Regarding the match being played or not, I've seen some comments about how it's an argument for an European schedule. That's not gonna happen. But with that said, I wonder how much of it is the new scheduling format. Without AppleTV and the Leagues Cup, how many of the games last night get played in the summer? How many of these games get played on a Wednesday or Thursday? I think we can look forward to more of this mess.
It’s not Apple’s fault. The league has been doing this for years. They rely much more on ticket sales and butts in seats than the other sports. Until MLS is getting an NFL, NBA, or MLB sized paycheck for their TV rights (that’s a long long long time away), the league will avoid midweek games like the plague. Simple as that.
RSL had 4 guys out on intl duty how many are starters ? a west coast team traveling to Columbus sure feels like we should win. Back to back wins wouldn’t that be something lol
Men of the match for me: Nancy, with an assist to Courtois. You don't just toss out that young of a line-up, plus an extremely inexperienced bench and - poof - a miracle happens and they knock in six goals. Including one in second half stoppage time, when most clubs would be content to let the clock run out, bag the three points and hit the shower. It is - as they say in sports - just one game. And Atlanta were pretty bad. Still, it's one of the most dominating results in team history. I'm not sold on all these kids being MLS quality players in the long run, but it's also undeniably the case that this result (hell, anything close) would have been possible under the previous coach. Whatever Nancy and his staff do to prep these kids, get them believing in themselves and playing to win until the final whistle; however the club has structured the Next Pro team to feed into the senior side, with a win like this Nancy has shown why he was hired and what just might be possible as his approach to running the soccer side of things in Columbus has time to put down roots. I have no idea if we'll see this sort of result next weekend, but that doesn't even matter that much. It IS still a very thin roster, packed full of very young players, loaded down with key injuries. We very much need a few serious signings that complement the raw talent and energy provided by the kids. Not every team wil be as bad as Atlanta. And in the end, the goal is to win championships, and (IMHO) we're along way from having that kind of team. Still, that was one remarkable result.
I am not sure I have words to describe how I feel this morning. What an experience. Thank you, soccer gods. What a triumph return to Columbus. Thank you to so many of you for your suggestions. As always, you are the best Crew fans around. @LaMacchia, under the LDC sign was money. Our new home in LDC. @DrunkandDisorderly, felt like old times. I am going to freaking cry. We are old but so happy! @Ueberjames, great to have a NEOhio fan near. I hope your boy, Charlie, thoroughly enjoyed the game. Speaking of suggestions - My better half wants to know: where is the best place in LDC to get a good 16 ounce beer? Also, I was so happily surprised that he loved so many aspects about the new experience - the walk to the stadium, the spot under the sign, so much. And the game? A nod to the fictional Roy Kent - Aiden Morris - he’s here, he’s there, he’s every ********ing where. What a midfield boss. What a stud. I loved it. Markus loved it. Rooting for Aiden feels so good. And I forgot how much of the game I miss when I am there in-person. Too much. Positives and negatives - the Nordecke still does the same chants that we did back in 2019. Positives - my oldest two kids remember EVERY SINGLE ONE. And boy how fun it is to stand with your kids and chant so loudly that our voices slowly became hoarse. Away games are going to be a blast with them. Standing with Markus and Tal (while holding Jules) was something I will always treasure. What memories. Unprompted after the fourth or fifth goal, Markus shouted out to the beauty of the stadium - "THIS GAME IS THE GREATEST CREW GAME EVER!" Like a champ. The chant that made me tear up a bit was Glory to Columbus. During the ’18 STC times, Markus was 5/6 and Tal was 1/2. So the whole “FU Precourt” part was not shouted. We had substituted “1, 2, 3, 4.” And we kept that last night. I am going to share one last photo because well 1) it is a real keeper, 2) you guys have been stuck with me on here for twenty years, and 3) it has so much meaning within it. My two oldest wearing matching hats. Jules (who has a toddler-sized Crew winter hat) sporting the hat he prefers and two hand-me down Crew items - the track jacket and a hard hats jersey. Tal - wearing a hard hats jersey with her rainbow attire - that was a real negotiation. Markus - rocking a bar scarf and his Wil Trapp captain’s armband. My better half - with three layers of Crew attire plus his favorite CU argyle scarf. I wish I could bottle up the feeling of standing outside LDC for the first time. As a consolation prize, I get this photo. Glory to Columbus. I feel very grateful to have experienced everything from this game. I love you all.
Runin and Ojeda are starters, Luna is an exciting young talent midfielder, sub for now. Savarino was also injured, as were a couple other starters. RSL will probably be near 90%.
