I beg your indulgence as I talk about something a little different today.
Last night, you may have heard, FC Edmonton had one hell of a game. Going down 1-0 in Tampa Bay, the Eddies kept fighting, fighting, getting their chances, surging towards the Tampa Bay goal, and then snatching a dramatic equalizer at the absolute death of stoppage time courtesy midfielder Chris Kooy. I watched FC Edmonton, a team I cheer for in spite of myself, grab this miraculous point on a mediocre UStream feed from the Vancouver Whitecaps press box. Then, not two hours later, I watched the Whitecaps pull the same trick: Davide Chiumiento knocking in a goal with no time on the clock in remarkably similar fashion.
It was a bloody good time to be a fan of both those teams, let me tell you. Notwithstanding the fact that neither team got the three points. Edmonton, taking on a mediocre Tampa Bay squad, did nothing to convince skeptical fans that they're as good as their record makes them out to be. Vancouver, playing at home to a team that ought to have been an easy three points before a ferocious run of the schedule, looked better and more composed than usual but by no means like a team which deserves a crack at the MLS playoffs. Approaching both games from a strictly rational perspective, they may have been slight disappointments.
Doesn't matter. Those are two teams getting on an airplane full of confidence and excitement. They've proven, in a small way, that they can bend without breaking. Their fans, too, have something to celebrate about deep into the night. Some dissatisfaction has turned into optimism, some cynicism converted to excitement. All over a single lousy goal for a single lousy point. More than any sport I can think of, soccer runs on emotion for both fans and players. It can all turn so quickly; hopefully this marks a turn in the right direction.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
It's not a popular thing to say in Canucks town during a deep playoff run for the home team, but I truly believe that soccer, even if it isn't always as exciting as hockey, can be a more emotionally involved sport. I'm an Edmonton Oilers fan, so I've seen some playoff runs in my time. I've also seen some
It matters to the players, too. Don't tell me that these guys put every setback and every encouragement behind them as soon as the final whistle blows. This is a game which relies on individual skill and simultaneously working with your teammates down to the finest level. A guy like Davide Chiumiento's greatest strength is that he never seems to want for confidence. He'll always try to make the play, always take on both defenders, with the knowledge that he's more likely to win. Chiumiento can be an infuriating player a lot of the time, but on a team like this one can see his value. They're tired, they're beaten down, they've heard all the discouraging signs and they know very well how long it's been since they had a win in the league, but there's Chiumiento still trying to devour entire defenses. Compare him to Eric Hassli, undeniably more talented and more physical but difficult, bummed out by rough treatment in a league whose referees seem unwilling to protect him and by a couple bad performances. There's a guy who could use an ugly goal. But, even having come off the field thanks to a hamstring injury, you could see Hassli bouncing after the game. He got as much a lift from Chiumiento's marker as anybody.
Or take Jay DeMerit. He played, what, half an hour? But perhaps there's an upside to having missed so much time with injury: he's sat out some of the unimpressive performances the Whitecaps have suffered and came out with something to prove. He's the man who wears the armband. He's the leader, both officially and unofficially. So, in a three-man defense, he was barking orders and throwing himself into tackles and trying to launch the ball back up the field all by himself. It was actually rather rough and DeMerit's lack of match practice showed. But it was effective enough and it seemed to fire up his cohorts. Even Terry Dunfield, who had the worst game I've seen him play in any jersey, found a little more energy and played a key supporting role in Chiumiento's goal. Sheer chutzpah can have its benefits.
It happens to the opposition, too. Sporting Kansas City seemed set to be a pretty good mid-table team... until Camilo picked them apart a few weeks ago. Since that famous game they've had an awful time. Conversely, FC Dallas came into Vancouver a couple weeks ago with a point to prove. They proved it with their most complete, solid performance of the season. Since then they've come out with far more fire in their bellies, as Toronto FC discovered to their cost yesterday evening (not that Toronto played at all badly: you could see the influence of that great Houston game in their more-confident-than-usual ball handling and will to get an equalizer).
I don't want to overstate my case too much here. Momentum isn't everything. Vancouver followed their last great comeback with more injuries and some crappy, crappy games. Simply being in a good mood can't turn a bad team into a good one. But it can turn a mediocre team into a fair one, or a team that's been struggling for coherence and consistency into a more reliable points-grabbing unit. The real test for Vancouver will be on Saturday against New England, when they'll face a fairly strong team in their own barn. There won't be much of a crowd, we know that, but there will be a Revolution team capable of taking all three points... if the Whitecaps let them. If, on the other hand, they come out with some vim and vigour then they might get onto a winning roll of their own.