Is "shambolic" actually a word?

So at the tender age of 40, I've finally broken down and posted my very first blog entry. In order to actually post, I've had to overcome the intense guilt at not posting to Bryan's Bar, as well as being intimidated by the previously posted prose of both Bryan and Pablo at their respective blogs.

Speaking of disappointing results, Pablo, Brandon, Kevin and I attended the US Open Cup final between FC Dallas and New England last night. We went with high hopes of seeing Dallas take silverware for the first time since their 1997 Open Cup win over DC United. Although Dallas dominated possession much of the evening and kept things close, ultimately defensive breakdowns left them on the short end of a 3-2 result.
Offensively, FC Dallas looked dangerous all night. They played with excellent width, regularly flying crosses in from both sides of the field. Unfortunately, they just couldn't seem to get on the end of anything, probably owing to their lack of height up front. Arturo Alvarez did have a cracker of a goal in the first half to tie things up at 1-1, certainly the goal of the match.

It was the defense that let the home fans down time and again throughout the match. The Revolution never seemed threatening in their passing and build up. Each of their goals seemed to come out of plays that appeared to be going nowhere until poor marking by FD Dallas led to a cheap goal.

With the team in the middle of a late season fade that seems to be their trademark in so many recent season, hopes of bringing home the MLS Cup appear to be fading along with their results. Perhaps if they can shore up things defensively and show some of the offensive spark they demonstrated last night, some joy may be found in the post season.

A final note: Actual attendance had to have been well below the announced crowd of 10,600. Shocking attendance for a cup final, but after reading Pablo's post on the misguided efforts of the club's marketing department, should we be surprised? Where's my wig?!

Arturo Alvarez & Carlos Ruiz photo courtesy of mysoccer.com: http://www.mysoccer.com/mls6/fcd0606.php

Open Cup

It's kind of amazing how little attention is being paid to the open cup. If a pro-baseball team was beaten in a game by a farm team, it would be all over ESPN. Yet in this tournament where a few MLS teams have been beaten by USL teams, you don't hear a thing.

Seattle is playing F.C. Dallas next Tuesday. Really, F.C. Dallas has nothing to gain from the game. They're expected to win and if they do, they'll play a top-tier MLS team, the New England Revolution.

That they're even having this tournament is awesome. Most MLS players are paid next to nothing (except for the famous Galaxy mid-fielder). USL players must be paid even less. They play for the love of the beautiful game which makes it even more exciting.

What I really don't understand is that they'll probably be more people at 5A high school football games in Dallas than they'll be at the game.

Just doesn't' seem right....