veiwing party and prematch for Charleston v. FC Dallas 7-8 (R)

Hey, howdy boys...

Well, for the third year in a row our clubs meet up in the USOC. If the past is any indication, we're in for (yet another) nail-biter. Let me tell you: as an FC Dallas fan, this match frightens me. If I have learned anything about the Battery, it's that they will play hard and without fear against us and will play to win. Although we have a few new players who have yet to face the Battery, there is no doubt they will be informed that you guys are not going to just lay over and let us dictate the match.

As for who FC Dallas will start and play, at this point, I could not say. Dallas has a bit of a break after the match, so I am hoping we field a first-team side. I know you guys get sick of playing MLS clubs who play many reserves and then use that as an excuse when they lose. Let me say this straight out: no matter who starts for FC Dallas, that is the team. No excuses, at least not from this fan.

As for the webcast; USL has MLS webcasts beat by a mile in quality, although we FC Dallas fans appreciate our FO going to the trouble of getting the webcast up; many MLS FO's don't bother at all.

Anyhow, you guys should feel free to check out the game info on our forums as well. I'm certainly looking forward to the game and good luck.

 

Hopefully FC this will be the last time we face you in the tourny for a while...lol. I would say that out of all the 1/4 games this one intrigues me the most. Even though my Revs are still in too, theres just something about this game thats more exciting. And after the last 2 years how could any fan of the open cup not want to see this game. Im afraid because you guys have had the rest and we're coming off a game and have some pretty heavy legs....either way no excuses from this fan either if we lose.

Hope the game is good and hopefully 3rd time will be a charm against you guys!!
lol

 

I'll be the first to say, that this is a refreshing approach, after last week's match and some comments from some overzealous Houston fans. Good luck to you too.

I will give Dominic credit for coming up to the pub afterwards and apologizng for fielding his reserves against us.

 

Thanks and I appreciate the kind words.

I mean, crap, I guarantee you, were I to talk smack, you guys would beat us 3-0. Hell, you may do it anyhow.

Naw, you gotta understand Houston fans. They were hand-delivered a championship level club; they've never had to struggle through sub-par seasons, much less losing ones. They actually believe they should never lose a game; simply putting on that god-awful orange shirt with the stupid-looking sombrero logo on front should turn these guys into AC Milan or Barca. The fact that they are barely better than mediocre this season and thin outside the starting XI at that, is not an easy pill to swallow for the "Chosen People" Houston fans.

We FC Dallas fans... we know pain. We know the despair. We know the grief. We expect nothing and often get nothing, yet we keep coming back.

Meanwhile, I am always envious of your team/organization. It's never easy to consistently put a winning product out on the field. The fact that the Battery seem to be consistently dangerous is something you guys should appreciate. You seem to draw well (4,000 or so per game, right?) in a lower rung of soccer, which is a distant thought in the average American sports mind. I guess no one has come forward in your area to throw their hat in the ring for MLS expansion; I'd love to see you guys up in the "big league."

I can't wait for the game tomorrow night. FC Dallas is in quite a bit of flux right now, unfortunately. We're on our third head coach of the year and I believe he is busy sorting out who wants to play for him and who has given up. In fact, I can't even really make a great prediction about who will start tomorrow. The Miami FC match was not nearly as close as the score indicated. Dallas has struggled to score all season, and although we dominated nearly every aspect of the match, two injury-time headers by a reserve forward (who really played badly, except for the goals) at the end of each half kept us from heading off to overtime and penalties.

 

From the FC Dallas blog:

 

I've been wondering with some friends how soon it will take...there is no MLS team in the southeast after Tampa folded cant help but wonder how long another it'll take another team to show up. Would like to see maybe like the worst MLS team vs the champion of USL for a spot in MLS. If MLS loses they're in USL-1 and if USL wins they go to MLS....and if not that then something like that through the USL leagues....get teams and fans into it and it may draw more crowds...never know

But even until FSC gets more behind US soccer then it'll be some time. I watched FSC to see highlights of the US Open cup...and the guys on there were saying how slow of a night it was in soccer so i expected to see more time devoted to the USOC then to hum drum trying to fill in an hour of nothingness. They spent more time towards the Canadian championships then the USOC...and 3 upsets in the OC last week. Not to mention probably the game of the week if not the tourny so far the Charleston-Houston match got barely anytime.

 

Oh, I'd love to see USL-1, USL-2 and MLS all together in an integrated, tiered soccer league with relegation, promotion, etc. But, alas, it'll never happen. MLS franchises are already at $30,000,000 and allegedly going up by the next round, so no owner/operator is going to invest that to be demoted down to the next level the year after.

I know USL-1 is pretty much limited to the Friday night match of the week right now on FSC as far as TV coverage goes, but you know, that's not just horrible. This is the first season that every FC Dallas regular season match has been televised, although some are only on spanish stations. So, slowly, but surely, things are getting better for soccer. American media looks at USL as "minor league," - rightly or wrongly - and how many "minor league" baseball and hockey games make the air here? Not many. So, USL is doing well, imo, in that respect.

Well, the USOC is pretty much roundly ignored. I think making a CCL birth for the winner is a step in the right direction, but until the CCL itself obtains prestige, where winning it is a big deal, and MLS teams are actually able to win it on a regular basis, things may not change. Also, corporate backing and a significantly larger purse than the measly $50,000 that goes to the winner now would help things.

 

Is this feed free?

