Maybe. Don't splurge on tickets for that one just yet if that's your only impetus for going. I'm an Atlanta United season ticket holder (if only Dallas were closer to Alabama). They've changed the opening MBS game three times now, and twice since folks spent money on tickets. Georgia Tech's stadium isn't a bad place to watch games, but it's also not July yet...
I wasn't planning on going to that game (although it would be awesome). Holy crap, you went all traitor on us and I didn't even realize it until now
I have to split my allegiance. Frisco is like 12 hours away, and Atlanta is like 1 hour. Live MLS is better than TV MLS, even for my team from '96. I'll have to watch the first FCD/ATL matchup from a laptop in Kuwait, though, no matter what stadium it's in. [dislike]
The league looks pretty strong this year. Dallas, Orlando, KC, Houston, Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, Columbus, Chicago, NY, San Jose, NYCFC...this may be the strongest I have seen the top of the league. I'd expect teams like Vancouver, Toronto, New England, RSL, and DC to have some upswings as well. MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield and the Lamar Hunt Open Cup are going to be a scrap this year. If FCD is going to grab some hardware, they are going to have to continue to improve because it looks like several other teams are in line to have some serious growth spurts.
It's still early. I think the teams with steady central defenders and keepers have the best chances to wade through the pretenders. FCD, KC and surprisingly Orlando but maybe it shouldn't be surprising since we all know Jason can coach.
San Jose? No, they're going to struggle to even make the playoffs. Orlando look good now and Kreis is great. Should be decent all season, especially at home. KC, Seattle (who look much better than their garbage MLS Cup winning side last season), and Portland will be strong. Houston will be up and down all season. Atlanta will have a strong season but I could see them crashing in the 1st round. Their just too new and think they've got it all figured out already. Columbus and Chicago - a lot of potential but meh... NYCFC - not sold on them yet. RBNY - Have the quality but seem to be missing something this season. Toronto - Have the quality and will be tough all season. LA - Going to enjoy their demise all season. Then again, speculating in MLS is a fool's errand.
Friday, April 21st Toronto FC vs Chicago Fire 3-1 Saturday, April 22nd Philadelphia Union vs Montreal Impact 3-3 Houston Dynamo vs San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 Portland Timbers vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-1 New England Revolution vs DC United 2-2 Red Bull New York vs Columbus Crew SC 2-0 FC Dallas vs Sporting Kansas City 1-0 Real Salt Lake vs Atlanta United FC 1-3 Sunday, April 23rd New York City FC vs Orlando City SC 1-2 Los Angeles Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders FC 0-3 Minnesota United FC vs Colorado Rapids 1-0
Friday, May 12th Houston Dynamo vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 8:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Saturday, May 13th Toronto FC vs Minnesota United FC, 2:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Colorado Rapids vs San Jose Earthquakes, 3:00 pm (KSTR-49 UniMas) Montreal Impact vs Columbus Crew SC, 4:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) DC United vs Philadelphia Union, 6:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Orlando City SC vs Sporting Kansas City, 6:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) New England Revolution vs Real Salt Lake, 6:30 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Chicago Fire vs Seattle Sounders FC, 8:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Sunday, May 14th Portland Timbers vs Atlanta United FC, 3:00 pm (ESPN, ESPN Deportes) Red Bull New York vs Los Angeles Galaxy, 5:00 pm (Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes) FC Dallas vs New York City FC, 7:00 pm (Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes) Wednesday, May 17th Philadelphia Union vs Houston Dynamo, 6:30 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Chicago Fire vs Colorado Rapids, 7:30 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Sporting Kansas City vs Seattle Sounders FC, 7:30 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) Real Salt Lake vs New York City FC, 8:00 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive) San Jose Earthquakes vs Orlando City SC, 9:30 pm (Direct Kick, MLSLive)
Friday, June 23rd Toronto FC vs New England Revolution, 7:00 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Houston Dynamo vs FC Dallas, 8:00 pm (KSTR-49 UniMas) Saturday, June 24th Red Bull New York vs New York City FC, 12:30 pm (KDFW-4 Fox, Fox Deportes) Atlanta United FC vs Colorado Rapids, 6:00 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Philadelphia Union vs DC United, 6:00 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Columbus Crew SC vs Montreal Impact, 6:30 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Minnesota United FC vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 7:00 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Chicago Fire vs Orlando City SC, 7:30 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Los Angeles Galaxy vs Sporting Kansas City, 9:30 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) San Jose Earthquakes vs Real Salt Lake, 9:30 pm (Direct Kick/MLSLive) Sunday, June 25th Portland Timbers vs Seattle Sounders FC, 9:00 pm (ESPN 2)
I'm not expecting us to win the SS this season. Just need to make the playoffs in a semi-high position and focus on winning MLS Cup.
Yeah, winning Supporter's Shield is so last year. This year should demonstrate to everyone why the Shield isn't the number one prize. Missing so many players constantly while other teams aren't makes a big difference. We've benefited from this in the past and now we're on the minus side. The plus side is the missing players are learning to play at a higher level which should benefit the team when they're all back together in the fall playoff run.
Also, one of the positives from the 2nd half of the Houston game was that I started seeing the old Mauro again. Getting him back to his full potential before October has to be the #1 priority. Having everyone healthy and clicking by the season end will mean everything for the playoffs. I think the whole team (and Pareja) have seen the benefit of pacing yourself the last 2 seasons and they're approaching this season differently.
Though our current point total puts us 8th in the league, we're only 4th going by PPG, and 1st in the West. Not too bad considering our recent form and lack of goals. 6 points from this upcoming homestand would be nice.
You bite your tongue! Top of the West, baby, and half a season to play! I still want all the trophies this year, but MLS Cup is the one I want most.
No reason we can't win it all. Especially since (it feels like) we're getting more points on the road so far. It's just after years of watching a so-so regular season team win MLS Cup, I'm cautious about us going all out "early."
Mark Followill and Steve Davis had a wild stat during Tuesday night's game. At that point, FC Dallas was in the exact same position in 2016 that it was in coming to Tuesday night's game: 28 points, second in the west. It's true! After 17 games, FCD was 8-5-4 in 2016. Coming into Tuesday night, FCD was 7-3-7 after 17 games in 2017. And since FCD won game #18 in both 2016 and 2017, the point totals are still identical: 31 points. The big difference is that this year, Chicago and TFC are leading the SS race with 38 points, while this time last year, Colorado was leading with only 32 points. But FCD has a game in hand, and Chicago and TFC still play each other one more time, so making up a seven-point gap ain't out of the question. I'm just not sure if I care about it as much as FCD's winning the Open Cup, and being at or near the top of the West, playing well, and being healthy on October 23.