2020 Season Catch All Thread

Wilson is still on roster, the FL tourney game against RSL- so not free from being jabbed in my book.

Given this crazy season, for me, it's just additional preseason for 2021. The FO still have some holes/ fixes they need to fill/ make before next season.

 

Wilson has been a solid MLS level defender who's overpaid this season.

I guarantee you every single season we can pick out a game or two that the team did lousy in. That happens in a 34 (or 18) game season.

They qualified for the playoffs easily, they could finish as high as 5th, they did it while dealing with multiple start/stops this season including one nobody else had to suffer through. They had two bad losses (the two FSL games) all season. They also had 3 impressive wins (both games this week and the other FSL game).

At this point they're a solid upper mid-table MLS team, and they're doing it with a roster that's incredibly young. This is probably the best place the Rapids roster has been at the end of the season maybe ever. 2010 and 2016 were good years but neither roster was built for ongoing success.

God knows I've been brutal on the Rapids FO over the years but I have to give credit where credit is due. They got the job done on the field this season.

 

Of note, at this time the Rapids would qualify for the playoffs based on points. Considering the 4-5 games in hand on teams lower in the table, that says something.

I'm not sure if that something is that the Rapids are good, or the other 4 teams are that bad, but it's probably a mixture of both.

 

1324518105071132672 is not a valid tweet id

 

The playoffs start after the international break? Found an ESPN article saying the first round games will start Fri Nov 20...so the Rapids will be playing sometime that weekend?

 

The top three scorers are all under 24.

 

If we really mattered they would stop this none sense battle with Broadcast providers that they will never win and let us see team on TV.

 

Both sides need to back down to find a workable solution.

 

MLS announces 2020 playoff schedule; Western Conference starts on Nov. 21. #Rapids96 may face the Portland Timbers in Portland again. https://t.co/TJ1E5e0PeZ pic.twitter.com/yotOwAJy43

— Burgundy Wave (@Burgundywave) November 6, 2020

 

Not gonna happen. Cord-cutting has put all the cable/satellite companies in a pretty desperate situation. They simply don't have the money anymore to pay regional broadcasters. Here's a quote from Fortune in February about the situation. I'm sure that now it's even worse as Covid-19 continues to expand.

"The coronavirus outbreak is accelerating the trend of people dropping their cable and satellite TV subscriptions. More than 1.6 million subscribers to five of the largest pay TV companies cut service in the first quarter, a 70% jump from a year earlier.

Comcast, the largest cable provider, lost 409,000 customers by itself, more than it lost in all of 2018 and over half its total cord cutting loss last year. Charter Communications, Verizon, and Altice USA, also among the largest cable TV providers, lost another 200,000 subscribers in the quarter. And AT&T, which is predominantly a satellite TV provider, lost over 1 million customers."

Edit: But yeah, I agree the situation sucks. the Rapids finally get a young dynamic team worth watching, and now we can't see it.

 

But where Comcast needs to back down isn't in how much they pay. That's where KSE needs to back down. Comcast needs to back down with their demand that Altitude get put on a higher tier. Its clearly an attempt to minimize Altitude's impact on other sports channels that Comcast has interest in and its a dumb plan to put the station that carries 3 of the 5 major teams in town on a higher tier where fans won't find them.

From almost Day 1 the solution to this has been obvious. Altitude takes less money, like every other single channel is being forced to do, but Comcast keeps them on the same tier. But both sides have to compromise, which means both sides are to blame for this year+ long situation.

 

Jasonma, you and I can only see this situation from the outside. We don't know what the exact offers have been from either side. But I would expect that Comcast holds the better cards. There's a lot more viewers for national sports games on ESPN, Fox, etc than there are for the local teams on Altitude. There's not a lot of pressure on Comcast to compromise. And of course Altitude doesn't want to be in a pay-to-view situation because they know they don't have the pull to make money with it.

As it stands now, the three Altitude teams stand to get hurt more since they are all currently competitive and winning games. This is the prime time, when the teams can create interest and build a fanbase. But unfortunately, all three are pretty much playing in a TV vacuum. If KSE was smart, they would be willing to take a lot less money to get eyeballs on their clubs while they're in good form. Maybe it would get the Rapids out of the rut of being that soccer team that hardly anybody cares about out in Commerce City.

It's a strange time. We've got a very interesting Rapids team, probably the best and most competitive in their history. I haven't been a season ticket holder for years, but I would happily pay to attend games now. I would love to sit in the stands and focus on Basset and Vines. But I can't even see them on TV. And that really sucks because they'll both be gone to Europe next year.

 

Too bad for us Bassett has had his breakout season in a year without fans.

I want him to remember us fondly when he moves on.

 

Just saw there was a second big win this week for Philadelphia. This one for Supporters' Shield.

 

Bring on Minnesota (again)

 

I wonder what the team tiebreaker for Golden Boot is. Both Lewis and Bassett finish with 5 goals. If its assists Bassett had 4 (tied for 2nd on the team) and Lewis had 0. But if its minutes played Lewis scored his 5 in notably less time than Bassett.

 

Literally the only thing the PPG decision did was move the Rapids from 8th to 5th. Otherwise everything finishes exactly the way it did if points are used.

 

The road is set.

Playoff Hub ⏩ https://t.co/hj5oaEd5ve pic.twitter.com/5UnO0cmR8l

— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) November 9, 2020

 

And to add to this thought, they didn't back their way into the playoffs by depending on other teams losing or drawing. They just started winning at the right moment. And two of those wins were against teams that were/are ahead of them in the standings.

Also, of the five matches they've played since their most recent restart four were on the road.

 

With the team playing well, I'm really looking forward to the playoffs. I think we can make some noise.

 

From our living rooms?

 

The countdown begins.#Rapids96 | #MLSCupPlayoffs

— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) November 9, 2020

 

Better bring the thermals and orange ball for this one

Break makes zero sense, I thought USMNT didn't include a single USA player (Covid banned from Europe).