He'd love Whistle & Keg. It's immediately east of the arena. Kids are welcome. They have over 40 taps, although some are mead and wine. The only downside is there's no food, but you're allowed to take whatever food you'd like. There's always a ton of Crew fans. One of the best parts is you can walk to the game with the beer in-hand. There's also Supporter HQ immediately north of the stadium for anyone who wants the traditional tailgate scene. I got there very late last night and they still had enough beer for anyone to imbibe. The FU Precourt stuff was dumb in 2021. It's ridiculous now and will look real bad if people continue it 3-4 years from now. It'll look as bad as war whoops at games where those teams got away from Native American imagery 20+ years ago. And if you heard what I heard about the new logo...well, your kids definitely seem to prove those comments wrong. "Nobody is buying it" and "people are only buying it for the item" and "it's like buying a new pair of pants despite the pockets being too small." 1) People are definitely taking to the new logo. 2) There's also a lot of stuff at the shop for people who don't want to buy the new logo.
Probably not the best time to get into it because Chris isn't really available but our chant knowledge has gone way down. We only know the classics because there's either a lot of new people or there's a lot of alum who don't know about the new ones. I tried to get the Higuain - Hail Matan chant going for corners and no one picked up on it. Idk why we haven't done Lo simentiento(?) That much. It was argentinas big chant
Charlie and I had a blast! It was great to actually meet you, @DrunkandDisorderly, and your families in person. We'll have to do again next time Charlie and I are able to make it down!
After letting in his fifth of the night, the "There's only one Brad Guzan" song would have really shook him. 3000 people doing it? EPIC! But hey, let's do the AO version of "we love ya" for the 25th time right, @eboe? #RespectYourRoots and all that.
I was trying to get a song going about Sherman burning down their city but it is tough in the NewdeckeTM
Build a bonfire Build a bonfire Put Atlanta right on top Put General Sherman right beside it And he'll burn it the fvck down!
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday at this time, I was worrying about how we were even going to field a competitive side with so many absences. Now, we had so many people have good games that I’m sorry there’s only 11 spots on the field. Room and Degenek are easy; plug and play. Ramirez becomes a little more complicated once Cucho comes back. But I’m not sure how you get Nagbe, Morris, Zelarayan, Cucho, Ramirez AND Matan on the field all at once.
What an epic night. So many stats that might never be seen again. Four guys scoring their first MLS goal? Insane. There's something about a night game. I was bummed to have missed the opener as it was before daylight savings time. So the opener was really dark even an hour before kickoff. It felt plenty dark last night not too much after kickoff. Love that, really ramps up the energy for me. A great game was played by the whole team. Morris and Matan with a sprinkling of the 3 guys in the back were all standouts. Sands made Araújo pay for every touch. Those two went into some hard 50/50s. Atlanta was absolutely dire in the middle of the field. Morris, Nagbe, and our entire back 3 took turns waltzing through them. Once they were beaten it was even worse. I don't want to take anything away from our guys, but ATL were MLS 1.0 bad last night. What a show they put on. One for the history books. Bring on RSL.
Another bright point of the night? The portable lighting under the train tracks. THANK YOU to whoever got that done. If a game against RSL seems overdue, it's because it is. I believe the last time we played them at home was June of 2018. In July of 2019, we traveled there. About two or three days before we were supposed to play them in Columbus, the world shut down. Edit: Here's a predicted lineup post from earlier that week. It's only been three years (and one championship and a coaching change), but what a turnover.
She specifically asked about the best place to buy a 16 ounce beer INSIDE LDC. Unless they've moved the Whistle & Keg, it doesn't meet the criteria. The real answer is: there isn't one.
Is there an echo in here? Is that even possible? Bill is right about Ramirez being the wrong choice for MOTM. Clearly Morris or Matan. Hell, I'd have gone Quinton or Sands before Ramirez. Wonderful night for the Capybara's. Schulte, Quinton, Farsi, and JRR all start. Sands played some games there last year. Five starters if you want to count him. And we get 6 without Cucho and Lucas. Zawadzki & Parente come in late. 7 Cappy's (Capy's?) on the pitch last night. Two scored. And that is not to mention the other young guys. Morris & Matan. Arfsten got a goal. Hughes gon on. Totals in terms of the scoresheet: Ramirez: 2 goals Russell-Rowe: 1 goal, 1 assist Matan: 3 assists Morris: 1 goal Quinton: 1 goal Arfsten: 1 goal Moreira: 1 assist Farsi: 1 assist Sands: 1 assist 9 guys on the scoresheet.
Well, you figure that if MLS shuts down for international breaks, and the Euros, and Copa America, and the Gold Cup, all fifa windows, etc etc, all of a sudden those 3 or 4 saved weekends from Leagues Cup run out, and you’re right back to where you started. I’m not saying things are right or wrong, just that it is a logistical nightmare. And if more teams get added, it just compounds the issue. If we have 34 games, and 6 are midweek, that means the season is 28 weeks long. That’s 7 months, plus 1 month for the playoffs, thats 8. Now remove at least 2 months because of winter, and that leaves 2 months. Remove the 4 or whatever international breaks (which are basically 2 weeks each), and…. And we’re not even talking about summer tournaments yet.