tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-205931692024-03-13T22:07:55.362-04:00The MetrologistNot ready to make nice.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-91351990583043171652008-11-23T03:03:00.006-05:002008-11-23T03:21:45.856-05:00Come on Metro!This blog is as good as done (I hope you're not just figuring that out) but special occasions demand special returns.<br /><br />The Metrologist supports Metros in this afternoon's MLS Cup.<br /><br />Classic Metros like these guys.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/SSkQISlJ9qI/AAAAAAAAACo/osnaqIxBvHE/s1600-h/gaven_inner.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 220px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/SSkQISlJ9qI/AAAAAAAAACo/osnaqIxBvHE/s320/gaven_inner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271762573426554530" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/SSkQWsMgyYI/AAAAAAAAACw/hEG4njwFkIw/s1600-h/ezra.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 141px; height: 188px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/SSkQWsMgyYI/AAAAAAAAACw/hEG4njwFkIw/s320/ezra.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271762820820683138" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Will we watch it? That remains to be seen. The early double bill of Jets-Titans and Ravens-Eagles will put some strain on the remote finger, but even if that's the real sports story in these parts tomorrow, we might get around to watching the first half. That should be enough for a team that's played some pretty attractive soccer (by MLS standards) against a team that plays anti-soccer, against a team that <span style="font-weight:bold;">is</span> in every sense of the term, anti-soccer.<br /><br />Make us proud, Eddie.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-22523296948351282962007-09-19T15:19:00.001-04:002007-09-19T15:38:11.291-04:00This Week in MLS-related Avian NewsIn order to deal with the <strike><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx7GqfQCZeg">flock of seagulls</a></strike> seagull infestations at BMO Field, Toronto FC has unveiled a new weapon (I use that word loosely, as you would about a team that hasn't scored since...I can't even remember. It's <a href="http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070904.wspthawk04/GSStory/GlobeSportsSoccer/home">Bitchy The Hawk</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RvF5Mk5wnOI/AAAAAAAAABs/jJyUE9Wt5OQ/s1600-h/bitchy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RvF5Mk5wnOI/AAAAAAAAABs/jJyUE9Wt5OQ/s320/bitchy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112000309013552354" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Not missing a beat, RBNY has responded with an ornithological mascot of its own.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RvF34U5wnNI/AAAAAAAAABk/jh2Xua_Xa5o/s1600-h/California+Vulture+CCCCXXVI.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RvF34U5wnNI/AAAAAAAAABk/jh2Xua_Xa5o/s320/California+Vulture+CCCCXXVI.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111998861609573586" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />No word yet on whether they will be bringing in outside birds, or just using the ones that are always circling over the organization.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-22221135144467588732007-08-15T17:42:00.000-04:002007-08-16T00:38:30.500-04:00Press-ganged - 8/15/07<span style="font-style:italic;">In which we parse some Metro media...</span><br /><br /><a href="http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2007/08/15/media-coverage-of-mls-supporters/">Pitchinvasion recognizes the fillip of media attention being lavished on MLS supporters</a> over the last day or so. Not the first time the unique atmosphere of MLS support has been plumbed, nor the last if Steven Wells has anything to do with it. For Metro supporters in particular, I would refer you to the pieces done by actual, long-suffering Metro fan (aren't those adjectives all redundant?) Bob Ferguson in the late, lamented NY Sports Express for their You-Are-There quality, if only I could. <br /> <br /><a href="http://www.observer.com/2007/red-bulls-fan-club-gets-loud-english-style?page=0%2C0">This New York Observer piece on elements of the diehard Metro support</a> is already the subject of <a href="http://www.soccerpubs.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=22616">some</a> <a href="http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585242">discussion</a> in Metroland. I say "elements" advisedly. Though the conceit is that it depicts the Empire Supporters Club and Section 101, which last time I checked were somewhat synonymous (most people in 101 are ESC, but not all of the ESC hangs out in Section 101), there's a bit of randomness and catch-as-catch-can about it. There's a lot that anyone who's spent time around Metro support - or any MLS team's organized support, I bet - would recognize. But there's also much generalizing and generalized, much evidence that the author is unaware of the real nature of his subject, and a little bit of smug mean-spiritedness. Then again, it is the NY Observer we're talking about. When Saturday Comes it ain't, much less the International Journal of Cultural Studies.<br /><br />Is it an accurate picture? Is it condescending?<br /><br />The article is what it is, which is a little of both.<br /><br />I can only speak as someone who was in the ESC for a good long time, but hasn't been for a couple years, due both to distance and a overwhelming disaffection for the current identity, which I just can't get over to the point that I'd give money to that miserable company and show up in the stands. <br /><br />Nevertheless, I believe there is precisely one thing that has been, by and large, great about the Metro soccer experience over the past 12 years, and that is the caliber of support brought by the ESC. It is the sole reason why many in the NY and NJ area have stuck with this team (or close, for that matter) through thin and thin. It's particularly interesting to get an outsider's view of it. <br /><br />So let's get the sticky stuff outta the way first. There <span style="font-style:italic;">is</span> some pretentiousness - occasionally cringe-worthy amounts of it. Yes, there's the occasional casting of sham-accents - when it's blatantly played-at is when it's most grating and out of place. For every fantastic adaptation of a foreign chant (something done by supporters around the world, ) there's one that isn't particularly well understood, sung awfully, or way out of context. There is a fair amount of trying too hard, and a poster on Metrofanatic - English, by the way - <a href="http://www.soccerpubs.com/boards/index.php?s=&showtopic=22616&view=findpost&p=417428">nails the problem with that succinctly</a>. <br /><br />But you know, that's in line with a phase that most of us have gone through at some point or another - the slightly strained attempts to show off, among other things, one's international savoir faire. It's devilishly hard to resist, like being that guy who meets the cute foreign chick and throws what little you learned during your study-abroad semester at her, because you can. Maybe it's having something to prove, maybe it's just to be a little different. Perhaps there's too much of that high-concept hyper-cosmopolitanism in a group like this - you may have a soccer reservoir a mile wide and an inch deep. There's no harm in that, you tend to grow out of the excesses of it, eventually. In the meantime, trying too hard is far preferable to not trying at all. <br /> <br />As for "patently nerdy enthusiasms" and all that connotes, that's primarily a matter of how the dedicated, hardcore American soccer fan - the sort of guy or gal that goes out to see an early round Open Cup match, then comes home and writes about it on Bigsoccer, or on a blog - is framed. Now, honestly, there have been times when you could look around the 101 crowd and swear you'd been dropped into a Fellini film (the unkind image not mine, but I'll take it). But would you like to meet the fellas who go out to watch Rotherham vs. Walsall reserves on a rainy night in February? I'll wager that those people are no less nerdish about their soccer (or anything else), but they're the heart and soul of the sport in its traditional environs, and I'd sure as hell rather stand in their section, as opposed to sitting alongside Johnny Loudmouth Frontrunner, in his fresh new Chelsea or Barca top. The diehards here - call them the geekcore if you must - is where virtually all the interesting stuff comes from.<br /><br />Above all, I suppose I have an issue with this running dialectic of "authentic" versus "simulated" or "play" supporters. Who decides that? That difference, that aspect of inauthenticity and pretend is implicit in phrases like "slipping in and out of English accents" and "many of them present themselves as passionate, rowdy and, like their foreign counterparts, a little dangerous." That may in fact be a legitimate point, but let's warily attempt to talk a little performance theory here: it's not just MLS fans playing the part of traditional fans; <span style="font-style:italic;">all</span> supporters - American, European, whoever - play-act some variation of the Traditional Supporter part, when you get right down to it.