This prediction came true within the first 30 seconds of the game as Lenhardt was playing flopball from the minute the game started and he and his partner up top did not STOP until the game ended.

It was a pathetic display on Columbus part in my view. The “anything for a championship” attitude is commendable if your team sucks and you’re just hoping to sneak through. Doing that when you’re the clear favorite and the fans pay to watch greatness rise to the top is just sad and in my view pathetic. It is also just bad for the game.

Casual fans are drawn to great teams and love to watch great soccer being played. I think a lot of casual fans are going to be drawn to teams like Seattle because they go all out no matter the situation, or even Chicago who has been fun to watch. But this garbage Columbus pulled in game 1 on their run to repeating was just lame.

Sorry Crew fans. I don’t respect your squad after an obvious tank-job and hoping for the 0-0 draw. I almost find myself agreeing with the DCU coach, when I thought he sounded stupid with his thoughts of just a few days ago.

Hopefully RSL goes in and ties 1-1 and plays bunker ball as well and it is the undoing of the Crew. I’d laugh my stupid butt off after such a game, because hey… in the words of every 4 year old in America “he started it. Neener neener!”.

Haha.

Good to get a result, and that play from Yura was a thing of beauty, as was Robbie’s finish. It was a great goal. One last thing… is it just me, or does Wingert just stink? There was one particular play which nearly killed us towards the end. His guy goes right around him in the six yard box nearly unchallenged, and somebody (can’t remember who) picks him up and helps coming from the back side and steals it away. Wingert gets the ball and has the chance to boot it straight out and what does he do? He attempts to dribble it out of the box at about the 2 or 3 yard mark just off of the pole and gets it stolen away. It was a real lowpoint for him. There were again several more balls that he just sent straight out of bounds over the top to seemingly nobody.

I think they should have brought Russell in to his place and worked the sides more. We saw what happened in a similar situation against New England earlier in the year. They were trying through balls in the middle all first half. In the second half they started working on the right side in particular and put up six goals. Even the usually clueless announcers were saying RSL should start working to Beltran up the right side as it was clear all day. If Russell were in on the left doing the same thing I think a couple of more goals (at least one) could have come about. Again… pleased with the result and hoping for the best, but I would have loved to go in 2 or 3 to 0 and bunkered them right back (with Olave ON the field, because their little scheme didn’t work).

If RSL needs bulletin board material (which they shouldn’t of course) the fact that they feel they can beat us without their best player seeing the field at all in game 1 is as insulting as it gets. Go out there and beat the yellow pants off of them on Thursday guys. We believe.

The Crew have scored just 1 goal in their last 450 minutes on the pitch though. Keeping them scoreless through another 90 will be a difficult task.

I could never work for the front office for two reason, they would never pay me enough and I would never want to work on match days (their crazy dress code would kill me to). But thanks for your thoughts.

Mtnplay, I think RSL will be agressive the whole match and look to repeat what they did to Columbus in April and what they did to Colorado last weekend. Getting at least a two goal edge will likely be the key to being able to go to Columbus and leave there heading to the Eastern Conference Final.

As a matter of fact, we could use a few more fans like that working in the front office. I’d vote for you!