Chicago got a team in 1998. I got into it when I happened to catch the Fire-Metros game on ESPN early in the season. I was in college and remember it was Jorge Campos' first game with the Fire. I got into it shortly after that. I never followed any outdoor soccer league before that. I followed indoor until the Sting folded, but I never really cared for indoor. The quality of play is much improved since that game. I wasn't able to go to many games the first four season, but been to just about all of them this season. I, like many people, were happy to see the shootouts eliminated, and the time kept the way it should be.
Chicago and Dallas. And that match (Game Two) of the series was the ONLY good part of that series. Hey, I remember Dallas coming to town and working awful hard to get past the Chicago Stingers in 97. Apparently they actually won the Open Cup that year, though no one remembers. Alain "Just Call Me Swiss Miss" Sutter fell so many times in that match he left potholes in the turf at Forest View.
The freakin' Revs - MLS Cup 96 I attended games at Foxboro back in '96, and the atmosphere was great. I still remember how cool it was that you could get a Sam Adams or Guinness while at Fenway all they sold was Whatever Light... MLS Cup 96 was the heaviest rain I've ever been outside for.... Worth every minute! Team kinda sucked... Moved to Colombia from '97-'99 (heard about Pareja's looming transfer from a guy who knew folks at his team down there - ahhh, to have watched a winning team! (Deportivo Cali lost the 1999 (?) Liberator's Cup on penalties to Big Phil Scolari's Palmeiras team.) Once I moved to Seattle, I'd become a huge soccer fan and cleaved to the Revs as a Boston connection. Started reading these posts last year - sporadic contributor. Team still sucks! I can honestly say I haven't seen a Revs game where they've looked good (on tv/can only attend once a year) Love 'em anyway - lovable losers. My real heroes are any Revolution season ticket holders who've ever renewed... I'm not however sentimental enough to buy a season ticket in total absentia, but I do read most posts on the Revs page here and most articles in the Boston media online. I can't fathom switching allegiance to - who? The Sounders? Can't do it (even though - to support the sport - I've been twice...)
You have to realize I was buzzing already. I was still in college, and I always drank before I went to the party/bar. Oh how I miss my college days (not the homework, of course).
You watch anything worthwhile for 7 years and it should both educate you a bit and become more interesting. I think it does both good and bad things to fans. The good things are familiarity, the perspective earned, The "badge", if you will, that comes from watching any team prevail and succumb over the years, and The fun of having biases and grudges developed over time. Those grudges are also part of the bad. It stings a little more when you have expended energy being invested for or against a team and the result is a bad one. Another bad thing is realizing what was better about the league at a time in the past. I would think a "newbee" wouldn't have too many preconceived notions about anything. That itsself should be a good thing. You always remember firsts, falling in love with a game or league is no different. Myth destructions for newbees: -KC actually did have a great atmosphere in 96-7, then the Brazilians left in anger. Mgmt. decided they were not worth x free tickets and has struggled to create atmosphere ever since. -DC was dominant in '99 only. That's it, other teams were equal or more dominant in every other year. They did win 3 Cups, just don't let anybody tell you they were dominant. Tampa Bay was 12 points better in '96, KC was as good in '97, LA was 10 better in '98. Every other year dc missed the playoffs. Hardly the stuff of domination, much less iconic status. -Old jerseys were universally poor - all 10 of them. (dc's are still blah, put in some red if you are "red and black") The only good thing to say was you definitely could recognize your team when on TV. Interestingly, they get worse looking as time wears on. Additionally, nobody complained as loudly about KC's old garb until they won a Cup. -There never has been any kind or rainbow on KC's kits. Never, just 4 colors in a different order. -There hasn't been any MLS atmosphere like Chi has every game in Naperville. Only dc come playoff time, CLB for home openers, and COL for the 4th are even close. -Gameday media and the crew that call the games are better. (It may not seem like it, but trust me - if you throw in a '96 tape and listen, the difference is striking) Pregame info is decidedly better. All other coverage hasn't improved much if at all. -Every team MET has