I've seen the video highlights of the fight twice now on local news here in Rochester. Unfortunately I can't tell how the fight started. I see KC players jumping in swinging their arms and legs which added to the brawl. Meola with a headlock on Schweitzer. Economedes comments were uncalled for, he should have said Meola is a whiny, cheap shot artist.
Ah, ya gotta love the Cup. Too bad the Fox World cameras weren't there to show the nation live. Hope the two teams meet up in the Cup again next year.
We dont have to wait for the Open Cup next year, unless the MLS bars KC from playing Rochester we have a 'friendly' against them in August, or maybe it is in September. KC cannot say 'no' to this game, only the MLS can bar them from playing.
KC can't say no to playing, but they can say no to putting anything that resembles an MLS team out there. Just wait to you see the XI we put out for that match. That will pi$$ you off more than ever. I think Mo Johnston might come out of retirement since he would like to have a nice scrap. Plus, we'll have a Champions Cup and the Milwaukee USOC match 2 days before and 2 days after. I'd be surprised if alot of Wizards just don't even make the trip.
Dont worry, Rochester won't play their best team either, we have a smart coach who plays some horrible players either way.
why pay for crap?? I'll bet that the match has been and continues to be promoted with references to Preki and Meola and Steenkamp and Schweitzer. so neither team is going to bring any regular players?? I wonder how the 9,000 people who already have paid money to buy tickets expecting to see a professional soccer match involving a two highly-skilled teams feel about that. sounds like a very regretable incident on both sides, but why punish the fans? with a little humility, a little less posturing and a healthy dose of respect for fellow professionals, both Rochester and KC could put their differences aside for the good of the game.
Re: why pay for crap?? On the 24th the Wizards play Milwaukee in the USOC Q-final and on the 28th play Morelia in the CONCACAF Champions league semi-final. Even if there wasn't bad blood, the Wizards would be total fools to try and bring any first team players.
Rhinos won't be suspended from USOC so get over it kid, get a life. Your basing everything on the KC report, which the day after had nothing about the fight, like nothing ever happened. Both sides are to be blamed. Diego is as much at fault as Wilson or anybody. I trust my player when he says he didn't say anything racist. Just becasue Diego got his a$$ kicked is not our problem. Hes a punk and deserves to sit on the bench. KC is only doing this becasue they don't want to be back in Rochester in a month. If they win this case, they will just ask MLS to cancel that match, nothing else. SO stop crying about it dude.
Look, I was at the match with a pretty good view of the whole incident, and I have absolutely no idea who threw the first punch. You know why? Because it was impossible to see from nearly every angle. So unless the KC reporter knows more than everyone else is saying, which isn't so, than that story was a whole lot of speculation. Not "completely worthless," or whatever type of hyperbole Pakovits is attributing to Rhinos fans (and then using himself.) Just not fully reliable, or in posession of all the facts. You can talk about the Rhinos' physical rep and history against MLS teams, and I agree, that clearly is part of what this is all about, and should not be brushed aside lightly. Then again, you can also look at Diego's rep - a physical, much disliked player that has a reputation for playing dirty himself. Not to mention a player that had, as someone mentioned, at least 2 "intent-to-injure" fouls during the game itself, and was surely taking advantage of the piss-poor officiating. Having said that, I find the fact that this confrontation occured to be absolutely unacceptable. The fact that Diego was seriously injured makes it even more so. But for people that weren't at the game to come in spouting off like they know ************ about what was going on need to check themselves and quiet their asses down. It was not clear what happened, and people should treat it as such. All this yapping about suspending the Rhinos and expelling players is nothing more than a whole lot of pointless premature posturing. The forum to bitch about the USSF is elsewhere. P.S. Meola is, in fact, both overrated and arrogant, and displayed both those attributes at the game. Mr. Economides may not have used the most judicious or respectful of language, and I agree that one rarely finds honesty in the words of General Managers of sports franchises. In this case, I think that Tony should just shut the ************ up. Unprofessional? Sure, if professionality involves dishonesty and excessive protocol. Classless? Glass houses, people.....
Easybake you sounded decent until the overrated and arrogant comment on Meola. The reason KC fans love him is because he is neither of those. Last year he was injured in the middle of the season and this year we had to live without him during the WC. Both years we realized how much of a difference he can make. So if you're going to make statements on how we shouldn't base our opinions on one source, don't base your opinions on one player on his performance in ONE STINKIN' GAME. Same goes for you Rhinosboy about Diego. The Mystics were fortunate to talk to Wizards GM Curt Johnson before the SJ game on Saturday, and he showed how a GM is supposed to act. He didn't go on these huge rants about Wilson or Schweitzer and didn't make blanket statements on the incident although he was in a good situation to do so (was at the match and was talking off the record). I don't know if the Rhinos GM was just incensed with rage to the point that he just wasn't thinking straight or he was trying to save face. That attitude is not going to gain sympathy with any outsider. Oh yeah, as Bishop says, your plea of "Who knows who started it?" is undercut by the "Diego deserved it", and "We laid a beat down on your backup keeper," comments.
What I find interesting is that KC seems to have made a big deal about the racial slur, and not the first punch. The logical sequence would be Rhino player makes a racial slur (or what KC player thought was a racial slur), KC player gets mad and punches him. Rhino player retaliates... not Rhino player makes a racial slur, KC player does nothing, Rhino player punches him.
Until more accurate info, and the official ruling from the US Soccer people come out, this discussion has become total bunk.. It is just another opportunity for people who have a strong dislike for the Rhinos to gang up on the Rhino supporters..
