So many great memories from 2008. The best had to be getting the invite info back to the team hotel after the match to celebrate with them after MLS Cup. That was a 100% pinch me moment that I will never forget as long as I live, that topped off the best day of my life, and I've been married twice and my second spouse doesn't even mind that the day in 2008 will forever win. Other highlights include running up to Lenhart the first time we saw him in the tent and introducing ourselves, to make him feel welcome from the fans. And then there was the 2008 Olympics, and bugging Manu about him playing vs Messi in the Olympic Finals, and how I kept asking for him to bring his Silver Medal...
I (and a lot of you) was in the stadium when a young Josh Wolff scored against Mexico, when he was a star on the rise. His son scored a banger for Austin against RSL in the first half tonight. We're getting f***ing old.
There are two people at my workplace that I first "saw" when their mom's were pregnant with them. One's been there at least 10 years now....
Please don't remind me My wife wanted water at the half but the stands were mobbed so since we were right near a ramp I figured I could dash down at the last minute and avoid the ridiculous line. So as they're getting ready to kick I dashed down and, sure.enough, no line at all. As I was congratulating myself on my cleverness and savvy, as I collected my change the stadium above me exploded like Hiroshima. Sure enough, Wolff had scored in the 46th minute and after having frozen my ass off for an hour I missed the goal.
That happened to me in Detroit. No, not Wynalda's goal, but a couple of years earlier when Germany was playing England and it was hot (no AC in the old dome). I missed Klinsmann's goal for Germany, because my wife needed some water. To this day, Mrs KG will tell me to "go get some water" if the team really needs a goal....
I waited in line at the concession stand in the NW corner with my sister for the entire halftime, trying to get some hot chocolate. We got to the front of the line as the second half was starting. I looked at her and said, "do you have this?" She said yes. I started towards the stands, as we were sitting in the back row of the lower bowl, in either 109 or 110. The midfield stripe entered my sightline about a half-second before Clint Mathis' pass crossed it. It was actually perfect timing, as when Wolff scored, I had the freedom of running around like a maniac in an empty corner as opposed to just jumping in place. That was the end of my good fortune that night, however. I wound up having to wait for my father to drive up from Lancaster to pick me and my mother up, as we waited outside in 20-degree temperatures, as I had lost my car keys somewhere.
My story for that game is less interesting. Took a nephew who was too young to drive to his first Nats game (he's now an Army major). It was cold. We got to laugh at Luis Hernandez, then Jorge Campos. Good guys won, then I had to take him home so no late night.
Alex Crognale earns @USLChampionship Team of the Week honors.Congrats, Alex!📰 https://t.co/H82fIlbQyY pic.twitter.com/IrlF79aXG5— Birmingham Legion FC (@bhmlegion) March 14, 2023 Considering our CB depth..would Crognale be a nice piece to have on roster right now? Also I saw that he took 15% of his salary in bit coin.
It can be super hard to remember but the “M” stands for Major, not Minor. No Crognale. No Quintin, no more hacks. I pay good money, I expect to see good soccer.
Well of course we'd all love 22 world class players on our roster. BUT there is a salary cap and a host of roster rules preventing anything remotely close. SO would you rather have Crognale or Quinton...right now.
I don't think either is good for a high line, so Quinton because he's younger (though I was a Crognale fan).
So a guy who was a forward (a pretty good one too) before converting CB can't play a high line? I'd take Crognale for that reason plus his experience. But our reality is we have a young guy who is going to make mistakes and look like a rookie from time to time. Whether he can make it long term will be TBD. I would like to see a few set piece goals form the young lad. Crognale is pretty good at that too.
What does playing as a striker as a youth player have to do with being a professional defender? Also, Crognale is slow, duh.
But play the kids, right? MLS ain’t the Premiership. One of the things I enjoy about it is that you get to watch untested, young talent seeing whether they can step up their game to the next level. That, of course, is also one of the things I dislike about it, since many/most can’t. Regarding Crognale and lots of other young players (A. Keita comes to mind), it’s tempting to play what-if games now that we have a coach who has a reputation for developing young talent. Maybe some would be starters on the roster now. Maybe Lalas Aboubakar would have stayed here, rather than moving to Colorado. Who knows. But I do know, or at least believe, that the path forward in MLS especially for teams like the Crew requires the development of young players. Our problem now is that they make up a higher percentage of the roster and starting XI than is viable over the long term.
He was a useful spare piece when he still had the low contract/was on supplemental roster due to being young. Once he aged out to a Senior roster spot, well--off to the USL. Same thing happened to Maloney.
The last couple sentences here are key, which is why this is a transition year, and to judge it as anything else is foolish.