put on the field has played well at times. Sure the '99 team was brutal, but they had to do something right to be good enough to win the East outright in 2000. Opinions: -You want a charged game, find a way to see a MEX club against any MLS club. Whatever the attendance, it's a testosterone charged event. -CLB's stadium is a monumental improvement over "The Shoe". This is a strong hint. -The posts on bigsoccer are funnier with history to them than they were when this all started. More brutal too. Decide for yourself if this is good or bad. -LA has the best O and D all time in MLS. CHI is better on O, but only by a goal or two, and over two less years. -Watching your team win at home is great. Actually seeing them win in someone else's house - that's priceless. Make a point to do it. There are many things to do everywhere. Get out of your own house and make a week(end) of it. Heck, a week in Colorado during the summer might just change your life. -NE was .500 in 2000. See, they don't suck every year. -SJ was nothing but utter crap previous to their coach being given a shot. -Ron Newman (KC's first coach) and Dave Dir were almost as big of a quote machine as Ray Hudson. The difference is dc has many more quality outlets to extract the quotes. Good for everyone. -Jean Harbor, Preki, John Doyle, Etcheverry, Robin Frasier, and Mike Dodd were better than you think. -When you see Kreis blast one to an upper corner, Preki corkscrew some defender, an LA keeper pitch a shutout, El Pibe split two defenders to hit a flyer in stride, a dc crowd bounce in RFK, Diego Gutierrez' hustle, Chungy or Hendu fly down a wing, or McBride win a header; all that looks pretty much the same as it did in '96. -Donovan's A-game, Valderamma's passing, Miami's 2001 team flow, and Chicago's overal conecpt of color/kit/logo for me have been among the best things in the league to witness.
I forgot one other huge myth, maybe the biggest in the whole league: The Myth that the Shootout was altogether a bad thing. All of the self-serving idiots who loudly proclaimed thier hatred of the shootout, put up websites, and other fanatical things; most of those same people were among everyone else in MLS stadia that were on the edge of their seats with the anticipation of the moment every time a shootout happened. The problem was never the tiebreaker itsself. The problem was always giving just one point in total only to the winner. Never was there a "boring" shootout. Fans in total didn't hate it, despite what you may read on this board. Crowds were excited by it, and you never left the stadium with a 0-0 score. Never.
Re: Re: Fans since league inception v. more recent fans i HATED the shootout, and usually left the stadium before it started.
Ohhhh, cloudy jade! Well, this should just go to prove that those that referee really are blind an deaf!
I had seen a couple of minutes of games and shootouts throughout the first two seasons, but my first full game was when my dad came up to my room and said the professional soccer league's championship game is about to start and the Washington D.C. team is playing. I was 10 and hardly realized we had a league but I figured we did. I thought we had a league for every possible sport. Remember, I'm only 10. I was cleaning my room but just stopped about 10 minutes or so into the game and sat down to watch. I had probably seen two or three U.S. games before (I think one was in World Cup 94) and they never kept my attention, but for some reason I really paid attention to this. I developed my bias for DC because I always pulled for whatever team was closest to me. (Redskins, Capitals, etc.) I watched MLS a lot in 1998, some in 1999, and then really fell out of it in 2000. I developed a real interest in music then. But then at the beginning of 2001, in January, I tried out and made the JV soccer team. I was in the middle of eighth grade and started to love to practice every day. That made me love soccer again and now i know I'll love it forever. Ever since then, www.mlsnet.com, www.soccernet.com, and many other sites have been everyday things. I think MLS has greatly improved. LA in 1998, DC in 1999, and Miami in 2001 are classic teams. I hope and know that MLS is going to keep getting better and hope more fans get into it. I'll know that MLS has arrived when I see things about it on ESPN CLASSIC.
Pretty darn good post for a 15 year old. All you other 15 year olds need to read this and learn. And your dad is a good man.
The 1998 LA Galaxy team has a place in my heart right next to the 1969 Cubs. Those are the only two teams that have ever made me cry.
Who were the stars of the '98 Galaxy team anyway? Was Sigi the coach? Zambrano? Campos in goal? Mathis a youngster on the bench? See! This is what I missed.
