Major League Soccer

I caught the end of that game. Thierry Henry looks thoroughly bored with football.

I skipped that game--it was on a weeknight and also I'm running low on masochism.

imho this kind of thing shows just how much careful team-building matters in the league over outright spending. Salt Lake have been v solid top-to-bottom for a few years now and RBNY is a bit of hodge-podge with a couple of very shiny expensive parts.

Well, we'll see. At the NY v Portland game. Row 2!

nice article about mls supporters http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6992816/major-league-soccer-move-soccer-moms-league-hard-core-fan-groups-here-stay

I have to say I hate most teams and fans from philadephia but the Sons of Ben seem pretty cool.

The SoB started showing up at other MLS teams' games, singing to New York Red Bulls fans that even without a team they had just as many trophies as they did.

Oh kay. I realize that article is "about" the SoB but every other team with an active/promoted supporter's group at least got named...except literally not one mention of the ESC? Which is the oldest supporter's group in the league. It's fine, my club experience does not depend on articles like that, but it's weird unless it was purposeful.

The Chicago Fire lead the league with 14 recognized bands of hard-core groups.

:D

attn seattle I will be in yr area for the final on 10/4 w/ some friends

oh shit

http://espn.go.com/chicago/story/_/id/7027800/chicago-sting-honor-30-year-anniversary-nasl-title

ismael you might like that

carstens maybe u can help me out -- my friends and I are looking for a bar to meet up at pre-game that's somewhat close to the stadium. obv we'd prefer to not be among a shitload of seattle fans. is there anywhere you can think of that might be somewhat open & convenient? thx

I thought Kyle Beckerman was a hippie, into peace and love. This headbutt makes me reconsider!

http://www.mlssoccer.com/videos?catid=114&id=19528

Thanks for the Sting link dan, very entertaining. Not really favourite era tbh, though I'd love to see that shootout. In fact, the whole tale seems rather implausible - the idea of thousands of fans hanging on a sport, team and league that basically may as well have never existed five years later is just too weird.

that's the native chicago sports fan for you!

/notanativechicagoan

I do know more than a few people who credit that as the moment that made them a fan of the sport, actually.

dan, let's see...so, pioneer square is the neighborhood directly to the north of the stadium. there are lots of bars, old buildings, ambiance etc. but a lot of sounder fans. and because pioneer square is our meat-market club neighborhood nights/weekends, those bars attract what i'd call the dumbest sounder fans. just stupid obnoxious dudes. i don't go there, can't think of a bar i'd recommend.

if you wanted to stay physically close i'd consider chinatown. it's north and east of the stadium, a five minute walk, and there are lots of little dives and hole in the walls. i don't have a #1 suggestion unfortunately, esp considering that you'll have a group in tow. i wish i knew better.

you know what i'd do? if i were staying in the city or north, i'd start out in belltown. it's north of downtown. there's a block of great bars, 2nd between blanchard and bell, you could take your pick of places on that block and no one's going to care that there are a bunch of guys in red jerseys, won't even register i'd imagine. i'd drink all afternoon and then walk to 3rd and pine and take the train down to chinatown/international district station. it's a 5 minute walk to the stadium from that station.

if you're coming from the south (like, staying near the airport or something) i'd stop in my neighborhood, georgetown. it's 4 miles south of the stadium, so it's a fast bus or cab ride in, and the area is its own thing, a strip of bars on airport way south. if i had the day off i'd totally make you guys meet me at Jules Maes, an old old bar with a game room in back.

how many nights are you here? want to email me? it's jergins at gmail. it seems like we should meet up for a drink if you're coming all this way. i've met all of 1 ilxor-who-is-also-a-soccer-fan, laurel, and i'd like to meet another.

btw
http://i52.tinypic.com/2h3xyle.jpg

so ott but <3, getting excited for tomorrow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zii7t13O23g&feature=player_embedded

I have had a gnawing pit of nervousness in my stomach for about the past 2 weeks.

Congrats, Chicago! I will hope for you.

but shit, you guys are playing so well lately. this'll be something. xpost on an mls thread!!

Yeah, they've been good lately. Klopas has re-engineered the team almost entirely compared to the lineups for the two league meetings with Seattle earlier in the year. I just think we're snakebitten on PNW turf fields.

also as an aside: the new USOC trophy is boring, wish they'd kept the Dewar in service

http://phillyunionfooty.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/usopencup.jpg

vs

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/USOpenCupDewarTrophy.JPG

Sigh. Congrats carstens.

what a tense first 75 minutes that was. it probably wasn't pretty on tv but it felt like 22 guys bringing it.
i like this, reminds me when soccer moments slow down and speed up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZaKrYTEONY&feature=player_embedded

wow, that's a fantastic clip

u guys gotta do something about that turf man, it's like a different game entirely

also the fact we were missing our best CM didn't help :( smh

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehawwwwwwwwwwwww hoss

http://www.sportingkc.com/sites/kansascity/files/Car%20Design%20for%20Web.jpg

so uh playoffs, we are missing them

i am going to my first non-sounders MLS game this weekend, portland at RSL. looking forward to it. grass!