 

"I know USL-1 is pretty much limited to the Friday night match of the week right now on FSC as far as TV coverage goes, but you know, that's not just horrible. This is the first season that every FC Dallas regular season match has been televised, although some are only on spanish stations. So, slowly, but surely, things are getting better for soccer. American media looks at USL as "minor league," - rightly or wrongly - and how many "minor league" baseball and hockey games make the air here? Not many. So, USL is doing well, imo, in that respect"


I agree that its not all horrible but while its the "off season" for all european clubs, why not devote more time to USL or even MLS coverage. I can't turn on FSC without seeing an EPL game that happened this year that already was televised...and most of the games were highlights of the past season like Portsmouth v Fulham in the 7-4 game. Thats great and all but i'd rather see live games from Mexico or the US or whatever other country has games going on...give an insight to how the US is growing....imo it can only help then hurt. Or at the very least while its the offseason have FSR talk about USL and MLS more then they do. Even the MLS highlights get downgraded on FSC....Sportscenter i understand but FSC...thats kinda bad. I think its going up but could catch on faster if the marketing was better...but i could be wrong

 

MLS? An upper echelon league? Not by a long shot. Why? It's simple - They cannot keep any of their real good talent here to develop a following. The best players are playing in the best leagues. No one from any foreign country will come to the MLS to play unless they are near the end of their respective careers. The MLS is an also-ran or an after thought, in reality. Until the MLS as a whole takes its product seriously, it will remain somewhat stagnant. Sure, the product may improve incrementally here and there, but not by leaps and bounds.

Need I say any more than to point out the embarassment that is a stadium for Real Salt Lake? I rest my case.

 

Dude, first of all, I re-printed my statement here to show you I very clearly
did not say anything about MLS being an upper echelon league now.

I could not possibly disagree with you more. In fact, I think any reasonable person who reviewed the history of MLS' growth and structure in its 12 years of existence would conclude they've done a pretty damned good job. No, they haven't hit a home run with every swing, but each year the league's play has increased in quality while increasing attendance and its place in the American sports hierarchy. Is the job done? Of course not; no one involved with MLS has ever indicated anything like that. Most clubs now have their own stadiums, are profitable and the league is seeking expansion, and even has competition for cities to expand to. I don't know why you've formed the opinion you have, but I can guarantee you that you sit firmly in the minority.

Hrmmm. Yeah, Rice-Eccles is a terrible place for soccer, no doubt about it. But your comment shows you haven't been keeping up. Those guys will be in their new stadium very shortly; good riddance to Rice-Eccles. And their new stadium is positively beautiful.



Stadium website can be found here.

 

yea, RSL is in the process of building the new stadium as pictured above and will be hosting its first game there in October (prior to the full completion of the stadium). However, I would say that the quality of play in the MLS has been steadily rising over the past 4 or so years. Soccer will take time to develop here, but we as fans need to continue watching and supporting the MLS so that one day, it will get there. Even the play in the USL is getting remarkably better, in fact their are several players that play internationaly in the league. As far as top talent goes, every single country in the world loses their best players to the Biggest leagues in Europe. You can't stop that from happening, unfortunately.

The next couple of years are crucial for the MLS. Hopefully they will be able to lure over some big names, and we will also need to see an increase in the average salary. Tournaments like the latest Euro's will continue to increase interest over here, and hopefully build the MLS up. We can only grow through increased fan support!!

anyway, go Battery! lets run them boys ragged!

 

While I love the Battery (and I do, except for during the annual USOC matchup), they won't be moving up to the bigs any time soon. Nothing against ownership or fans, but Charleston isn't a large enough market. Yet. As MLS expands into the larger markets and gains popularity, the smaller markets may prove viable, but we have to get into Atlanta, Nashville, Florida and/or New Orleans first. Everybody expects Atlanta, but they're not even close yet (neither is anybody else except maybe Miami, and they don't really count as Southern, despite their extreme geographic location).

But that's a discussion for another day. Tonight, let us battle. Vertical stripes be damned! C'mon, you Hoops!

 

Couldn't agree with you more, we are already the smallest market in USL-1 and there are plenty of teams in USL-2 in bigger markets. Our ownership keeps our team at the current quality level and not our turnstiles. I know, that our owners would prefer a promotion/relegation system, similar to the ones used in Europe, but MLS owners will never let that happen.

 

I hope that the game looks better on the 42" screen than I think it will. I expect that the bigger you blow up the image, the worse it will look. It looks pretty bad on my 17" computer screen.

 

42 inches of not-so-hot FCD/Battery video is better than 42 inches of Wipeout in HD.

 

And I just checked the guide. ESPN is offering up for your viewing pleasure... poker on ESPN the Uno, and softball on ESPN the Dos. I'd rather scratch my eyes out.

(although upon further digging, the "Tour Dey Frayunce" is replaying, as is "Prelude to the Dream" NASCAR heroes on dirt)

 

Starting Lineup
1 - Dusty Hudock (GK)
2 - Nelson Akwari
3 - Kevin Nylen
4 - Tim Velton
6 - Osvaldo Alonso
7 - Chris Williams
8 - Lazo Alavanja
11 - Ian Fuller
16 - Stephen Armstrong
20 - Randi Patterson
25 - John Wilson

Substitutes
30 - Keith Wiggans (GK)
9 - Darren Spicer
14 - Aaron King
15 - Michael Richardson
18 - Brandon Curran
22 - Dominic Cianciarulo
23 - Lester More

 

http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/media/p...11504/v0001/reflector:22859&type=v_free&_mp=1

Here's the actual live feed link