GREY SKYS HAVE CLEARED UP! PUT ON A HAPPY FACE!

By: Dave Martinez | October 14th, 2007

FINALLY!!! LET THE KVECHING OFFICIALLY CEASE!!!

PUT ON THAT HAPPY FACE!!!

WE ARE MARCHING INTO THE PLAYOFFS!

AND THE SKIES ARE LOOKING BRIGHT!

More aimless “pie in the sky” Red Bull Championship dreams? YOU BET!

But this time folks . . . we are gonna be positive with GOOD reason.

Check it out . . . . .

Tonites post, and the post that will follow, will focus on THE POSITIVE BABY!

And here are the reasons why . . . .

WE ARE IN THE FRIGGIN PLAYOFFS . . . .

. . . . And there are no secrets. We have a known opponent. We have known dates.

OCTOBER 27th @ 7:30 - GIANTS STADIUM

And Here are the faces of evil . . . .

SO WHAT IF WE ARE ZERO FOR THE CENTURY AGAINST EM!

SO WHAT IF THEY HAVE HAD OUR NUMBER!

HISTORY?! FUGGEDABOUTIT!!!!!

Look. Though New England has, at its core, a team which knows each other back and forth, including key standout figures in each section of the field, we are not going to be running into a brick wall here.

As the season has progressed, we have thrown a hundred new looks to our line up, and have been able to produce a respectable overall season record.

That says something.

Last nights game was a good showing of our versatility. Was I the only person watching, noticing the tendencys on the field look less like a 4-4-2, and more like a 4-3-3?

And we beat a team that, for the most part, has excelled throughout this season.

Point is - we have been winning this season, in a way that no other team really has - through many different looks, many different gameplans, and with INCONSISTENCY as our CONSISTENCY.

Yet the team has held together - like glue from a Bulls hoof.

AFTER EVERYTHING! All the second guessing, agony, pain, injuries, rumors, pressures . . . . man, we are THIRD in our CONFERENCE, 3rd seed overall, and poised for a playoff run.

If that isnt something, I dont know what is.

Is it enough to beat a New England with Home Field Advantage?!? You know what? I think it is.

We are a resilient bunch. Coach Arena, Reyna, Mathis, Angel . . . all people who have looked into the eyes of adversity this year, and tore down disbelief. And they will be able to do it again.

Especially against a New England team that WILL expect the same old same old. We are different. Hungrier. More versatile. Better.

FREEMAN IS BACK (and so is the back?!)

Our defensive wingbacks have been a HUGE question mark all season long since the departures (which seems to have been so simultaneous) of Wynne and Dunivant.

Freeman helped stabilize the loss of Wynne. With a few early crosses and opportunities, he immediately had 75% of RBNY fans on his side - this guy was worth it!

Then, the “west nile virus” of our season, INJURIES, reared its disgusting head, exposing our back 3rd even further.

No wing backs. A huge question mark at goal. And a revolving door in the central defense.

Freeman is back. And last night against KC, he showed alot of promise. Up and down the field, playing key roles in the structuring of the defensive end AND throwing up first touch passes to the midfield that seemed to flow better than what we have seen . . . . from other backs. Who will go nameless.

So PART of our problem is nearly solved! Check off Right back!

Left? Well, DVB seems to be doing a great job! Check that off too!

Reyna is down, so that makes room for Mr. Versatility, Seth Stammler, to partner off with Dema, which hence gives CARLOS MENDES his CENTRAL DEFENSE POSITION BACK!

And that puts a smile on all RBNY fan faces.

Now how about that goalie situation? Well, a few more games like tonites, and someone may get his just dessert . . . .

ALTIDORE TAKES SOME BIG HITS, KEEPS TRUCKIN

Garcia takes a yellow for sniping Jozys stomach with a kick. Jozy gets the smack down all night to his knees. Jozy keeps truckin.

The KC game feautured our young 17 at the left wing. But lets face it. He was playing up all night.

And his boy Angel? He was playing the #10 and playmaking behind 17 and Doe.

So what am I saying? Playing out of position (sort of), coming back from an injury, and STILL YET TO GET HIS FIRST CAP WITH THE MNT . . . our man Jozy is playing strong, and that, along with Angel, Doe, Mathis, DVB . . . those are alot of options for New England to try to shut down.

We are getting healthy at the right time. And maybe Jozy was right . . . It may have been the injuries all along
This can be the beginning of a beautiful run . . . .

20,083

I should have saved that “BECKHAM EFFECT” article till this week.

20 thousand people?! Wow.

If that isnt a reason to be positive, I dont know what is. The power of limited marketing, eh folks!

All kidding aside, word is spreading folks. And we are growing. Little by little.

Ill tell you what . . . . I didnt see 20,000 for an important end of season KC game last year . . . . PUT ON A HAPPY FACE!!!

. . . . . . . . PLAYING THEIR BEST . . . . . . .

DAVE VAN DEN DERGH - Awesome. Shores up our Left.
DANE RICHARDS - Awesome. Shores up our Right.
JUAN PABLO ANGEL - Awesome. Playmaking and goal scoring in one Colombiano.
JOZY ALTIDORE - Awesome. An excellent understudy to Juanpi and excelling everyday.
CLINT MATHIS - Awesome. Career comeback year.
JEFF PARKE - Awesome. Quiet but consistent. And that is a quality we always look past.
DEMA KOVALENKO - Awesome. We have been missing his ballsy play for a long time.

And you know what else? The spare parts are really something, especially now that the season is coming to an end.

JOE VIDE. Though he has had his lapses, his play alongside Reyna has been one of our seasons best.
CARLOS MENDES - Whether at central defense or defensive mid, the man can play, and adds depth to our line, when Stammy isnt commanding that middle.
STAMMLER. Please. I dont even have to explain. He does everything.
MARKUS SCHOPP. Who is this guy? I dont know, but that is alot of experience riding the bench. Gotta be good for something right?!
FRANCIS DOE. Spark plug? The mans got it. If not a starter, he will be explosive off the bench.

NAME OF THE GAME?! POSITIVITY MY LOYAL READERS!!!!

We overcame Kansas City, and, in a sense, controlled our own fate, to finish third.

Our teams individual parts are making an impressive whole - somehow I feel that, through the chaotic lineups, this merry band may have just learned to morph into any form . . . play together . . . and win.

We have an MVP candidate.

A healthy competition in nets.

A defense which is beginning to gel (regardless of that KC games glaring blemishes here and there).

We have offensive weapons.

Defensive hard heads.

And a seasoned, experienced coach at the helm.

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The next two weeks will feature a ton of tinkering, x’s and o’s that we havent seen in a while. But just keep your heads up boys and girls! Things are looking good . . . .