Return to Glory? The Tradition Restored? A few thoughts going into the playoffs.

Discussion in 'D.C. United' started by Knave, Oct 27, 2003.

  1. Knave, firstly I cannot think of a single poster who hasn't made a critical comment about this team in the last 3 months. Who are these people you're talking about ?

    Look, I thjnk the vast majority of people on this board and at the games would agree with you that this season has not exactly been a return to the glory days. However, it is perfectly possible to admit that fact, and stil be excited about the fact that the team has made the playoffs. It is also possible to have a reasonable degree of optimism about the future of the team, given that they are on an upward trajectory and not a downward one. In other words, it is possible to both have high standards and still be able to accept what good comes your way.

    Your hogging analogy actually supports this approach. The whole point of hogging is that you don't spend your life pining over some hot babe you shagged last summer. Instead, you live in the present and keep your self-esteem ticking over (and ensure you get laid) by lowering your standards, temporarily. You end up being more attractive to the hot babes since you keep your confidence high and don't come across as desperate.

    To put it another way, when you and I signed up to be DC United fans there was no guarantee that they would be the dominant' team they were from 96-99, and there is no guarantee that they will ever regain that form. You can certainly hope that they will return to that level, but your life as a DC supporter is going to be pretty miserable if you can't be happy with anything short of the 96-99 performance.
     
  2. eldiablito

    eldiablito New Member

    Jun 8, 2000
    in Sagy's shadow
    Okay, am I the only one who feels like Shallow Hal did when he realized he wasn't boinking Gwyneth Paltrow?
     
  3. BudWiser

    BudWiser New Member

    Jul 17, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    To me, what matters is we MADE the playoffs.

    We could be the BEST team in MLS, and right now we'd be in the same spot-at the start of the playoffs

    Heroes and losers will be made starting in just over 72 hours. AFTER the playoffs I'll spend time reflecting on the season. As for now....it's playoff time, meaning it's.....

    SHOWTIME!!!!
     
  4. ursula

    ursula Member

    Feb 21, 1999
    Republic of Cascadia
    Besides what was said above in reply to you, one also has to point out that "one of the best tatical coaches in the league" stopped trying to win the game in the second half. He didn't make any adjustments to free up Preki. He didn't try to score more. He and his team were totally content with what they did in the first half. The second half was just an exercise. The only thing at stake in the second half was if United was gonna score the game tying goal against a team that didn't care all that much. Considering what C-bus, Dallas, and NE did the same weekend against teams that didn't care that much, what United did doesn't deserve much in the way of accolades. More of a sigh of relief.
     
  5. nancyb

    nancyb Member

    Jun 30, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    All I can add is that I felt I had just been released from the torture chamber at the end of Saturday's game. The team played badly for so much of the game and then to watch that time wasting passing in the OTs, ugh!
     
  6. Eismahn

    Eismahn Member

    Sep 26, 2003
    Silver Spring,Maryla
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    summarization... and conclusion from an analytical optimistic

    Thought I had most of this cleared up in another thread after our games with the MetroScum,but guess not. Let's go see if we see things the same way after.

    Let's take a nutshell-sized look from personnel standpoint, and view our perspective on the here-and-now United.

    First, we started this season with the following:
    Draftees- Esky, Stokes, Carroll, Warren
    Signees,Trades- Petke,Stoichkov,Dema
    Intl- Stewart
    Gone were Pope, Moreno, Williams
    I had been looking forward to seeing last season's late acquisition Reyes get a full season under his belt, and am left still anxious to see his production next season.
    Questions abounded around Etch, Santino, even Ben and his health. Contraversy reared it's head early on as Hristo collided unfortunately with a defender during a pre-season warm-up.

    We start the season horrendously, our worst fears seemingly realized- many are in the lifeboats only 5 games into the season. Our chemistry up front seems defunct, and our losses seem to outweight our acquistions defensively, despite Nick's valiant efforts.

    Ray denotes Nelson as captain, boards light up over Marco's plight. Ryan deserved a promotion, but at Marco's expense?

    Mid-season, we see a thaw- and a change- Ali gone for Cerritos. Putting aside detractions, Earnie starts earning praise as he begins to click DURING games, not just in practice, and Cerritos eventually praised as the healing water to make it work.And guess what- the defense starts to galvinize.

    Scoring gets anemic as again as the season lags on, the defense meanwhile has built a fearsome reputation, despite lapses occuring in blips here and there.