<br /><br />And with that broached, I'm not going to wade any further into the deep waters of theory tonight. But I will leave a question out there, if you're not ready to accept what I just said, then we have to figure out, just what do role-playing American supporter have to do to become "real"? Or is there, in fact, no way possible? Some question. <br /><br />And on a sidenote, who the fuck cares what Joe Benigno knows or doesn't know about anything? That's just bizarre. Did the author take the "Famous ESC" song that literally? God help he hears the one that half the English-speaking fans in the world sing, about being the finest football team the world has ever seen. <br /><br />It is a little gratifying to read that "the vast majority of E.S.C. chants and banners have not adopted the new name." That makes up (a little) for the retch-worthy sight of those all-red jerseys in 101.<br /><br /><br />Meanwhile, local North Jersey weekly - coincidentally enough, The Observer - also pitches in with <a href="http://www.theobserver.com/articles/2007/08/15/news/doc46c2371e3926c136968934.txt">this story on the stadium woes,</a> which doesn't say much different from <a href="http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1186722216118370.xml&coll=1">the Star-Ledger story I mentioned a few days ago</a> (and absentmindedly, forgot to link). Bottom line: the cleanup is going slower than expected, the opening of the stadium has officially been shoved back at least till 2009, but otherwise, things are just peachy!<br /><br />Nothing much different from stuff we've already heard, except for this; there are so many little insinuations, so many little messages left between the lines, that one can't help but wonder what the underlying message is. Does it not feel like the stadium still hangs on a knife edge? <br /><br />The more you look at this article, the harder it is to tell. It could, after all, just be bad writing:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"The multi-million dollar soccer stadium that is under preliminary construction in Harrison has hit a major snag, causing postponement of the development of the stadium for a full year until the start of the 2009 season."</span><br /><br />Take that last sentence. "Postponement of the development of the stadium" is so unclear, you could take it to mean that construction won't begin till '09. That's ridiculous....isn't it? <br /><br />What stands out are the repeated<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"What makes the project sticky is the amount of public money tied into it." </span><br /><br /><br />references<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Harrison had expected to repay its debt on the stadium by collecting property taxes on the rest of the project. But you can’t collect property taxes on projected sales, just legitimate sales"</span><br /><br /><br />to the precarious, politically-significant nature <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />"The county of Hudson has also a vested interest in the project, having floated nearly $40 million in bonds to build a parking garage near the stadium. The county figured that the parking deck would pay for itself in the coming years, but not if there aren’t any cars parking there."</span><br /><br /><br />of the stadium's funding<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">..."the plans for the permanent home of the team remains in a state of limbo — once again."</span><br /><br /><br />which is being messed with by this extended cleanup (or AEG-RB wrangling, depending on who you believe.)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"We’re sticking to the goal of having a professional soccer stadium.”</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Boy Bruce, you sure know how drive home the idea this is all just minor hassles.<br /><br />When I read all that, I see those phrases sinking down the page like little depth charges, not detonating....yet. Or maybe they're hinting at nothing. Are you ever reassured by seeing the words plans, permanent home, and limbo in the same sentence?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"But the project that was delayed and then delayed some more has been given yet another delay of game. You have to begin to wonder whether this might be some sort of negative sign — or whether Harrison, Hudson County and Red Bull can somehow make this thing finally work."</span><br /><br />All baseless speculation on the part of a journalist, or veiled hints at which way the wind is blowing on Harrison? I honestly couldn't tell you now.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-90802741822139877112007-08-12T15:31:00.000-04:002007-08-12T15:46:14.452-04:00Buy It Now! Or wait a few hours to see if Larentowicz snaps his tibia.I'm not going to spend too much time analyzing it now, but over the past few days I've been peeking over at the <a href="http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&_trksid=m37&satitle=new+york+red+bulls&sacat=1305%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=ZIP%2FPostal&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=">Ebay</a> and <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/new-york-red-bulls-tickets/?event_id=370269">Stubhub</a> markets for the 8/18 game against the LA Beckhams. Perhaps someone more savvy about reselling on the interwebs can illuminate us better, but considering it's a "major event" I'm pretty underwhelmed when I see auctions for <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/2-LA-Galaxy-vs-New-York-Red-Bulls-MLS-Tickets-8-18-NR_W0QQitemZ270153803213QQihZ017QQcategoryZ1306QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">2 two tickets in the lower level coming down to the last hour with only a bid or three</a>, much less the majority of the tickets on offer going for face value, or perhaps even less. <br />Stubhub says it has 855 tickets on sale (including several blocks of 20 or more), and that number has hardly moved over the last couple days.<br />It just doesn't strike me as a live market. That could mean any number of things, I suppose.<br /><br />So you tell me how hot this thing is in NYC. I can't say I have a bead on it through this, but I think it has something to tell us. No, watching the Ebays ain't necessarily scientific, but it's a damn sight safer than actually taking team management, hyperbolic color commentators, and fans on their wishful words alone. <br /><br />Could be interesting to watch for a spike either way - people dumping or some of those tickets disappearing - depending on whether or not Becks gets blasted by some Rev bruiser. If he actually plays tonight, of course.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-43576331331344832922007-08-11T13:05:00.001-04:002007-08-11T23:18:48.997-04:00Petter Villegas is alive and well and living in midfield in Puerto RicoThe things you learn watching FSC on Friday nights!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7z9Er7vQfRo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7z9Er7vQfRo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Sadly (and surprisingly), no video of Petter's (the extra "t" is for "too much dribbling") stupendous golden goal against Tampa Bay in 2000 was found. To this day, that 30 yard bullet to the top corner to win the game is one of the great phantom punches I've seen in my sports-watching life (Villegas scored a few goals, as that clip shows, but they were not of the Riise ilk). What compares? I remember Islanders goon Mick Vukota scoring a hat trick once in an NHL game. The man could barely skate, yet he somehow found himself on the doorstep for tap-ins three times. As catching lightning in a bottle goes, it's on that level.<br /><br /><br />In between the FSC EPL games, let's take a look at two Metro-related stadium stories coming out, both of which rhyme with the word "dusterbuck."<br /><br />Would you like to start off with the news that as of this weekend, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2tauxv]http://tinyurl.com/2tauxv">Giants Stadium is getting more difficult, more time-consuming, and more expensive to reach</a>? This is like saying that the ball is developing even more roundness, that Rob Stone is becoming even more puerile, that hard-working scientists have figured out a way to make a kick to the nuts even more painful. <br /><br />Key quote:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Welcome to the brave new world of parking, Meadowlands-style, where the rules of the game at Giants Stadium have just changed after 31 years.<br /><br />The reason is construction of a $1.5 billion stadium in the parking lots just north and east of Giants Stadium, with the loss of 5,000 spaces creating a parking crunch that will last until the new corporately named stadium opens in 2010." </span><br /><br /><br />No one really seems to know what this means for soccer. But let's just jump the gun anyway; oh my God, can we wait for the stories to come out of this after the Beckham game next weekend! No, we can not. It has all the makings of a logistical disaster, on par with the legendary Metros-Ecuador (I believe) doubleheader years ago, which saw scads of fans arriving via PA bus halfway through the <span style="font-style:italic;">second</span> game. This game will actually draw a sizeable crowd, testing the organization's ability to direct and guide tens of thousands of people - many of whom probably have never been to lovely East Rutherford and environs - out to Lyndhurst, over on shuttle buses, and back. Oh, and by the way that'll be double the normal parking fee, please.<br />Of course I have utter faith in RB.