My President, Our Country, Our Team

You can't help but notice the difference between George W and Barack, be you a Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Green Party, you cannot dispute his mastery of the English language; which against the backdrop of the last 8 years is even more impressive. But more important than the words he speaks are the ideas that we've all needed to hear for several decades. Sticking our collective heads in the sand doesn't make the our problems magically disappear. If we want to see the action that we so desperately crave that will make all of our lives better, safer, and cleaner. We NEED to hear this, we NEED the kick in the groin, but we don't need to turn around and point fingers at the ones behind us that caused some of the heartache. How much progress can we make by spending our hours laying blame? It begins with us.

The same should be said of the latest RSL postings on Big Soccer. It takes a moment to bitch and come up with a list of things that can and should be done, but who among us is ready and willing to step in and bridge the gap with constructive feedback to Front Office (myself included)? I'm not talking about sending a bitchy email to Trey, I'm talking about the grass roots efforts (that most us would agree) it will take to keep this thing growing. I give full credit to the men and women who have spent countless hours starting and growing the Supporters Groups. Has the pre-season coverage in Tampa been amazing...no, now compare it to last year. We're in the middle of a recession, we're working towards a black bottom line, and who among us can respond with certainty that the "Behind the Shield" in the "Behind the Shield" is a full time media production and blogging professional? Who among us knows whether or not he/she isn't the assistant equipment manager who's multitasking to make the rent on his/her one room studio in West Valley and is simply contributing any way they can for the love of the team. And if he/she is, keep taking steps forward, because it is not productive to keep looking behind.

U-S-A, U-S-A, R-S-L, R-S-L!