No doubt the game of the season. A fabulously, entertaining affair. What a crowd. Somehow we got a very offensive and attacking game. Lots of shots, lots of goals, a penalty kick. Up and back soccer. Great passing. Great dribblling. It was draining to watch. There were hard tackles, yellow cards galore and controversy yet somehow the game didn't devolve into a foul-hack fest. Probably because Kovalenko and Nelsen missed the game. This game had it all. 3-3. 30 minutes of OT. Penalty kicks and Sudden Death PK. The drama. Some poorly taken PK's. Why did Matt Reis take the 2nd PK? That was a surprise. Moreno and Ralston scuff theirs. Quarants and Adu nail theirs. Go figure. Fo a non-partisan observer, the KC v LA game was quite boring by comparison. Where was this Revolution team all season? The game was played with urgency, it was played with imagination and emotion. It made many of the regular season games look like they were sleepwalking or just going through the motions. This game mattered of course, it just painted a stark contrast to many of the regular season games where it doesn't really matter, teams know they will get a another chance next week. Then another and another. This Conference Final game was a great advertisement for what MLS can be - but often what it is not. Somehow MLS must inject more of this type of passion and emotion into its regular season. We all have a bone to pick with the MLS playoff system - but lets give credit, the playoffs have produced the best 2 games of the past 2 years. As they should. KC and DC deserve to be playing for the Cup and it would be nice if that game is half as entertaining as the Revs v DC game was.
I agree with all of your sentiments, and I don't really have anything to add to what you've said, but I'll take a stab at the questions. 1. Matt Reis will often take shots on goal while the team is warming up, and used to do so all the time when Adin Brown was the starting keeper. His shots always looked better than anyone else's who was out there with him, Twellman, Noonan, whoever. He was a striker for a while at some point, which accounts for his foot skills during the run of play. 2. We've ask ourselves this question for the past 3 years, and it seems to get later and later each year that the team comes out of it's little cocoon. There's no good reason for it, when you consider the talent of the individual players on the team. Hopefully someday we'll see a Revs team that comes out playing from day 1.
ONce more teams are in the league 14-16, your gonna see alot more of the league matches being played this hard especially after the midpoint of the season. This game still doesnt even come close to me emotionally as the 2000 MLS Cup final in DC, but it was a very entertaining game to watch!
Also, I think you'll see more games close to this level when, for example, DC is playing the Mutts twice a year instead of 4 times a year.
While the rest of your initial post to this thread was, in my opinion, spot on, your refernece to Nelsen is completely wrong. Even though I am a DC fan thru and thru, I recognize clearly that Dema is a red card waiting to happen at any moment. I was actually relieved when he was suspended for the Conference Final. But, Nelsen is arguably the best central defender in the league (although my vote (if I had one) would go to Eddie Pope.) Not only is Nelsen a top notch (by MLS standards) central defender, I have never seen anything dirty from him. Nor is he a hacker.
Unfortunately, I somehow doubt this. As long as MLS remains a summer league with some 4 PM Eastern kickoffs (1 PM in California in a hot furnace!!) to satisfy ESPN2, I expect to see many snoozers. Even after the midpoint of the season, there are days in the West when the weather is just not very pleasant for afternoon kickoffs.
I pay $82.00 a month for Comcast digital and I don't have any of the Fox sports network, looks like I missed a heck of a game. COMCAST SUCKS.
As you may realize, different areas get different packages. I too have been a Comcast subscribed for a few years, but only this year did FSW become available in my area (Montgomery County, MD, same as you). Mstars96 is in New York, the availability or not of FSW on Comcast where he is is a different issue than the availability or not here.
I was right down in the heart of La Norte, and will have to watch the replay to be able to understand the perspective that everybody else from around the country saw. I did see the highlights on MLSNET, but without sound. The flying confetti looked great. Two of the girls at the office said that it looked like water. All I know is that I was hoarse by the end of regulation, and woke up yesterday morning still singing.
One of the greatest games in MLS ever, if not ever. I think this game will win MLS some converts, as there must been a few "non-die hard" MLS fans who tuned in on FSW just to see some playoff soccer action. I know of one such fan. Our office UPS guy is a guy who's from Portugal who's been in the US for years and loves Eureopean and Latin football. I've been working on him for MLS...not in any obstreperous way, but just saying they play better football in the league than given credit for. He's watched all the playoff games and has enjoyed them, and told me on Friday he was definitely watching the DC game, particularly since I had told him they were an offensive machine and a alot of fun to watch. Thank God they didn't disappoint. I haven't run into him yet, but I'm' very anxious to see how my UPS friend responded to the game.
