... And breathe ...
The Whitecaps are fast turning BC Place into Vancouver's entertainment hotspot, with another dramatic game jam packed with incidents and ending with what could prove to be a crucial three points for the Caps.
All season, we've been saying that it's not just the wins that are impressive, but the manner in which we've been getting them.
We've had deserved victories, comeback wins and 'how the hell did we pull that one out of the bag?' triumphs. We've ridden our luck, got some lucky breaks and had some amazing goalkeeping displays.
The end result is that after just fourteen games, the Caps are sitting third in the West with one more win than all of last season and only three points shy of our entire 34 game total.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Add in to that two wins on the road compared to none last year, and seven clean sheets to last year's five, and you'll see just what a difference there really is between the 2011 Caps and the 2012 ones.
Obviously we don't need stats to tell us that, as it's very very obvious.
Besides, let's all just stop looking back on last year and look at what a bright future we have in store for us.
Saturday's win was huge.
It gives us a six point gap now over Colorado, but even more importantly, we now have a massive ten point gap over sixth place Chivas in the race for the playoffs. Being above Seattle is just the delicious icing on the cake.
Talk about having some breathing space as we soon enter a gruelling five game away stretch.
Things can tighten up real quick in the West, so Saturday's win over the Rapids could be one of the games we look back on as a major factor in where we end up.
Any game where you carve out a win with ten men is a huge confidence booster, but to do so in the style we did, by still constantly taking the game to Colorado, does so much for a team psychologically.
We all know that Martin Rennie is big on that aspect of it and he just needs to show the guys this game, and the San Jose one, over and over to have them mentally tough on the road.
Those are also the type of games that are going to get the bums on the seats and take the Caps above the steady 19,000 attendance that they've been getting. The casual fan wants excitement and that's what they've been getting at BC Place this season.
The funny thing about it all is that it was a pretty flat first half. Whatever Rennie and Ritchie said to them at half time clearly worked, as it was a different team in that second half.
Darren Mattocks was well controlled by Colorado in that first 45, but they had no answer for him after the break.
What I hope we don't become is a team that is basically going to just lump the ball over the defence for Mattocks or Le Toux to run on to. There was a lot of that on Saturday.
If it works and we bang in the goals, then I won't obviously complain too much, but it's soon going to be easy to read and shut down to an extent. You can never fully control the explosive speed of players like that.
It is also hard to control some of the world class passes that Davide Chiumiento was spraying around. His balls were a thing of beauty! Possibly his best ever game as a Whitecap.
For opponents, it must be a nightmare right now.
If you take Davide out of the game, we have Gershon Koffie ready to play the passes. Shut down the midfield and then the wing backs of Lee and Rochat will push forward. Mark Mattocks out, forget Le Toux at your peril.
Then if none of those guys are working, we bring on Hassli and/or Camilo off the bench and Joe Cannon being League MVP material at the other end.
All this and Barry Robson arrives tomorrow.
We have such a wealth of riches right now and everything is clicking just nicely.
There will be blips, that's almost a given, so we need to make the most of it and get as many three point performances out of them whilst we can.
Talk of Hassli and Camilo brings us to another point we've discussed before.
Can we keep all of these guys as Whitecaps?
The Twitterverse has exploded tonight with Camilo trade rumours.
It's been amazing to see how many fans would be glad to see him go. There are also a lot who want him to stay.
We said just last week that Camilo is arguably our best all round striker. He scores. He creates. He is excellent at set pieces. He has flair. He was last season's "Player of the Season".
He also has a reputation as a diver and can't seem to play either in Martin Rennie's system or as a complete team player.
At his salary ($237,500 guaranteed), he is also good trade bait.
Hassli is a fan favourite and sells the most amount of personalised jerseys (even above Y-P Lee). There would be outrage amongst the fanbase if he was to get traded, but Camilo is the better player.
It's a tough one. I want neither to go. We need all of these guys to win a Championship, but if they're not going to be played, something has to give.
You also never know what injuries could be right around the corner.
We now have Mattocks suspended. Salgado is injured. Another injury or two and you desperately need both Camilo and Hassli in there.
The problems of a contender!
We could be sitting in second spot in the West come Wednesday evening. With the playoffs a real possibility, and then who knows what, I would think all of the current players want to be a part of that.
Martin Rennie always seems to have a clear indication as to what path he wants the team to go, so the next few weeks and the upcoming transfer window could leave a lot of fans surprised and maybe disappointed.
Come November, once the playoffs begin, that will all soon be forgotten.
'Mon the Caps.
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<b>AFTN 3-2-1:</b>
3 points - DAVIDE CHIUMIENTO (majestic. has his full confidence back and helps out now in all areas of the field)
2 points - JOE CANNON (some great saves to secure the three points)
1 point - MARTIN BONJOUR (kinda struggled for a third as it was more team than individual, but despite some first half wobbles, that second half block just gets him the nod)
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