Windshield, meet bug. The post-mortem begins now...

Discussion in 'Philadelphia Independence' started by Charge!, Aug 27, 2011.

  1. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    Such a missed opportunity. Imagine what a title would've done for the Indy's exposure. This season was a failure. Unfinished business means just that, to kick the door down after knocking on it the last 2 years. Now the window of opportunity is shut, perhaps for good.

    Right now, I don't give a f about whether WPS survives or not. Maybe that'll change in time, but...will A-Rod be here in '12 after perhaps Riley dissed her with not being on the PK lineup? What about Sanderson and Lohman going to RCD Espanyol?

    The time was now. And now it's gone.
     
  2. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I doubt it makes much difference. Did nothing for FC Gold Pride or Sky Blue.
     
  3. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    Here, the Indy aren't even an afterthought, because one has to think about them to begin to be the former. No TV coverage on any of the sports segments on the ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox affiliates here. Only the Inquirer gives them the time of day (thanks, Jonathan Tannenwald for your yeoman work this year). A title would've raised their profile. But you can be goddamn sure that with everything else rained out, this loss will make the news. :(
     
  4. TheJerseyDevil

    TheJerseyDevil New Member

    Aug 1, 2011
    NYC stations don't care for soccer much and didn't even mention the games at even right post WC (and some even gave the Brazil game about 10 total seconds) and I never recall them mentioning the Sky Blue win or even that the team existed.
     
  5. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    This day = women's soccer equivalent of Joe Carter's '93 World Series-ending home run. As in devastating to a team and its fans. I can't think of a worse day of being a sports fan in my life. The Charge 2002 semifinal loss grated, but it was a semi. Last year's Flyers-Hawks game 6 OT loss comes close. But for dagger-in-heart, soul-sucking ruin, few will top this. And the knowledge that they may never get this close again.

    ETA: That loss in Toronto plunged the Phillies into an abyss that took 15 years to recover from. This is the kind of loss that could destroy the Independence's confidence the very same way.
     
  6. TheJerseyDevil

    TheJerseyDevil New Member

    Aug 1, 2011
    nah they will be back
    they held off a favored WNY team

    very painful and brutal to get so close I mean down to the last PK but nothing to sink them by any means
     
  7. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    They FAILED, TJD. Done in by circumstance (always playing a game or 2 more than WNY, which allowed them to overtake the Cheesesteaks on the last day of the season), and being the bug which splattered on the virtual windshield of the winners. :( :( :(
     
  8. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It takes all kinds to make a world & every team must have it's diehards. But I will say this confidently: Philly earned a tremendous amt of respect today. Is there anyone who follows this league at all who walked away from the game today thinking Philly didn't belong in the final?

    (well there's always 1 or 2 at a place like bigsoccer but I mean anyone whose opinion matters in the least)
     
  9. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    Logic would dictate that Philly winning the season series with WNY and their dismantling of MagicJack last week proved already they belonged in the final before the first kick

    So now you're A-Rod; do you gut it out one more year here, or do you feel disrespected by Riley's call to leave her off the first 5 PK takers to demand a trade?
     
  10. TheJerseyDevil

    TheJerseyDevil New Member

    Aug 1, 2011
    yeah I think they shut pretty much everyone up
    they didn't lose the game itself, just barely in PKs so it was a tie game officially with PK winning the championship
     
  11. TheJerseyDevil

    TheJerseyDevil New Member

    Aug 1, 2011
    stay
    he's had her back
     
  12. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    A gentle reminder that this is the official thread to talk about today's contest.
     
  13. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    In hindsight, this loss was FAR, FARTHER, FARTHEST worse. Last year they had to gut their way through 2 120-minute playoff games, then take a x-country flight to Northern Cali and to me, the reward was getting there. No team can run that kind of gauntlet. This time, there were expectations, and they weren't met. These are the kind of losses that break teams' spirit and will. To go through all that, to lose the way they did...
     
  14. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    One question, Coach Riley; where was Lori Lindsey?
     
  15. eb684

    eb684 New Member

    Jan 29, 2011
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Apples and oranges to the 93 Phillies. They were in an abyss for 10 years, had a miracle in 93 when every player on the team had a career season, then reverted back to prior form for the next 13 years.

    The Cheesesteaks were a talented team that were, at full strength, second best over the entire season, and put up a great fight in the final. No way this destroys their confidence. If anything, they should look back and see how evenly they played on the road against a team with more individual talent. And as for never getting this close again...come on, it's a 6 team league, they'll be there again. Especially as long as Paul Riley's the coach.

    Besides, we're not even having this discussion if Edwards' goal wasn't incorrectly ruled offsides. Philly got a break on that one.
     
