I have a question for Rapids fans, as you may or may not know both Bouna and Mehdi are practicing Muslims. The month of Ramadan is coming in about 2 weeks time and I expect that both Bouna and Mehdi will be fasting as Mehdi did last at RSL (I may be wrong but I believe Ballouchy scored his first goal during that time). Some may not know this but fasting starts before sunrise and ends around or at sundown/sunset. There is no food or drinking during the time so any player fasting will be tired even if the game is played after sunset. Every Muslim is obligated to fast for the month, but not everyone fast due various reasons such as medical condition, childhood, travelling, war, and some just choose not to fast b/c they don't want to. How do you think the Rapids will approach this issue, as they are still right in the thick of gaining a birth in the playoffs? Have they talked about how they will address this? What do think they should do? PS: Sorry if this has been brought up before in another thread.
We had a similar issue in previous years with Dedi not available to play on Yom Kippur. The Rapids respected his beliefs and worked around it. It's not quite the same since it will probably effect more games, but I expect the Rapids would react the same way to Bouna and Mehdi's beliefs.
We will forfeit every game in that time frame, because we all know what happened last time Snack was in net
Last year the Rapids training staff worked with Bouna to develop a special diet and hydration routine that allowed him to respect his beliefs.
I have a Muslim who fasts during Ramadan on the high school team I coach and he still plays. I think Bouna and Mehdi will continue to play. Mehdi has been subbed in the second half the last couple of games, maybe that trend will continue. I think Bouna should be fine since he doesn't run around as much. As for Mehdi, he will probably be feeling a bit weaker as a result of fasting, but might play more inspired because of it.
Cool to respect his beliefs. Wasn't Adan Brown a Christian Scientist or something like that - and his beliefs made him not accept medicine or surgery or something like that? And after a long while with an injured kneed - they (granted different ownership) told him that he had to choose between his career and his beliefs? Anyone remember specifically?
Hopefully the Rapids respect their beliefs and end up dealing with the situation that needs be, ie, crinking plenty of water after the time of fasting...[before]
Good question, but I don't think it'll be an issue. They can eat before sunrise and after sunset and drink water (maybe other stuff) at any time, so I'm sure that the Rapids staff can come up with a good plan again. Hakeem Olajuwon (sp?) was always able to play basketball during Ramadan, so I don't expect any problems here. He said that his commitment to his faith more than made up for not eating during the day.
There's over a billion Muslims in the world, and soccer has been around their environs for over a century. I'm sure they've figured out a workable solution to this.
[/QUOTE] Hakeem Olajuwon (sp?) was always able to play basketball during Ramadan, so I don't expect any problems here. He said that his commitment to his faith more than made up for not eating during the day.[/QUOTE] I like this... I actually have a good feeling about these two during this period, especially if they share similar opinions to Hakeem's...
Thanks for your responses. I hadn't heard Bouna had a special diet set up for him last season, but then again I hadn't heard of Bouna until the season opener. Both should be able to continue playing and I think RSL responded to Mehdi by subbing him out at some point or allowing him to come on as a sub. So I was wondering if the Rapids had a similar strategy setup in that they plan to burn a sub on Mehdi, if so who can fill his minutes on the field?
Kyle Beckerman. Oh, wait Odds are FC will pull Kirovski back into the attacking mid position, its not a strong move but we don't have another strong player to play attacking mid. The otehr option is to go back to the old 2 d-mids/2 winger alingment. Either way, its going to be important to get an early lead if Ballouchy can't go a full 90.
So on FTP - Fernando says that Mehdi was subbed out because his we gased - and he was gased cuz of Ramadan.
That matches what the FSL fans said last year, that he usually got subbed out in games due to his fasting for Ramadan.
What's FTP? Clavijo's subbed him out the majority of the games he's played here. Is Mehdi soft, always fasting, in poor shape, or is Clavijo just so enamored of Kirovski as a midfielder that he must put him there at least a little per game?
I don't know about Adin Brown but those same circumstances led to Zizi Roberts dismissal. Whose ever heard of hollistic knee surgery anyways?! Zizi tried it twice.
Big difference - Ramadan occurs during pre-season for the NBA, not during the stretch run as in MLS. As I recall, Mehdi had one good game during Rahmadan last year, but looked lethargic quite a bit, and typically only played for about a half.
Some devout Muslims do not believe in consuming anything. No water all day - nothing. Only the Elderly, young and sick get to imbibe in anything. Both Mehdi and Bouna are considered healthy and would not be drinking anything.
Do you know this for sure? The argument you set up doesn't prove it. Some devout Muslims.... does not lead to Mehdi and Bouna will.
Here is a quote I found about Adin Brown: Blessed are the Meek American Adin Brown, who currently plays for Aalesund in the Norwegian Premier League, has had a career plagued by injury and often has trouble regaining full fitness due to his beliefs. As a Christian Scientist, he refuses many forms of treatment that would normally clear up innocuous knocks. You might enjoy this. I found this quote at http://www.goalkeepersaredifferent.com/keeper/faith.htm Believe it or not, that is really the address of the website.