DC United, but Chicago is a close second. I can best state the reasons in two limericks: Obnoxious Bulgarian Stoitchkov. Skills diminished, but still quite a mouth-off. Should a ref flag offside, he'd better go hide, 'cause Hristo might just break his leg off. Dema, Hristo, and Olsen. Your mother could call these guys wholesome? No sane man would choose them, But Hudson will use them. They belong in that prison called Folsom.
by far DC United. You always have to hate a team full of thugs (and for the DC trolls, none of our players broke a kids leg in preseason).
I hate the Mutts... as well as multiple threads. Moderators... hello moderators? Can we consolidate? The Magpie
I used to hate the Mutts most, but lately DCU seems to be channeling the whiny, thuggish spirit of past Metro teams. Is it just Petke? Maybe it's all just fresh in my mind, but I would hate to see Crew finish anywhere but last. Then again, Fire consistently sets the benchmark for arrogance. I dunno - this is a tough one.
Metro...because...well, it's New York. I will always dislike anything from New York, plain and simple. I would probably root for the Iraqi National Team, (pre-2003), against them. Because it's...well, NEW YORK gol dernit! Of the other teams, I only have a dislike for certain players, not the organizations...yet! I must admit I am somewhat envious of the instant winning tradition of the Fire, DC's Barra Brava, and the Crew's SSS.
Where is the "All of the Above" option? There are good reasons to hate all four, and in the spirit of a "kinder, gentler America," I managed to come up with a couple of positives about these sorry excuses for teams: Mutts: As someone else said, location, location, location. Plus Cleetus is a tool, Guevera makes Ruiz look like a tough-as-nails working-class defender from Yorkshire who would rather be shot than take a dive. Bob Bradley is a punk--I lost all respect for him when he tried to deny (in a Clinton-esque way) that his team were too cocky and trash-talked in the papers before game 3 last year. Then he started bitching that all the Revs do is whine and bitch to the refs. Be a man and accept that you got your asses kicked by a better team. It happens to all of us from time to time. He and the Mutts deserve each other! But as strange as it may seem, I actually do like and respect the Metro fans. They are like us in a lot of ways--having to put up with terrible teams and even worse management, but they still hang in there. And they also have some good only-in-New-York wise-ass craic on their site for anyone who is foolish enough to troll or ask a stupid question. Chicago: What's there to like? (to paraphrase the old "war" song) Absolutely NOTHING! If Razov took an extra helping of male hormones, he'd be a "girly-mon." Beasley is an idiot (see quote below) their defenders are thugs, and their fans are even bigger fools. I hear Liam Murtagh got the sh!t beaten out of him by Garcia Security a few years ago. He recovered from most of his injuries, but the one permanent wound was a swollen head. Then you get these idiots who don't even know the laws of the game arguing ad infinitum, paranoid scizos who insist that there is a league-wide conspiracy to screw the fire at every turn, and white-power Polish skinheads. Oh yeah, some of them claim that 130-year-old English clubs "stole their songs." I will say that Peter Wilt is top-notch, and it's a shame such a class guy like this has to be associated with such utter fecal matter. DC United: Let me count the ways... Dema is a real peach, especially the time he started mouthing off to fans behind the bench, instead of just being happy that he stole 3 points. Hristo is just as pathetic, grabbing his crotch like Michael Jackson and yelling pithy one-liners like "How you like now? You think you big man now, yis?" And I never, ever like to see a player get injured, but I'll admit that I had to chuckle when I heard about poor, poor Bennie. For a little prick who, from the safety of behind the plexiglas, offers a double-middle finger salute to fans, well, he just reeks of class. Ray Hudson is a drunken fool, but I must say I do get amused with the crap he spews out, delusional as it may be. And I love the yuppie trash who hand out raffle tickets at the tailgates for foie de gras, chardonnay, and other such delacacies. Earnie Stewart is tough to hate, (but I can learn if need be), and they have always had the best kit in MLS from Day One. Columbus: Not much to like about this sorry, pathetic lot. They have some talent, but it's amazing that after 8 years, they still haven't figured out that they need a Ralston-like player who can complement Brian The Bride (thanks, Red!). If there ever was a team more under-achieving than the Revs, you are looking at it. Greg Andrulis, meet the unemployment line. And don't get me started on their fans. You get some imbecile who trolls here to complain about trolling, you get toothless inbreads who think that they were the first ones to think of making a joke on how native Bostonians say "paahhk," and various and sundry other louts whose simeon countenance suggests a heritage rich in species diversity. Um, they do have a better stadium than us. Tom
Went with the Crew. I was completely crushed after that game in '96, and I've been holding a fierce grudge since.
