DC United! Playoffs!

[zimm_da_kid]

Well dang it.  Now that the game has been rescheduled, I won't be able to make it.

[1995hoo]

Holy Jebus, but could you quit freaking referring them to as 'The United'. Pet peeve that is not their name. If you must continue this after being corrected on multiple forums then I will just stay out of this thread. Please, I beg you.

I think he's doing it to be a troll. He obviously knows something about soccer, so I assume he knows better.

[OldChelsea]

I think he's doing it to be a troll. He obviously knows something about soccer, so I assume he knows better.

...which reminds me: tickets to see the Chelsea playing in Champions League on 5th December (vs the Nordsjaelland, a Danish club) go on sale to members at 07.00 London time tomorrow morning - must get up with the chickens, as I did getting my ticket for their match against the Fulham on 28th November.

...now those three bolded items look awkward - so why do some people say 'the United'? I still remember DC United's website used to contain a statement saying in effect 'please do not refer to the club as "the United" '.

(Actually in English English, putting 'the' in front of a club name is a perfectly acceptable way of referring to a club's supporters - as in 'the Fulham will be sitting in the regular away allocation' or 'our firm legged the West Ham all the way back to the train station' - but never to the club itself.)

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

London in December should be perfect weather (I wish MLS followed a winter schedule as well).

...which reminds me: tickets to see the Chelsea playing in Champions League on 5th December (vs the Nordsjaelland, a Danish club) go on sale to members at 07.00 London time tomorrow morning - must get up with the chickens, as I did for their match against the Fulham on 28th November.

(Actually in English English, putting 'the' in front of a club name is a perfectly acceptable way of referring to a club's supporters - as in 'the Fulham will be sitting in the regular away allocation' or 'our firm legged the West Ham all the way back to the train station' - but never to the club itself.)

[OldChelsea]

London in December should be perfect weather (I wish MLS followed a winter schedule as well).

It is - crisp but not overbearingly cold.

[lastobjective]

London in December should be perfect weather (I wish MLS followed a winter schedule as well).

Summer is way to hot for soccer, at least in the US. I saw the exhibition Liverpool game in Baltimore this summer and you could tell just how tired/unaccustomed these European players were to the heat. It was an unusually hot day as well. We got cheap field-level seats, which in hindsight were great - ended up sitting below the bleachers and in the shade.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Yeah, we went to DCU/Real Madrid a few years ago and it was almost 100F...Ruud van Nistelrooy looked like he was about to have a stroke.

The only other northern hemisphere league I can think of that follows a summer schedule is Republic of Ireland, and it hardly ever breaks 70F there.

[1995hoo]

On the other hand, midwinter games in places like Chicago could be ridiculously cold. What do the Russian leagues do? I know they play during the winter, but do they take some sort of break? I seem to recall an MLS official saying once that they'd considered the idea of the winter schedule but that they would either have to take a several-week break or else schedule the northern teams (at least Toronto, Chicago, and New England; Montreal hadn't yet been added) exclusively on the road during that time.

("MLS" makes me think of some people who refer to it as "the MLS." That's one I've NEVER understood. "The NFL" or "the NHL" makes perfect sense because the long form is "the National Football League" or "the National Hockey League." But you don't say "the Major League Soccer," so why would you add "the" when you abbreviate it to "MLS"? As I type that it occurs to me that precisely the same reasoning applies to DC United. Nobody, except maybe the one forum member here, refers to the team as "the DC United." It's always just "DC United"—I guess some people put periods in "D.C." So when you shorten it, you don't add "the." Teams like the Redskins or the Capitals are different because you don't say, for example, "On Sunday Washington Redskins will play at FedEx Field." You say "the Washington Redskins." So truncating it with "the" makes sense. In DC United's case, it doesn't make any sense at all.)

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I watched a couple of Champions League games last year between Zenit St Petersburg and Spartak Moscow and some poor bastards from Portugal and Greece when it was like -35 degrees.  Talk about home field advantage. 

On the other hand, midwinter games in places like Chicago could be ridiculously cold. What do the Russian leagues do? I know they play during the winter, but do they take some sort of break? I seem to recall an MLS official saying once that they'd considered the idea of the winter schedule but that they would either have to take a several-week break or else schedule the northern teams (at least Toronto, Chicago, and New England; Montreal hadn't yet been added) exclusively on the road during that time.

("MLS" makes me think of some people who refer to it as "the MLS." That's one I've NEVER understood. "The NFL" or "the NHL" makes perfect sense because the long form is "the National Football League" or "the National Hockey League." But you don't say "the Major League Soccer," so why would you add "the" when you abbreviate it to "MLS"? As I type that it occurs to me that precisely the same reasoning applies to DC United. Nobody, except maybe the one forum member here, refers to the team as "the DC United." It's always just "DC United"—I guess some people put periods in "D.C." So when you shorten it, you don't add "the." Teams like the Redskins or the Capitals are different because you don't say, for example, "On Sunday Washington Redskins will play at FedEx Field." You say "the Washington Redskins." So truncating it with "the" makes sense. In DC United's case, it doesn't make any sense at all.)

[PowerBoater69]

Summer is way to hot for soccer, at least in the US. I saw the exhibition Liverpool game in Baltimore this summer and you could tell just how tired/unaccustomed these European players were to the heat. It was an unusually hot day as well. We got cheap field-level seats, which in hindsight were great - ended up sitting below the bleachers and in the shade.

