On a recent expedition to the wonderful town known as New York City, the lady and I were fortunate enough to time our visit to coincide with a New York Red Bulls home match against the universally hated (but good and scrappy) Real Salt Lake. So, on Saturday, April 18th we made the long journey from downtown Manhattan to Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands (Swamp) Sports Complex. The journey took us about 50 minutes from our hotel room to our seats in Giants Stadium. Not a bad trip all in all considering you’re walking (or riding the subway) to Penn Station, catching a New Jersey Transit train to Seacacus Station and then taking a chartered bus to Giants Stadium. The trip really does feel like you’re going to the middle of nowhere.

Sorry fellow TFC fans, but the Red Bulls are my second favourite team in the MLS. They’re a strong and steady team that slowly but surely grinds away opponents. They’ve had a quiet start this year. Slowly but surely the team is finding its footing and I’m sure will climb the Eastern Division standings as the season winds along. I had a great time at the game and it was exciting to watch. The game ended in a 2-0 win for the Red Bulls with Juan Pablo Angel scoring his first goal of the year. Being a fan of Angel (except when he plays TFC) I was happy to see him score.

Here’s some of my thoughts on the evening:

• Getting to Meadowlands Sports Complex from downtown New York isn’t the easiest job in the world, but it’s not the hardest either. A quick train ride from Penn Station to Secacus Station on New Jersey Transit lets you board a shuttle that drops you off at Giants Stadium. Just make sure you read the tips on the Red Bulls site if you’re heading to a game from downtown. They could save you from missing your train if you’re pressed for time before the game.
• Dane Richards. I love watching this guy play. I think he has a chance to play in Europe with one of the top clubs. His ball handling abilities and pitch smarts are second to none in the MLS. He’d make a great mid fielder or right winger to add to Toronto (Mo, are you listening?). If only New York would trade him.
• Juan Pablo Angel. This guy is pure. An amazing talent to witness in the flesh.
• I’ve got to admit that Giants Stadium isn’t the best venue to watch a soccer game. It’s big and the site lines aren’t the best. It’s obviously a stadium built to watch American Football games. Anything that happens on the sidelines on the side you’re watching from might as well not even happen because you can’t see anything below the players’ torsos.
• I was happy to see a small but supportive crowd at Giants Stadium. There were many fans wearing Red Bull jerseys and they were reactive to referee calls and the events on the field. It’s good to see that there’s a level of dedication from the fans that came out for the game. It’s a sign that the team is building a good core of supporters. With a new stadium, I can easily see attendance doubling for games.
• The New York Red Bulls supporters section was quite organised and loud throughout the course of the game. The section was about 400 – 500 members strong. There were no flags but a good amount of banners and some original chants. They made a stadium that was 1/10th full seem quite initimate.
• New York Red Bulls jerseys. They are sick. I bought an away jersey.
• The Red Bulls new arena appropriately named Red Bull Arena. Looks like it’s going to put BMO to shame… Real grass, covered seating and 25,000 seats (of which I hope most are filled next season).
• Concessions. Lines were quick but the choices sucked. Pop was $4.50 and beers were $8.25 American.

I had a great time watching a football game at somewhere other than BMO Field. The official attendance, at 8,508, was low but in a stadium that holds 80,000 and change for Giants games I was surprised at the amount of noise that was generated on plays, bad ref calls and the two goals that New York scored; which bring me to my final point. The state of the MLS.

In order for the league to grow and mature I really believe that all the teams in the league need strong fan support. Teams like Toronto and Seattle can’t keep the league afloat and alive if there’s many teams averaging under 10,000 patrons per game. I’m hopeful that New York’s move to their own stadium will spark additional interest in the team. New York is the melting pot of America so there’s lots of potential fans in the city and the surrounding area. I have a feeling that New Yorkers (and New Jerseyites?) will be more apt to support a team that plays in their own stadium. With the Red Bulls playing in an American Football stadium I feel that many potential fans feel as if the Red Bulls are a fly by the seat of your pants team that doesn’t have a strong future.

