Arace: he “Hell is Real” rivalry between the Crew and FC Cincinnati is named for a piece of biblical signage on I-71, midway between the Arch and Queen cities. Hell gets all too real when the teams meet in the Crew’s new stadium, aptly named Lower.com Field, Friday night. In all of literature, Bible included, the best take on hell was conjured by the Italian poet Dante, whose stature is such that he still doesn’t need his last name on the back of his uniform. Dante completed "The Divine Comedy" in 1320 and in it he named names in part one of his epic, "Inferno." The Seventh Circle includes three rings for different sorts — including profligates — and there are rivers of boiling blood, deserts of burning sand, storms of burning rain and so forth. It’s hot down there. The Crew’s six-game losing streak is historically terrible as it is. Not since the 2006 LA Galaxy has a defending MLS Cup champion lost seven games in a row. As Crew historian Steve Sirk points out, that ‘06 Galaxy team had snuck up on everyone the year before, not unlike what the Crew did when they shocked the MLS world in December. vote of confidence to coach Caleb Porter, tried to put the losing streak in a broader perspective and attempted to offer excuses without offering excuses. Shocking, I know. “I echo Caleb's sentiments about the challenges we've faced during this period,” Bezbatchenko said. “There have been injuries and there have been call-ups. Due to the (schedule) congestion caused by COVID, pushing back, it happened in a period where we didn't play our best and we had these injuries during condensed periods. Instead of maybe it being a Saturday to Saturday, there was a number of games where it's been 3 and 8, and a break and a 3 and 8. To hit that rough patch right at that period of time obviously hasn't helped us.” Prior to this interview with Myers, Bezbatchenko kept a low profile during the losing streak. My belief is that he and other front-office types were counting on a victory over Seattle as a release valve for all the built-up pressure on the organization. Problem was, in a rematch of the 2020 MLS Cup championship game, they manufactured defeat at home to the Sounders. It was a horrific meltdown. The Crew gave up two goals in the last two minutes of second-half regulation time and lost 2-1. Porter said words to the effect of “we played a perfect game for 88 minutes.” These are times of hellfire. Two years ago, when the Crew went through a 1-13-1 stretch that included two five-game losing streaks, all Porter wanted to talk about was xG. Now, he bristles when asked about shots on goal. Probably, because the Crew doesn’t get any shots on goal. Which is brutal on xG. Only twice before — in 1996 and 1997 —have the Crew lost six in a row in one season, and each of those streaks included shootout losses. Remember the shootout? It went away after 1999, which is to say that the Crew’s worst losing streak of the century has to be their worst losing streak of all time. If they slide down another rung into the Seventh Circle of Hell — if they lose to archrival FC Cincinnati, at home — their dwindling chance of making the playoffs is floating down a river of boiling blood into a desert of burning sand toward a storm of burning rain. Too much? For the record, Dante’s Eighth Circle of Hell is Fraudulence and the Ninth is Treachery. Have a nice day.
This arrived in my email at 6:56pm this evening: https://nordecke.com/?mailpoet_rout...IzZGU1OTFhNmQwOWQiLDI2MDcsIjEzZjU5YyIsMzQsMF0 If you’re sitting in the Nordecke on Friday, you’re supposed to wear black. And there will be a March to the Match. Info that might have been better off going out sometime before 24 hrs prior to the kickoff. The FO isn’t the only entity in need of improved communications.
You refuse to use modern communications tools and then complain about said group not communicating to you early enough. So...yeah.
Getting strong "BLACK OUT THE GALAXY" 2005 - 2015 Crew marketing email vibes. Why don't we just give Nashville the yellow and starting next season tell everyone to wear periwinkle shorts to the matches. #ForColumbus
Never good when the down side of losing this or any game is way WAY worse than the upside of winning it.
Except that the blackout idea was Dakota Andres on twiter, and it grew organically. This blackout happened the right way.
Facebook and Twitter are effective communication tools? Do tell. They're a means of getting out information that is often lost among the tidal wave of other crap that exists on social media. But they sure as hell aren't an effective way to communicate reliably. Of course, if this was out on social media a week ago, it could/should just as easily have been sent out via email then, too. Because email for all its limitations, IS is a pretty good, and expected, way to communicate with folks.
Facebook and Twitter allow people to consume the message when and how much they desire. It also allows the creator to publish much more content as spamming emails is fairly frowned upon. It is a slippery slope deciding what gets sent email wise from official channels as you don't want to over communicate. When I am looking for updates on a rain delay for the Reds, I sure as hell look at twitter for communication from the team. If this was team planned from the beginning, I could see it included in the marketing for the match long ago. Since this is organic and I'm not even really sure team driven, social media was the right platform.
I would say the key to effective communication is consistency. Use the same platform(s) every time, so I, as the recipient, don't have to haphazardly check emails, texts, FB (which I don't even use) AND Twitter (where I don't follow the team's official account anyway)...
What bugs me is not the method of communication, but the timing: 24.5 hours before kickoff is not the time to be sending emails on which people rely to make plans. In a perfect world, pre-match emails would be sent four days before the match referenced. If it's a multiple game week, there's a bit more nuance and planning involved, but it's not like they don't know that months in advance.
Anybody need 2 tickets for tonight? I have 2 tickets in section 239 row 4 seats 5-6. Free to a good home! I just want someone to use them!
Earlier in the week the forecast was for rain. Now it's clear but hot. Looks like attendance will pick up, and we might get close to 20K.
Hello everyone. I have a pair of Rail Club seats available for tonight's FCC match (my wife and I won't be making it down from CLE) if anyone is interested. You can PM me or respond here I guess. Go Crew!