I chose the Columbus Crap. All of our eastern conference foes each have their faults and lowpoints, which was superbly posted by ToMhIlL, but no team in the league period, nevermind the east, annoys me as much as Columbus. Maybe it's because of the 1996 season ending do-or-die loss at Foxboro, maybe its because I vomit at all the ridiculous praise The Princess McBride gets, or maybe its because their logo makes me question "Has the world gone gay?" Whatever it may be, I just cannot stand the Crap, and I have never liked them, ever, dating back to year one.
It used to be Chicago, but DC now thanks to Olsen and Co. whining and hacking from whistle to whistle.
I hate Cbus. They always think that NE is an easy 3 points and are so 'shocked' when they lose to us. I'll admit that they owned us for the first few seasons, but they got to know by now. But I think ToMhIlL is a little harsh on the Fire fans. Polish people are not white-powered but kielbasa and beer (Piwo, 'pee-voo') powered. A little overzealous (like Rusty) but good loud people. And I hate Cbus stadium, it looks like a glorified high school stadium. I would rather have beautiful new Gillette. Sometimes Revs fans look tiny in the stadium (like last game), but it is nice to have the opportunity to hold big crowds, like the record-owning crowd at the finals last year. None of these soccer-specific stadiums will be able to beat our record.
Fair enough, I guess that falls under the "broad brush" category. I do remember an incident with some of them a while ago, but I suppose it isn't fair to generalize when only a few are the real problems. Glorified high school stadium or not, but I would trade stadiums with them in a heartbeat. It goes without saying that LA and the new Dallas stadium would also fall into this category. The only teams I wouldn't even think of trading with would be the Mutts, DC and KC (all they have is older versions of a Gillette-like stadium). The Rapids have pretty much what we have--a nice, modern oversized place that swallows up even a good crowd. You could probably say this about the new SF in Chicago, but I'll wait to see a game there first. San Jose is a bit smaller and cozier (the banister railings are a cool touch), but the field is too small, and the place is still too big for a Quakes-size crowd. If Naperville had a full-size grass field and room for 5-10k more seats, I'd also take that, but not in it's current state. Gillette may be fine for the Pats (but even they claim noise just disappears), and even though we might get the occasional MLS Cup final and USA games, it's hardly worth it for your run-of-the-mill MLS game. Oh, and I bet it will be a while before we get another MLS Cup Final here. We've had 3 of 8 so far, and although next year hasn't been picked yet (Columbus again?), Dallas will certainly get it in '05, followed by the Rapids, Mutts, Fire, Quakes and DC, depending on who gets their stadiums built first, not to mention another return to the Toolshed in LA before another Foxboro appearance. Tom
Since the league destroyed the rivalry between Dallas and Chicago, I like the Fire alot. No more thugs, and Razov is playing really well, as opposed to stomping like a cross child. Kelly Gray is the most underrated player in MLS, and Curtin may be the best defender in MLS. DC, however... hey, just look at my avatar.
DC - They were once the classiest team in all of MLS. Now? A bunch of hacks (Dema & Hristo), whacks (Ray)and whiny-assed all-blacks (Bennie Boy).
If you ask me each and every one of these teams loves to play cheep football. It has come to be that I hate each and every one of these teams.... partly because they all think that we are three easy points still and partly cause all their fans think our players are much worse at tackling there precious pu$$y players and being cheep... They are cheep. Notice all the fouls, yellow cards they all accumulate when they play us. Its pretty sad if you ask me but what are you gonna do.
Other than putting them in different divisions, what could the league have done? How many times did Dallas and Chicago play for the "Brimstone Cup?" At least it isn't as contrived as the "Atlantic Cup" that only a few DC Yuppies and front-office weasels care about. Unless 2 other eastern teams come along in the next expansion, Chicago will have to remain in the East. With Chivas setting up camp in San Deigo, or at the very least, somewhere out west, even if another team were added in the east (Philly, Rochester, etc.) the Fire would still be with us. Unless they went back to that 3-division format, and then you'd probably be back together. Another reason for a single table. Tom