MLS is back!

[Boomcoach]

The Crew closed out their last game in the old stadium in style, beating a fairly woeful Chicago side 2-0. Lots of pre-game reminiscences during the pre-game and fans staying late to sing out the old home was pretty cool.

Looking forward to seeing the new stadium in 2 weeks!

Only other MLS game I got to watch over the weekend was a very entertaining 2-2 ATL v PHI match, with a great 4th goal, a long blast from a central defender.

[dsvitak]

St. Louis' MLS team is developing. Stadium is being actively worked on, and there isn't a single ticket available for their inaugural season. Completely sold out, before the stadium is even finished.

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

St. Louis' MLS team is developing. Stadium is being actively worked on, and there isn't a single ticket available for their inaugural season. Completely sold out, before the stadium is even finished.

That is fantastic. Should be some good rivalries available, with KC and with Nashville. St Louis has always been a great soccer town, pretty much a great sports town in general. Never could get a group together to put in a good bid until now, though.

Only downside to St Louis is some not-favorite in-laws live in the area and I would probably have to drop by and say "Hi".

[dkgo]

Selling the hype is easy, keeping people there is tough.

Atlanta United lasted about two years as a hot ticket but now the team is awful and you basically have to give them away. Filling a football stadium each game was too ambitious.

[CONN CHRIS]

At a lower rung on the food chain, I surprised when I attended a Hartford Athletic match a few weeks back.

I do not and never have followed soccer so I was blissfully unaware of the team. My kids wanted to go and I was shocked at the energy and excitement in the crowd. I will attend again soon, great fun.

[Boomcoach]

Had a great time at the new Lower.com field for the Columbus Crew. A win would have been better than a draw, obviously, but coming from behind is fun and it was an exciting game all the way through.

Gathering for the March to the Match


Approaching the stadium


Inside the stadium.

[Déjà Bru]

One thing I have noticed is that media coverage of MLS is scanty. I will get back to this point in a moment.

Notice anything missing in this screenshot? Yes, it's the goalie.



He's maybe 20 feet to the left of this scene, off-camera. Here is how he got there:

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=4429065

I look closely; "Say, that's not Sean Johnson who misjudged the ball and got caught out of position so badly. Who ...?"

Backup goalie Luis Barraza. So what happened to Sean Johnson, NYCFC's superior goalie?

That brings me back to media coverage. ESPN's coverage of MLS sucks. Local news outlets have nothing about MLS, much less NYCFC.

The best resource is the MLS web site, I think, and that is where I found out that Johnson is on "Gold Cup duty." I'm not sure what that is, but I suspect it's the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

This is one thing that is difficult for me to get used to about this sport: the transience and disappearance of players due to "higher priorities." This is one loss that can be chalked up to Johnson's sabbatical. Why should I care about NYCFC when Sean Johnson prioritizes playing for his country in a superior tournament?

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

This is one thing that is difficult for me to get used to about this sport: the transience and disappearance of players due to "higher priorities." This is one loss that can be chalked up to Johnson's sabbatical. Why should I care about NYCFC when Sean Johnson prioritizes playing for his country in a superior tournament?

I can't argue that good MLS coverage is hard to find.

I guess when one of my team's players is on international duty, I take it as an honor. It certainly doesn't lessen my interest in the team. It is true that the squad needs to work around it, just like they have to work around injuries, and that is why squad depth is important.

The MLS has more issues with international duty interfering with the regular season because we play in the summer, whereas the European leagues play through the winter. The big competitions (World Cups, regional tournaments like the Gold Cup and the Euros) take place in the summer when the rest of the work is off-season.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Boomcoach

I can't argue that good MLS coverage is hard to find.

I guess when one of my team's players is on international duty, I take it as an honor. It certainly doesn't lessen my interest in the team. It is true that the squad needs to work around it, just like they have to work around injuries, and that is why squad depth is important.

The MLS has more issues with international duty interfering with the regular season because we play in the summer, whereas the European leagues play through the winter. The big competitions (World Cups, regional tournaments like the Gold Cup and the Euros) take place in the summer when the rest of the work is off-season.

I guess I will have to get used to it, because I am interested in the sport.

"The MLS has more issues with international duty interfering with the regular season because we play in the summer, whereas the European leagues play through the winter." More? Or less? It would seem the latter, fortunately. I grant you that the "big competitions" will have to take priority, and the drain on personnel per team I would think is small.

[Oh, never mind. I take your meaning. MLS, more issues than the European leagues.]

Still, I was perturbed to see the backup goalie fail that dismally (it was a good pass to the attacker, though), hence my grumpiness.

[Hageneezz]

Wish there was more MLS coverage here in the Netherlands.

GO UNION!

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Hageneezz

Wish there was more MLS coverage here in the Netherlands.

If it's this hard to get decent coverage of MLS here, it must be like a blip on the radar over there.

