Oh, and for all the good words about Steffen, Higuain, etc, how about some more damn love for Mensah!!!!! He was great yet again today!
By the way, is it safe to assume that when the ref finally saved us and blew the whistle for halftime, most of us would have gladly taken a 0-0 final on the day at that point in time?
I certainly would have. But I also figured that Higuain would only be good for around half an hour. Not the entire second half. I was also worried that his tired legs would have gotten him into trouble to the point where he had to take a yellow card, and get himself suspended for the second leg. Another bullet dodged.
He ain't Guille, but he ain't too shabby either. Just allow yourself to fantasize for a second and imagine GBS coaching Higuain with the Crew next season. Gives you goose bumps. Somebody on the broadcast made a point that hadn't really dawned on me: Pipa is Columbus Crew all the way to his bones. This is his team and always will be. The Crew is the one he'll be remembered for and, I think, the one he wants to be remembered for.
I don’t like it, but 13k is believable. The upper deck on the west side was much less full than the east side in your picture. Same with lower bowl west side compared to east.
And if Gregggggg Berhalter is in fact auditioning for HC on the USMNT, it would seem to be going splendidly. Wow. Chris Armas, like yours truly and virtually everyone else, thought they knew exactly what to expect from the guy today. And we were hopelessly wrong. He made Armas look like a rank amatuer, just like he punked hell out of Olsen three days ago. He's delivering a Masters class in coaching the shit out of a tournament, just like he did last year and in 2015. Gosh, that might be useful. Theres almost literally zero discussion of anyone else at this point. He has shut the door. They mentioned Tata Martino in that context today, but it was half hearted. Theres only one candidate. Wouldnt you like to be his agent right now?
I don’t follow other teams that closely but it seems like players who spend a number of years playing for the Crew feel bonded to the team and City. I think GBS felt that way when he left to coach and it seems like several others have felt the same way. Feels like Higuain could be the same. Whenever he retires it would be a shame for the Crew to not try and add him to the coaching ranks at some level.
For me, Jonathan Mensah was man of the match. He made countless interceptions. Was an absolute monster in the air. Whenever Royer or Kaku tried to cut inside and deliver a cross, he was there to block it. Unbelievable performance. Totally flawless. It's truly hard to believe how this guy can look like the best damn CB in the league, when just last season he was stumbling around the field like a drunk on a weekly basis, making errors left, right, and center. Remarkable turnaround. Happy for the guy, and happy to have been wrong about him not being good enough for us. Steffen made that marvelous save, Pipa had that delicious flick, and Zardes with the goal, but Mensah was a mountain in defense for 90+ minutes.
We were in seats 1, 2, and 3. But I gotta go with Mensah for MotM. I whole-heartedly agree he was an absolute beast today. As for Pipa, I want the Crew to win a Cup as badly just so Pipa can win one. Pipa deserves to be up there in the annals of Crew history.