Revs in Reverse: The Struggles of a New England Supporter
Former N.E. Revolution Season Ticket Holder Andrew Karl contributes this guest post from Austin, TX.
With the start of each Major League Soccer season there are new players to watch, new storylines to follow, and (especially this year) new teams to be accounted for. But what happens when barely any of the exciting new talent or intriguing stories leading up to First Kick are coming out of your home team?
Such is the plight of the New England Revolution fan this year. A team sorely in need of an offense (of any kind, really) has bolstered their midfield and defensive ranks with a crop of young guns from the draft and two aging Frenchmen (Ousmane Dabo and Didier Domi). Sigh. This team has two players who can score and two players who can pass: Shalrie Joseph and Marko Perovic…and Shalrie Joseph and Marko Perovic.
While the swim meet that was the Revs season opener in LA against the Galaxy can’t be used as a barometer for how the rest of the season will shake out (unless we’re talking Blitzball instead of soccer), I’ve found it hard to get jazzed up for a team that’s done so little to change after such a dismal season in 2010. Taylor Twellman’s not getting a head transplant anytime soon and Robbie Keane leaving London for Foxboro is beyond a long shot. So where’s a fan to turn?
Supporting another MLS team is obviously not an option. Other leagues in season during the summer are limited to Scandinavia and I’m sorry but Malmo FF sounds more like a Swedish brand of diet cat food than a football team. Thank goodness, then, that the rest of the league is growing and maturing at such a rate.
MLS is stronger than it has ever been in 2011, so much so that the rest of the league looks to be lapping New England. I’m not just talking about DPs and soccer-specific stadia, either. I’m talking about overall quality, depth of the bench, and commitment to an attractive style of play. There’s a good bit of that around the league nowadays, something you probably couldn’t have said even 5 years ago. It’s great, right? More competition, more big name players, more US stars in the making to drool over, more lineups to memorize.
And that’s just what I’ve been doing. I’ve found myself pulled away from the dimming star of the Revolution by the expanding supernova that is the rest of the league. I still want New England to do well and turn the ship around, but when presented with the option to either watch the Revs slug it out with Kansas City in an empty Gillette Stadium or watch the Red Bulls trade hits with RSL in beautiful Red Bull Arena I am siding with the latter, more entertaining fixture.
The Revs have brought in 3 new defenders? Meh. The Galaxy have built a nucleus of attacking players that could play on any team in the league? Yes please. The Revs are reduced to playing Shalrie Joseph, the league’s best holding midfielder, at forward? Fuck me in the top of the head with a baseball bat. DC United has seemingly turned the franchise around with basically two new forwards and a new center mid? Way to go, Ben Olsen.
My point isn’t to bash the Revs. This is a tough business and building a good team is never an easy task. Especially when you play 30 minutes outside a city, in an awfully empty stadium, and on FieldTurf. OK, that sounds like bashing the Revs, but you get my drift. There’s just so much happening around the league that grabs my attention. We’ve got an expansion team in Vancouver putting on a clinic over the fallen kings of Canadia, Toronto FC. Chad Ochocinco is trying out for Sporting KC. RSL is playing the best soccer I’ve ever seen from an MLS side. This is going to be a great year for MLS, and I’m going to take it all in without being burdened by the expectations and stress of supporting one team that’s looking like the old guy in the funky sweater that no one remembers inviting to the party.
Again, I’m not abandoning the Revs, but whereas last year I’d watch the Revs grind through a draw or 1-0 loss and say to myself “Man, why can’t we play a bit more like RSL or New York?” this year I’ll say to myself “Oh well. At least RSL versus New York is on next, this is going to be a great game.”
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewKarl or visit his tubular video game blog: mmomfg.com
Chris
422 days ago
The Austin Aztex don’t exist anymore do they?
Jim
422 days ago
Sad but true. They’re slowly getting it, doing a little more advertising and the like, but it’s what other teams were doing 5 years ago. Almost everyone else seems to be at a gallop and we’re just out of the starting gate.
Andrew
421 days ago
This is my first year as a Revs season ticket holder, but I could care less about seeing the home team. Unless they catch lightning in a bottle, I’m not expecting much from them this year. I went to a few games last year (Superliga and RSL) and the away sides played incredible football. I even sat with Jason Kreis’s dad during the game and told him quite honestly that his son has a hell of a team. Much better than ours.
I bought season ticket for the sole reason of seeing the other great teams play. RSL. Sounders FC. LA Galaxy. NYRB. Heck, even the Sporting KC fixture excites me. The Revs will get better, but they clearly need help and a clear focus on where to go.
It kind of reminds me of all those horrible Celtics teams from the 1990s; people got season tickets to see the Bulls, Knicks, Heat, Pacers, and Jazz beat the crap out of the Celtics.
Andrew Karl
421 days ago
@Chris – nah, Aztex moved to Orlando this past offseason. Right before I moved to Austin….figures.
@Jim – well put. I think the next 2 or 3 seasons are going to be really telling. I don’t know how this ship gets righted without some big changes.
@Andrew – cool name brah. but seriously thanks for this comment and backing my points up. glad i’m not the only one out there. I commend you for committing to season tix given the situation, if i was still up there I’d probably be a four pack buyer to see sides like RSL, NY, LA, and KC if OchoCinco makes the team.
Kevin
421 days ago
As a former season ticket holder the only thing I’m going to miss this year is grilled asparagus every other weekend. I’m going to invest my money into buying the Direct Kick package to cheer on Charlie Davies, watch great new players like Eric Hassli and witness Juan Agudelo shred defences. As a Revs fan it’s hard not to go to The Razor for a few select games. If this season continues like last, I’ll opt to get my summer asparagus cravings in from the comfort of my backyard.
Matt Tatum
421 days ago
Great piece! I love the witty comparisons but more importantly, Andrew is totally right. As a former employee myself, it was a sad day when I realized that the owners have a plan of slow growth. Don’t get me wrong, things will get done but it won’t be soon or exciting. They have a very capable front office staff that had great ideas last time I checked, but the owners need to loosen the reigns. As far as big name players though, Revs fans would do best to forget about that. The proof is in the New England Patriots owned by the same group. They do not buy big players. They take from the draft and take leftover veterans. The point is blame the owners for the lack of excitment but be nice to the staff because they want some excitement too. Great job Andrew.
Chris
414 days ago
Andrew, You and the other posters may be right, but where’s the loyalty. Flitting from here to there chasing what’s new and shiney gives no sense of belonging. If you need your team to always be on top and/or spending tons of money, I’d suggest Real Madrid, Barca, Man U, the Yankees, or Microsoft.