    We begin to contend, drawing ourselves out of the cellar, and drawing 3rd and even the 2nd place teams in our sites possibly overtaking them in time for the playoffs.
    Defense puts it's defining stamp on the season during a game where we see a 4th string 24/48 hour callup go 100 minutes with only 1 goal scored on him.
    Despite losing several key matches in OT, we pull out a tie (with oppostion's effort in question) to enter the playoffs for the 1st time since 1999.
    OH, yeah, forgot that WC tune-ups put a small strain, AND a deep run in this year's Open Cup.

    The bad- no open cup, offense remains somewhat anemic given our firepower, and we don't enter the playoffs by a winning result.
    The Ugly- we gave the Scum their first piece of hardware, meaningless though it may be to some, then proceeded to allow them access to a title shot at an actual piece of hardware- the Open Cup. Saints be praised they failed in their quest.

    And now for the good- We IMPROVED our record on the road this year, despite our many OT losses. Defensively, we rank 3rd in MLS with 36 goals against, and despite our only having scored 38 goals, an aggregate of +2, we rank 5th behind Chicago and San Jose(+10), NE (+8), KC (+4), more importantly ahead of the Scum and Columbus.

    SO- WHEN I celebrate our being in the Playoffs, it is NOT without being critical of our midfield's seeming lack of cohesion and their contribution to the anemia of our attack at times, but it IS with understanding of a team with a UNIQUE coach in MLS, dealing with possibly the most eclectic group of professionals in trying to blend them into a quality championship caliber team.(Find another MLS team who can take a Marco, Hristo and Earnie throw em in a blender and make em play nice)
    WHERE in all of the entire Wide World Of Professional Sports do we see instant gratification as a result of offseason turnover??
    Granted, MLS playoffs are nearly all-inclusive, but mind the above stats, and let's end the debate about what we do/don't deserve right now.

    Beautiful- we're not, not yet at any rate. Gritty? How does a team not rate that respectful designation time after time with depleted squads taking teams beyond regulation, win or loose?
    I defy all detractors claiming our team lacks heart, or the will to win. The proof of it has been before your eyes all season, and will be again this Saturday, you can be sure.
     
  7. owendylan

    owendylan Member

    May 30, 2001
    Virginia
    Club:
    DC United
    Re: summarization... and conclusion from an analytical optimistic

    I'm not sure I'd want to be called "gritty". It implies that we don't have a lot of skill and make up for it with a lot of running around and toughness. Not very respectful. Blue-collar maybe. How about a banana skin of a team (one of my favorite expressions from the EPL).
     
  8. revelation

    revelation Member+

    Dec 17, 1998
    FC St. Pauli
    Club:
    FC Sankt Pauli
  9. Eismahn

    Eismahn Member

    Sep 26, 2003
    Silver Spring,Maryla
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Re: summarization... and conclusion from an analytical optimistic

    Maybe the color of the term is outdated, I meant it in terms of say a John Wayne quality, that of being something required in the pitch of battle. When a punch is landed, and felt, grit is what keeps the fighter fighting, keeping after the task at hand despite the impending obstacle. According to Webster:
    "grit- 3rd def- stubborn courage; pluck."

    At no time did I mean to imply a lack of talent with respect to United.
    It is completely understandable that the offense has suffered from the team trying to discover it's identity with respect to style, especially given the turnover of players due to injuries and what have you.
    That being said, I firmly believe that we have evidence from this season as to what works best, and as such, we'll see it emerge in abundance next season.
    The only questions remaining are 1)will an effective offense appear immediately and 2) will this season's remaining decisions yield a run in the playoffs, and while no substantial remedy seems to have unfolded as of the past few games, that in no way elliminates the possibility of it coming about, even as soon as next game.
     
  10. sormun

    sormun New Member

    Jul 13, 1999
     
  11. Lanky134

    Lanky134 New Member

    Oct 25, 1999
    134, 3, 6
    You know, sormun, there's not really a difference between blind optimism and blind pessimism.
     
  12. jason1551

    jason1551 Member+

    Apr 9, 2003
    Columbus, GA
    Club:
    DC United
    I actually agree with Sormun here. This team deserves better and the fans know it. They just choose not to accept the truth. And yet, I still can't berate the current team because they have done more than they should have. Despite all the troubles, they've reached the one goal they wanted at the beginning of the season: the playoffs. Would the team have been better off missing the playoffs? I don't know. I do know that this team will change during the offseason. New players will be brought in, old players will leave or retire, and management may be changed. I do know that I'll support this team no matter what and be optimistic in all their endeavors. Return to glory may be a bit premature, but we are certainly moving in that direction. The playoffs are merely the first step in a long journey.
     