Making the move to their own stadium next year will change these sentiments tremendously and hopefully push the remaining MLS teams playing in rented stadiums to make the move to their own stadiums. Having a stadium that is easily accessible from downtown New York will also change things immensely for the better as far as attendance goes (From the Red Bull Arena site, here are the directions to the stadium: From World Trade Center. Take the PATH Train towards Newark (Red Line) and exit at the Harrison station [second to last stop]. Estimated travel time is 20 minutes. Exit the station onto Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard. Red Bull Arena in three blocks to the east.)

If the push to get other teams to move to their own stadiums (New England, D.C United, Kansas City and Houston) can’t happen then the MLS should relocate these teams to other cities because there’s plenty of cities and provincal/state governments willing to shell out big bucks to build soccer specific stadiums (Ottawa, Montreal, St. Louis, Maryland, Miami and even Las Vegas just to name a few). I believe that for the MLS to compete with the NBA’s MLB’s and NHL’s of the world, the league will have to take some drastic measures with some of the smaller teams who cannot afford or are not saavy enough to build their own venue. Although a huge cost, a team with their own stadium adds heaps of credibility to their case as potential entertainment outlet. Once the Red Bulls move to their new stadium in 2010, I’m confident the view of the team as an amateur sports outfit will largely disappear amongst New Yorkers. And with the marketing power of Red Bull, I hope there’s nothing but sell outs for the team in the future.

April 4th, 2009 marked Toronto FC’s home opener. After heading down to Columbus the week before to witness (at least when the view of the pitch wasn’t obscured by smoke bombs) Toronto’s 1-1 tie with a tough Columbus on their home turf, I had some pretty high performance expectations from Toronto on Saturday. Seattle came galavanting into Toronto with a perfect record, strong home support and 180 minutes of shutout football behind them. In short, they had everything to prove to the first crown jewel of the MLS, Toronto.

Before the game yesterday, I had suspicions that Seattle was the real deal. At full time I knew they were the real deal.

Getting to see Freddie Ljungberg was a treat. The man’s still got the ability to make the plays and lead a team. He was untouchable throughout the most game setting up chance and chance, frustrating Toronto’s defense and ultimately leading The Sounders to a 2-0 win.

Toronto, on the otherhand, was a whole other story. I can’t blame the wind because both teams had to play with and against it. The fans were as loud as ever and the team had a full week to recover from their last game. Saturday’s performance was akin to the whole team waking up late from a night of binge drinking the night before. It wasn’t until the 69th minute when Jim Brennan made an excellent cross to Amado Guevera that the team woke up and started to put up a fight against Seattle. Unfortunately, by that time in the game, it was too little too late as coming back from a two goal deficit with 20 minutes to play is a specialty reserved for teams the calibre of Liverpool and Manchester United.

I’m not sure why John Carver took so long to remove an invisible Chad Barrett from the game. Replacing hime with Danny Dichio was a wise move and should have been done much, much earlier in the game. Barrett couldn’t get anything going on Saturday and should have been yanked in the first 20 minutes. Dichio’s impact on the field, however, was immediate. He was able to get the ball to his team mates and generate chances for the team time and time again in the second half, even setting up a goal that was called back. Overall, the last 35 minutes of the match were much better for Toronto. There’s no reason the last third of the game couldn’t have been applied to the first two thirds of game.

To sum up my feelings, here are my highlights and low lights from the game:

Let’s hope the team rebounds next Saturday against FC Dallas. I need some goals in real life!

It’s season two for our adored Reds. What a start to the season this year. After misfiring during the first two games, the team has come together with the addition of a few key players, an overhaul in their approach on the field and a fresh approach from the coaching staff. I’m really excited to have Amado Guevara on the team this year. His experience and skill has made a huge impact since stepping onto the field 3 games ago and I can’t wait to see him have some more fun on the pitch as the year progresses.

As I write this entry, Toronto has 10 points and is playing better than every team in the Western Conference. It’s hard to believe that this is just the second season. As long as the team can stay healthy we might end the year in the playoffs. And hey, even if we don’t make it, at least every home game will be fun thanks to the support of the amazing Toronto fans (why aren’t Leafs games like this?).