by Ethan Johnson
September 1, 2007
Spoiler alert: FCD has dropped two games in a row. I didn't bother doing a writup for the FCD/Houston tilt a few weeks ago, because frankly, short of me gushing about Ray Burse Jr in goal despite the 1-0 result wasn't going to fill a thimble. So let's skip the small talk and get right to the award-nominated investigative bullet points, sponsored by Maalox™:
- I saw a fair amount of DCU fans laced through the crowd. FYI only. More than I would have expected since DC is farther away than say, Columbus.
- Tonight was "free car flag night". Can I just say that it was a brilliant idea giving away an item that normally would violate "stuff you can being into the stands" rules any other day? I loved how the kids in my section managed to pull the flags off and use the poles as would-be swords. It was so entertaining, right up in my face like that! (And yes, I got there early to ensure that I got mine, thankyouverymuch.)
- Why, yes, I am [effing] cranky after a 4-0 shellacking.
- Fantastic way to not get shellacked: SCORE [effing] goals! The other way? NOT standing there and watching DCU put a shot past you that you learn to stop in 3rd grade.
- Seriously. Sala watched the ball blow right past him. I'd be more forgiving if he got torched like that fahking amazing bicycle kick goal in the SuperLiga final.
- So why exactly didn't Burse get the call? Final exams?
- In the event I get called out as a fair weather fan, look, I like Sala. He seems to be a great guy, what little I know of him. But truth be told, I'm not wild for players who don't put out effort approaching or exceeding 100%. If he's injured, rest him. If he's stinking up the joint, bench him. Burse has been [effing] HOT lately, and I can't imagine a reason for benching a guy who has the hot hand for "not exactly" short of some sort of contractual thing.
- Hold on, I think another 18-yard gimme just sailed into the net.
- I don't know what goes on in terms of game prep in MLS, but if watching film of other games is involved, someone needs to tell FCD that it's not enough to watch game tape, but examine what you did right and wrong last time. Remember last time, when FCD tied DCU 3-3 in an amazing display of heart? Well, see, that's the part that seemed to be missing overall tonight. Heart. And it infected the stands. Funny how that happens when your team is getting shellacked 4-0 with no relief in sight. Trotting out Denilson in the 2nd half sure got the crowd excited for a few minutes, but not passing him the ball, or worse, not seeing him do much with it when he got it took the crowd out of the game. Heck, how about of of the stands completely around the final 10 minutes.
- Despite the shellacking, FCD is still #1 in my heart and I have season tickets for the remainder of the year. Let's visit some fresh hell upon Toronto next week, huh?
Click on the thumbnails to see the full-sized image. Enjoy!
OK, furreal: Toronto is so getting slammed next week. You'll want to be front and center. See you then! <EM>
(Much, much more virtual ink has been spilled by me about Major League Soccer. The fledgling but growing MLS article archive may be found here.)