Hope you have lots of fun carstens!

How was RSL? I saw several alleged PTFC aurora borealis pics.

it was a lot of fun. lovely field, very intimate, way out in the suburbs. espindola's footwork up close had some dazzling moments.

beyond kenny cooper's crappiness, the timbers army had to be the most impressive thing there. at times they outshouted 20k rsl fans. loooved the half-dozen flares at the end. and they got a result. way to travel, TA.

playoff predictions? i'm hoping for anybody but LA and trying to remember that supporters shield winners don't have that great a record of winning the cup

cbus and colorado might play in the snow. stoked for the orange ball.

just for reference's sake:

Wild Card

FC Dallas vs New York Red Bulls – Wed, Oct 26th – 9pm ET (FOX Soccer, TSN2)

Colorado Rapids vs Columbus Crew – Thurs, Oct 27th – 10pm ET (Altitude 2, ONN, TSN2)

Eastern Conference Semifinals

First Leg

FC Dallas vs Sporting Kansas City – Sat, Oct 29th – 7.30om ET (Fox Soccer, TSN)…. OR… Colorado Rapids / Columbus Crew vs Sporting Kansas City – Sun, Oct 30th – 7pm ET (Fox Soccer, TSN2)

Philadelphia Union vs Houston Dynamo – Sun, Oct 30th – TBD (ESPN2, Deportes, ESPN3)

Second Leg

Sporting Kansas City vs FC Dallas / Columbus Crew / Colorado Rapids – Wed, Nov 2nd – TBD (Fox Soccer)

Houston Dynamo vs Philadelphia Union – Thurs, Nov 3rd – 8.30pm ET (ESPN2, Deportes, ESPN3, TSN2)

Western Conference Semifinals

First Leg

Real Salt Lake vs Seattle Sounders – Sat, Oct 29th – 10pm ET (FOX Soccer, TSN2)

Colorado Rapids / Columbus Crew / New York Red Bulls vs LA Galaxy – Sun Oct 30th TBD (ESPN or ESPN2, Deportes, ESPN3, TSN2)

Second Leg

Seattle Sounders vs Real Salt Lake – Wed, Nov 2nd – TBD (ESPN2, Deportes, ESPN3, TSN2)

LA Galaxy vs Colorado Rapids / Columbus Crew / New York Red Bull – Thurs, Nov 3rd – 11pm ET (ESPN2, Deportes, ESPN3, TSN2)

Conference Championships

Hosted by highest remaining seed – Sun, Nov 6th – 5.30pm ET (FOX Soccer)

Hosted by highest remaining seed – Sun, Nov 6th – TBD (ESPN or ESPN2, Deportes, ESPN3, TSN2)

I would be OK with anyone winning except LA, NYRB, and SSFC. Also if Columbus continues the way they were on Saturday night they aren't going to get far, players giving up on balls left and right and generally looking half-interested in a sold out game with a couple hundred of their own fans traveling.

Nicol out @ Revs

pleasedon'tcomehere pleasedon'tcomehere pleasedon'tcomehere

10 years is an impressive tenure. I don't recall enjoying watching NE much, though, in all those years.

Like Seattle, Revs are NFL-owned, but without the kind of actual investment that has made Seattle what it is. They made a few finals in the mid 2000s and Nicol definitely did a lot with not much resources, but the pieces are falling apart and the league's a different place now.

Personally, for a while I hated them more than anyone in the league, back when they and the Fire took turns knocking each other out of the post season.

cbus and colorado might play in the snow. stoked for the orange ball.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/321215_10150335651146091_11106436090_8674180_1321387112_n.jpg

<3ing pics like that when sepp and co. start bleating about MLS adopting a euro-style calendar

MLS players by place of birth (pdf)

double digits:

usa 280
canada 23
colombia 16
brazil 15
england 12
jamaica 12

wonder how many of the colombian players are in the league because of diego guiterrez? such a shame he's not working w/ the fire

just watched the 3rd division (nasl) championship 2nd leg, yay NSC Minnesota!

not finding a good stream for rsl/seattle, hmph

got a stream, it hurts me in my fire place to see CJ Brown celebrating goals on the sidelines with RSL

shitty poop butt team

i'm starting to irrationally hate alvaro fernandez.

rosales is missed.

it's been a successful season but to go out again like this is just

a team always goes on a run in the playoffs, could be rsl this time. deserved if it happens

RSL did it two years ago, could definitely again

then again it could just as likely be SKC