  13. CHICO13

    CHICO13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 4, 2001
    SECTION 135
    Club:
    The Strongest La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    Re: Re: Return to Glory? The Tradition Restored? A few thoughts going into the playoffs.

    The true supporters of this team feel the pain of the last four years, but yet we've been at every game screaming our lungs out in the belief that our team will pull thru. We've seen the best and the worst, but it doesn't matter. If you don't believe, than why even bother to show up? We all want to see "The Beautiful Game", but some times more often than not it doesn't happen.


    DC United is NOT AC Milan or Chelsea, but a bunch of hard working players that have earned their way into the playoffs after a few dismal seasons.

    Bottom line, they're my club and I'll go down swinging. I hope they do too.....
     
  14. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    I'm not sure whether this is a minor or a major quibble. Perhaps it's just because I'm not a man of any faith whatsoever but, for me, supporting a team really doesn't require belief or faith or even, for that matter, hope. I support the team because it is my team. I don't need to supplement that with anything else. It is enough that I have made that commitment.

    Sometimes supporting the team is a privilege, sometimes a duty, sometimes a burden. But what doesn't change is the commitment.

    To be honest, a little genie could one day appear out of my whiskey bottle and tell me that DC United would never win another game. It wouldn't matter. I'd support them nonetheless simply because they are my team. Don't get me wrong, I'd bitch and moan and complain to no end but my commitment would hold true.

    If others want to supplement their commitment with faith or belief or hope I guess that's fine. But that's not for everyone. Don't assume it is.
     
  15. jackrock

    jackrock Member

    Aug 19, 2003
    Talcott. WV
    Club:
    DC United
    think I went over the top w/ this. You know, if I AM spending money for tickets, shouldn't the coaches / front office make compentant decisions? Sormun, sorry for the digs, it just seemed that you were really punkng the team out. Your post about just having a good time at home games makes a lot of sense.
     
  16. CHICO13

    CHICO13 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 4, 2001
    SECTION 135
    Club:
    The Strongest La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    You're absolutely right. I shouldn't assume anything from any poster on this forum or any DC fan in general. What I meant to say was that as a diehard fan I Choose to believe that my team will win every time I drive into Lot 8

    I Choose not to denigrate and nit pick their every imperfection

    I Choose to believe that who ever is out on the pitch is giving 110% effort

    I Choose to back them until the bitter end

    I Choose to think Ray is doing a good job

    I Choose to be a delusional member of the Barra Brava that gives the team our unconditional support

    And I also have Faith and Hope that our lads are giving it their all....


    And supporting DC United has never been a burden to me but an absolute honor.....
     
  17. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    Chico13 - Nice selective quoting. You left out the part about commitment - the very point of my post. It's really unfortunate that you chose to ignore the bulk of what I was saying so that you might instead latch onto selected bits of what I wrote for the sake of unwarranted righteous indignation.
     
  18. Red&Black

    Red&Black Member+

    Aug 30, 2001
    Lot 8
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Burkina Faso
    its 6:35, do you think the gates are open? man i am psyched about today's game. i too think we will win this match, maybe not the series but i say our lads defend our home turf well for the last time this year.

    if i can be a fool for the team when it started scott vermillion, i can sure the hell be one now.
     
  19. GrillMaster

    GrillMaster Member

    Aug 31, 2000
    Alexandria, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In four hours the Barra tailgate will be underway! Make sure to wear rubber soles tonight because there will be plenty of electricity in the air!!

    Hay que poner el alma!

    GM
     
  20. Red&Black

    Red&Black Member+

    Aug 30, 2001
    Lot 8
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Burkina Faso
    i am gettin there at 3:30 so it is only 3 hours away for me! i can't wait to get there.
     
  21. bigredfutbol

    bigredfutbol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 5, 2000
    Woodbridge, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Re: Return to Glory? The Tradition Restored? A few thoughts going into the playoffs.

    It's been a little hard for us DCU 'newbies' who are used to things like grammer and proper English...but, yeah, OK, sure, I get your point.

    Maybe if you tried things like indentation, and refreshed your memory on what punctuation marks are for, those of us who are relatively new to this board would have an easier time discerning your insights.

    That said, OF COURSE we should be expecting more from the team. I have seen exciting, fluid soccer in my life. Haven't seen much of it at RFK of late.
     
  22. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    This hogging action ... it's worse than I anticipated.
    No action at all may very well have been better.
     

Share This Page