I was there. I didn't see who threw the first punch because I was to busy flipping off the KC bench and staff that had turned around to taunt the crowd. Yes, very classy, pointing fingers and yelling at a crowd of fans. I'm not talking about a few players, I'm saying most of them and the coach. Not classy of me to flip them off, but, I was a little upset. So that's where my attention was at the start of the fight. Meola. I don't care about his past anymore. He IS a loser. He actually wrapped up one of our forwards during the game after he had cleared the ball away. (With his eyes on the ref the whole time). Really. I watched it..... Our GM should have chilled out a bit. But he was not far off of target. The ref was unreal. Absolutely the worst job I have ever seen. It was his fault that things got that out of hand. (no, not his fault that Diego was punched). I can tell you that Wilson was chopped all night long without a call. I don't doubt he hit him. I don't excuse it. But right now no one knows how/when it happened. It was a great game that the Rhinos (see: Coach Ercoli) gave away. KC made a great comeback, but weren't the most gracious winners (see:taunting that started before the fight was even noticed). So fine, trash talk my team all you want (as I've done a bit to yours) but you WERE NOT THERE. Period. 5,500 of the 9,000 tickets already sold for the return trip are season tickets... Hey!....how many season ticket holders does KC have anyway? (really, if it's more...good...but I wonder...) I'm not really looking forward to the game because of the team I'm sure they will bring. But it's a reason to go "boo" a little and see some soccer. And finally: The ref of the Roc/KC match is a Rhino's season ticket holder. He was horrible. I hope we cancel the Friday night fireworks next year and spend the money on professional ref's for important matches. See ya.
I believe that is what the KC players were saying to your fans. Since you were just knocked out of the Cup and we were moving on. Ya' think? Saying that Diego got what he deserved is outrageous. Those of you who said this, are you seriously going to state that a player requiring surgery and almost losing his eye is deserved? What kind of morons are you? As others stated, Curt Johnson could have acted as classless as your dipshyte of a general manager, but he's PROFESSIONAL. Oh wait or should I say, "big league mentality...arrogant...over rated...."???? You're in the A-League for a reason, so go back down, win your 10 millionth A-League Cup, and remember where you come from. Yes, we're an MLS side, we're better than you on and off the field. Am I saying our fans are better people or better fans that you guys, NO WAY. But our organization has handled this situation with so much more class than yours it simply goes to show where the teams stand.
I agree what happened should not have happened. I was there at the game, and I don't know who started what or punched who. I have just a few words: Let it die! Let it die! Let it die! and about being better than Rochester, maybe, but the Rhinos did win the US Open Cup beating 4 (that's FOUR) MLS squads. And how many teams did KC win to get thier open cup? oh wait they have not won it (at least I don't see them listed HERE Mike
That based on one reason. The only time most MLS sides play a full squad for the USOC is in the semi's for final, depending on when their team is knocked out of the MLS Cup. The final is after the Cup, so they'll try 100% then, but not before. I know for a fact that KC regularly doesnt take a full squad to these games. Why? While the USOC is a nice tourny to win, MLS Cup is more important to MLS sides, so will get full squads for the games. The Rhinos on the other hand live for this tourny, because they almost always win the A-League no matter what. So they will play all out in USOC games.
Who they bring and who they play are two different stories. Plus with injuries, we only have so many on the roster that can even play. (Made worse by Rochester after the sucker punch Diego took to the eye) Preki for one wasnt there, although I was very surprised at the number of regular starters that did start. The comment was an overall statement of how MLS teams approach the USOC games. Meaning, a star player with a nagging injury that would play in an MLS game would set out the USOC game cause it means less. And for the Rhinos, the game means the world.
Lineup vs Rhinos 7/17/02- Preki played Kansas City: Tony Meola, Nick Garcia, Mike Burns, Chris Brunt (Diego Gutierrez, 45), Matt McKeon, Kerry Zavagnin, Chris Klein, Eric Quill (Chris Brown, 71), Dario Fabbro, Preki (Igor Simutenko, 45), Stephen Armstrong Lineup vs Dallas 7/31/02 KANSAS CITY WIZARDS--Tony Meola, Chris Klein, Nick Garcia, Mike Burns, Carey Talley, Francisco Gomez (Chris Brown 72), Kerry Zavagnin, Eric Quill, Matt McKeon (Davy Arnaud 78), Stephen Armstrong, Igor Simutenkov
I stand corrected, I thought that was the game Preki was out for his fathers illness. I made two statements though. 1) I was surprised at the amount of starters we played, although we dont have many to choose from lately. 2) It was a general statement about MLS teams, not just KC in this game, compared to A-League teams. From reading the papers from Rochester it sounds like this game was the most important of the season for them whereas it isnt for KC.
Similar to....say.....KC playing Man U. in some sort of wide ranging tourney? (if it exsisted). Of course it was a big game for the Rhinos, we ARE a second division team. It's just logical. Not to mention that the Rhinos are the winningest team in the tournament since the MLS was developed. They are big games, and hey, we almost won another one.
this is all ************************. Wizards fans, give it up. No one will sue anyone. Rochester fans, give it up. We aren't getting sued. This whole this is a huge joke. It was a fight. Someone might get hurt. Sure, I will say that our players were throwing punches, but I will clearly say that KC players were throwing equally as many. KC players ran off the bench with cleats in the air looking for ankles to break. Rhinos players, couldn't tell, the braw was more in front of their bench. As for our GM calling Meola arrongant and overrated. He did the wrong thing, but his frustration got to him, like everyone else and he said what was on his mind. I would have said the same thing. What Meloa said after the match to reporters made it seem like the whole fight was our fault. Well, During the match Meola held one of our players in a headlock. One of your players came in hard and took out one of our players legs. The asst. Referee, flag waving in the air like crazy, referee ingored it. The Asst. Referee would have shown red. Meola held Schweitzer in a headlock after the match too. It's all a joke, just end it.
You're quick since I became a mod just before you posted this... Whereas the posts you're referring to were a while back.