I thought this might happen today...

[AreliusII]

Originally Posted by clarette

Speaking of the other board, who put O'Doul's in the Crapids fans' kegs, man?

I went lurking over there today and found their bitterness quite amusing. If they're not careful, they'll turn into the MLS equivalent of Sp*rs fans.

Wherever you turn on the boards, we got a 10 on a scale from 1-10:

Here’s a sampling from the Rapids section of Bigsoccer:

Just got home (Grand Jct.) from a great weekend in Salt Lake. The best time I've had at a soccer match since Hendo's bike on Dodd in "97. Fantastic atmosphere, enthusiasm, and by the time Dunseth scored, I was rooting for the boys in red to send everybody home happy.
The sad thing is to realize just what a moribund franchise our Rapids have become. We NEVER have had that level of crowd excitement and enthusiasm. Not at the opener in '96, not on any "I'm just here for the fireworks" Fourths, never, never, never. They probably sold more Real shirts and other gear than the Rapids have in 10 years combined. It's pretty darn sad how we've squandered the enthusiasm of both the committed and the curious - both by poor franchise decisions (Black & Blue), coaching selection (pick one - any one), player selection (eehhhhh...............), etc., etc.
On the Salt Lake late TV news, the sports guys were all wearing Real jerseys, it was page 1 in both Sunday papers, and the whole town seemed into it. Of course, they don't have baseball & football & arenaball & mini-lacrosse to compete with. But Checketts seems to have done everything right starting that franchise, even had the supporters club ("The Loyalists") carry a giant Real jersey onto the field.
Hope somebody at PepsiCenterLand, when they're not searching for my lost game-selection form or other screw-up, eventually realizes there is more to building a tradition than throwing money at a stadium.

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190236

****

It already is a bright spot, just for the amount of red I saw in the stands watching the highlights online. NEVER in the history of MLS have the fans shown their teams colors so vividly.

****

I'm actually looking forward to going to Salt Lake (I never thought I would say that) for the qualifier so I can see some real (no pun intended) atmosphere. Judging by the attendance at their first home game, you would think there's easily going to be 40K at US-Costa Rica, maybe even a sell out.

****

If the game against RSL was any indication, I would say we have the talent right now. I watched the first 30 minutes of that game again last night to get some more perspective. We played damn good for 30 minutes then all hell broke loose. It was like we just lost the desire to perform after we botched a couple of golden opportunities. This team is talented. I don't know why the coaching staff has such a hard time motivating them but when they are motivated, they are fun to watch.

In 1997 a friend of mine had a vistor from Italy, a huge soccer fan and x minor league player. He told me that his friend made a comment after watching a Rapids game. He said that some day soon the US will win the World Cup. He said that he had never seen such a positive spirit and attitude watching a soccer game. He wasn't impressed by the talent level. His attitute was that the level of play will improve over time. He was impressed by the determination to win. Even when a team is trailing by 2 goals they keep pressing forward with enthusiasm and intensity. The desire to win.

This is something that has been sorely missing from any Rapids team except for the 2nd half of the 1997 season. The team played some ugly ball back then but with enthusiasm and intesity with a desire to win.

***

I am in soccer limbo. Well, of course, I'll always like DC United. But watching on TV Saturday, I was thinking RSL was giving me all the good reasons to like them. Good team colors. A fresh start, which despite a change of coach, is hardly the theme at the Rapids.

[Stucki]

I love the pic of the stadium. The field with the green paint is a bit dodgy.

[Czar Jake]

Originally Posted by mrstucki

I love the pic of the stadium. The field with the green paint is a bit dodgy.

It looked a LOT less dodgy than it would have if they hadn't painted over the pointyball lines!! Southlake, anyone??

[Hiddnfox]

I talk to a guy from colorado and work on a MLS mod for winning eleven 8 with him (soccer game from Konami) He came down to the game and unfortunatly I was unable to hang out with him while he was here. He is a huge cRapids fan and last night after he got back to colorado he told me how much he enjoyed the game. how great the crowd was and here's the big one....how he might have to start rooting for ReAL. We have bout's all the time over rapids and ReAl but now I guess he knows the true winner. and the winner of the RM Cup and of the 2005 championship, and the US open cup, and the world for that matter....REAL SALT LAKE!!!

[bordelais7]

And the fever keeps spreading...

Most users ever online was 31, 05-16-2005 at 01:54 PM.

[Stucki]

Sweet, I really should get back to work.

[HibaIssa]

Aww, I missed it. It was at 29 and I had to leave.

[Newkidontheblock]

Most users ever online was 39, 05-18-2005 at 09:40 AM

And it just keeps growing and growing :D

[Aero]

Wow! That's quite a leap. I wonder how long it will take us to get to 50. Maybe we should start competition to see who can come the closest to predicting the actual date and time.

[Stucki]

I am putting Saturday after we get Andrulis fired.