Back in the old days, I liked these friendlies because of all the interesting supporters that would show up in lot 8. Obviously that is not a thing any more.
My understanding is that the deal ultimately was torpedoed by PSG;s coach, not by Kasper's demands. Essentially, my understanding is that PSG's coach was skeptical that Acosta would be an adequate substitute for Neymar during Neymar's recovery. I take it as skepticism on the part of PSG's coach that MLS can be a source of talent that is capable of playing adequately for a top European team.
Still have good memories of Portsmouth's traveling supporters. Their Blue Man fan was hilariously over the top.
The closest thing to a bad memory I have of a friendly is the one against Real Madrid at FedEx field when it was 3000 degrees.
My bigger gripe with the whole thing is not whose going to play, but that it's a full price game, seating, parking (not that DCU has much/any bearing on that) and concessions and its another midweek fixture. I am willing to take it in the wallet for a midweek game when its going to benefit us by putting us on a national broadcast, but I wonder if Flo will even bother turning up to cover it.
Oh yea, as I typed, I couldn't remember the other pool of money that we're not really digging into, but when you think about it, Flo is supposed to be ~$4M, gotta think we didn't get a top end number from Leidos on a 1 yr deal so call it $2M rather than 4. No idea what the stadium revenue is worth, but but its $4M a year that right there pays for a mid-range payroll with no money out of pocket. I think I am low on stadium revenue, but it sure doesn't look like ownership is really spending on the roster, so much as just kind of trying to float on what's coming in, like some bad small business living paycheck to paycheck.
This and this: I remember riding on the metro going to the Portsmouth match. I sat in front of a Pompey supporter and we struck up a conversation. He started going to matches when he was a little boy with his farther and grandfather. He said he had tickets and programs going back to when his grandfather was a young man. We also talked about Pompey's financial problems and relegation concerns. He was quite philosophical. He said it just meant there would be different grounds to visit and new places to see. Lovely man. asitis
I recall one friendly years ago when our total team payroll was less than that of our opponent's superstar (can't remember the opponent). We beat them. Our winning goal was scored by a guy who quit soccer later in the year and entered medical school in Texas. Can't remember his name either. I can't remember much of anything anymore, except that I know my real name isn't Hedbal...I think.
Actually, we met some years back at the Soccerplex beer garden (of course!), but I'm pretty sure we didn't share our real names - unless you are truly Mr. Bastard. (I don't think things would go well if I saw you and shouted "Hey, you bastard!")
That was the last I saw as well, 39-36 I had seen the name Lucas Rodriguez and I had heard people reference TiTi - but it was not until just recently I figured out they were the same person. There is probably no way I'll ever hear TiTi Rodriguez - and definitely no way I'll ever say that name other than the same way Les Nessman pronounced Chi Chi Rodriguez.
We ran into a bunch of them on Metro and invited them to the SE tailgate. They thought that RFK was a nice stadium(!) and seemed to really enjoy the idea of a tailgate. But their stories about what Portsmouth’s ownership did to that team were hair-raising.
my wife is from Mexico. She "loves" it that I still use Nessman's pronunciation. Just like when I used to say "Eh-SPIN-doe-lah"....
I loved the way he pronounced the name of a short haired Mexican dog. I still say it that way myself.