I was right in the middle of that roiling mass of humanity, the Barra Brava. Probably one of the best memories of my life!
In Harrisburg, FSW and GOL, along with some other sports packages is only an addition $5 a month. Best money I ever spent, unless of course I get divorced because of it. What makes this game stand out, just like any exciting game at RFK is the atmosphere. That stadium, with those fans is like nothing else in this country. If you want to convert someone to MLS, take them to a DCU game at RFK.
Great Game. Great Crowd. Great Advertisment for the MLS. Someone should stick it on ESPN Instant Classic.
I agree, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to not only have been there in the Barra (as usual), but to have such an awesome match in the United States, and such an awesome crowd. Of course it just only makes it that much sweeter that its the team I have rooted for since day one of MLS, and that we just happen to be the club with the greatest fans. This was a match for the ages for MLS, and soccer in North America in genearl, and will not only be a great advertisement for MLS, but will also show once again, the rest of the world just how great we can do soccer here, and just how awesome MLS fans, and D.C. United fans in particular really are. Props to NE for bringing it, and giving it EVERYTHING they had. It REALLY showed that they really did give it thier all. Props to the small (20-30ish) but lively group of Revs supporters who came into RFK to support thier boys. Its fans like you that make the rare matches like these even better. The only reason they were not heard, is because RFK is just way too loud, espeically when its packed like that. I know the Revs lost, and while Im not sorry about that..(c'mon what would you expect, im a D.C. United supporter.) Its a shame there had to be some sort of loser in what was otherwise a HUGE WIN for everyone involved, both teams, both sets of fans, MLS, its respective member clubs, thier supporters, and soccer as a sport. We should ALL be very proud, not only to be great supporters of our respective sides, but to be fans of, THE BEAUTIFUL GAME.
I was at the game also and it truely was electric. Great game by any standard. This game set a standard and begs the question as to why was this game different than other MLS games? How could other MLS games be changed to make them more like this game?
I don't want to repeat whatever was said thousands of times before but, very briefly: certainly, a stadium, a field without gridiron lines, good crowd, and - the season: MLS should try as hard as possible to put its games to Fall - Spring scheme, starting September, going all the way till the middle of December, resume middle of February, finish end of May, play in the evenings. I've read all pro's and con's for this suggestion (MLB finals, NFL, NBA, NHL, cold, TV, etc.), but I really don't see easier solution than that. Sorry, but to become one of the major sport leagues in America you have to compete with them in the midst of their empire, and be a winner at that.
Been a fan since day 1. Best MLS game that I've ever seen. Tip of the hat to the Dc faithful for a true playoff atmosphere. Just wish that you had gotten the memo saying that all New England based teams were to win titles this year....
These kind of games happen when players have something real to play for.. Make the regular season games more meaningful and you will get games like this. Well, perhaps not this good, this one was an out and out classic.
I was getting ready to leave my rec-league game for the DC United match last Saturday, and tried to convince some of my teammates to go with me. They all said "MLS matches don't have any passion" and "they play too slow" etc.etc. So, the next day I see some of those same guys, and they were all regretting not going, saying things like "I guess we missed a good one last night." You know, I just don't understand. I'd like to go to see European matches, too, but I don't have that option. TV doesn't compare with live, no matter who's playing. I'll go to whatever local league we have, no matter how bad. (I used to watch the Washington Stars of the late-80's APSL!) But, if you don't go, you'll never see anything. It's like leaving early when your team is behind; you'll never see a comeback. I just don't get it.
Thanks! I think that what really makes United matches fun for everyone in the stadium is the intensity of our supporters clubs -- La Norte, Barra Brava & the Screaming Eagles -- and I say this as someone who usually sits on the "quiet" side of the field. I know that Chicago has great fans & I applaud the small NE group of fans who came down for the match. But, if the MLS is to really take off, we need more crazy fans because the diehards have a ripple effect that inspires the more casual fans and maybe even creates new fans. The best part of the post-match scene was the singing and chanting going on the packed subway car I rode in on the way back from RFK.
In other words, it was like a typical EPL game. I'm an ex-MLS fan turned Eurosnob. Because of all that you write above. Sorry, most MLS is sleepwalking in comparison with the EPL. And not just because it's hotter in the U.S. But you know, there's hope for me. I flipped to the game, watched idly for 5 minutes, and was hooked. My wife & kid, who are snottier about MLS than me, didn't argue at all. By the end, they were yelling at the TV set. They plan on watching the MLS final, too. It's really not that complicated -- offer a good product and the fans will come. Yes, we will.