It is MLS. This is the case for many teams. Mullins, Hanson, Clark, Argudo, Eddie, Robinho etc. isn't much worse or better than the depth of other teams. This I agree with. But others were talking about the roster so I jumped in. I just wanted to be a cool kid like Bill.
So much fun. After who knows how many years back I can still see that Hang is the "eternal optimist". I do agree with him that we should have had 3 points against the B team from the Energy Drinks but not all B teams are the same. They have a system and a one game sample is not enough to counter the fact that we have new owners. I'm with Bill that they're playing with a hand that was on the table. They didn't pick the cards and no new cards will be dealt until the summer. I don't think attendance will suffer because the Haslams and Edwards won't let it be so. There's intrigue in the city about this team and the STC story has brought attention and will bring casual fans to the matches. I sat near a first timer on Saturday and he said he'd be back 3-4 more times. 17,931 is nothing to sneeze at after what we've gone through. It's better than any team in Texas or even a team in DC playing in an almost brand new stadium against the defending champions - even if it was raining there. The West Coast performed as expected with us matching San Jose. And then there was poor Colorado getting hammered by the weather (God bless their 12,000 or so who made it there). I expect around 16,000 in two weeks. No Arnold, weather a few degrees warmer but the novelty of the first game is gone. It's also two more weeks for the new ownership hitting corporate Columbus.
I don't think the OSU student ticket thingy will be possible on the 16th, either, since it's during OSU's spring break. Hoping for good weather, of course, which will be something I say every home game week. But I'd be hoping for 16K or so. Incidentally, it'll be my sons's first match in the Nordecke.
My seven years away made me miss something here. I figured @Minnman has been in the Nordecke and now he's starting on the next generation. Not knowing how young his son is, I can't comment on whether "it's about time" or "wonderful". But you should come back and like it if he comes through and it's appropriate. Or you can get Hangthadj to let us know what to think.
I was high on Artur a couple years ago. He's one footed, but that didn't seem to hinder him. Haven't been all that impressed the last year or so though. I'm fine hanging on to him, but I'm not sure I would even consider him a long term building block anymore. Never been high on Zardes So, that leaves Valenzuela and Trapp. Maybe Mensah. Great, now I'm depressed
I'm sure as a parent (and, yeah, I saw that first hand on Saturday), you get this intimately. But of course the details play out differently for all of us with kids. My son's been to a lot of games over the years (he was 6 when we moved here), but neither he nor I have ever "sat" in the Crew supporters sections. For most US national teams games I've attended, that's where I try and be located. But to be honest, I'm getting a little old for that level of intensity. So my son, a senior in college this year, is primarily a huge Bayern Munich fan. The Crew have always been a secondary team for him, but his connection has been pretty casual. So he graduates this year, and I hope (pray is more like it) he gets a decent job here in Columbus. He had a pre-interview for a job last month that went very well and I think he has a decent shot at the job (and seems all but guaranteed of a second interview) later this spring. He's been kinda non-committal about staying in Columbus and ideally would like to be out in the Pacific Northwest, which I get (my mom and sister live in Oregon). But he also understands the basic economics of the situation. He needs a job; there are lots of jobs in Central Ohio; and he can live, work and save money here for a while before he needs to make a decision about what might come next. So as his graduation and potential real adult life arrives, I wonder about the nature of our relationship as he eventually gets a place of his own and I only see him... who knows how often? He's home on spring break on the 16th, and so I pitched the idea of going to the game. I have to admit that my heart soared at the the positiveness of his response. He has a friend in Columbus that has season tickets. I know a guy who knows a guy who lives in Kansas and bought season tickets in the Nordecke because he took the #STC pledge, but he really can't use them. It's all working out. So I'm at the tailgate on Saturday, imagining being there with my son on the 16th. Giving him the jersey I got for him when he gets home for spring break. A Nordecke scarf. Him wearing the captains arm band we got on Saturday. And imagining being able to do this again when he gets back home this summer, and then, well, as close to forever as we're granted in this life. Because maybe he'll fall in love with the team the same way I have, and it'll make him want to remain in Columbus. Because we #SavedTheCrew and now anything's possible, ya' know? Thinking about makes a professional cynic like myself turn into a blubbering fool.
Yesterday, during the morning lay in bed and talk about the previous night's Crew game, Markus asked why Crew still had so many of the "old players." Markus: "I would have traded away about (ticking in his little brain) seven of them." He may elevate to manager sooner rather than later on FIFA. If you see me at that tailgate on the 16th, then please say hello again. At the very least, I will offer to take a photo of you and your son so you have that beautiful memory. And now I am blubbering. Thanks.
Wait, senior in college and he hasn't been in the Nordecke??? I have always sat in the corner with a good friend I coached with. When our kids were old enough to start going to games with us, sometime around kindergarten, they were right there in the corner with us. After one particularly exciting game, the girls were wearing the sombrero and banging the drums with La Turbina but the drums were soaked with beer to the point that every thump coated them with beer. I think they were around 7-8 years old. When we got home, my buddy calls me and said his wife was questioning where we were sitting. He assured her we always sit in the "family section" and someone accidentally threw a beer in the air celebrating a late goal. His wife bought it. Now our kids are in their 20's and still jokingly refer to the Nordecke as the family section. Even though I don't hardly know any of you, the name fits. And my daughter was absolutely pissed she couldn't be there Saturday, even though the reason was that she was traveling with her college team to play three games in Costa Rica. You gotta indoctrinate them early! Waiting until they are in college is crazy!!
I missed you, D&D, the Hamburglar, True Crew, and all the others too! Maybe one day I might try to climb myself back up from the lowest of the lower divisions of the Sheep League.
What, no Sauro? I think Artur has bite and that's needed in the middle. I'm disappointed in his shooting ability though. I'd love to see anyone at all be dangerous from 20-30 yards out to open the box up.
Looks like they've removed the Season Ticket Member Pick Your Own Seat maps (at least for now). Will lower the overall confidence in the model given that you're kind of forced to stay at your previous STM Count # unless you take the absurd amount of time to catalogue each section/row/seat that pops up in the manual search now.
They pulled that down right before the game Saturday, that's where all the extra seats that got released at the last minute came from. We will see if they put it back up but I have numbers from Friday that were higher and can use those as an estimate for continued STM availability/withheld. Over time it will throw things off more as the STM actually sell.
Same. I love Sauro as a soccer player and as a human. He's got one of the best personalities on the team. I just hope his knee holds up. If he stays healthy, having him and Mensah together is fun.