[Boomcoach]

Just checked the Crew International Call-ups. They will be missing 5 players, including starting keeper and striker. Its especially tough with road rivalry game on Friday, but just have to soldier through.

BTW, if you are going to be in the Columbus area for the Crew v NYCFC game, I may have an extra ticket!

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Boomcoach

BTW, if you are going to be in the Columbus area for the Crew v NYCFC game, I may have an extra ticket!

Thanks for the consideration. Believe me, if I was going to be there, I would like to take you up on your offer. I'll be tuned in, though!

[rudel.dietrich]

I find MLS pretty easy to find. I use a VPN for ESPN+
Yes it is a monthly paid service, but I can watch games on my tablet and keep up with DC United's disaster season.
Not sure if that qualifies as easy, but being able to watch from a tablet in a different country is pretty nice

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I find MLS pretty easy to find. I use a VPN for ESPN+
Yes it is a monthly paid service, but I can watch games on my tablet and keep up with DC United's disaster season.
Not sure if that qualifies as easy, but being able to watch from a tablet in a different country is pretty nice

I have had ESPN+ since they took it over from Direct Kick, but I still miss a place to get discussions and news about MLS. ESPN FC does a quick bit, but no depth. I have not tried ESPN+s Futbol Americas, it may do better coverage.

One thing I like on the MLS site is "Instant Replay" where they discuss some of the calls. The host are OK, not great. I tend to watch it on YouTube, because I enjoy the fan comments, which are no longer available on the MLS site itself.

Another good watch on YouTube is the PROReferees channel. PRO is the MLSs referee organization and it covers some of the VAR calls. You get to hear the VAR referee discussing whether to call the ref about an issue and also hear and see the conversation between the ref and the VAR official and the feed that the ref asks for and sees. I particularly like finding out that they do not use the super slo-mo for foul calls, most full speed or 3/4 speed, with the really slo-mo to verify if a ball strikes a hand, or who made contact with the ball first.

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Thanks for the consideration. Believe me, if I was going to be there, I would like to take you up on your offer. I'll be tuned in, though!

Good thing you aren't in the area, I would now feel bad. My wife will be going with me, and we will be making a weekend of it.

I wasn't thrilled with how they did their partial season plans this year, but I understand that with the championship and a new stadium, they could do some games. My daughter and I usually go for a 4 game plan. I am 2.5 hours away and my daughter is 4 hours from us.

This year to be able to add the FC Cincy game to the plan, you had to buy 5 other games. That is more than my daughter can commit to, since she likes to have a life of her own, as well, so I had a couple games that I picked up that my daughter cannot make it to.

Prices also went up, which didn't make me clap my hands with joy, but which didn't really bother me either.

[Boomcoach]

Well, the Crew pulled out a 2-2 draw, with a decimated lineup in a rivalry game. Exciting and all that, Porter's shushing the crowd is the kind of moment that can really help a rivalry develop.

Down 2 goal and a man and managing to dominate the rest of the game was impressive but, just as an idea, how about stop going 2 goals down early, jus sayin'!

Edit:
PS The Cincinnati TV announcers were terrible. I don't mind a bit of homerism. I expect a local broadcast to talk more about their team and to root for their team a bit, but once it seems that we are watching 2 completely different games, it has gone too far. Seattle's announcers fall into that category. Otherwise, I have not minded too many of the MLS announcers, from that standpoint.

PPS Sad to hear that we lost Paul Marriner. Don't remember much of him as a player, but enjoyed him as a commentator, both in the booth and on ESPN FC.

[Boomcoach]

I am not a particular fan of replay review in any sport, but it is here to stay and I have accepted that.

I think that soccer's use of VAR has been pretty good, I like the limits on its usage. I also really like the PROReferees YouTube channel where they show and discuss some of the VAR calls. You get to hear the discussion in the VAR booth, the call to the ref to delay the game, and the talk between the ref and the VAR ref.

You also get to see the video angles that the ref sees and how they view them. It adds a nice bit of clarity to how the process works.

[Déjà Bru]

History repeats itself.

"Lucas Zelarayan foiled New York City FC with another free kick goal to lead the host Columbus Crew to a 2-1 victory on Saturday."

"Zelarayan stunned New York City on May 22 with free kick goals in the 82nd and 95th minutes to turn defeat into a 2-1 road victory."

[Boomcoach]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

History repeats itself.

"Lucas Zelarayan foiled New York City FC with another free kick goal to lead the host Columbus Crew to a 2-1 victory on Saturday."

"Zelarayan stunned New York City on May 22 with free kick goals in the 82nd and 95th minutes to turn defeat into a 2-1 road victory."

I was very impressed with the Crew performance yesterday. They won the game through a great effort that involved the entire team. Shorthanded due to injuries, a red card suspension and numerous International call-ups, the Crew only had 5 outfield players on the bench and 4 of them were used and all made important contributions. They got goals from two of their DPs, but the hard work to get the result came down to team depth.