The guy looks just like the racist dude that was handcuffed on top of the building in The Walking Dead.
Dallas picked a bad time to play a terrible game. It was just a pretty lousy game overall from an entertainment perspective. Poor passing and tactical play by both teams, and an endless series of long boots upfield by Dallas, a team whose strength is usually possession. That really had me scratching my head. I guess Colorado was just tougher in the midfield, and that must have destroyed Dallas's style of play. So much for overwhelming the midfield with numbers. Dallas just didn't do enough to put themselves in a position to win. Colorado didn't either. This pisses off the soccer gods, so they roll the dice and it comes up garbage goals. I love all the Dallas players (excepting Harris), and think they individually fought hard. No hate on John, he's a great player. If you have to blame anyone, you gotta look at Lloyd. I love the guy and can't wait to see more of him next year, but the muffed clearance leading to the first garbage goal was devastating. He's a rookie and he was only in there because of injury, but that may have been the game. Nice work this season though. Hopefully, this team will stay together and add some upgrades up front. If so, they should have a promising season next year.
Guys and gals, I was with you until the end. My friend wore his Rapids jersey and I had my 1999 Dallas Burn kit on. Obviously, the soccer gods chose the other side. Bottom line: keep you chin up and I hope my G's see you at MLS Cup '11 at Red Bull Arena! Tommy Mack LA Riot Squad
I was shocked that Hernandez led the team in long-ball. It's a polarized opposite to what got them there. And to think that SH didn't have enough verve to shift such poor choice. But Cunningham muffing such a high quality chance at the end... that's what really capped off a free-fall 2nd half performance. Again, embarrassing.
Proud as well. That hurt, but not as much as I expected it to... I personally am a bit more disappointed in Shea and Harris and Cunningham than Loyd. But weird, windy night and people have off games.
Good game guys. Even at the end celebrating I was feeling a bit bad for you. I wish we could have gotten our first trophy by going through LA or Seattle instead of you guys.
Dallas fans, congratulations to you and your club for a great season. Hyndman has built a great squad. Tonight's game was tough and tha most even final I've ever seen. I'm proud of tha Rapids but also proud of tha tough competition they outlasted to get their cup, and yall were tha toughest squad yet. This has gotta be tha first time a Western Conference champ was located further east than tha Eastern Conference champ. I hope this season's performance will boost your attendance (and ours lol) cuz your team truly deserves it. Unless it comes at Colorado's expense, I hope yall are tha next original club to have tha MLS Cup...cuz it's truly an amazing thing! Have a good offseason and see yall in 2K11.
I'm right with you on that. Lloyd distinguished himself well on the night other than that one moment. The others.... Hyndman also has to take a ding for his night as well. His subbing of Cunningham for Shea is pretty much what lead to the ineffective long ball tactics of the 2nd half. Granted Shea was having a poor game, but you take out a midfielder who's having a very poor technical game and the player you move to his position is ..... Harris? It went from bad to worse in midfield at that point.
My condolences fellas. You deserved a better fate. A VERY unfortunate way to lose a Cup final. I think you'll be back bigger and better next year. Here's to hopin'.
Very proud of this team. Hartman did all he could; the two goals that went in were abberations that 9 out of 10 goalies wouldn't stop. The team plays differently when Avila is on the pitch. I hope he gets much more playing time next year. This game came down to what was my biggest fear: Connor Casey. He is a bull in a china shop and he can wear down a defense like nobody else. George John: Sleep well. That "own goal" was not an own goal; it was a deflection that couldn't have been prevented no matter what. Very, very proud of this team, this coach, and the ownership. We have one hell of a foundation upon which to build.
Congratulations, FC Dallas on a great season. I'm a huge Rapids fan, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think that for long stretches of the game last night, FC Dallas was the more creative and attractive team. In the end the Rapids defense gave us the win, as well as a little luck. But FC Dallas was able to build their attack out of the midfield all night in a really attractive way. You'll have a great season next year.
I'm proud to be a Hoops fan, and this game has changed nothing. Poor conditions, ugly game, too many fouls, not the kind of final you want to watch, no matter who's playing. Kinda had the sense after the first ugly goal that the night would be decided like this. Cruel result, but that's soccer. Quick turnaround on the expansion draft decisions. Please Keep Avila.
hard-fought game by both teams. as a fan of one of the teams, it was tense to watch but overall i would say when a superior team doesnt put away a scrappy underdog, this is often the result. congrats to FCD on a great game and great season! looking forward to another one... some thoughts: * we hire EPL broadcasters for big games, why not officials? this really could have been one of the best technical MLS cups ever...and the lack of calls the whole way through made it into a ground-and-pound MMA-style cup. why dribble or pass around a guy when you can just plow through him? for the last 20 mins of regulation and then extra time, you had to clear your defender by 3 yards on either side because he was being allowed to reach his arm out and grab you. ugly to watch. * did SH tell Hernandez to launch the ball every time in the 2nd half? and he was again the culprit in allowing too much room in the center of the park. col didn't have many ideas going forward other than to try and launch it upfield and we needed more defensively from DH. unfortunately we saw the Hernandez we saw at the beginning of the season when we struggled. apparently benitez was asked to just send long diagonal balls too? * didn't get much from our supposed strengths on the flanks. it helps that chavez and brek were basically grabbed/clutched and ass-humped everytime they had a chance to go around their defender. if its not being called, you have to adjust and start trying to get behind them without the ball. * tough luck for george and loyd. both had excellent games with a couple of moments of bad luck and/or costly mistakes. these two players were great all season and shouldnt feel the least bit bad about the result.
At the airport about to head back home. Devastated. 1997, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010....the shit just doesn't end. The future is bright for this team and next year is promising.....but oh man, is that going to hurt like a lost love for the entire winter. We can blame Toledo (what an epic fail of a ref.) and we can blame Casey (he can die today for all I care, that piece of trash) but in the end, the Rapids had a game plan to shut us down in the midfield with Larentowitz (sp?) and their defense held firm (nice clearance, Drew). Two garbage goals is all a team needs to succeed sometimes. When you go up and make horrible passes and don't take a team to the sword, this is what happens. That's all I can say for now....still in shock and just want to go home to nicer weather. Great turnout from my fellow travelers. We filled the entire section and had Toronto's dickhead fans against us the whole game.
Before the game my wife (who follows no sports at all and thinks they are pointless) asked me, "What if they lose?" I responded, "then my winter will be ruined". She just looked at me oddly.
Quoting this because I think it'd be nice to go out and welcome the guys home. We didn't win the cup last night, but no one can say our team doesn't have a lot of heart and I think there are a lot of positives to look forward to in 2011.
Congratulations on making it to the final. It stinks that the game was decided on an own goal. Your goal was excellent. Some folks on the Rapids board are trying to figure out whose fault it was defensively. It wasn't anybody's "fault" - it was an excellent cross finished decisively. That's how you play this game. Paladius - I'll disagree with you - 10 out of 10 keepers don't stop the goals. On the second one, he's moving where the ball is headed, just like he should have been, and gets completely wrong-footed by the redirection.
If someone manages to handcuff Casey to a skyscraper with zombies at the door, I'll buy you a beer. Good effort last night. I know it blows (after the 2008 Western Conference final, I avoided any discussion of anything soccer-related for weeks) but whatever small consolation it may be, you guys were the better team--both in terms of quality of play and in terms of not being hackfest douchebags like Casey and Mastroeni. You had a hell of a season and it wouldn't surprise me to see you guys in the final again next year. Hopefully we won't meet in the first round this time. Don't let the Man get you down.