DC @ NY POSTPONED (because 1 team wouldn't play) Until 11/8/12

I call BS.

They could have moved the 1st game to PPL/CBus, but it was easier for NY & MLS to switch. If it was such as a disaster area, why try and play either game in NY?

NY botched this by not having the proper people and equipment to clear the field. They intentionally made the field unplayable by not planning appropriately.

 

This was blindingly obvious from watching the stream. RB had no intention of playing the game. This was an act by the RB to screw DC and MLS HQ helped them.

 

I was there. The game could have been played if they had proper snow clearing equipment.

Ben Olsen and DCU were ready to play. Hans Backe and RBNY were not. That's called a forfeit.

 

I'm not gonna blame MLS...the video from warmups showed snow sticking to the ball. The field, well I would have played but it had a lot of snow on it.

I do blame RBNY though. Snow was clearly in the forecast. The field lines were white, there were few shovels, no mechanized equipment. Backe clearly did not want to play. Was it to get an extra day of rest for Marquez? I hope the league fines their asses.

I am psyched though. You have a team ready to play and angry against a team that doesn't want to be out there. Just keep your heads boys.

 

No, it's because Backe didn't want to face DC with the disadvantage of bad weather. He said so himself. This wasn't about snow.

I am even angrier about this today than I was last night.

 

A lot of things SHOULD happen, but they never will.

 

Same here. They intentionally did a crappy job of clearing the field. Two or three of these would have made that field playable in minutes. Interns with garden shovels? Not so much.

Screw Backe, screw RBNY, screw Garber, and screw MLS.

 

So your solution to this is force one team to play in a neutral venue hours away from their home? That is impractical given the time constraints. I dont agree with switching the legs, lets be clear, however the alternative above is equally as unfair if not more.

Given DC and NY finished virtually tied in all categories in the table the switch was probably the most realistic alternative absent moving the entire playoff schedule back.

Sorry, but as someone that lives here and traveled in the area yesterday the weather was down right insane. Steady snow and sleet and high winds. This was the obvious outcome, in fact i was so sure it would be canceled i simply went home after work and changed my schedule anticipating a game today. The real shame here is on MLS for allowing fans of all teams to come to the match when it should have been postponed on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning long before DC fans walked on their bus.

In fact i believe the only reason it WASN'T canceled sooner was due in large part to the commitment MLS made on transporting fans to the area for the match. Garber was very hesitant to react and that is on him.

Blaming 7 interns for not being snow removal experts and or having snow removal equipment (which they don't even have) is weak. Its unfortunate this happened this way, a more proactive MLS HQ willing to dictate to NBC the realities would have prevented this.

For the record I hate Red Bull and everything their company stands for and what they did to soccer here. Im a NY Cosmos guy.

 

So you're a fan of an imaginary team that doesn't exist. That certainly explains the delusional nature of your posts.

 

Bull.

 

If you can't play in your field, you find an alternative venue. All teams in the world do this. If your field is unplayable because it is undergoing renovation, or because there was a concert there and the field is a mess, you plan ahead. The team had four days to find a venue for the first game. Rutgers and Princeton have stadiums and are not too far from RBA. PPL or Columbus could have been possible venues. The Giants played at home on Sunday. RBNY asked, and MLS delivered a solution that was way less than optimal.

All my respect to the handful of interns, but the problem is not the interns. If you know that you could even have a chance of snow, you buy or rent more efficient snow clearing equipment. You get 6 tractors, not 6 shovels. If the game has to be paused after 20 minutes to be cleared again, it would only take 5 minutes to clear the snow.

The league had plenty of opportunity to make sure that this series is played in a fair way. It has botched every one of them. Remember, one team wanted to play the scheduled game. The other team made every effort to not play it. Backe was adamant that the game should not be played. The league acquiesced, as it did before when it switched venues.

 

So RB doesn't have a grounds crew? RB, knowing that MLS didn't cancel the game the night before, couldn't go purchase snowblowers real quick? They couldn't hire a whole bunch of temporary workers to get the pitch ready? Given the unemployment rate, I'm sure there'd be a ton of people that would like the $$. BS.

 

I'm not going to continue to discuss rationally with someone who lacks that ability.

 

Did you ever see the Cosmos play? They actually played a game in worst conditions than last night.

You need to move to Florida where they still don't know how to count presidential ballots...

RFK was more than ready to accomodate, why didn't you guys show some goodwill and rescheduled the game back to RFK if the Cancer Causing area was still a disaster area?

 

Um, The NY Cosmos just hired a COO and will announce a coach in a few days and will be playing in NASL next season.

 

Well, let's be fair in that the RBNY fans themselves have no control over that, and many of them are pretty pissed about how it played out, too. I lay this entirely on Garber and the RBNY FO. I mean, come on, their FO isn't exactly known for its awesomeness.

 

Metro is dead pal. I wish it weren't so. I hate Red Bull for killing that. Not that it matters to you. But their is nothing dishonest about how i feel about that.

 

I know. So you support a team that doesn't currently exist.

 

But you attend RBNY games in spite of that fact. Doesn't the MetroFan in you find that dishonest?

 

I am not making excuses for them, but the scenario about wasn't practical here. The entire area was f*cked there was no local alternative venue. The area didn't even have 50% power restored on working public transportation on Saturday. I think the only option would have been postponing the series for a couple days each way (first leg on Monday and second on Thursday...next round Sunday)..but MLS and NBC didn't seem willing to do that.

Sure, but like i said...i was obvious this game was getting postponed hours before this happened.

Totally agree the league botched this big time, and i place the blame on them firmly. As far as Backe goes, he's no dummy, he knew the conditions would negate his preceived technical advantage and didn't prefer playing. Olsen welcomed a road game is bad conditions because it favored his squad..and undoubtedly he cares for the traveling fans and the impact of postponement on them.