Cole Bassett Apology: Rapids Homegrown Gets Real After Rocky Mountain Cup Loss

SANDY – Cole Bassett sits down in front of the camera for the postgame Zoom press conference. He just played 65 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake. Colorado Rapids lost the Rocky Mountain Cup for the third straight year. They’ve lost three in a row. They’re last in the league. Things are bad. As bad as they’ve ever been.

“Kind of at a loss for words. Just so sick of losing. I don’t know what the stat is now one in 17. Just never been on a losing team after a first half season. So it’s very frustrating right now. We’re trying everything to get out of it, but really just does not seem like anything is working.”

That was Bassett’s opening statement. (It’s actually one in 18 all comps, one in 15 in league play).

Bassett understands you, Rapids supporters:

The fanbase is at a boiling point in many regards with this season. Robin Fraser’s seat is getting hot. Increasingly, fans think it’s his time to go. A louder group blame President Pádraig Smith for the roster build. In case you were wondering, there’s still a super majority on Kroenke Out.

A lot of fans have felt disconnected from the club the last two years. Part of that has been the lack of open accountability towards them from club staff. They also want to see clearly that things like the Rocky Mountain Cup matter to people at the club as much as it does to them.

Crestfallen Bassett offered all of the above postgame on Saturday night. Other than the Wooden Spoon, it should be the only consolation prize Rapids fans get this year.

Fans have wanted apologies from players, coaches, and front office members the last 18 months.

“I’m genuinely sorry. It means as much to me as it does to you guys (the fans). I hate losing to these guys (RSL). I hate losing in general, but especially with these guys. Even if you are having a poor season, the one things that can bring the supporters joy this Cup. I know how much it means to them.

“We’ve tried to get the whole team around the same feeling. And I hope that everybody knows that as well as I do. There’s nothing I can say besides we apologize and we need to do better. This can’t happen next year for whoever’s here. I don’t know who that will be, but this cannot happen.”

Bassett echoed similar frustrations as he did after the Leagues Cup loss to Toluca. He said the upcoming international break should not be break. Everyone should be clocking the hours to get better. He’s clearly heartbroken with how far his hometown club has fallen. He wants to be a part of the solution. His demeaner reflects that desire and frustration. Like Fraser, he’s shocked. They’re both running out of words and ideas.

Acknowledging a quiet part outload without saying it:

He did bite his tongue a bit on a question from Burgundy Wave.

Robin’s increasingly become repetitive and similar to you, kind of at a loss for words and says the same things about what you guys need to work on. Is the message feeling repetitive for you and and the players? What is the coaching staff doing to try and change things up to deal with these problems, given how how long they’ve existed throughout the season?

“The tough thing with these type of questions is there’s stuff I wish I could say, but it’s not always smart and in the best interest at the team. Maybe that’s why some of the answers get repetitive. I know it sucks for you guys as a journalist.

“We have changed. It’s been weird. We’ve done a lot of the same things, but we’ve done a lot different every week. That’s hard to explain if you’re not in it every day. For you guys, it seems like we keep doing repetitive things on the field, but also there’s some of us in the locker room, we do change a lot of stuff with formations and the personnel and the style, like the tactics of how we’re playing game to game.

“It’s tough for Robin because a couple of years ago our team was so good at doing that and I think you got accustomed to being able to switch stuff on the fly game to game tactically based on the other team. And now I just don’t think that this team is as well adaptable. It’s a different group of players. We had a lot of smart players a couple of years ago and we were able to adapt and always outthink other teams. But it is just we have a different group of players. We need to fit to that style a little bit more. That’s probably what I can think of kind of give you as an answer. I can’t say much else.”

Final thoughts:

They’re trying. It doesn’t look like they are. That’s part of why it’s not working. It’ll be refreshing for many fans to see a player be so open and critical. It’s sad that it had to get to this point for Bassett to speak out to the level he did. Cole’s a well-spoken young man. He’s thoughtful and respectful with the media. He’s also bell media trained very well.

It’d be nice to hear apologies and self accountability from other players, Fraser, and Smith.

This Cole Bassett apology is a step in the right direction. Maybe more so off the field than on it.

Photo Credit: Antonia Geiger, emdashphoto.com.

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. If you want to support us, join our Patreon starting at $5/month. Also, we’re always looking for new talent to contribute to the site, develop, and give opportunities to. If you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer in any way, let us know.