No Star General

Looking back on the season, we've had our chances, and missed the ones that would have put us into the playoffs by now. Say what you want about the last half of the season, but the battle begins in camp, not when the army takes the field. A good general does his homework, remembers the past, pays attention to the scouting reports, and prepares his troops for the coming conflict. Now it's true that on any given Sunday or Wednesday or any other day of the week, a team may be victorious without a clearly defined strategy, but I would be willing to bet the win column heavily favors the prepared. Fortune may favor the bold, but the unprepared usually end up bloody. I do not question the talent nor the potential of Jason Kries. What I question is promoting the soldier to general and bypassing the ranks of experience that one gathers along the way. In my own experience I have grown into the role that I was originally given, but my staff was much smaller at the time, in fact it was just me. As the workload increased, the employees necessary to manage that load also increased to a now larger, but not quite huge, staff. Along the way I have made my share of mistakes and learned the proper way to handle various situations in the corporate jungle, but as I made those mistakes, the company did not crumble because I wasn't given the reigns of the company when I walked in the door.

There's a reason why almost every corporation and military system depends on experience to move employees and soldiers through the ranks. Can you imagine the outcome if a Lieutenant fresh out of West Point was given the reigns for the D-Day Invasion because he was "bold" and showed tremendous initiative? Am I suggesting that soccer games are as important as liberating Europe...absolutely not. When someone gets their pilots license are they handed the yolk to an Airbus (is that more palatable)?

What did we expect? What was Dave expecting? Again, I don't question his potential, but Dave dropped Jason behind enemy lines without a weapon, a compass, or a map, and sadly for us fans, it may be years before he "secures the bridge".

Born to Lose...or Draw

Our chances to make the playoffs were thin from the beginning. We came within a whisker of making the MLS Cup in '08, and even as the pain from the loss lingered, we set out to do what we had to do. The only problem is...we didn't. We had what we thought was a short list of improvements that would allow us a soft stroll into this years finals. But we fell asleep at the wheel. Every good team knows that a core of returning players is the key, but you have to make steps forward, not sideways. Filling holes in the boat is different than buying a new one, you're just biding your time until it leaks again, and a good coach will work hard in the off season shopping for a faster boat for the day when old Betty hits the bottom of the harbor.

We have two deficiencies that are haunting this team, and will continue to do so until changes are made. Call it solid financial management in a down economy, sentimentality, or simply stubbornness, the fact of the matter is, this team needs a quality striker and it needs an experienced coach, both of which we were unwilling or unable to pay for. 

Imagine you're the owner of a small or mid-size corporation and the world loves your product. Your management team keeps telling you that unless you invest in new technology your product will be obsolete in 2 years. Why invest millions when the people are already buying your shiny pet rocks. Why not just patch the old machines and make it work.

We're still buying the product, so why buy the shiny new machines, after all we might just squeak into the playoffs with some popsicle sticks, duct tape, and a little luck.

These are the times that try mens souls...

The question has been asked whether or not RSL fandom onlne is on the wane. Whether or not our collective quantity of posts on BigSoccer has diminished, I cannot say. What I can speak of is my own experiences and tendancies which I see not as an alarming situation, but a shift. My passion for all things RSL has not fallen off, but my posting and random thoughts have been reduced for several reasons. 

First and foremost my sons participation in competitive soccer has increased this summer, and I see weekly improvement, which I cannot gleen from RSL games as of late. Second, it seems as though the RSL BigSoccer boards have become more a forum for bitching about the Front Office and any topic worthy of an intelligent and insightful banter quickly turns into nonsensical back and forth between individuals that take the thread far beyond the subject into weeds to long to tread into. Third, I find myself enjoying the games more this year because of the comraderie we've found in Section 26, which gives more satisfaction to me and my family than spending countless hours on BigSoccer waiting for a response to my question posed or opinion offered only to see those online fly right by it and explain why Howard the Duck was the greatest movie never awarded an Oscar. 

Do not misunderstand, I will always be at every home game, and on my couch watching each road disaster, but it's the people, not the computer, that make me a fan, because the team isn't convincing me that they're going anywhere this season.