<br /><br />I'm not sure this is going to be such a hassle for the regular RB crowd, since the 6-8000 coming out week after week probably won't fill up the available lots and arena garage anyway. I could end up wrong on that. Regardless, it really is a gut-punch to anyone thinking the team is going to sop up lots of casual Beckham consumers, barring an absolutely scintillating game (and really, it's the Galaxy and an ill-conceived Metro side - you banking on that?) Look, it's your first time out for the MLS experience, or your first time back in years for that matter; you drive out to Jersey, get shunted around the mulberry bush AND you drop at least twenty bucks on parking? And don't you dare think about taking that grill out when you do find a spot. It doesn't matter if MLS and the team aren't really at fault here - how many of those first-timers and flinty Europhiles are coming away pie-eyed with the romance and spectacle of soccer in the Swamp?<br /><br />But, you say, at least they'll have a stadium of their own in <strike>2008</strike> 2009ish. Being of such a sunny disposition, you'd rather go right to Matthew Futterman's Star-Ledger story on the interminable efforts to unearth what appears to be an buried, toxin-ridden Parthenon or something. <br /><br />Key quotes: <br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">"the stadium has become the project public officials no longer want to brag about."</span><br /><br />and<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kevin Tartaglione, Advance's chief operating officer, said his workers are encountering the same obstacles workers on the stadium site have found.<br /><br />Advance plans to build apartments, dozens of stores and restaurants, a hotel and small office complex at the site.<br /><br />Tartaglione said, unlike the soccer franchise, he anticipated the environmental and excavation issues....<br /><br />"We were actually thinking it would be later than that based on the scope of the work that needs to be completed," Tartaglione said. "I haven't confirmed that with Red Bull or AEG. I know they are discussing it, but we are following our own course of action."</span><br /><br />Read carefully. RB seems to be leave that Spring 2009 opening date out there without really committing to it, and there's a decent hint as to why. <br /><br />So, believe who you want to believe about the stadium opening in <strike>2008</strike> early 09; the construction guys who seem to know what they're talking about and have planned for it, or the soda pimps who, well, don't bother to tell anyone about what's going on if they can avoid it.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-85047928727523749082007-08-10T11:51:00.000-04:002007-08-10T12:29:42.829-04:00EPL EveIt's busy times here at Metrologist World Headquarters. Doing some housekeeping, tweaking the look ever so slightly, arranging my sure-to-be-sensational fantasy EPL side on the cusp of a new season(arise and conquer, Planet Of The Tevezs), <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/LA-Galaxy-vs-NY-Red-Bulls-David-Beckham-Red-Bulls-Pub_W0QQitemZ320142992563QQihZ011QQcategoryZ16122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">refinancing the house for Beckham tickets</a>, and dealing with real world obligations, all while stoically surviving the nasty middle American heat.<br /><br />Knowing a thing or two about blogging dry spells myself (a subject for later posts), I've gone about culling some links to blogs that have fallen by the wayside, have gone dark for a year, or just don't seem to fit in with what I want this blog to be about anymore.<br /><br />Lucky for you, I've been hooked on a few new ones, which you ought to check out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pitchinvasion.net/">Pitch Invasion</a> is one of my favorite daily reads nowadays. "Football supporter culture, passion and politics." Just my kind of stuff, and the more blogs I see like this (see also: <a href="http://cultureofsoccer.com/">Culture of Soccer</a> and <a href="http://200percent.blogspot.com/">Two Hundred Percent</a>. Give me others!) the better. Let me be totally honest. There's a number of bloggers out there that have the gift of recapping/commenting/waxing insightful/newsgathering down, but so much of what's out there - and I'm not calling out, or even thinking of anywhere in particular - seems a combination of dizzy news feedback-looping, attempted clairvoyance, and somewhat meandering snark.<br />Perhaps it's just me: I'm just not much good at breaking down games and players in such quasi-analytical ways, nor am I all that interested in reading, much less writing such stuff, at least on the novice level. I enjoy the game immensely, but it is mostly the culture, the economics, the politics and everything that surrounds the game that I really want to deal with here. As fans and people, we are all in touch with, and can say something worthwhile about, that. <br /><br /><br />Secondly, I cannot fail to mention the mindbender that is <a href="http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/">Football Is Fixed</a>. I quite seriously don't know if its treatise-spinning anonymous author is a holy prophet, a paranoid conspiratorial nut, or if it is all actually a magnificent wind-up. It is a great, if get-a-cup-of-coffee-and-settle-in-for-a-while kind of read. Should I be concerned that I find it, in fact, all too believable?The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-54510835627321823722007-08-09T11:09:00.000-04:002007-08-09T11:11:23.273-04:00Altidore: "If I wait until I'm 21 there might be a big drop off"<a href="http://northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMzcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNzk2NzImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2">"The quicker you can get there the better."</a><br /><br />More on Ives's story at <a href="http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/08/altidore-consid.html">Ives' blog</a>.<br /><br />I would, too.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-34504216635016312022007-08-09T01:25:00.000-04:002007-08-09T01:42:16.829-04:00Talk about ginormous cojones!That's what you need to <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/LA-Galaxy-vs-NY-Red-Bulls-David-Beckham-Red-Bulls-Pub_W0QQitemZ320142992563QQihZ011QQcategoryZ16122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">tag a $2800 markup on tickets to the Goldenballs show</a> in the swamp. Of course, you splash out like that, you also get VIP before- AND after-game access to the "exclusive" Red Bulls "pub." Well, now you're talking!<br />Let's watch this one...The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-3257394515915210402007-04-06T15:21:00.000-04:002007-04-06T15:32:27.233-04:00Merch Watch: The "Skyline" T-shirt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RhaelvifD2I/AAAAAAAAABM/_X12z3xNXsI/s1600-h/skylineshirt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RhaelvifD2I/AAAAAAAAABM/_X12z3xNXsI/s320/skylineshirt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050398403396046690" /></a><br /><br />Behold, the <a href="http://shop.bigsoccer.com/shop-by-team-red-bull-new-york-red-bull-new-york-skyline-t-shirt.html">RB Skyline T-shirt</a>.<br /><br />What skyline is that, exactly? Beats me. Tacoma? Memphis? Winnipeg? There certainly isn't anything identifiably "New York" about it. Not that NYC's skyline is particularly distinctive or iconic or anything.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-88239803518631832007-03-30T23:24:00.000-04:002007-03-31T14:34:21.151-04:00A Mathis Fan's Notes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/Rg6jOxnKeuI/AAAAAAAAABE/Wtvq2AfThsc/s1600-h/fansnotes.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/Rg6jOxnKeuI/AAAAAAAAABE/Wtvq2AfThsc/s320/fansnotes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048151706560002786" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In 1968, Harper & Row published <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fans-Notes-Modern-Library/dp/0679602712/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9916778-7297416?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175363683&sr=8-1">A Fan's Notes</a>,</span> the first book by writer Frederick Exley. A "fictional memoir" that plays it fast and loose with the distinctions between fiction and biography (a line I believe is better off blurred anyway) it is one of the best works of late 20th century American literature. If you haven't read it yet, you should.<br /><br />It's a funny, sprawling, angry, lusty, and disturbing story. Exley writes from the perspective of a character named Frederick Exley, native of a small town in upstate New York whose youth is lived in the shadow of his charismatic, domineering, local legend of an alcoholic father. He grows up, leaves home, staggers from this career to that, gets drunk a lot and institutionalized twice. His marriage fails and his friendships falter; he sinks into several morasses of pure piteousness. Whatever his faults, this Exley is also intelligent, impassioned and literary-minded; perhaps that is why he fits so awkwardly into American life ca. 1950s-60s (and beyond?) <br /><br />Throughout the book, his drive to find his way and meaning in life is matched by his fierce hunger for recognition - the recognition that comes from writing Great Literature. Only he hasn't written Great Literature, or much of any literature yet - he's only thought about it, wanted it, felt born to it. A typical conceit of fairly bookish, ambitious, slightly pretentious middle-class boys, I would be lying if I said that it had never resonated somewhere inside me. Another binding theme of the story is that of sports - especially Exley's fanaticism for the New York Football Giants, but even more particularly, the figure of Frank Gifford (yes, Kathie Lee's septuagenarian squeeze). <br /><br />From his days spent studying at USC (where Gifford happened to be the Golden Boy star athlete at the same time) to his years spent in NYC, where he faithfully goes out to the Polo Grounds to watch the Giants play (the descriptions of Exley spending fall weekends in the stands with a motley crew of vulgar, beery brothers-in-arms brings to mind the best parts of being a diehard sports fan) Frank Gifford functions as a sort of parallel figure, only on a higher plane. He is what Exley imagines he should be, if only he could be as effortlessly talented, handsome, charming and famous. And then all his failings - the alcoholism, the dissatisfaction in love and in art - would be negated. Life would be good. Exley transfers a lot onto Gifford, and one might imagine there would be a counter-feeling of hate for him, an anxious, jealous anticipation of seeing him reveal his feet of clay. If only Exley could meet Gifford once, the reader thinks, he'd discover what a arrogant prick he really is and the whole facade would shatter. But no - we discover that they did meet by chance once, at a campus diner, and it was Exley who was the prick, Gifford the relaxed, unassuming one.