'24 In-Season Catch-All Thread

Last year I revised my prediction downward after the disastrous opening in Seattle.

This year, after a disastrous opening in Portland, I'm not revising my prediction because I didn't really expect much. However, I think the delta (change) year-over-year is going to be much smaller than I first thought. I think there is a chance we get better as the season goes on, but being front-loaded with a difficult schedule will mean the hole is gonna be way to deep before we get anything going.

I think we're in for another very unpleasant year.

 

I can't really go down from missing the playoffs, being eliminated in the group stage of the Leagues Cup, losing one of our first couple of USOC matches (if we even play in it), and not winning the Rocky Mountain Cup.

I guess I could revise down to predicting winning the Spoon, but I'm not there yet.

 

We’re back baby!!

 

So disgusted how MLS and the Rapids have responded to the US Open Cup. I may be in the minority, but despite our putrid cup history these were always some of the games I looked forward to the most each season. Matching lower division sides against top tier teams in competitive games is always something soccer offered that no other sport in the country does. Really bummed that the Rapids decided it is not worth their time. Do they think that with no Concacaf games, likely 2 Leauges Cup games and likely no playoffs they could not fit it in. Give me a break, I seldom ever complain to my ticket rep, but this one just rubs me the wrong way.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/39631836/us-open-cup-revamp-feature-just-8-mls-first-teams

 

Whoa, I have to jump in here. By all reports (Ploen, Burgundy Wave, etc.) this was not the Rapids decision and in fact they voted against MLS pulling out of the Open Cup. Armas in his preseason press conference talked about wanting to win the Open Cup if they got to play in it.

What happened was that MLS as a whole pushed back on USSF when it comes to the USOC as the majority of teams (but again, not the Rapids) voted to leave the competition. What they ended up agreeing on was that the top 8 MLS teams from last year that didn't qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League would enter their first teams in Round 4, and the rest of the league would enter their MLS Next Pro teams in Round 1.

Again, this wasn't the Rapids saying "we don't want to play" it was the league saying "we don't want our teams in it, but as a compromise we'll send our best 8 teams not caught up in CCC scheduling" and the Rapids were very much not one of those teams. This is a stupid decision by the league that I'm not happy about, but the blame isn't on the Rapids for it.

It will be interesting to see if MLS teams can play first-team players in the USOC and if so, how many first teamers the Rapids send to RapiDos for the games. Especially as they hopefully advance in the competition.

 

I would have preferred the bottom 8 teams. Give them some hardware to shoot for. I bet we would see a lot more effort from the bottom 8 than the top 8. (Not better quality, but maybe better games)

Rod

 

Thanks for the clarification. I had wrongly assumed it was just 8 teams that wanted to participate, did not realize that there was any more than that of a rhyme or reason to the 8 teams. Guess my frustration should be more directed at MLS than the Rapids then.

Thanks JasonMa!

 

I think that would free up an international spot too, no?

Even if not, it's still a big win for all parties involved - and even further proof that Ilic was not one of Padraig's finer moments

 

I understand that the reporting was that the "Rapids wanted to play" but do we actually have any material evidence that ownership made a genuine push to be included in the tournament? It's one thing if Stan/Josh actually went to the league and demanded to be included in the USOC only to be turned down, it's another thing for the club to just say "we wanted in" without actually making that push and then acting like their hands were tied when the league made the call (which is what I think probably happened).

 

Well unless they're lying to us (which, fair, they could very well be) they voted against MLS leaving the USOC. Part of the deal with MLS though is that the league moves together so they lost that vote.

No, I don't think Stan/Josh knew anything about this and cared at all about the decision, and Padraig Smith doesn't carry the gravitas to get the league to bend to our will. So it was perfunctory at best once the vote was lost. That said, there are many other times in the history of this organization that they would have gladly been on the other side of a vote like that, so I think slamming them when they were actually on the correct side for once is a bit out of line.

 

I had no expectations for the season during the off-season. Two weeks in, they have met those expectations with a dash of salt on an US Open wound.

 

*sigh*

Demoff's full quote when asked about the developments planned for the stadiums and areas around them in Colorado. pic.twitter.com/8NqWi9l1uk

— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) March 7, 2024

 

A New Day At KSE...Aw, Never Mind

https://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2024/03/a-new-day-at-kseaw-never-mind.html

 

An out of touch guy that never did a goddamn thing for us has left and been replaced by another out of touch guy that will never do a goddamn thing for us.

 

It may be a "loan", but we all know the odds of seeing him in a Rapids kit again are basically zilch. What a masterstroke it was running Yarbrough out of town for this guy.

 

Today is the 11th anniversary of this infamous 3 goalkeeper lineup graphic

(What happened is the graphic was keyed off the player number to display name and position. Whomever did the graphics filled out the player numbers for the Union (our opponent) and then copied those same player numbers over for the Rapids instead of plugging in the Rapids lineup numbers)