The game is going to be on December 13th, which may mean it could be the last appearance in any MLS-type game ever for Mullan. (The retirement whistles may be sounding on him soon, with his lack of appearances for the Rapids since the beginning of the season.)
More from Burgundy Wave:
Here's a thing that isn't going to happen: Colorado winning the Supporters' Shield. However, I could, very easily, make a post today about how the Rapids are actually still in contention for the only MLS trophy they've come nowhere near in their history. (I don't count the CONCACAF Champions League as an MLS trophy, but even getting to the group stage of that and winning a game or two could be considered closer than they have gotten to the Shield before, being one of the most consistently middle-of-the-road clubs in the league's history.)
I'm not going to be writing that post. I am, however, going to be writing about how insane it is that we're even considering the possibility. Colorado is, technically, still in the Supporters' Shield race in late September. They're on pace to have the best season, points-wise, in team history, assuming they win their two remaining home games.
Considering all of that, you can see just what an insane turnaround this season really has been. Even if the Rapids miss out on the playoffs, even if the Rapids lose every single one of their immensely important matches in October and end the season with the 45 points that they have right now, it will be impossible to take this season and not see an incredible improvement over 2012.
That's the difference between this year and last. The late season hope this year isn't just on a playoff spot, and in fact most people have them as favorites to get the fourth or fifth spot in the Western standings. What were we talking about in September last year? Whimsical fantasies about even making the playoffs at all. Last year on October 4th, the Rapids were officially out of playoff contention. This season, we'll still be able to think about the Shield for, at the very least, a day longer than that.
That's the most tangible difference between this year and last. It's all about hope.
Here's a thing that isn't going to happen: Colorado winning the Supporters' Shield. However, I could, very easily, make a post today about how the Rapids are actually still in contention for the only MLS trophy they've come nowhere near in their history. (I don't count the CONCACAF Champions League as an MLS trophy, but even getting to the group stage of that and winning a game or two could be considered closer than they have gotten to the Shield before, being one of the most consistently middle-of-the-road clubs in the league's history.)
I'm not going to be writing that post. I am, however, going to be writing about how insane it is that we're even considering the possibility. Colorado is, technically, still in the Supporters' Shield race in late September. They're on pace to have the best season, points-wise, in team history, assuming they win their two remaining home games.
Considering all of that, you can see just what an insane turnaround this season really has been. Even if the Rapids miss out on the playoffs, even if the Rapids lose every single one of their immensely important matches in October and end the season with the 45 points that they have right now, it will be impossible to take this season and not see an incredible improvement over 2012.
That's the difference between this year and last. The late season hope this year isn't just on a playoff spot, and in fact most people have them as favorites to get the fourth or fifth spot in the Western standings. What were we talking about in September last year? Whimsical fantasies about even making the playoffs at all. Last year on October 4th, the Rapids were officially out of playoff contention. This season, we'll still be able to think about the Shield for, at the very least, a day longer than that.
That's the most tangible difference between this year and last. It's all about hope.
The biggest problem with moving to the East Coast for me has been the fact that games are on so damn late now. Case in point: it's 1 am and I'm quite tired. So let's just plow through this one with a quick reminiscence.
Let's just hope that the Rapids look better after this long layoff than they did last time around, and I'll see you for the match against Seattle!
The biggest problem with moving to the East Coast for me has been the fact that games are on so damn late now. Case in point: it's 1 am and I'm quite tired. So let's just plow through this one with a quick reminiscence.
Let's just hope that the Rapids look better after this long layoff than they did last time around, and I'll see you for the match against Seattle!
I look forward to Matt Doyle apologizing in a later post, like he did last year when Martin Rivero failed to make the list.
50 shows! We've done 50 shows without ragequitting! Or rather, we will have done 50 shows by the end of the evening. It's Thugcast Night again, and we have plenty to chat about, especially since BlogTalkRadio has been quite good at cutting our shows off when they're getting good the past few weeks.
Ah, well. We've got a victory over FC Dallas (TACTICZ!!) to talk about, along with an upcoming match against the Portland Timbers, as of right now one of only two Western Conference teams that the Rapids have not beaten this season. (Seattle, as per usual, is the other.) We also have some emails that have come through the line that we'll chat about. Maybe a little ribbing at Chivas for doing a thing that probably won't help matters at all? Who knows.
Click on this text right here or on the big Thugcast logo below to be taken to this week's show page on BlogTalkRadio. And please join us at 7 p.m. MT for today's Thuggy goodness.
We don't often get Friday matches around here, but it's a quick turnaround after the game at Dallas as the Rapids head out to Portland to face the Timbers. You may recall that it wasn't the best of times last time the Rapids trotted out that way. This is a far more in-form Rapids team though, one that has only suffered defeat once in its last 12 games. That streak started right after, you guessed it, the 3-0 defeat to the Timbers.
Ahead of the match, I tossed a few questions out to Micheal Orr from our fabulous Timbers blog, Stumptown Footy. You can see his answers to my questions about the Timbers below, and you can head over to their site to see what I said about our Rapids to them.
BW: Like the Rapids, the difference defensively has been very notable for the Timbers this year compared to last year. What was the biggest key for this new defensive cohesion?
SF: It would take a major setback for Diego Valeri to start Friday's game on the bench. He could easily have played 90 minutes against Chivas on the weekend and probably would have been fine to do the same against Toronto the weekend before. Porter has chosen to bring him back slowly, knowing that the next five games (v Rapids, v Galaxy, @ Vancouver, v Seattle and v Salt Lake) are so crucial to his team's chances of reaching the playoffs and finding a nice seed within them. Valeri is the key to the Timbers' attack and should start not only against Colorado but the rest of the way, barring another injury.
BW: Portland is a team filled with attacking options. I know about the Johnsons, the Valeris and the Nagbes. Who's a lesser-known guy that we should keep our eyes on?
BW: And a prospective starting XI from you, as well.
SF: XI: GK – Ricketts
LB – Harrington
CB – Jean-Baptiste
CB – Kah
RB – Powell/Zizzo (depending on Powell's ankle)
CM – W Johnson
CM – Chara
LM – Wallace
ACM – Valeri
RM – Nagbe
F – R Johnson
Thanks again to Micheal from Stumptown Footy, check out their site for all you need to know about our Friday opponents.
Rivero is a wonderful tool to have at our disposal, but he's certainly not the necessity that we expected him to be prior to the season. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
Predictably, Dallas sitting back and Colorado's lack of technical ability outside of Sanchez led to a rather boring first half that fizzled to a 0-0 scoreline by the end. So uneventful was that half that the referee already had his whistle in his mouth before the 45 had even expired, blowing it the second that it did.
