OK. Let’s get right down to it. We all know about Coach Anelka’s decision to start a man down while Kante went back to the hotel to retrieve his player identification before he could play in the match.
Let’s be honest, here in St. Louis, we’re a major league city and these sort of snafus happen in the world of minor league sports, but they don’t happen in the world of major league sports. When is the last time you heard of Yadier Molina being kept out of The Great American Ballpark in Cincy because he left something back at the hotel?
Now, whether or not you think you think Anelka made a bad managerial decision in this case, it’s over, and as I’m sure you told one or more of your buddies, at least we have a team to support. Now, let’s take a good honest look at our team.
We’ve all got championship dreams in our heads and stars in our eyes. I’ve already gone off the deep end stating that we should lead the league in attendance, which I found out is impossible, as Montreal gets 12,500 per game, which is twice as much as our stadium even holds.
Our coach is inexperienced and very enigmatic. We all know the tale of the Scottish team. Our player development coach, Francisco Filho comes with an English Premier League pedigree. So, I’m willing to give the team a wide berth. I can’t see Steve Ralston leaving the MLS for what surely is a significantly smaller paycheck for Div II as a coach if he couldn’t learn something.
Now. We may not know about Coach Anelka, but we do know a lot about his assistants. These are some very, very well respected men in the world of soccer, so I’m willing to suspend all doubt and give this man an honest chance.
With all of that being said, I have to ask myself, how long do I sustain myself on, “At least I have a team to support?” Well, I think I have to say, about fourteen years or until I stop having fun at the matches.
Let’s all lighten up, move past the Kante’s ID-gate 2010 and get down to working on what YOU are going to do to welcome home the boys on April 17th, our first home match! I’m bring confetti poppers and when they walk onto the pitch, I’m going to chant:
Oh when A C,
Goes marching in,
Oh when A C goes marching in,
well…you know the rest.
I sat in front of my 19″ computer monitor (because my Wii on my 50″ flatscreen wouldnt’ recognize the video player), having to reboot my PC thrice, drinking gin and sprite as well as bourbon and coke, conversing with folks online, complaining, cheering, and getting angry. The whole time thinking, oh my god…we’ve got a team.
So, just remember that and let’s forget about Kante’s ID.
Please also check out my St. Louis City Musings at the 13 blog!
Filed under: AC St. Louis | Tagged: AC St. Louis, Anelka, Kante |
The NASL Fanatic! 
well put! It’s only the first game of the season. Strike one against Anelka? Maybe, maybe not. If he was to do something like that mid way through a season or in a heated contention for a playoff spot later in the season, then hell yes! But I don’t think he would. So for now, just go with it and let’s support our team!
ACSTL!! Til I die!!
Bingo. It’s one game in one season in the beginning of the American career of the coach. We’re an expansion team going up against established teams.
Let’s just have some fun this year.
A couple notes. The ACSTL-Railhawk game is archived on the Carolina Railhawks website, if anyone missed it or wants to take a second look. Also, despite the missing ID card ordeal, we played pretty well against the second place team in USL-1 last year on the road. Let’s have some fun…and let’s WIN some games !!!!!!
GO AC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, keep forgetting that Francisco was in the EPL lol.
Again, we’re an expansion team with 8 players out of the line up. We may lose five in a row, and I just don’t think I’ll care.
In time we’ll be a very good team in the NASL and I think we’ll make the playoffs, if I’m wrong, I’ll still buy season tix next year and the year after that, and the year after that. Watching soccer live in my hometown is a great and glorious thing.