Been a G season ticket holder since '96 (even been to 2 MLS Cup finals...yeah...the shrink is on the way) I'll say that the biggest difference is the Internet. Thank God of it and we can now get information. relying on ESPN and local media. Oh yeah, and the kits have way improved too.
Zambrano had taken over for Osiander and turned the boys loose. Campos had been shipped off to Chicago. Hartman's first full season in goal. Vanney and Frasier in form. Cobi and Cien in thier prime. Danny Pena striking fear into the heart of opposition strikers. That was some team. Until it stumbled.
Colorado - Roy Houghton Columbus - Timo Leikowski Dallas - Dave Dir DC United - Bruce Arena Kansas City - Ron Newman Los Angeles - Lothar Osiander MetroStars - Eddie Firmani New England - Frank Stapleton San Jose - Laurie Calloway Tampa Bay - Thomas Rongen
I'm 15 too, and I have grown up watching MLS. I still remember walking up the steps of Spartan Stadium during the days of the Clash game after game saying, "Daddy, I hope we don't lose again!!!" Shootouts, Jeff Baicher, John Doyle, Eddie Lewis, Ronald Cerritos, Eric Wynalda, I remember them all too well. Now that I've grown older and have learned to truely appreciate the game, my parents have to tie me down to keep me away from the Earthquakes games. Seeing the best team in the country play week after week is something I sometimes take for granted. But, when I see Landon score an awesome goal, or Joe Cannon make a unbelievable save, I realize how lucky we are to have a league like the MLS in this country.
That's ex-Metro Ian Hennessey (http://www.metrofanatic.com/mf/team/player.jsp?ID=30) in the Burn shirt and ex-Metro and Rev John DeBrito (http://www.metrofanatic.com/mf/team/player.jsp?ID=44) in the LA shirt. I believe at the time the picture was taken neither LA or Dallas had any US players assigned to them and they had to use "generic" players for the photo.
started playing soccer again (organized for the first time) for the first time since elementary school recess in the fall of 1996 for a local youth team and high school jv (sophomore, 21 and in college now), yet somehow failed to attend a single MLS match at RFK that inaugural year... saw the first game on tv against SJ, and didnt realise we were in the MLS Cup Final until the final minutes of regulation against the Gals, yet still didnt pay much attention to DC United or MLS for the next few years, just tuning in to the occasional match on tv and the finals ('97, '98, '99...wow, we were once really good and I didnt appreciate it nearly enough), yet began watching EPL monday nights falling for Arsenal, and champions league weekdays with growing regularity starting that Fall of 1996, so yep I was a eurosnob first, each day becoming a bigger and bigger soccer fan but not really being able to take MLS seriously (where was the Clock End? Those flares and songs from that AC Milan midweek ECL game?).... but something snapped in 2000, and I just had to go to RFK for my first DC United game (against Newcastle however), and later to a midweek game against the metrostars that august, and watch every one on television intenseley and be surprised at how LOW I felt after every loss. Its strange becoming a huge DC United supporter when we were beginning the slide into crap, yet I've never been more devoted to the team than today...and when (if?) the glory days return, they'll be soooo much sweeter than they were for me those first few years...the longer MLS sticks around, it will creep into the consciousness of more and more people, these things just take time, heck looking back on it I'm shocked at times it took me almost 5 years to really identify with it...of course it helps immenseley having a local team to support, and hopefully some cozier stadiums more suitable to the fanbase, improving atmosphere, piquing interest from others and growing the fanbase, etc.. Still following Arsenal, but very loyal to the local boys, DC UNITED; its very encouraging also to see so many members of my generation on the boards so passionate about the league and the game here in the states, we're the future guys!
Were you at the 98 semifinal(?) against Chicago? 1-0 fire win on a late goal, like maybe 85th minute, after nothing but Galaxy pressure on goal up that point. I think maybe it was Jesse March punching in a rebound off a Lubos Kubik burner of a free kick. As a Burn fan it's always agony to think of a Fire win, but that was easily one of the best games I've ever seen. A weeknight crowd on the edge of its seats until the goal. I've never heard a big, crowded place get as quiet as the Rose Bowl when the ball went in the net.