by Ethan Johnson
July 20, 2008
They're tan, rested and ready. No, not FCD, I'm talking about YOUR investigative bullet points:
- I completely forgot that this game was part of an all-afternoon-into-the-night Colombian Fest. Parking was a bit tougher to come by than usual. And the fest sounded suspiciously like anything you could tune in the Spanish-language radio for. Lots of Reggaeton, when I could hear the music. Banda too.
- Marlena and I had an action-packed day on Saturday, and while we were out I stopped in at a Dick's Sporting Goods out in Freakin' Bumble (they're not even on the map) and picked up an FCD warmup jersey of sorts for $30. It's the same material that the official jerseys are made of, and the back was solid white which led me down an evil path. I wondered if the official FCD Fan Shop at Pepperoni Park could customize the back with MLS lettering/numbers. Hey, they could! For a fee, of course. I brought a spare shirt to wear while the heat press guy did his thing. Results are at right.
- Some smarmy teen was next in line for the heat press, and he told the attendant that he wanted his shirt customized with "my last name, and the number [I wore on my intramural team]." The attendant shot him a look, and sighed, "which is...?" The kid provided the succinct version [last name + number]. Ah, youth. As for what number he wanted, I didn't catch what the significance was hence the bracketed possible reason. It was something that arcane that the heat press guy couldn't possibly have known just looking at the kid.
- This game wasn't part of my half-slab of season tickets, but I am a member of Hoops Nation, which means I get 2 free tickets per season. I called in that freebie now, since I know I have the availability for the game. I knew my usual spot would probably be taken (it was) so I cleverly snuck into the equal and opposite section on Sideline West. It's shadier, sooner. But more crowded, which meant three seat changes before the match was over. But I got to sit by "Rex" and "Grace" from the FCD Fan Forum, which was a welcome change. Maggie (another forum goon) was also there but on the other end of the section. She looked and sounded pretty hardcore during the run of play, so I didn't get over there to kibbutz. Anyway, hi Maggie!
- Hopes weren't sky high for this game for either team, judging from the forum chatter leading up to kickoff. 0-0 was the expected result. I was sure hoping not. But FCD really hasn't been an offensive juggernaut. New coach Schellas Hyndman is winless since his arrival.
- Colorado got on the board early with a long ball in to Herculez Gomez. Adrian Serioux is getting 300% of the blame for the goal, but looking at the replay footage, yes, Serioux tried lamely to intercept the ball only to have it land at Gomez' feet and ultimately into the net, but there were acres of space thanks to the 3-man backline that Hyndman has decided to adopt. If it wasn't Serioux getting burned, it would have been Davino. Ultimately, 1-v-1 against Sala seems to be about as good as a direct penalty kick. 1-0 Colorado.
- Yep, nothing like a 3-man backline to inspire the central defender (Davino) to track wayyyy forward, only to send the ball out for a goal kick. Since Drew Moor tracks forward too, and Serioux is all over the map, exactly who is tasked with defense?
- If I never see another dive out of Mehdi Ballouchy, it will be too soon. (WTF does that even mean?)
- Seriously: There was so much diving (and me with no Diver Down Flag of Death) that I said to the wind, "that's not a ref, that's a lifeguard."
- Here's why Sala drives me crazy: I don't have the time stamp for this, but at one point Colorado got a shot on goal that fortunately went just wide of the post, but Sala flopped on his side like he was down for a nap in lieu of a save. That's a bit more effort than my personal favorite Sala-ism: Watching the ball into the net. Yes, Sala does make saves, and for that I am grateful. But more than a few times, and not just because I'm a Kool Kid, I "thumbed" the back of my jersey to sum up my thoughts on the quality of the goalkeeping. As in, we can haz Solo now plz? Or RayJay?
- After further ado - FCD was awarded a penalty kick in the 64th-ish minute. The Colorado goalie really blew chunks by getting suckered into leaving not just his "line", but the whole damn box, which resulted in USMNTer Pablo Mastroeni fouling Dominic Oduro inside the penalty area. Kenny Cooper made it 1-1 with the kick.
- I was thinking that neither team may have the impetus to go bananas looking for the tie-breaker. Having scored a goal apiece, that could have been a day's work. But after a long scoring drought, Juan Toja scored for FCD in the 65th minute. Kenny Cooper sent over the cross, and Toja sent it right into the corner of the net. 1-2 FCD. First Juan Toja goal since March.
- Before the warm glow of game-winning soccer could envelop the stadium, Colorado made it 2-2 by way of a Christian Gomez cross over to Conor Casey.
- Marcelo Saragosa picked up a yellow card during the game, which means he'll have to sit out the next game due to yellow card accumulation. At least FCD can't play Saragosa and Ricchetti at the same time for one game.
- Arturo Alvarez was the final FCD substitution, and I'm sorry, all I can say is, I hope the Komen Foundation appreciates the money he is raising from his walks for the cure. I think I've seen more hustle at the DMV. I know, easy for me to crack wise from the cheap seats, but come ON, this is a guy who clearly doesn't want to be here anymore. Guys like that need to be reminded that this is MLS, and walking up and down the field means you play Much Less Soccer. I can't believe he was the best available option off the bench.
- Ballgame. FCD grabs another single standings point. If they have any killer signings/trades they'd like to announce, say, tomorrow, I'm very ready to hear all about it.
- On my way to the car, some kids were laughing at me and saying "he came here alone." "Yeah, he's by himself. He's 'solo'." I explained that while yes, I did drive there alone, my jersey is a half-joke about the quality of the FCD goalkeeping. In 2007 I had a spirited argument in favor of Hope Solo signing on to finish out the season. I still stand by that today. I didn't consider that in Spanish, my jersey could be read as "only 18". Layers of fun with that shirt. Oh, when the kids heard my explanation, the whole family actually agreed that Solo would be the better GK. Daaaaaaamn.
Click on the thumbnails to see the full-sized image. Enjoy!
Next up: FCD faces LA at home on July 27th. Will Beckham come to Dallas three times? <EM>
(The full MLS article archive may be found here.)
Alvarez comments are spot on. I'm so sick of watching him do nothing to help the team.