The Year in Review

The beginning of the new year is always a good time to take some time to organize your thoughts and review the year past. In that spirit, I sat down to review the year as recorded by the Section (one oh!) Eight Fan Blog...

The "fan year" started off distressingly; First, our newly minted (and, we thought, beloved coach), Juan Carlos Osario (hereafter JCO), defected to the NY Red Bull siting "family reasons" (his son needed an XBox AND a Play Station 3 for each room in the house). Fan Ire followed. Soon after, the truly beloved Wilman Conde wrote an open letter asking to be transferred to NYRB and a wide ranging conspiracy, worthy of an Illinois Governor, became apparent to the Fire faithful.

Eventually, Dennis Hamlet was named coach (at the time, it was quite the let down from JCO). Wilman and Lider DID NOT transfer. We bled off some defensive players on waiver and picked up Brandon Prideax (soon to become our most solid defender, with the exception of Gonzo - but at the time, I remember saying "who?"). We also signed Andy Herron and Tomas Frankowski to the offensive ranks. Suddenly, just as season tickets were arriving, we looked like we might be an offensive powerhouse with Barret, Rolfe, Herron, Frankowski, Mapp, Blanco, first-round draftee Nyarko, Thorrington, and Calen Carr all with striker potential.

The season opener came, and then another game, and we were waiting for the offense to develop, although the defense looked fairly solid considering we had a rookie in the middle and Diego playing Center Back (remember how short Diego Gutierrez looked lined up next to Sumare?), an unusual position for the veteran. Then, the home opener arrived on a cold and wet day in April. A grudge match if ever there was a grudge match. I need say no more, but after this game we all came away believing that we might really be an offensive power house and hoping that we were in for a special season. And for the next few games, the offense was ever-present, even racking up a couple Sierra Mist GOTW.

But then things settled down and we came to understand we would be a great defensive team with a competent possession game and sometimes spotty offensive finishing. Never the less, except for the fact that we seemed to do all the winning away from home, the season continued to be a blast.

Detour now to the Fantasy League. By now, our experimental foray into Fantasy Football (EU Football) was underway and we all had a shot at the title. Looking back, I realize that I should have had an award for best team name (O'Leary's Cow would have taken it). However, it was a good overall competition. You can review the final results here.

Back to the season - Second place overall - WOW! A fantastic showing by the Fire. But even better, the final home game of the season turns out to be against the Hated Revs!! The symmetry was preternatural, as you'll see in the posting for that game...

Alas, that would be our last win, as the Crew came back to beat us in the Conference Final. A great season. The one blemish - JCO and RBNY won the Western Conference (nobody has yet managed to explain to me how NEW YORK could be WESTERN Conference Champion?!!). But, I just remind myself that we beat the NYRB 5-0 and 5-1 this season...

It's also worth mentioning that the Fire roster picked up a huge amount of International Experience this year. Rolfe, Thorrington, Blanco, Marco Pappa, Gonzo, Mapp, Conde, Busch, and don't forget McBride. We look strong and stable.

I'll part with a link to a highlight reel, just for reminiscence and all.

Season ticket planning starts February - First home game April 5th! Oh yes, and don't forget, that home opener is against JCO and RBNY (can we go for 6-0 this time?!!).

HAPPY NEW YEAR SECTION ONE OH EIGHT!!