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"When he looked at me, I smiled - a hard, mocking, so-you're-the-big-shit? smile. What I expected him to do, I can't imagine - say, "what's your trouble, buddy?" or what - but what he did do was the least of my expectations. He only looked quizzically at me for a moment, as though he were having difficulty placing me; then he smiled a most ingratiating smile, gave me a most amiable hello, and walked out the door, followed by his buddies who were saying in unison, "Hey, Frank, what'll we do now?" </span> <br /><br />Now, as much as I love sports - all sports - I have a hard time picking favorites. I don't fan for many teams, never having picked a favorite team in basketball, football or baseball. I just never felt it for any one team - Metro is definitely an anomaly. And there's no individual in any sport who I've taken on as my hero, my idol, who meant more to me than a team, much less a sport. Maybe when I was young there was a little bit of that, as kids do. But as an adult, I think it's a little weird to relate to a potential peer that way, much less someone ten years younger than you. That said, I have felt a deep and somewhat personal affinity for Clint Mathis.<br /><br />You see, over the past five or six years, Mathis has been as close as I've ever gotten to a Giff. <br /><br />There are a handful of personal similarities on or near the surface. No, no mohawk, no southern accent, and only one of my ACLs has been reconstructed. But yours truly and Clint are less than two months apart in age, about the same height, more or less the same build, and if you saw pictures of me with the hair closely-cropped and the beard growing in, there's a faint likeness there. It's no separated at birth thing, but a little more pronounced than my resemblance to, say, Brian Ching. <br /><br />Moreover, Clint plays, when he deigns to, more or less in the same style I do (I still do play quite a bit, and pretty decently.) That, and the fact that I'm about ten times the player I was when I was twenty, are rueful reminders that I was just a couple years too old to have MLS to look up to, that I focused on being a serious player too late - but there is room for that kind of player in the game, and I ought to have been it, if only... I have speed but not too much, some skill but not tons. I do have to say I'm a tad more slim and trim than the Clint we've seen over the past few years, and probably more ready to run box-to-box for 90 minutes. Invariably I'm that withdrawn forward, that exchanger-of-flicks, slider-of-clever-through-balls and walloper-of-twenty-three-yarders, playing within myself in the same way that Clint does nowadays. Perhaps too much - no more daring, lightning-fast 50 yard sprints with the ball. It was very shortly after he made his return from his 2001 ACL injury that I remarked to friends how much Clint seemed to be playing like another great in MLS - Hristo Stoichkov. The problem was that Stoichkov was then 38 years old.<br /><br />When the story of modern American soccer is written, Clint's going to go down as a talent squandered. Given the flashes of genius he displayed over a very brief period, they'll probably call him the greatest talent to be most rudely squandered.<br /><br />Is that word, "squandered," harsh?<br />After all, Mathis was key to the US qualification for WC 2002, and he brilliantly saved our ass against Korea. As <a href="http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=11048117&postcount=187">this terrific post argues</a>, he was one unfortunate twist away from really, truly putting MLS, Metro and himself on the map in NYC in a major way. It was so close to happening in 2000. And all that aside, he's made a lot of money. He's made the cover of SI. He punked out a Bundesliga coach - how many guys can say that?<br /><br />Yeah, "squandered" fits.<br /><br />But we've all squandered things.<br />Mathis's first run and career peak with Metro neatly coincides with my time living on the edge of New York City. I was fairly fresh out of college, out on my own and thinking of certain big things ahead. Among them, some Exley-ish visions. Big things didn't happen for me there. At least, not the big things I imagined would just fall into place, and not right away. It took about eight steps backwards to move ten steps ahead, and in a totally different direction altogether. If you asked me in 2000 if I could imagine myself here, doing this, I would have laughed. Or been dumbstruck. And I've got a hunch that the same might go for Clint Mathis.<br /><br />It isn't necessarily a tragic thing, the way things turn out.<br /><br />I bristle at any mention of "Clint Mathis, the American Gazza." It's lazy and inaccurate; say what you will, but Clint's head has always been screwed on a lot tighter than Gascoigne's. The shock return of Fowler to Liverpool is a better, if not perfect, comparison here today. Not knowing the guy outside of press reports and hearsay, not having spoken to him beyond a few moments at a team event that lasted as long as Exley and Gifford in that diner, I've never thought of Clint Mathis as some uncontrollable addict with problems requiring intensive treatment. A little different, sure. Undisciplined, yes. But another way of saying that is, Mathis appears to enjoy life (and cigarettes, Bud Light, and Doritos are all enjoyable parts of life, believe you me) as much as he did score goals. You may not want that on your team. But I'll be the last one to run people down for not absolutely maximizing their abilities, least of all someone whose peaks and valleys kind of track mine, as long as I'm putting myself in that same box.<br /><br />The saving grace is that my chosen fields don't wash "talents" up on the rocks by the age of 30. By most soccer standards, the re-acquisition of Mathis is a nonsense move. He's looked like a spent force for years now, since for those of us who remember so fondly what that "force" was like. Founding a lot of hope on a nice playoff performance is a lot like thinking an unproven coach has what it takes based on three or four decent performances as late season fill-in, and casting your lot with him (and no, I'm not talking about Bob Bradley here, but rather, Mo Johnston.) If the best argument you can make is that he comes cheap and its worth a shot, well hell, I come even cheaper. More realistically, there's got to be better value for money, even if the money being talked about isn't much. <br /><br />Ives blogged that Claudio drove the move, being friends with Clint. That's a nice story, I guess. John Ellinger was the "only coach he'd come back from Germany to play for," too. <br /><a href="http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/03/arena_talks_abo.html#more">Bruce may think he can unlock Mathis's mind and resurrect his career</a>, but I can only imagine that's Bruce way overestimating his own abilities. Otherwise, opinions on the trade run hot and <a href="http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/columns/lewis.php?article_id=9083">cold.</a><br /><br />Yet I really don't care if it's a sensible move. This is the first thing this organization had done since March, 2006 which makes me even the least little bit happy. Nostalgia's a funny old thing, innit? <br /><br />I say that, and still I can't help but hope for the best and expect the worst. We all remember the way Giff finished up.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/Rg6ivhnKetI/AAAAAAAAAA8/XdpDB3pq68k/s1600-h/gifford.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/Rg6ivhnKetI/AAAAAAAAAA8/XdpDB3pq68k/s320/gifford.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048151169689090770" /></a>The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-67369186953483930292007-03-20T19:37:00.000-04:002007-03-20T20:15:11.794-04:00How not to honor your club's iconic heroStep One: Give the job of immortalizing a man who served the club in virtually every capacity over 60+ years to a professional sculptor who's a passionate fan, yes, but also has never worked on any sculpture on this scale or in this material.<br /><br />Two: Rush it. Crank it out in less than two years, when comparable works have taken four - and that was with a live subject. (Though I'm seeing that better statues in the "football legends" genre have been done quicker and cheaper, too.)<br /><br />Three: Hope for the best.<br /><br />I give you the just-unveiled, already-reviled, and soon-to-be-toppled statue of Southampton legend Ted Bates at St. Mary's.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RgB1kDhuHhI/AAAAAAAAAAo/uSkIEl2fVq4/s1600-h/bates.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RgB1kDhuHhI/AAAAAAAAAAo/uSkIEl2fVq4/s320/bates.