I have this knack for missing the big ones, including the USOC semifinal a few years back. I'm ecstatic to hear the result, and glad S8 worked better than last week. Hey, did my friend Tony play acoustic guitar pre-game in the concourse behind the supporters' section? Later, COZ <-- back from NYC and Dallas, and really tired
There was a fellow playing accoustic (pretty darn well) at the VIP reeception that was at the north end of the east side collonades, from 6:30 til about 7:15.
Tony Tony played the group leader/season ticket holder reception in the East Collonades - he was great. Really appreciated his version of Squeeze's "Tempted", but was disappointed that he didn't know Nick Lowe's "Knockin on Heaven's Door". peter
Was that Robin Frasier who got beat on Beasley's goal? If it was I am only dissapointed that we didn't bust into a Frasier chant. What a night. What a season. Two down. One to go. On a side note: Dipsy IS for real. Believe that.
Re: Tony Did you just ask for Nick Lowe, though? I know he's got "Cruel to be Kind" in his repertoire. And yeah, Tony is great. No argument there. His versions of "New Year's Day" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" are also top-notch. Later, COZ
Gray gets beat, and he replaces the central defender position, as that was vacated to cover Carreri on the outside. Meanwhile... Mapp doesn't stay close to Henderson AT ALL and Henderson has an easy look at goal. It sure wasn't all Gray's fault, not when Mapp couldn't stay within 5 yards of his man.
This might be correct. I just know the cross got in because Gray stopped running and covering his man. He was just really lazy on the play, and I can't forgive him for that.
It is just a small statistic issue but last night our average home attendance record surpassed average away attendance. Home High 30845 Low 7143 Average 14006 Away High 23799 Low 7401 Average 13863
Not that it's important, but I'd consider them rhythm and blues. They were playing "Messin' with the Kid" while I was on the way to my seat.
Re: musings wrong, wrong and wrong....the only "genius" i might have is identifying incredibly gifted people and convincing them to run the Fire's soccer department. Bob, Dave and their staffs deserve any credit that fans care to give. i'm ok with cap management and trade negotiation, but the coaching staffs really deserve any praise for identifying, selecting and developing talented players. BTW, i still think the job Bob did last season with all the injuries and call ups was among the best jobs by any coach in the history of MLS. peter
Just for the record, I thought Dipsy did an extraordinary job on the play that resulted in Chris's winning goal. He got the free kick and tried to turn and shoot. But it got smothered. Then he dug the ball away from the defenders and spotted Chris making his run. He also had some passes/plays earlier that made me sit up and take notice. Peter mentioned to me at the reception before the game that Mapp would start and some other players who needed to get some playing time would play (Dipsy, Bolanos), if possible. The Fire's strategy for the final game should be to do whatever gives the Fire the best chance of winning the MLS cup. I'd think that probably means playing some players who could use some time on the field. It might mean sitting someone with injuries or who needs a game out to recover from the wear and tear of playing. It could also mean sitting someone who's close to suspension, if a suspension would carryover into the playoffs. (I believe cautions are reset for the playoffs, but am not sure if a suspension would carry over.) The game versus the Crew should be an almost playoff atmosphere as the Crew needs to win to have any chance at the playoffs. So it should be a good prep for the playoffs. Playing Jaqua at right midfield was probably an experiment. With Damani and Ante firmly ensconced as the Fire's forwards, Dave S may be looking for ways to get Nate some playing time. I thought Nate did a creditable job. He's certaijnly strong on the ball and a load for the opposition. Hew fought very hard at times for the ball and contributed to some of the sustained attacks that ultimately did in the Rapids. He's definitely a keeper and work in progress.
An interesting side note re: Bob B. and the Metrostars. The Metrostars have the second best road record in the league and the second worst home record in the league. Considering the Open Cup fiasco of only 5,000 fans to cheer the 'Stars on, I don't think the problem is the coaching staff.
For the love of God! We are amazing. I'm so thrilled that the Fire won the match and the Supporter's Shield. The Fire dynasty is beginning. Down with the Smurfquakes!
Definitely. Too bad we didn't have cover like this the last few years! We have ridiculous depth for a team that was supposed to be rebuilding. Jaqua's going to come up big for us in the playoffs, I can feel it. I hope we keep him, but a talent like his needs playing time. One thing that has surprised me has been Sarachan's reluctence to use subs much in many of our games. It seems like a lot of our games have only one sub before the very end of the game. Even games that we were in control of. For example, I didn't expect Damani to go 90 in the USOC final after coming back from England. After what people have said about this weekend's showing, I don't know why we haven't used a few of these guys a bit more. Not that what we've done hasn't worked, I guess...
yeah ...and has more class and less bitterness than I'm able to hold on to when thinking about the mutts. In any case, while defending the job Bob and crew did is probably more appropriate than my revisionist history (which still delights me, anyway) I am curious to know if Peter has been as disappointed as I have at the tactics Bob Bradley's Metrostars employed against us this year (which is really what prompted my decision to take all credit for the past 5 years away from Bob and give it to Pete in the first place)... Man, slapped down by the GM. That's gonna sting all day... m
You should get membership just to have "wrong, wrong and wrong" like Bethany has her "Bethany is right!" sig...
...if the feds weren't already taking all my money just because I went to school, I'd have been at the game Saturday before I'd pay to remind everyone that Pete jacked me... ;-) m
Rhyme of the Ancient Virginia Beach Mariner In addition to what Peter Wilt said, I'd also like to point out that Bob has completely rebuilt the Mutts and gotten them to second place in the East despite having the albatross of Nick S. around his neck. Considering that Nick is probably good for costing the Mutts 6 or 9 points per season through the sheer force of his stupidity, I'd say Bob's done a decent job over there. Still, if anyone other than Dave Sarachan wins COTY, it will be proof that someone is spiking MLS's water supply with LSD.