Summer games can be brutal, but the weather doesn't affect the game as much as in winter, I played in the Northern Virginia Coaches League for almost 20 years and we played every Saturday year round with games only cancelled for excessive snow on the field and it was miserable playing in sub freezing temperatures. The ball is like a rock, it doesn't fly right when you kick it, communication between players is limited because of wind noise, the ground is frozen with ice spots. Playing in 100 degree heat just requires plenty of hydration, the level of play is unaffected. Of course rain games are an adventure regardless of the temperature.

The temp on Saturday night will be above freezing but still plenty cold. Can't wait, we need a blowout win to take up to NJ. Vamos Los United!

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

There was a game between DCU and some Honduran club (Marathon or Olimpia, can't remember which) back in like '06 when it was 34 degrees and precipitating heavily (some semi-frozen plasma somewhere between rain and sleet).  I had a blast.

[OldChelsea]

On the other hand, midwinter games in places like Chicago could be ridiculously cold.[...]

For footie-in-the-cold, try Hartlepool United or one of the other clubs in north England or Scotland (Hartlepool is notable for its ground facing directly onto the North Sea, open to some pretty nasty winds).

[1995hoo]

The winter weather is one of the reasons why the USSF now schedules any wintertime World Cup qualifiers for northern cities, often Columbus. The other reason is the relatively low percentage of Latin Americans there (consider what the crowd is like if they play a game at Estadio de las Rosas in Pasadena).

I have to think trying to head the ball would be the worst part of playing in super-cold weather.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Iceland has a league...maybe they build the pitches over geothermal vents.

For footie-in-the-cold, try Hartlepool United or one of the other clubs in north England or Scotland (Hartlepool is notable for its ground facing directly onto the North Sea, open to some pretty nasty winds).

[Dave B]

Powerboater is obviously just being a weiner about it but I can see why people who dont know better say "the United".  People are used to saying "they Nats", etc. and even when the singular team names became popular in the 90s like "the Lightning", "the" stuck around. United is probably the only team US that doesnt put "the" in front of it

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

This one goes way back

To the tune of the Big Ben bells:

"New York Metros
Always sucking"

With 20,000+ voices, that has some YEAH

[1995hoo]

Powerboater is obviously just being a weiner about it but I can see why people who dont know better say "the United".  People are used to saying "they Nats", etc. and even when the singular team names became popular in the 90s like "the Lightning", "the" stuck around. United is probably the only team US that doesnt put "the" in front of it

I was trying to think of other American/Canadian teams that don't use "the" and the only ones I can think of are soccer teams:

DC United
Sporting Kansas City
Toronto FC
FC Dallas
Real Salt Lake
Chivas USA


Not MLS-specific here, but perhaps somewhat related: The media seem to be confounded by the use of collective nouns versus plural nouns as team names. While many outlets properly treat a team name such as "Miami Heat" or "DC United" as plural (as in, "United have won four MLS championships since the club's inaugural season in 1996"), some outlets, notably the Washington Post, inexplicably persist in treating such names as singular (as in, "The Miami Heat is attempting to win a second straight NBA championship"). What makes it sound so awkward is that sports team names are often juxtaposed with other sports team names given the nature of sports where two teams compete against each other on any given night: "The Heat is trying to win, while the Wizards are just trying to stop the bleeding." It's weird to have one team treated as singular and the other as plural in the same sentence. The British practice of treating such names as plural seems by far the more logical under the circumstances; the alternative of treating them all as singular sounds even worse ("the Wizards is trying to stop the bleeding"?). Or you could just use the city name ("Miami is trying to stay on top; Washington is trying to end decades of futility.").

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

It will probably be in the mid 40s F by game time

[PowerBoater69]

The United have got to have the only fan base more worried about their name than the results of the game tomorrow night.

I heard Ben Olsen on the radio yesterday and he pissed Ne off whining about the schedule change. For the first five minutes he said the right things about how it didn't matter, then allowed himself to vent about how it puts us at a disadvantage in a shoot out. It's a freaking two game series, home field doesn't matter, win the games. But now his players have a pre approved excuse for choking at the end next week. As I remember it we had home field last couple times we were in the playoffs and it didn't help much.

One question I have is what happens if the game is tied at the end of regulation on Saturday? Overtime really doesn't matter at that point but it would sure be nice to see a winner.

[1995hoo]

Powerboater is obviously just being a weiner about it ....

....and he just proved your point again.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

No overtime in the first leg. 

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I'm also pretty sure away goals aren't weighted...it's just straight up aggregate score.

[1995hoo]

Correct, no overtime in the first game and no away goals rule; if the teams are tied on aggregate score after the second game, they play a 30-minute non–sudden death overtime divided into two 15-minute halves, and if that doesn't settle it they proceed to a penalty shootout.

Overtime is unnecessary in the first game because it's an aggregate-score two-game series. There can't be a tie unless the aggregate score is tied at the end of regulation in the second game.

[PowerBoater69]

I'm also pretty sure away goals aren't weighted...it's just straight up aggregate score.

Thx

[PowerBoater69]

Getting ready to order my tix and found out that I was caught on camera behaving badly at the last game. We had left our seats and were standing in the VW area behind Crew's goal when the camera panned over from the goalie and focused on us in the process of kicking the fence a few feet closer to the action. Too bad they missed my buddy taking flash pictures of Crew fans after the United scored that last goal, that really pissed them off good.