Let me start by offering a formal apology for predicting yesterday that Salt Lake would score a goal. That was shameful and, in retrospect, I don’t know what I was thinking. I will put forth great effort to avoid saying such hideous things in the future.

This game was textbook Colorado Rapids, start to finish. Here’s how the Rapids win for those who don’t get to see many of their games (you’re missing out by the way). The Rapids can be described in one word: relentless. What was the difference between the play that scored and the attempts that came before it? Nothing, except that it was the seventh time the Rapids did it. The Rapids are very effective with the soccer fundamentals. They don’t try anything fancy (usually) to trick the defense. They play soccer by the textbook: work the ball through the midfield and send it up front when a forward makes a good run. That’s it, and they do it exceptionally. They’ll do it again and again, and, come the second half, the defense is tired enough and has tried to stop the same play enough that they make one mistake, and the Rapids finish strong. At that point, the Rapids use the lead to open up the field a little and control the rest of the game, usually scoring one or two more. It’s simple, methodical, and effective, and it’s a sight to see. The numbers show it, too: the Rapids have scored 13 goals this year so far and ONE of those goals have been scored in the first half. Scoreless at half time is SOP for Colorado. They look like a group of guys who go out and do what they practiced together. It’s fun to see that payoff for them.

Congratulations for a good individual effort, as usual, to Kosuke. Facundo also played good defense and provided some excellent service forward to feed the attack. He’s a real two-way soccer player. Christian was flawless in the midfield as usual, and Colin simply owned the right wing. Heck, I couldn’t find a bad thing to say about a single one of them if I wanted to.

Here’s an interesting note: with a New York – Kansas City draw on Saturday (it could happen), the Rapids take position in the last SuperLiga spot. Either way, let’s cheer for a Dallas – Las Angeles draw on Saturday, and the Rapids will be two points ahead. Even if that doesn’t happen, unless Dallas wins by 3 (unlikely), the Rapids stay where they belong: first place.

And now, on to the real fun: The Rocky Mountain Cup. This should be another exciting year in Real underperformance. If they fail to make the playoffs this year, they tie the league record for longest playoff missing streak (4). The only good thing about Salt Lake making the playoffs would be the possibility of the Rapids knocking them out.

And why would they make the playoffs? Do they have any reason to think that this year will be any different from the last three? They don’t have Pope, Adu, or even Eskandarian any more. Their best player is either Rimando, their frickin’ goalkeeper, or Beckerman. As for Beckerman, I liked him when he was here, but that’s about as far as it goes. I’ll be honest: I’m finding him a lot easier to dislike then to like. It’ll be fun to see him as captain in a Pablo vs. Beckerman match up. It will also be fun to make jokes about him staring Geico commercials.

This is the first and probably only season in which one team will have home-field advantage in the Rocky Mountain Cup. Next year, with the addition of the Sounders to the West, the Rapids and Salt Lake will probably only get two games against each other each year, so this is going to be a good year to reestablish our dominance. A win tomorrow, and we’re halfway to having the Rocky Mountain Cup back in Colorado.

My Prediction: Colorado Rapids 2-1 Real Salt Lake

Other Games:
Toronto 1-2 Columbus Crew
New York Red Bulls 1-1 Kansas City Wizards
New England Revolution 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Chicago Fire 2-0 Houston Dynamo
Chivas USA 2-2 DC United
Dallas 2-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
Manchester Red Devils 1-0 Chelsea Pensioners
Toronto 2-1 DC United
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Houston Dynamo

UPDATE: I’m kind of bummed The Salt Lake Offside doesn’t seem to have an author right now. To be honest, I was of looking forward to giving him a hard time whoever he was. On the other hand, he would live in Salt Lake City, so I kind of win that one by default. I mean, what kind of sports city is that? They’ve got a soccer team featuring captain hippie and a basketball team who’s star looks like a cross between Vanilla Ice and Ivan Drago.

UPDATE 2: Vegas is offering even money on the Rapids to win tonight. Either sports betting becomes legal within the next month, or I’m catching a bus to Vegas.

Really, a game like this will probably go to who takes it more seriously, but I wouldn’t be surprised if both sides fielded a somewhat decent lineup. Last year, the Rapids beat Real in a qualifying match at Dick’s. The funny thing is, Salt Lake fielded their starters and the Rapids didn’t, still winning 2-1. If Salt Lake does it again, it will probably be their match to lose.

I post this mainly because it’s good news for the Rapids either way the match goes. If Salt Lake loses…well, that’s just fun. If they manage to slip through, they then face Columbus, who will surely dispatch them. The only bad news is that the Rapids don’t have a chance to eliminate them again this year for the third year in a row, but oh well. As long as Salt Lake loses, I’m happy (I’m a very happy guy).

UPDATE: Real Salt Lake 4-0 San Jose. If the Rapids hadn’t been shut out by San Jose, I would write some clever insult disparaging the significance of this win here.