  16. newsouth

    newsouth Member

    Nov 20, 2010
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    My understanding is they had WNY on their heels finishing the game and OT. I thought they'd get wrecked, but they seemed to be an A-Rod framed shot away from defeating WNY. Sometimes the 2nd best team wins a game. it happens in sports. that's what it looks like to me.
     
  17. moog

    moog Member

    Mar 2, 2003
    eastern PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Independence
    Or to whine about the game? It was great soccer. The crowd was really into it. Tough tackles in the midfield, no clear advantage at the half. Second half, when Sinclair scores, not looking too good for the Cheesesteaks. Then ARod gets another key goal, one of many she's scored for this team. And it goes to overtime, even up there, too, though Philly turned up the heat, big time, after the offense-for-defense substitutions. So on to the dreaded PK's. I'm having a hard time seeing a disaster here. The team put its collective heart on its sleeve, and took it down to the wire. Barnie comes THISCLOSE to saving the first kick. Leigh Ann gets lucky with the spin. Even the saved PK was well-taken, Harris guessed right and made a huge save. It happens. And don't assume it was a diss on ARod to not take a penalty. Maybe she's like O'Reilly and hates to take them. Who knows? You certainly don't. The coaches had a list, chatted on the sidelines, talked to the players, and made their choices. End of story.

    So quit with your pity party, and celebrate what this team accomplished (now that you finally got back on the bandwagon, as I recall you were a bit late to this game). I think the team will still have to build its fan base one person at a time. Let's just hope that soccer fans in Philly will take note in 2012, if there is another season.
     
  18. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    FYI. I've been unemployed for the past 13 months from a job I had been a part of for the last 28 years, and was forced to cut back discretionary spending. I've been sending out over 300 resumes, so it was just a matter of priorities why I only recently began to post here again. Call it a need to vent instead of a "pity party". I think it would all do us good to vent after what happened yesterday. Only because of the WAY it happened, and how close they got to winning it all.

    Johnny Rutherford, former IndyCar driver cut to the chase; nobody remembers who finished second. It's just an appalling example of getting slipped the whoopie cushion again. But now that I think of it, couldn't Barnhart have saved just one of those PK's? Just one? She was so good in the second half of the season. I maintain this is the kind of loss that can demolish a team's spirit, if not break it altogether. I am gutted for them, and for the fans having to see that arrogant Brazilian hoist the WPS trophy again, along with the !@#$^@%* who gave Kai a concussion (Bock). Sometimes life just sucks ass. Enjoy it, Western NY fans. The last 2 times Marta held aloft that league trophy, both her teams went kaput. For their sake, hope the third time's the charm.

    Maybe it was just as well that Irene came by on the same day, because there was no sports reports on the TV news shows of any kind. At least Dish Network consented to broadcast the final live, in HD no less. They really didn't have to do that, considering they and Comcast aren't exactly best buds. I sent my thanks to Dish via its Twitter feed (@dishnetwork). I encourage fellow Dish-ers to do the same.

    What's done is done, and I think the main goal next year is to, first and foremost, get the title game HERE. That needs to be ingrained into every single person on the Independence staff. If it were at PPL, maybe the result would've been different. But please, Moog, don't discourage folks who need to vent and who are frustrated at what they were dealt.
     
  19. CoachJon

    CoachJon Member+

    Feb 1, 2006
    Rochester, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Charge - Your passion is great - Hold your Head Up!

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-6v4H4BtWI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-6v4H4BtWI[/ame]
     
  20. newsouth

    newsouth Member

    Nov 20, 2010
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    :eek:

    After this, you should join the Jacksters.

    [​IMG]

    ROY

    My understanding of the game is that A-Rod should have finished the night with 2-3 goals.
     
  21. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
  22. ville41

    ville41 New Member

    Jul 23, 2010
    Brookhaven, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I fully believe A-Rod will be back. She likes playing here, and she like's playing for Paul. Knowing their relationship for the past two years. She would have been taking a PK if she wanted to. I know some players do not like taking them, or feel that they are good at taking them and will opt out. They had a great season. WNY got a strong core of last years Gold Pride team that won the title, Top draft pick Alex Morgan, and got a revitalized Caroline Sager who played far beyond what she did here last year. Maybe it was unfinished business, but they lost to a damned good team in pk's. They will be back after it again next year.
     
  23. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    According to someone who posted on the Indy's facebook page, the Fox announcers said this was Barnhart's WPS retirement match...
     
  24. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The play-by-play guy doesn't know the difference between Barnhart and Branam.
     
  25. Charge!

    Charge! Member

    May 7, 2001
    BSG 75
    In the Inquirer's story, it's revealed Paul Riley is due for a contract extension this off-season. It would be in the Indy's best interest to get him on board sooner rather than later; perhaps another 2 year deal with an option for a third.
     

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