On this day in 2001 we signed Jeff Agoos & Dwayne De Rosario. https://www.sjearthquakes.com/post/2021/02/04/day-2001-february-4-was-historical-day-acquisitions
I don't think there is enough media coverage to make anyone involved with the Quakes a prima donna, unless he is always tooting his horn on his social media accounts.
2001 was an awesome year!! And Jethro Tull was excellent, especially on the Crest of a Knave tour. BUT, it's 2021 now, and I'm not Living in the Past. 2001 was excellent, 2002 was OK. 2003 was excellent. 2004 we were a little off. 2005 ruled!! and 2010 was decent, and 2012 rocked!! And every other season since 2008 has been a steaming pile. We often get into "we had a good stretch of games in 2019," or "we looked good at the end of 2017." But the problem is, good stretches do not make for a good season. We need to be good all of the time with the occasional stretch of not doing well, as opposed to always not doing well with the occasional stretch of good games. Good teams win, a lot. Bad teams focus on the good games and pretend that the blowouts didn't happen. Win now or go home. Go Quakesfans!! - Mark
Ah, yes, past glory. Sigh. I will have to find and post a photo of my three sons with the MLS Cup trophy at the Brittany Arms In Alamaden. Plenty of photos with the team including Landon and Joe. Good times!
I was young in 2001!! I have a picture of me with the MLS Cup in 2001. I look so young, my hair and beard are both brown. But it's '21 now, my hair is going gray, my beard is white, and I'm approaching retirement. Also, OUR soccer team is a steaming pile of crap and we are about to embark on a really terrible season. Go Quakesfans!! - Mark
Prior to 2001, I wanted to support pro soccer in the US, especially for the development of the soccer culture and the national team. But the Clash were so bad it hurt my eyes. And it wasn't just the shirts. So I only made it to a few matches. Getting Agoos made a huge difference. The team was so much more organized and competent. "Competent" was a huge improvement, at least in my eyes. There were other good additions that year as well, but being strong in the middle of defense, with good distribution, was so important to their success. (And they looked really good even before Donovan arrived.) I read somewhere Agoos was the first player Yallop, who was new that year, pursued. Made a lot of sense in retrospect.
I didn't become a Quakes fan until 2002. In fact, I had never been to a soccer game until then. My first game was against Columbus, where Ekelund hit that ridiculous volley on a free kick into the net. But I was immediately hooked at about 5 minutes into the game. It was like - where has this game been all my life? It was 2002 WC that got me to the game - with the press that LD was getting."Oh that guy plays for San Jose, I should go check out a game." But I was somewhat vaguely aware of the team in 2001 and that they had won a championship. That's because I read the MN sports section and they got some decent coverage back then.
This was the moment early in the 2001 season when I realized that things would be different than the previous five years. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
2001 was a great year for me...at least until 9/11. So I'd like to go back and live there for a while. I didn't go to any soccer games though -- too busy traveling, plus I didn't hear about the Quakes until 2002.
Totally agree about Agoos. He may have been the most critical piece of the puzzle. Unfortunately, I watched all of the Clash games. 1996 was fun, and the following year wasn't bad, but by 1999/2000, it was really painful. I feel that we were a small part of the re-start of professional soccer in the US and San Jose. Too bad we don't have a professional team now.
I also agree about Agoos. If you had to choose only 1 factor, it would be him, definitely. And it seemed ironic at the time, because we had also seen him get beaten by Wynalda in the MLS opener at Spartan! Agoos' calves were amazing to behold. The strength in them must have been incredible.
Yes, a fun year. Worst to first. I was sitting in one of the first few rows behind the goal into which DeRo scored the golden goal against the Galaxy in Columbus to win MLS Cup. That game was on a Sunday. On Wednesday, the Beast had scored the golden goal to beat the hated Miami Fusion in the semi-final series. I bought tickets to MLS Cup in mid-summer. I was going no matter what. Just a dream to see the Quakes lift the Cup. Don't forget the CyberRays also won the Founders Cup that year in penalties after a thrilling late game comeback to tie Atlanta Beat.
2003 had a similar run - the incredible comeback against the Gals, and then a week later, Donovan scored in extra time (I think it was) against KC to take the Quakes to MLS Cup. It's one thing to have one of those games once in a playoff series, but to have 2 in a row is incredible. And of course the comeback against LA is legendary.
In 2001 I was sitting at the fourth officials table at every Quakes and CyberRays game. It was a great year!
1999 was a fun year, Quinn was finally getting a team he wanted, he had some good young players in the trench (Conrad, Cannon, Bower, Mulrooney), and that roster somewhat shaped up for 2001s successes. Osiander fu*ked it in 2000, but was rectified in 2001.
I will never forget the high-pitched cries of "EddieEddieEddie" emanating from Quinn while Lewis was on the field, nor Lothar (sotto voce) proclaiming "Now I am paying for all of my sins" as he watched the amazingly inept 2000 Quakes play...