Perfect soccer weather-NOT
As you’ve undoubtedly heard (see below), the Seattle match has been cancelled. Given the forecast, I can’t say I’m sorry. I was not looking forward to braving freezing cold snow. And I can think of plenty of reasons the Rapids and the Sounders wouldn’t want to play in that weather: player injuries due to poor field conditions come to mind, not to mention trashing the wet frozen field. And we fans might have had to deal with really bad road conditions, not to mention seats covered in wet snow and stadium steps covered in ice.
Unfortunately, this game might have been the only one we get to see this year. The MLS-vs-players contract negotiations have a new deadline. Monday. If there’s no agreement, the season comes to a screeching halt. I’m not going to pretend to understand all the details, especially considering the talks are very secretive. If you want a brief but adequate synopsis, you can read this one by Ives Galarcep on FoxSports. Draw your own conclusions. In this time of recession, some people criticize the players for rejecting an offer that gave them more money. Others presume that any group of corporate owners must be greedy money-grubbers out to cheat the players. The main conclusion is that neither side will win if the season is aborted. The danger is that fans drift away, and the momentum MLS was building, collapses. What would a strike look like? Would the MLS simply cancel games, or would they try to scrape together teams of random unaffiliated players. Ask yourself how much of fandom is cheering for actual familiar faces, rather than for jerseys? And if the dispute is eventually settled, are all the cancelled games crammed into a tight schedule that creates impossible travel logistics, and leaves players exhausted and potentially more at risk for injuries?
The Grand Pooh Bah is considering different options for the postponed Kick Off bash, so stay tuned in all possible ways (this site, email, Rapids site, Twitter, Facebook, random phone calls). One option is to hold the event next Friday at our new official viewing site, Katie Mullens in Denver, which is reportedly really big and could accommodate all fans, and would add extra excitement to the away-viewing party. Since that game starts late, the bash doesn’t have to start at lunchtime.
According to Gary Smith (check out interview), all the pre-season training and travel made the players technically sharper and more fit, but playing actual games will now be the key to moving forward. He was planning to field a group against Seattle that was close to the final XI. Now the possibility of any games is up in the air.
The players are in “game on” mode, too. Scott Palguta, who has been off the pitch while re-habbing an Achilles injury, said the team is excited and ready to play games, instead of just practicing every day. Scott didn’t make the trip to England due to re-hab. He won’t be ready to play this week, but looks forward to working with his old Rochester Rhinos teammate and fellow defender, Danny Earls when he does return. Scott will continue with his blog on the Rapids Undercurrent, where he writes about behind-the-scenes team stuff that we wouldn’t otherwise hear about.
Meanwhile, on the Hair Front, Matt Pickens is channeling his inner Russian aristocrat, with a rather impressive goatee. New rookie forward Andre Akpan may currently have the most distinctive Big Hair, which will certainly make him recognizable on the pitch, unless he goes the Conor Casey route, in which case it will be very hard to tell them apart. Which type of hair do you prefer on your favorite soccer stars?
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