Tomorrow,
and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the Off-Season Creeps at This Petty Pace…
By Will Creedle
Will Creedle is one of the new D.C. United writers for Majorleaguesoccer.net. He’s also an editor for a satirical political weblog called The Daily Snark (http://innersanctumsantorum.blogspot.com/) and can be found every Saturday at RFK stadium.
So that time of year is upon us again, dear friends: that time of year when our significant others take up reading books and writing journals, pining for that blessed, brief time in which our minds are not fully preoccupied with the thoughts of all things United. For now it is spring and young fans minds drift toward green, green fields and a little round ball. But for our betrothed, it is their winter of discontent, made no more glorious by this new son of Ghana. Perhaps there’s even more than just a bit of anger this year in their voice when they say ‘Have fun at the game, sweetie’, and they may have a legitimate gripe, for if you are at all like me you haven’t stopped talking about United since November (my wife points out that it should read November of 1996). In truth, this off-season was so busy, I’m sure to my wife it seems like United ’03 just kept on going right into United ’04. Oh well. I’m an Arsenal fan, too, so my incessant prattling cannot entirely be blamed on D.C. United.
I wax Shakespearian, yes, but has not this off-season has been as momentous as any the Bard’s third act dramas? We’ve said goodbye to old heroes (Etcheverry, Reyes) welcomed back prodigal sons (Moreno), parted ways with colorful figures (Hudson), welcomed untested generals (Nowak, Simpson) found our young Hercules (Adu) and restored the monarchy (Kevin Payne), and all this in just 3 short months. Is this season destined to be the triumph of Agincourt from Henry V, or the collapse of the house United from Hamlet? Only time will tell, but we few, we merry few, we band of brothers, shall watch every moment of it, and come April 3rd, gentlemen, now a-bed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any chants that cheered with us upon St. Adu’s day.
I could rehash the entire off-season here, going into intimate detail, covering every nuance of every transaction, lovingly analyzing the attributes of our new players and I would still never match half the statistics and pure tasty speculation found on just one day’s worth of Bigsoccer.com posts. So, I won’t bother. Besides, why would I analyze the following year when I could just have Mayor Williams do it for me?
I sat down (via email) to discuss the upcoming season with the Mayor of D.C., who was gracious enough to take time out of his hectic schedule to give some lengthy answers to my questions. A special thanks to him.
Mayor Williams, as you may know, we signed Freddy Adu, the 14 year old American phenom, to a contract which is expected to keep him in a D.C. Uniform until he’s 18. We all hope for the impact he could have as a player on the field, but what impact, if any, do you see for the city of Washington itself?
Mayor Williams: “I think that Freddy is going to have a huge
impact in our city. We are a city with a great sports heritage and great
fans. Our soccer tradition goes back a long way including the North
American Soccer League...when we had Johan Cruyff all the way to John Harkes
and Marco Etcheverry. DC United means a great deal to this city, not only
because of its early successes but also because their fan base crosses the
spectrum of demographics...from folks here in the District to people in
Maryland and Virginia.“
Many D.C. fans are worried that if Baseball comes to Washington, it may displace D.C. United, at least temporarily, from RFK. We all understand that sacrifices must be made, but are there any contingency plans in place to help protect the quality of venue for United; for instance sharing RFK with baseball, or extracting promises to build a soccer specific stadium on or near RFK grounds?
Mayor Williams: “DC United will always be a
priority at RFK...which is probably the nation's premier (large) soccer
venue. We hope to have a problem of scheduling with a baseball team in
the near future...whatever happens though, United will not get lost in the
shuffle...the team and its fans have been loyal to the District and I will
not forget that.”
Speaking of that
Soccer Specific Stadium, are there any juicy tidbits of information you can
give up about that? Is it still ‘on the table’ so to speak?
Mayor Williams: “Well, I can't give up any juicy tidbits about the soccer specific stadium except that we want to do all we can to continue the DC United tradition in the District of Columbia. There are a lot issues to be sorted out. I will say that I was in Los Angeles last year and saw the Galaxy's new stadium and was very impressed...I think what they've done working with Home Depot in a partnership is the always the best way to go. DC United will, by the way, beat the Galaxy on April 10 when they meet for the first time this season.”
Finally, with other political luminaries like Madeleine Albright making appearances at the games last year, what’s the chance of getting you out to one?
Mayor Williams: “I want to see Freddy Adu about as much as most other people in the city...it would take a lot to keep me away from seeing him as much as possible. There is not a better place for Freddy to play than here, near his home and with a team with the tradition United has.
By the way, the District's former City
Administrator is John Koskinen...and the current interim President of
US Soccer. I suspect, I'll be catching the matches with him when I
go.”
Play on, MacDuff!
-Will