Nerroth, you know that TFC is now officially the enemy, right? Why are you haning out starting threads in here? On topic, I am going to revive my Whitecaps website (on hiatus when I started travelling a few years ago) which is mostly just a results and links site. Any predictions as to how we'll finish this year?
I wonder if this might be redundant given that there is already match discussion on the Southsiders and Voyageurs boards...
Because my main interest is in MLS as a whole - and why would I not want to see the Canadian teams in USL-1 do well? But, if I find any Whitecaps supporters here in Ireland, I'll send them your way - I can't promise much, though. (People here think it's odd enough to have an interest in MLS, let alone USL-1.) And funnily enough, I used to live in Kitsilano - but at the time, I had lost any interest in soccer, and was more into hockey. Never got to see a game at GM Place, though.
Were you among the throngs that come from the Republic and live in Kits and near UBC? I've worked with dozens of Irish holiday visa boys like that, you guys are a blast.
Is it possible to hijack one's own thread? Perhaps... I lived in Toronto last year, and will be moving back there. And coming from Ireland, I was not exactly over-exposed to the 'Caps - and at that time (Sep '03 to Sep '04) I didn't care about soccer anyway. (I only came back to soccer after picking up on MLS last year, while living in T.O. - and even then, this is the first year I've really sat down and followed the season properly.) Well, I was there on a one-year visa - and on a similar one last year - but I didn't have much luck finding people to hang out while living there, to be honest...
It happens, its a hard town to make new friends if you're not working or in some sort of social scene (bands, soccer clubs, have classes). I've just known a bunch of Irish boys and girls who come down here and live like 9 in an apartment or 19 in a house (no exagerration on both) and make friends with each other and the other packs. The time frame you were here though might not have been when it became popular for Dubliners (about 05/06 onward they've been coming in waves during the summer). Sorry to hear parts of it sucked for ya here, Toronto's great fun most of the year anyways, well mebeee not that winter thing (I'm there about twice a year). You catch games on the 'net?
I have no idea if this thread is still about the Whitecaps season, lol, but I checked the match report today and THREE goals by three different players (Gbeke, Jarun, and Sebrango) in a 3-2 win at Carolina. Wow, I'm impressed because despite our "attacking" style this season goals have been hard to come by, besides Sebrango's consistent scoring. 'Caps are first in USL-1 again!
Twas a decent one. I caught it on FSC's USL Game of the Week. Hirano had a red card in the first half after it was 3 : 1 Caps, Nolly kept the lead alive and Arze almost added to the lead a couple times. They're playing better and better each game, maybe two good results against TO fired 'em up? That and Teitur's actually doing something with the formation (unlike a helter skelter amateur club like Carolina).
I was there from September '03 to Sep '04 - and it was the first time I'd lived outside of Ireland - and I'm not the reatest socially - but I dunno. And you know what? Winter in T.O. isn't too bad. There's the PATH and TTC, and at least it doesn't bloody rain as much as Ireland does. (It's hard to explain, but it feels colder to me in a rainy Irish winter...) As much as I can. Although, while MLSlive.tv works fine, USLlive only lets me see the free-to-air broadcasts - they wouldn't take an Irish credit card... ..oh, and in CBC's case, matches not part of the MLS regular season work fine outside Canada (like the NCC games, for example) but regular season matches are Canada-only (unles you can work one of those proxy things - I can never get them to work!).
What a stupid rule. We need Jarun for game 1 in the playoffs, he's been a powerhouse at the back as the season has progressed. At least the Whitecaps are in 2nd so will likely have an easier first-round matchup: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=f2485c7c-a969-44d2-9957-4d79e97f8edb Jarun yellow-card suspension has Whitecaps seeing red Marc Weber The Province Sunday, September 14, 2008 A United Soccer Leagues ruling has left the Vancouver Whitecaps miffed, and without starting centre back Omar Jarun for the first game of the playoffs. Jarun was originally expected to miss only the final two regular season games when he received two yellow cards against Minnesota last Saturday -- one game for the sending off and another because he's accumulated eight yellow cards this season. Players are handed a two-game ban for hitting the threshold of eight yellows, but league rules state that yellow-card suspensions do not carry over into the playoffs, if they occur in the final game of the season. Apparently they do carry over if they occur in the second-to-last game, or -- in Jarun's rare case of a red card and his eighth yellow in the same game --the third-to-last game. "It seems completely illogical," said Greg Anderson, Whitecaps director of professional teams. "We brought it up with the league a couple of times and they felt that they made their decision and they want to stick with it. They are going to change the rules for next season." Head coach Teitur Thordarson called Jarun's second yellow against Minnesota "just a normal challenge," and might have sat Jarun after the first yellow had he known the ramifications. © The Vancouver Province 2008
So the USL simply makes up the rules as it goes along? Sounds like they are being punished for their MSL bid.