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044160844937436690" /></a> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RgB3nzhuHiI/AAAAAAAAAAw/FD8GWuRx3SU/s1600-h/bates2.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RgB3nzhuHiI/AAAAAAAAAAw/FD8GWuRx3SU/s320/bates2.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044163108385201698" /></a><br /><br />Good Lord - <a href="http://www.saintschat.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130859">more photos here</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Man, I feel terrible for everyone here. The fans are understandably up in arms about it; their season has sucked, and now their fundraising efforts - the statue cost over $200k - gave birth to that thing. Bates' family can't be pleased that he comes out looking like Tattoo (as opposed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatu_(soccer)">Tatu</a> - I can't wait till they put up the statue of Tatu down in Dallas, if only to see how they'll replicate the shirt flying off into the crowd in bronze.) The foundry is like "hey, don't look at us." And sculptor Ian Brennan really does sounds like someone who put a lot of honest sweat and toil into the work - it just didn't come off. Ok, understatement there. Did it ever "not come off." <br /><br />I do love this quote, from <a href="http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/display.var.1268259.0..php">an interview with sculptor Brennan</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />"I've never seen a smile on a statue before but after a lot of research we decided to go with a pose of him waving and with a smile on his face.<br /><br />"Generally that's a no-no because most people remember your face as it is most of the time. A smile only lasts a few seconds but Ted was always smiling and if his statue had a straight face and he was still waving, there was a risk of him looking like Stalin or the Saddam Hussein statue that was pulled down."<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/display.var.1270904.0..php">Don't miss the comments here</a> - particularly those from the sympathetic souls down the South Coast at Portsmouth - which are absolutely worth the price of admission.<br /><br />And I thought the bronze Batistuta in Florence looked a little weird.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RgBw9ThuHgI/AAAAAAAAAAg/H93xdtH7cik/s1600-h/bati.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RgBw9ThuHgI/AAAAAAAAAAg/H93xdtH7cik/s320/bati.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044155781170994690" /></a>The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-45289684273357455402007-03-20T01:14:00.000-04:002007-03-20T01:19:08.879-04:00Other times, the post is the goalkeeper's best friendYou know those magic rec specs Davids wears have that Terminatoresque digital display going on inside, right?<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cCN_-H0MTPs"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cCN_-H0MTPs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />And from another angle, to give you more idea of the damage.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HK-dwBhCXPA"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HK-dwBhCXPA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Two more of those, and he's Brett Lindros.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-39120688806528170912007-03-19T21:15:00.000-04:002007-03-20T00:55:43.738-04:00Back and forth/forth and backI had begun a post full of sweet venom, razor-sharp enmity, and uncouth but hilarious-cause-they're-true stereotypes before the little voice inside insisted "life's too short to hate." So let me just say: Good evening to all my new friends from the readership of DCenters!<br /><br />Springboarding off something I wrote over the weekend, it seems they were a little - shall we say smugly? we shall say smugly - pleased with <a href="http://dcunitedblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/mondays-black.html">the discovery that "the hatred for DC in New York is much more about New York than it is about DC.</a>" <br /><br />By gum, I think you've cracked it, Inspector Smarmsworth! Metro fan hates DC, but hates Red Bull even more. Lots of self-loathing there. Alert the press.<br /><br />Without getting into a lengthy thesis here, we can all imagine there is some perfect ratio of positive/negative involved with being a fan. Ideally, I think that means a high amount of positive - Go us! - spiced up with a certain, smaller complementary amount of the nasty negative - Boo (or Fuck) you! If that ratio has always been a little volatile in Metroland, for this Metro fan, at least, it is now completely shot. Speaking for myself, there is virtually no positive side, hardly any "yay our side" left to go on. I like most of the players individually, and can't wait to see a few develop into stars. I like the game of soccer, especially when it's played by teams from places in my country. Other than that, it's currently all about seeing those you don't like go down. That's you, DC - but that's just the way it's supposed to be, isn't it? If it's any consolation to your poor feelings, at least I've got a little grudging respect (which is what that post was mainly about.) Respect for Red Bull, much less pride in what they're doing? None.<br /><br />Now that is a sad situation, and not a lot of fun to be perfectly honest, but spare your pity for better things. Following MLS isn't a lot of fun, the way it was - that's why as much as I admire your <a href="http://www.wecallitsoccer.com/archives/001026.html">Free Beer Movement</a> (hey, I'll even plug it), you won't find me rushing to take anyone out to a game anytime soon. I figure MLS soccer is worth watching, but minus a team worth being passionate about, I can't be bothered to put myself or anyone else out for it right now. Good luck with that.<br /><br /><br />Other news n' notes:<br /><br />Marc de Grandpre, just back from a spa in the Seychelles or something, <a href="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=415414&root=mls&cc=5901">Fires Back!</a> just a week after Ives's story about the Red Bull New York's 14 million dollar loss last season. Determined to nip these stories in the bud and bringing the full force of his personality to bear on the Metro beat writers, he wrote an email with a lot of fluffy PR language, and cc:'ed it to Dyer and Michael Lewis. Stand-up guy, that Marc de Grandpre. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Funny from this</span>: our spin, spin sugardaddy's man claims RB "deliberately shed off all our sponsors at the end of the year." Well, I thought it was a contest between stupidly arrogant and inept to explain why they lost those major sponsors; I hope you had your chips on "stupidly arrogant," at least if we're believing this line from MdG,<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Funnier from this</span>: the usual BS suspects taking it all at face value. Hold tight, Marc and Dieter have a vision! They said it themselves!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Absolute funniest from this</span>: That Ives can not only <a href="http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/03/red_bulls_addre.html">respond on his blog</a>, but feel free to come into open conflict with the team over this. What's at stake for Ives if he hammers them some more on it? Anything? Some access, perhaps - but RB is Kremlin-like in that regard anyway, so what's his big loss there? They're not going to tell Bruce and the boys not to talk to him, are they? That would be utterly dumb, and it wouldn't work anyway. <br />But here's the beautifully ironic twist; as much as we like to think journalists can say whatever they want without concern for the sales department, if Ives kept it up, then one imaginable (I'm not saying actual) pressure that could fall on him might be through the team's major sponsors. It's just slightly possible that say, St. Barnabas Health Care wouldn't like reading continual slams on RBNY, justified or not, if it was a major team sponsor AND a North Jersey News advertiser (again, hypothetical). Does it work that way? Who knows. I can imagine it working like that somewhere, sometime. Call it goodwill in the community, or lack of. <br />Would that RB had any big local sponsors left to aggravate. And it's not like RB is ever going to be buying ads in something so un-edgy and conventional as the local newspaper.<br />Well, late night thoughts.<br /><br />And lastly, the jury remains completely out on Bruce Arena (only fair), which is to say that a lot of people are naturally expecting him to be Mr. F'ing Wizard, just 'cause. I'm skeptical, and I was going to get around to my reasons why sometime. Someone who knows a lot more about soccer and MLS <a href="http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10975559&postcount=300">beat me to it</a>. Take those reasons, add in the fact that Arena won his MLS championships when three-quarters of the league couldn't play their way out of a wet paper bag and...we shall see, won't we?The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-89004662378797733302007-03-17T12:57:00.000-04:002007-03-17T13:21:57.339-04:00Bordello of Bull Blood<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/Rfwe3HVOVQI/AAAAAAAAAAY/aaIBldRi9ZY/s1600-h/crypt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/Rfwe3HVOVQI/AAAAAAAAAAY/aaIBldRi9ZY/s320/crypt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5042939614957819138" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Someone pissed off the Crypt Keeper lately, and by the looks of it, that someone was Bruce Arena. Because our dusty old skeletal friend is neither happy nor charitable with his analysis of how Metro is coming together on the field under The Best Coach America Has Ever Produced (tm).