment Tonight idiots are actually paying attention to what's going on in the league. And neither point of view is going to do justice to the players, the teams, or the fans. Chris Rolfe is a fine player who scores fantastic goals. He doesn't need your charity.
I don't know why this bugs me, except that I expect better from MLS fans. We became fans of the sport despite popular opinion, not because of it. It's only a stupid little Goal of the Week award, but I don't like seeing our fans turn into kneejerking puppets. If I wanted to deal with that, I'd picket Tom Hicks for ruining everything Liverpool stands for. (Hopefully, that post is tomorrow.)
For an opposing point of view, read (or re-read) this. What happened to this person's blog? It got off to such a wonderful start, then nothing! What gives? Why can't I have nice things?
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I was shocked when I looked at the voting. I'm not a Beckham lover, but I thought his goal from the run of play was outstanding. It only had like 11% when I voted. Rolfe's first touch was poor, and he was just lucky he had enough time to still shoot after that.Posted 06 May 2008 at 08:26 AM by SilentAssassin 
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Jeez, Dan, how about a link to the GOTW page to make it easier for me to find and view the goals you're talking about, huh? Now I have to go and, like, find it for myself or something.Posted 06 May 2008 at 09:37 AM by BigKris
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Easy answer
Actually, aren't RSL'ers famous for no-life poll stuffing ability? How do you feel if they can generate that much support for keeping their team off the losing end of the GOTW? Isn't that plain old team support?Posted 06 May 2008 at 09:42 AM by lou czar
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I'm admittedly a homer, but wasn't Jacob Peterson's goal (and the play leading up to it) at least 10 times more difficult and 10 times more beautiful than either Espindola's or van den Bergh's? I'm more bothered that it wasn't even nominated.
Posted 06 May 2008 at 09:57 AM by RapidStorm 
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Yeah, whay isn't Peterson's goal on the list? It may not be as good as Old Spice's goals, but its better than the other 3
Posted 06 May 2008 at 10:00 AM by Jasonma
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I'm a Fire fan, and I agree that Beckham's goal from the run of play should win. That was great recognition and execution and from a very unconventional spot which made it that much more special.
But don't hate on Rolfe. He made a nice run, flashed a great first touch, lightening quick release and perfect placement. Admittedly, he probably could have taken three touches and a poorly placed shot and still scored, but he showed real class on that play. While we've yet to see it from him in a USA jersey these are the flashes that will probably get Rolfe more chances with the national team.Posted 06 May 2008 at 10:37 AM by dabes2
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If I were to make a case for any of the non-Beckham candidates it would be Espindola. Great pass right on the money from distance, Espindola did a great job to control it and get the shot off quickly and accurately under a charging Keeper. The only mitigating factor that makes you say "eh, not so much" is that it was against the Galaxy's defense.
Posted 06 May 2008 at 11:22 AM by BigKris
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Fire fans are crazy about bad first touches that lead to goals. Damani Ralph's GOTY from 2003 was the result of a really control that he happened to turn and hit. Rolfe's is the same. Bad control, that makes the finish look better than it is.
Posted 06 May 2008 at 12:09 PM by jameseyla
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The Peterson goal was a fantastic play and great finish.
Should easily be #2 of the week -- OK, maybe #3...Posted 06 May 2008 at 12:23 PM by Crimen y Castigo
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Peterson was terrific, and I surprised not to see it.
I like Rolfe's goal very much, however, and it isn't so much because of the shot. It was the 10-11 passes not just across the backline but all around the field that led up to the goal that really made it for me, but I always figured that my bias in favor of great setups to go along with the goals was comparatively rare. I assumed Rolfe's goal would be in the 20% range at the highest, and so, rather than assuming I have popular tastes, I will assume there's some anti-Beckham shenanigans going on!Posted 06 May 2008 at 12:42 PM by Ismitje
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