There is a big difference between playing with confidence on the field, and stepping up to take a penalty kick with everything on the line. Very few players have the balls to do the latter. I assumed Dempsey did, and was very suprised when Heaps showed up instead. So what is irrational about that? If you didn't expect Dempsey to take that kick, please share with us why.
merely tied for fastest MLS Cup goal... Actually, during the broadcast the announcers reminded us that Dynamo merely tied "their own" record for the fastest goal in an MLS Cup. Scored by the Earthquakes' Richard Mulrooney at Home Depot Center in 2003 MLS Cup against Chicago, who had just made the score 2-1 and suddenly faced a 3-1 2-goal deficit all over again. Revs have nothing to be ashamed of- that was an even, well-fought match. DougO
It turns out that they continually get 8-10+ players taking penalty kicks at the end of the game every time the situation requires, so I'd call your "Very few players have the balls to do the latter" quote a little melodramatic. And, in all honesty, I would have expected Ralston to go before Dempsey, because A) he's healthier, and B) he's taken more pks during the regular season games I've been to than Dempsey.
You guys kill me. How many PKs did you take with a busted up ankle in a Championship game. If he'd have missed it, you'd be calling for his head for that. Probably not too early to start thinking who's going to get goat duty next year. Larentowitz maybe?
Maybe it was planning but to be honest it's really just a crapshoot. Like deciding the NBA finals with a free throw shooting contest, but that's soccer for you. The Revs were the better team. Thanks to ABC, I'm still not sure how the Ching goal came about.
Dorman's going to complain about his pay and then we're going to shit on Flintshire when we sing "wings of a sparrow".
I have had almost 24 hours to let the disappointment of the result wane a bit. Overall, it was a great game. I enjoyed this game much more than the 86 minutes of defending we saw in the ECC match. Both teams could have taken this game at any time. Sadly it wasn't us this time. I think I have an inkling into what drug users mean when they talk about chasing the high. For 71 seconds we had pure joy. I can't wait for my next chance to cheer this team - returning faces and new ones - on to another chance to experience that high. The truth about MLS is that parity means anything can happen next season. Columbus might set the pace. Houston may miss the playoffs. Who knows where the Revs will be in the race next year. I know where I will be. As disappointed as we are, who would we rather be? Surely we would love to have DC's trophy cabinet, but could you imagine being Dallas?? or Columbus?? or New Jersey?? or Tampa Bay?? It has been a great season. I can't wait til 07!!
With some perspective, some thoughts: 1) I have no problem with Heaps. He bleeds the team colors. He always leaves it all out on the pitch. He was unlucky. 2) Had we won on penalties it would have been a lame championship. I just don't believe you can win something like that on PKs. In my mind, Italy is not World Champion, likewise Brazil in '94. PKs confer nothing other than an ending to a game. 3) Ives Galarcep's anti-Rev tirade on ESPN today is lame. I think he was watching a different game than I was. I thought the Revs played to win and gave Houston all they could handle. 4) Brian Ching, for all his positives, just keeps raining on my parade. I wish he would stop doing that. 5) It will be interesting to see what our team looks like next year. It seems we'll have some allocations to fill. Will we fill them? 6) We've lost three MLS Cups, but the Metrostars (I will never call them by that other name) have lost none, because they haven't played in one. In the end, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have played in the big game at all. No? Emlyn
No, I'd be upset with the coach for putting an injured guy in the top 5. I would never blame a player for volunteering for a PK. Exactly why I can't blame Heaps or Noonan. They stepped up, they gave their best... PKs are a crapshoot. What it really comes down to is the fact that we couldn't hold a lead for 7 minutes...
So I'm not the only one who noticed that. THE REVS CAN'T WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP BLAH BLAH BLAH, WHERE'S THE PASSION....Ives Galarcep: Dead to Us
We can't hold a lead for 80 seconds... Eventually I'll post more about my thoughts, but right now ... I just can't.
Great post. Agreed on all points. Thanks for that. And BTW, Ives = Idiot On his blog he's perceptively peeved because Taylor Twellman snapped at reporters during the post game press conference. Any representative of the press who can't take his personal feelings out of the equation, particularly in such a sensitive context, is clearly, well, a weeny. When he mentions the fact that there were so many RBNY players on the Dynamo roster as some kind of vindication of his ill-fated New York franchise - ignoring Emlyn's obvious point regarding the relative fortunes of the NE and NY team - this is fairly pathetic Finally, he goes so far to imply that if Bob Bradley's Chivas team (The Genius) had not received an unfair red card aginst Houston, that Chivas would probably have been holding the Cup. You do the math on that one... So Ives, for writing like a narrow-minded chucklehead with a press card, this Red Bull's for you!
THANKS to the REVS fans who traveled to PHP! I hope you guys had fun and I too was hoping for a different game score. Your fans are class acts (except Monty ) Thanks for coming to the weekend events and we hope to come visit next season. It was nice seeing some familiar faces from last year. Hope everyone returned home safely. Thanks for participating in the MLS Quilt project. Cheers!
After the 1st 20 minutes, New England was clearly the better team, and I thought deserved to win. But that's soccer. Congratulations to the NE players, coaches and fans. The game was effectively a tie, and unfortunately one team had to go home the loser. I was pulling for you.....very sad to see so many great pros lose again. The players looked devastated.
Mike and I (along with John and a few other weary Rev fans on our 6:00 a.m. flight this morning) got home nice and early today and had lots of time to think. We watched our Tivo, only the part with the 2 goals, because we wanted to see what had really happened. Since we had barely stopped celebrating our own goal and then all of a sudden saw the awkward ball in the air, all the wind came out of our sails pretty quickly and there was literally no time to react. It looks like our players were not "asleep", as many of us (including me) surmised after the game. Nor were they still celebrating. They were caught off guard by a freak deflection off Avery John's head which just happened to fall where Ching needed it to, and then the worst (for us) happened. The game was incredible. Fairly played, failry reffed, and just a good example of what good soccer should be. Minus a few episodes with obnoxious Houston fans, the day (and weekend) was a really fun one. Although I am devastated and disappointed by the loss, I am proud to be a fan of this team. I am also proud to be a fan of MLS--the Dallas fans and other supporters who came down for the weekend were class all the way and I feel that if fan interaction can continue to be as positive as ours were this weekend, our league will contune to flourish. We met Matt Reis's and Steve Ralston's wives on our flight down, and they were both so excited to talk to us. They both let us know how much their husbands appreciate the fans, especially the Fort, and were so thankful for our passion. You don't get a compliment much better than that, especially when it lets you know what you do for the team works--it gets their attention. So like a number of others have said, I am proud to be a fan, I already have my tickets for next year, and look forward to going to battle with all of you again next year. You guys are not only fans and supporters, but friends, and Mike and I are psyched to see you all again next season. Spazz
Keep on spinning my friend. If you read it, Dempsey said his ankle was pretty busted up and that he didn't feel confident taking a kick. Yep. Sounds about right. No ignominous betrayal. No dark master plan. No conniving act of cowardice. Busted up foot + Penalty shot = BAD But why am I even bothering? Whatever gets you through the night...