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/article.php?article_id=8941">Michael Lewis reports on Paul Gardner's slams on Arena.</a><br /><br />What a truly weird thing to publish - and I'm talking about what Michael Lewis did here. Don't get me wrong. I like Lewis. I'm just not quite sure what the point of excerpting and highlighting an opinion piece in another publication could be - especially one that's sorta there, sorta on-the-periphery like SA is these days. And when it's Paul "Rotmasters was mine!" Gardner doing the opining. Sure, you will find some who like him, some who respect him as part of an earlier era of soccer journalism but think him pretty irrelevant now, and many who throw him straight in the "Cranks" basket, beside Trecker the Younger. Whatever - it's not like we look to Paul Gardner to get the inside scoop on Metro. <br />It makes me wonder just what the real purpose is on Lewis's part.<br /><br />Is Gardner saying things that Lewis would like to say himself, but can't get away with, being on the beat and all?<br />Is it just the product of a slow news week, team-wise?<br />Something else?<br /><br />The thing that's missing in the BAS piece, unfortunately, is any kind of response from Lewis - in agreement, in rebuttal, or to moderate. That's a real shame.<br /><br />But if the Crypt Keeper is more right than wrong here...hoo boy.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-69710462827521467692007-03-16T18:12:00.000-04:002007-03-16T18:24:21.976-04:00Kriss Kross would be proudTo take it to the weekend, one-time Metro "knowledge-sharing partner" (anyone ever hear ANYTHING more about that?) Eintracht Frankfurt has fans who know how to make the stadium rock. Seriously. Courtesy <a href="http://www.theoffside.com/">The Offside</a>.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pAHbEhKDBYg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pAHbEhKDBYg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Just noted - that's an AWAY crowd doing that. Nice.<br />Proof positive that fans can go out en masse and act passionately for a <a href="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables?league=ger.1&cc=5901">shitty team</a>...provided it means something to them. Working on that. Or not here, not at all.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-11763572088933639482007-03-15T22:42:00.000-04:002007-03-16T17:54:06.065-04:00Some people are high-minded<a href="http://njmg.typepad.com/sbi/2007/03/dc_1_chivas_1_f.html">Ives was watching the CCC last night</a>*, and he's got some magnanimous things to say as far as his hopes for DC and Houston in their away legs.<br /><br />*What was he doing watching that instead of the basketball tonight?<br />Wait, what was I doing?<br /><br />That's good. Those are the sane, rational words of someone who cares not just about the team he covers, but about the growth and development of MLS as a whole. You kind of expect and understand it from a journalist. There's even a lot of MLS fans like that.<br /><br />Luckily, I have no such noble compunctions. While I can tolerate - barely - DC nicking one to send their oh-so-insipid fans home not feeling totally forlorn, I simply cannot wait until Chivas takes DC back to Mexico and makes them look silly, as they inevitably will. Embarrass them. Hang a five on them. Go Goats.<br /><br />Because you know what I always say - the diving, whining, too-cowardly-to-take-a-flight-to-NYC jerkstore-acting enemy of my enemy is kind of my friend. At least till this tie is over.<br /><br />That said, it's all too clear from nights like tonight just how incredibly far behind DC our Metro stands, from an all-around point of view. <br /><br />Without too much exaggeration, I figure that it's 8-10 years before Metro - or whatever name they're called at that point - gets anywhere close to where the filth down I-95 is right now. On the field, they're simply deeper, more skilled, and will benefit from being battle-tested (not that they're doing all that spectacularly) against the best teams on the continent. We're having a hard time getting by college teams and counting on a 17 year old and (maybe) an A-Leaguer to bring the goals. In the stands and in the city, there's simply no comparison. A big chunk of that 26k number came to support the Goats, as anyone with ears (I guess we'll leave out Christian Miles on the telecast last night, then) could tell. But still - 26k for an international match 3 weeks out from the opener. This is a sign, among other things, that DC's FO knows what it's doing, and that the club has some actual connection, not just with the hardcore, but with the people of the area in which it plays. In short, everything that our organization is not.<br /><br />This second point fiercely sucks, since those who have been around a while may easily remember that (early titles or not) Metro and DC were more or less equal in crowd numbers through the first half of MLS's existence, and the Metro diehard core was always a little more...how do we say this nicely...."credible" than the weird assortment of fake Mods, knife-toting Salvadorans, and margarita-mix buying, tailgate-ticketing elements that constitutes your average DC crowd. That is, until the bulk of the Metro faithful was beat into a fine powder by shit results, shit management, and a shitty gameday experience, and drifted away on the winds. <br /><br />8-10 years of consistent positive development, on and off the field; that's my conservative (and maybe even optimistic guess) of what it'll take to see scenes like last night's up in NJ. Harrison alone won't make it happen. Nor would winning a title alone. Coming off a week and half of <a href="http://www.metrofanatic.com/frame/index.jsp?URL=http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/article.php?article_id%3D8840">good press to the left of them</a>, <a href="http://www.metrofanatic.com/frame/index.jsp?URL=http://tinyurl.com/yt8vg3">good press to the right of them</a>, and a <a href="http://www.metrofanatic.com/frame/index.jsp?URL=http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/article.php?article_id%3D8814">sharp reminder of just how MLS's ultra-egalitarian rules make RB's money a non-factor</a>, even when they care to spend it - can you see RB still being here in 2017?<br />Prop bets are often sucker bets, but if you know a bookie who'll offer good odds against that....The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-73533072594568384582007-03-09T10:15:00.000-05:002007-03-09T13:17:58.825-05:00Marking one year of being a jokeI am not a great reader of the game or outstanding appraiser of players. I don't have any clout or inside connections ready to leak juicy rumors to me. At best, I've got some words I can turn handily, a decent memory for where we've been in the past, and a passion - dinged up as it is now, insane as it's always been - for American soccer, and American club soccer in particular. Beginning with the Metros.<br /><br />So when I began this blog a little more than a year ago with <a href="http://themetrologist.blogspot.com/2006/01/your-2006-metros-work-in-progress.html">this humble post</a>, I didn't have much in the way of a great vision for it, except for this - to chronicle, describe, criticize and have a little fun with the Metrostars' endless journey towards becoming a quality team, a championship team, a team we long suffering fans can be legitimately proud of, come what may - so that in our travels here and abroad we could eventually tell people "yeah, my team is the Metro and I've been there since the beginning. Soy de Metro, de Metro soy yo..." and get a little respect, if nothing else. It could mean something, if we all stuck together; I had some faith in that.<br /><br />You laugh, and point to ten years of Metro fiascos, like it was something to be proud of at all. Keep dreaming, you naive Metrologist.<br /><br />Then I'll argue that ten years is in fact nothing much in the big picture of sports, and even 96-05 came with a lot of good times. Knowing full well that all of us are cheering for someone else's business at heart, as a diehard soccer fan who wants something just a little more authentic and rooted, the timeframe I'm operating on is that of decades, not seasons. For every Chelsea that shoots to global prominence and profitability when a speculator drops in and starts buying it trophies, there is a Middlesborough going almost 130 years before winning its first major trophy, or a Yeovil Town FC that goes over 110 years before even <span style="font-style: italic;">making it into the Football League</span>(!) to cite but two examples. This is soccer reality to me, as much as any glitzy cup final. And somewhat perversely, I like it like that.<br /><br />The point isn't to glorify mediocrity and stumbling around the nether reaches of the leagues for decades. No one wants that. It's to glorify the resilience and endurance of soccer fans through all the shit, a resilience that gets built into symbols like names and badges, and how they mean something to a place, a group of fans, no matter what the results might be. That's enabled people in many places to follow the same team their ancestors, actual or just locally-speaking, did. That enables the 90% of supporters around the world who aren't following G-14 teams to feel like they're not totally wasting their time. And that stability and continuity is worth something you just can't count.