Are fans just the same everywhere? Listening to the callers on Pat Caputo's show yesterday, it was like the Stanley Cup Finals were best-of-five, and the Wings took the Cup on Saturday. They hate Crosby, they love Hossa, and some fools even want the Wings to lose Game 6, so they team can win the Cup at home. Geez. Talk about spoiled.
If the Wings lose Game 6, I'm blaming Wings fans. It'll be the God of karma shoving it in their face -- "You want a Game 7? I'll give it to you, complete with its requisite heart attack!"
Now, the Caputo show wasn't without a bit of humor. Some caller brought up Sidney Crosby's "Timbits" commercial, where Sid's playing hockey with a bunch of kids, and Caputo said some of those Timbits could grow a better playoff beard:
Now, as for Hossa... I was thinking about his situation over the weekend. Last summer, he signed with the Wings because he'd have a better chance to win the Cup. That doesn't make any sense. Pittsburg was 2 games from winning the Cup last year. The core of the team is 21, 22 years old, and, according to NHL commish Gary Bettman, the Pens are the "model franchise." Why, really, did Hossa leave? It couldn't have been about the Cup. There's more to that story. And, I don't buy that he didn't want to be the 3rd wheel, behind Sid and Malkin. Nobody comes to the Wings to become a solo superstar. For some reason, he wasn't happy in Pittsburgh. We need some moles to uncover this story.
Concacaf
Strange goings-on in Concacaf these days. Honduras and Costa Rica are all-of-a-sudden the class of the region. And, if you didn't hear, Mexico lost again - this time to El Salvador. At the near-halfway point of the Hex, Mexico is in 5th place, with a shocking 3 pts out from four matches. Mexico is too good to not qualify, but this signals a major shift in the region. I doubt the US and Mexico are dramatically worse; I think the other countries are getting better. With the globalization of the game, players from Honduras and Costa Rica can now hone their skills with European clubs in the best leagues in the world. And these home field advantages are no joke. Somebody posted on bigsoccer.com that the US would have a better chance against Italy than an away match against Costa Rica. There's history to back that statement.
Despite the US's less-than-stellar 2-game stretch this week, there was some good news. I saw a surprising lack of gamesmanship from the players. Less hacking, less collapse-on-the-ground-whining, less pansy-ism in general. And, I hate to say, there was some damn pretty soccer from both Costa Rica and Honduras. From the US's standpoint, Bradley may have found his right (or left) back in Jonathan Spector. Perhaps the next game will be a truer test - at Mexico City against a seethingly hungry Mexico squad. Also, Ricardo Clark proved to be the top pick for defensive midfielder. The US squad has a few holes and no great central midfielder, but at least they won't have to rely on Beasley at left defense.
Thumbs down to the US Soccer Federation. They scheduled these qualifying games at massive stadiums so they could earn some major cash. Big mistake. The primary concern for scheduling should be finding a stadium that offers the best home field advantage. Immediate financial return should be secondary. So don't schedule a game against Honduras in a city with a ton of Hondurans!!! Soldier field was 70% Hondurans on Saturday. These games are too critical. The US would lose a ton of money if they failed to qualify for the Cup. The next home game is in Utah (good), but the final match against Costa Rica is in RFK. Why?
I was at the game Saturday. All the Hondurans I talked to were from out of town. They came from all corners of the country to watch the game, I doubt having it in Columbus for instance would have yielded a different result. (That game was 75% Mexicans, and Ohio isn't exactly a Mexican hotspot.)
ReplyDeleteThe Hossa story is perplexing for a number of reasons:
ReplyDelete1) He came to the Penguins as a playoff rental (e.g. Guerrin this year). Based on Hockey-Reference.com (inc. playoffs) he's played roughly:
-518 games w/ the Senators
-166 games w/ the Thrashers
-95 games w/ the Wings
-32 games w/ the Penguins
2) Though he'll remain one of the most sought after free-agents in the league GMs this post-season will likely project smaller cap figures for the next few seasons due to the struggling economy.
3) He scorned one of the highest bidders by suggesting they had less of a chance to win the Cup (thus sparking this whole issue). Couldn't he have said something to the effect of "I think I can perform better in next year's free agency market"?
@Aloysius - Interesting observation. I would've guessed most of the Hondurans were local. I recall the Mexicans at the Columbus game increasing in number compared to the '05 game. That's quite a dilemma. So, is there any way the USSF can create a home field advantage? We just gotta get the US fans to represent more aggressively than the opposition.
ReplyDeleteI honestly doubt that will happen any time soon. It will need a catalyst... say the US not qualifying for a World Cup! During the next cycle, folks like me will see the urgency in buying tix. Hope it doesn't come to that.
@Doug - I haven't posted any update on this blog, but there was a rumor that Ken Holland already has a deal with Hossa. Holland denied the report (of course). In my experience, these rumors often prove accurate. I have no idea how Holland would pull this off considering the salary cap. By my early calculations, the Hossa signing would force:
1. letting Hudler and Samuelsson walk
2. a pay cut from Lidstrom or Rafalski
3. no raises for any Griffins (Helm, Ericsson, etc)
I can't see how it happens any other way, assuming Hossa gets Zetterberg-level money - which is still less than he'd get on the open market.