How excited are you for this season? I still find myself scurrying for Crew-related tidbits here and in the media, but overall I feel more blah about this season than I can ever remember being. Gonzo's gone. Ned's gone. GBS is leaving soon. We don't have a DP. Marshall's health's up in the air. Sigi's an idiot. The NorthEnd's kaput. Our draft status is unclear. There seems to be less Kool Aid talk. Etc. Etc. Frankly, the brightest part of the offseason was the establishment of Mitchell's blog.
I was gong to start a thread long these lines. I mean, pre-season start today and what do we have to show for it? Brian Carroll?
Wait, wait...no... We also have steel girders jutting out of the stadium. I do believe those were delivered in the offseason. In all seriousness though, I am looking forward to this season. I really hope Robbie Rogers has a breakout year, and I'm looking forward to see the Crew finally bring in a designated player, hopefully a forward who can be Golden Boot level.
You need a fourth option: "I still love this team and really wish I could feel excited and positive about the season, I really do, please somebody give me a reason to".
Exactly my feelings as well. I suspect, and hope, that some personnel moves will be made in the next nine weeks that will provide me with the feeling of optimism. But this needs to be said, too. Sixth place, three years in a row, is not good enough. '06 we can write off to first year of a new coach and a historic run of injuries. '07 wore out my last bit of patience. Too many good players have gone because they were unhappy. Some of it is the natural desire of 20-somethings to live someplace hipper than Columbus, Ohio. Some more of it has to be the natural desire of a sports league to see success in the big markets which, because sports is a zero sum game, requires failure in the small markets. But there have been too many talented, unhappy players for that to be the complete explanation. Some of it has to be personal. If this team doesn't at least make it into the playoffs in '08, fire the coach.
Ah. It must be getting close to February. Like the robins and the buzzards of Hinckley, Hang's optomism returns once again meaning the season is nigh.
Unfortunately we all know that Hang's Kool-Aid is filled with false promises. See Crew 2005, 2006, 2007, Notre Dame 2007, Notre Dame Bowl Games since 1990, etc.
Well, if you've been stupid enough to be drinking Notre Dame Kool-Aid, you deserve exactly what you've been getting.
"I still love this team and really wish I could feel excited and positive about the season, I really do, please somebody give me a reason to". Well, at least we didn't get relegated to a lower league like West Brom, Charlton, and Watford did last year in the EPL. Getting relegated would be a serious emotional drag. What's that B Archer? MLS league doesn't have relegation? But, you think we should be relegated to USL any way just for general incompetence? Oh. Nerver mind.