<br /><br />Winning, in fact, isn't everything and isn't worth getting into bed with anyone for - the thought that some fans think an MLS championship - MLS, for chrissakes! - is so important that it justifies hocking the whole shebang of your team's identity is just amazing to me. Winning is the goal, for sure. It catalyzes us as fans. But simply being there, in the same recognizable form and in the same place is every bit as important. It's where real tradition is forged over time, and THAT, not ticket giveaways or aged, expensive world superstars from the right immigrant demo, is what gets people coming back time after time, year after year.<br /><br />But Metrologist, you say, such nice examples are useless here. Soccer just means something different in the rest of the world, and especially in places like England. It's engrained in their culture and their traditions.<br /><br />Well, exactly. And you want club soccer to be somewhat "cultural" here too, dontcha?<br />I do. I'm a big fan of the sports that are part of our culture already. But soccer...that is just something different, and I'd like us to have a piece of that here, too. If it takes till I'm old and gray.<br /><br />It may not be in the cards, sociologically speaking. I've done quite a lot of studying and thinking about it (if it's not apparent by now that the Metrologist is hopelessly shuttered up somewhere in the world of higher education, it should be) and I've gradually concluded it's <span style="font-style: italic;">possible</span> the United States simply isn't set up for it at this point in time. There may not be the room or the inclination in the US soccer world for an idealized club soccer culture to grow. It could be that US soccer <span style="font-style: italic;">will </span>grow nicely, as long as we acquiesce to naming some clubs after the highest bidding multinational lifestyle-oriented conglomerate, and branding others after the Great and Good Clubs of Real World Soccer - Arsenal Colorado, Real Salt Lake, DC Chelsea United, Columbuselona. PMLS = Post Modern League Soccer. The signs point in that direction. It could be our destiny.<br /><br />So be it. The "product" (and I loathe, loathe, loathe that term) on the field will probably improve. But if that's the case, I can't see much reason for us hardy few to go on acting like fervent, loyal, do-anything-for-our-club-because-it's-repping-us supporters. Why do anything much more than buy my ticket now and then (if I don't feel like watching the Mets/Yankees/Devils/Nets/Knicks, etc., since I "support" them equally), sit in my seat and take in the show? Anything more would be foolish - you can't express your team spirit when there's no spirit inside to be found. Who can scream out Red Bull songs with a straight face? Unintentional self-parody at its worst.<br /><br />Today, March 9 2007, marks the one year anniversary of the conversion of Metro into the Red Bulls, and this string of discussions is its legacy - the magic candles flickering on the taurine-soaked birthday cake. They always re-ignite. They still vastly overshadow the actual job of supporting this team. They always will, until the last of the dyed-in-the-wool Metro traditionalists give up and find something else to do. Make a wish!<br /><br />Personally, I don't like spending too much of my precious time in negative ways, and the older I get, the even less so. It's the flipside of my tendency to criticize and play devils advocate; too much of that, and it sucks the life out of you. Who wants to waste time beating this further into the ground? So there's been less and less posted here (you might have noticed.) The US soccer blog landscape has really grown since I started here, in line with big things going on in the sport here, but I've had less and less time for it. I've taken less and less interest in the things like playoff matchups and draft coverage, and planned on spending less and less money. My link to this team, if not severed, is stuck in a state of limbo. As someone who was, and should still be, pretty evangelical about MLS, I now have to force myself to care as often as not. That's not good.<br /><br />What today also marks is the the ticking-over of the worst year of being a Metro fan ever. While the organization itself has been jarred, and I don't think anyone can say for the better overall (more on that in a coming post), I think what remains of the already-tortured diehard Metro crowd has only been further alienated, divided, and turned against one another. I've been a part of that, on a personal level, more than I'd like to admit. What used to be a pretty cooperative community, especially online at least on the surface, now has serious lines drawn through it.<br /> <br />Hypercaffeinated bickering among the desperate remnants like this isn't pretty and certainly not productive. Yet again, another reason for those like me to drift off instead, or for prospective fans to wonder "why would I want to bother?" It's somewhat reminiscent of a scene I saw once at a Fiorentina match I attended in the late 90's; Napoli arrived for a spring match already sure to be relegated, its ragtag, dejected-looking traveling fans barely filling up a third of the fenced-in visitors section at the Artemio Franchi. The Napoli fans quickly got down to the business of beating the shit out of <span style="font-style: italic;">each other</span>, and by the time Fiorentina was coasting with a 2 or 3 goal lead, the Napoli fans were stretched out over the stands, taking in the glorious afternoon sun rather than bothering with the shambles on the field. A similar sort of Lord Of The Flies scenario doesn't bode well for any resurgence of real Metro - or RB, for that matter - support. The question is, do those running the show even want it?<br /><br />Over the next few days I'll look at some of the substantial problems RBNY has ahead of it. What isn't working now and why I don't think it can ever work - not as anything other than an ersatz soccer product with their name all over it (maybe that can justify their investment, but who wants to watch that? Not me.) It won't be a cheery or particularly enjoyable analysis. But it's not particularly enjoyable to go through this as a fan. Who knows why we do it? We slog on - for the time being - in the hopes that this joke finally stops being told, or else it's so damn successful that someone decides to take a chance on another NY-area team that isn't such a sham.<br /><br />Happy Birthday, Red Bull New York. May there be very, very few more for you.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-29720875983855258222007-02-21T12:44:00.000-05:002007-02-21T12:48:34.983-05:00Citibank offering $49m over 5 years for LA Galaxy shirt sponsorshipOr, <a href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/soccer/20070221-9999-lz1s21sidelin.html">when your potential shirt sponsors compete, you win</a>.<br /><br />Ironic that this sort of thing is completely out of the question when your owner is also your shirt sponsor, isn't it?The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-54044576412999454862007-02-20T18:26:00.000-05:002007-02-20T20:50:46.631-05:00I see your permatanned lips movin', but I don't hear nothin' being said<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RdulPcv-J6I/AAAAAAAAAAM/jF0qkayC1Gg/s1600-h/dieter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Es1Ufl_Jg4o/RdulPcv-J6I/AAAAAAAAAAM/jF0qkayC1Gg/s320/dieter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033798693350680482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><br /><br /><br />or, "In Soccer It Can't Happen Overnight," a poem by Dieter Mateschnitz in the Neo-Vague Sakiewiczist style, via the admirably terrieresque <a href="http://www.metrofanatic.com/frame/index.jsp?URL=http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/article.php?article_id%3D8707">Michael Lewis</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In soccer, it can’t happen overnight</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It will take a number of years to build a top team.</span><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">Winning the championship and reaching the final<br />cannot be our goal just yet<br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">On the other hand<br />just<br />doing well cannot be enough either.<br />If everyone puts in their utmost effort<br />and we reach the semifinals, we would consider that a success.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">Both the Anschutz Group and Red Bull believe that<br />famous and international soccer players<br />joining the MLS will strengthen the league and increase the interest and<br />fascination of soccer in the U.S.<br />Corresponding steps are likely to be taken by us, although<br />this is not a priority<br />and will happen only<br />when we move into Red Bull Park.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">We are taking it one step at a time<br />First, we have to build a basic structure<br />form a solid team, scout for talent, and work on development, etc.<br />We have to do our homework properly and<br />only then we can think<br />about as many big names as the MLS rules will allow<br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><br />We are confident that Bruce will<br />build a team that will compete for and ultimately<br />win a championship<br />no matter who those players are</span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">We are trying to build the new home for the team and fans<br />as fast as possible, but<br />planning procedures and construction work<br />on Red Bull Park<br />has to be done properly<br />We hope it will be open by 2008</span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">We will make use<br />of as many synergies as possible including<br />knowledge transfer, common training camps<br />player exchanges and friendly matches<br /><br />to build a soccer club and a team<br />everybody can and will be proud of<br />including our players, our media partners and above all our fans and supporters<br />Not only those from the East Coast<br />but all sports enthusiasts and soccer fans across the U.S.