We live in a very strange world over here in the American sports culture. We're a sporting culture that strives for parity to the point of actually rewarding teams for not only being bad, but being the worst.
I support Crystal Palace over in England. They actually had a season strikingly similar — though not quite as bad overall — to this one from the Rapids a few seasons back when they were in administration. It was a time to panic, I spent nights worrying about the fate of the Eagles as the losses started to pile up. Of course there would be no trophies for the club that season, but the threat of relegation was far worse. They did miraculously stay up, but the worry was palpable.
Welcome to America, truly the land of opportunity for a team down on their luck.
There will be a shiny new top 5 pick for the Rapids waiting at the SuperDraft to start the 2013 season, along with a group of players that will have a lot more chances to prove their worth and learn the systems under Pareja if the goal shifts from 'must win' to 'must learn'.
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Matt Pollard 