Enter the New Guy

By: Kyle | April 18th, 2008

I’m not making this up: I was going to use the Admiral Stockdale joke to introduce myself, too. Until I saw that Jeff already used it (But, I can link to the youtube clip. If you get through Quayle and Gore, Stockdale’s speech should give you a good belly laugh).

Hi. My name is Kyle. I like the Rapids. A lot.

I am your new writer here at The Rapids Offside. I’m very excited to be taking over and subjecting someone besides my cat to my rants about Colorado’s soccer club. Actually I don’t have a cat. Just confused neighbors who wonder why the guy in the next apartment is always yelling about rivers.

So, what do I have to say that you might like to hear? Well, foremost: I am a Rapids fan. I’ve been there with you be it at INVESCO or Dick’s. To use the cliché, I’ve been with you through the highs, the lows, and the 10 game winless streaks. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep after the Second Leg of the 2006 Playoffs. I spent a day alone in the dark after the last game of the 2007 season. And I could spend all day watching Marcelo’s famous bicycle over and over again if I wanted to get nothing done. If I want to have a self-deprecating laugh, I watch Pablo get a red card in Germany (“Agh, direkte rotekarte?! Gelb, ja! Rot?!” I took German in high school. That announcer kills me.).

I know what it’s like to be a Rapids fan because I am one. I know what it’s like to follow this team that has spent 12 years accomplishing very little in this league. Their only title: 1997 Western Conference Champions, and admittedly, I hadn’t discovered soccer at that point, so I didn’t see it.

But now, it’s 2008 and all of a sudden, there’s a lot to be optimistic about as a Rapids fan. Here we are at the top of the West. The best midfield in soccer plays in Colorado. We have to beat the Galaxy to get into the US Cup (and I think we all know that the Rapids can do that; 4-0 baby!). Arguably, the Colorado Rapids are the best team in MLS this year.

I guess, then, I’ll start off my tenure here at The Rapids Offside with some season predictions. Don’t laugh; I’m serious about these:
1) The Rapids will make the playoffs. And hey, that’s actually an accomplishment with 14 teams in the league.
2) The Rapids will play in the 2009 SuperLiga and 2009-10 Champions League.
3) The Rapids will play in MLS Cup this year.
4) I can’t bring myself to type this last one. I don’t want to perform the ultimate jinx.

I’m not just pulling wild predictions to try and draw an audience and sound smart if they happen to occur (I can’t stand sportswriters who do that. Really? Hawaii’s really going to win the Sugar Bowl? Yeah, you’re a genius, every other guy on ESPN). I’m basing these entirely on the Rapids’ performance in the first three games. And I know I part ways with my predecessor, Jeff, with regards to the New England game. That was a game played in a downpour with two five-man midfields. Any win in those circumstances will be dodgy.

So, how’s that for a rambling introduction? As you can tell, I’m very optimistic about this season, and I think, for good reason. Check back for a preview of Colorado Rapids – San Jose Earthquakes and I will see you at Dick’s tomorrow.

Go Rapids!