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">First we have to win.<br />We have to be a part of the playoffs on a regular basis<br />and finish the season in best position possible.<br />So we have to find the best trainers and<br />the best players to play intelligent<br />fast and stout-hearted soccer.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><span style="font-style: italic;">This can only be changed parallel with</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">the sportive success of the New York Red Bulls.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />So there you have it - at the mundane "informational" level, it's merely a smorgasbord of platitudes, puffery, PR, promises tilted in cavalier fashion at the future and wishful thinking, with just one nugget of useful information - if you were banking heavily on any big ZZ-shaped splash in the next few weeks, think again.<br /><br />My favorite bit of wordy non-information comes in lines 3-7: we cannot legitimately expect to win anything now so don't get your hopes up, but mere everyday success isn't good enough for us, the Mighty All-Conquering Red Bull.<br />The banality of actual stated goals? Heavens, no, not for us. A visionary poetry of paradox that covers all the bases? Yes!<br /><br />It is all so oddly comforting to longtime Metro fans, in the sense of eternal return/plus ca change, etc. Vague promises ("we've almost got a practice facility agreement drawn up"), a whole lot of nice-sounding words that mean nothing, and a smattering of excuses why things are currently running behind schedule - it's all we know. Like a warm, fuzzy blanket.<br /><br />The Metro ghetto of Bigsoccer, as you can well imagine, is enraptured over these "plans" and "vision" of a "true fan."<br /></span></span>The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-53059339135648329412007-01-10T14:50:00.000-05:002007-01-10T15:32:53.282-05:00I looked up do-do-da-douchebaggiest douchebaggery ever, and here's what I found<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msn.foxsports.com/id/6347908_36_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 225px;" src="http://msn.foxsports.com/id/6347908_36_1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We have no doubt it was difficult, but MLS has finally wrangled new owners up to the standards of repulsiveness set by reclusive right-wing zealots, Wal-Mart heirs, and of course, grotesquely perma-tanned Austrian "energy" swill pushers.<br /><br /><br />That's right - <a href="http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0107/386928.html">Dookies United</a>.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-1163369721968169922006-11-12T16:56:00.000-05:002006-11-12T17:15:22.063-05:00Typical brilliance from MLSJust a quick note from the MLS Cup halftime interview with Don Garber that just aired a moment ago - specifically, a reaffirmation of news from earlier this week that MLS is doing a "cost-benefit analysis" w.r.t. the possibility of bringing David Beckham into the league.<br /><br />The news isn't really that they're running the numbers. No, it's that they're being so unbelievably, ridiculously public and specific about their target. <br /><br />These MLS honchos wouldn't make very good poker players, would they? Sigh. <br /><br />Unless, of course, their "cost-benefit analysis" is really just an routine exercise which tells them the damned obvious; as a good, but limited and hardly world-top-10 player at this point, Beckham's on-field contributions surely won't be worth however many millions MLS pays for him, and it's highly questionable whether his marketing/PR appeal stateside is what some imagine it is - and so this is <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> just a tactic to get MLS's name in some headlines, here and abroad.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-1160679368933245692006-10-12T14:40:00.000-04:002006-10-12T15:00:43.600-04:00Please don't tell Red Bull about thisAh, but I'm sure they're already on top of it.<br /><br /><a href="http://hireafan.com">HireAFan.com</a> (from <a href="http://www.deadspin.com/sports/fans/being-a-fan-can-be-slightly-lucrative-but-not-really-207149.php">Deadspin</a>)<br /><br />"The site has been born after the World Cup of Soccer 2006. During the world cup, I was lacking loyalty to a specific country so I decided to auction off my loyalty via Ebay. The auction was a success with much media interest, and the business of hireafan was born. After my loyalty was secured for Serbia and Montenegro, I discovered there was a market of people that were willing to cheer for any game for a price."<br /><br />Ha, no shit.<br /><br />"The concept behind this site is simple. Hireafan.com is exactly as is seems, you pay for a fan to cheer for your team for a specific game. In return for your fan purchase, you will receive advertising on this site, as well as a photograph of your fan in front of a television set during the game."<br /><br />Gee, anyone know a team with a lot of money to throw away, to go with a glaring lack of attention to its "product"?<br /><br />Actually, amidst the Beckham-to-MLS nonsense being thrown around last week, someone made the point that for $100 million, the league would be better advised to offer 20 dollar bills to the next 5 million people to come through the gates. That is a sharp take, but at $5 a head this is even more of a bargain.<br /><br />And it's already got sponsorship from multilevel marketers and online touts? Google is scraping together another billion dollars as we speak.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-1160677565441918712006-10-12T14:22:00.000-04:002006-10-12T14:26:05.440-04:00Dingin' it like Southwest AirlinesNicklas Backstrom - <a href="http://www.svenskafans.com/superswede/superswede_320.wmv">Something like the Swedish Ronaldinho of hockey</a>.<br /><br />Not as incredible as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaXzoXVvO6Y">the original</a>, of course, but this looks like it was done without the aid of special effects.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-1160411702235526432006-10-09T12:07:00.000-04:002006-10-09T12:43:22.010-04:00That's what you get for taking down Etcheverry in 1996Poor<a href="http://www.metrofanatic.com/team/player.jsp?ID=25"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> Rob Johnson.</span></a> Original Metro, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGZeXkbnfSs">first and best purveyor of the flip throw-in in MLS</a> (hey, anyone could pull that off on the wide sidelines of Giants Stadium or Foxboro, but in Spartan Stadium??) but forever to be remembered Metro fans as <a href="http://www.metrofanatic.com/story.jsp?ID=3448">the guy who took down Marco Etcheverry for a penalty in the dying minutes of the 1996 Metro-DC playoffs</a>. If only we could go back in time, back to that fall evening at RFK, and remind him not to go flying recklessly in...so much might be different for us today.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1a6DOpYwjAQ"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1a6DOpYwjAQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object><br /><br />(the very epitome of "scything the attacker down")<br /><br />Now an assistant coach at Temple University, he's <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2068957n">one of many Robert Johnsons on the government no-fly list, according to a story on 60 Minutes last night</a>. <span class="link_right"></span><br /><br />DC scum: Still fucking with Rob Johnson, and all of us, ten years later.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20593169.post-1160086382242735612006-10-05T17:42:00.000-04:002006-10-05T18:13:02.363-04:00The NHL, and comedic decapitation - brought to you by DodgeThis may have started as a blog dedicated to the fortunes of Metrostars soccer (it's right there in the name, after all) but given the sour-tasting mix of blandness, agitation and indifference CFKAM has been delivering since March, the ever-increasing joylessness that comes from "following" what isn't a club so much as a <a href="http://www.realmadrid.dk/news/article/default.asp?newsid=8857">pure global marketing exercise</a>, I'm so very glad indeed that NHL hockey is back.<br /><br />But as for hockey fans being back...not so much. At least not the sort who make totally bizarre street hockey-inspired movies like this. Just enough production values (I mean, there's titles! And not just that, but the tinkly sitcom piano, the chiller-thriller shriek sounds) to let you know that a modicum of thought and effort went into this. It would be so much less disturbing - but certainly less funny - if it was just your typical stupid stoner kids joint.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zMtwj5qNhLw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zMtwj5qNhLw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />There are at least 3 adults involved with this "production;" clearly, all should be put on a DCYS hotlist, stat. That said, I sure hope that when the NHL rips off Youtube like they're <a href="http://www.siliconbeat.com/wire/2006/07/nhlcom_to_introduce_fanbased_s.html">ripping off Myspace</a> (fallen a little behind, haven't they?) the same <strike>production company</strike> deranged hockey dad has a sequel ready.The Metrologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578751964573630722noreply@blogger.com0