November 20, 2008 9:46 PM

Nats notes: swag, intros, Pablo, Casey, more

In my previous post, I wrote about special soccer events that have come to Colorado.

Sitting in the stands during Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier between the United States and Guatemala, my thoughts often drifted back to the 2007 Major League Soccer All-Star Game, also staged at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

That summer night was perfection: jet flyover, souvenirs, an exciting appearance by David Beckham, spec-freaking-tacular play by Celtic and the All-Stars, cooler weather after a brutally hot week, a victory by the MLS team, packed house. ... MLS got it absolutely right.

But I found a few details from Wednesday's U.S. Soccer Federation production to be lacking.

The souvenir stands had run out of U.S. scarves by 5:30, half an hour before the game was to begin. So if the stands were half empty (er, half full), who bought all the scarves? We didn't see many of those scarves as we walked around the concourse. ...

The only lapel pins available to purchase commemorated the U.S. women's team's victory at the Olympics.

One T-shirt design stood out to the members of my family, and all that remained when we got to the head of the line were Small and Xtra Small. We got one for my wife, but my kids need mediums, at least. Almost all of the other shirts were women's shirts.

WTH?

Well, one of the folks working in a souvenir stand said U.S. Soccer sent only 75 scarves to Dick's.

Good grief! If that's true, what was the reasoning? Was it simply a conservative estimate? Was it a decision to limit the amount of merchandise that would need to be shipped back to U.S. Soccer?

Whatever the reason, it was a bad choice.

One itemI did notice on Wednesday: many Rapids July 4 scarves, turned to the back so the Stars and Stripes were showing. Those were being cleared out by the Rapids at $5 each, and they appeared to be selling well.

AND ANOTHER THING: Were there player introductions at the beginning of the game? Did I miss that? There was a nice, stately procession from the dressing rooms to the field, but a nice announcement of the starters for Guatemala and the U.S. would've been a natural, I'd have thought. Is that standard for international games? Someone help me here ...

CAPTAIN MASTROENI: I noticed the lack of player introductions because I was looking forward to giving Pablo a big hand before kickoff. The Rapids' captain was the captain of the Nats for the night, and he played the full 90. He had the most international experience of any of the U.S. players, and he represented club and country well. My favorite moment of Pablo's night was his cracker of a second-half shot, which forced goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez to make a diving save. A shot from Pablo. Who'd-a thunk? I was looking forward to Pablo destroying one of the Guatemalans at some point, but the biggest tackle came from Ricardo Clark. Pablo did get a yellow late in the game, but it was a ticky-tack foul that warranted little more than a whistle.

OTHER RAPIDS: Conor Casey got in the game in the 76th minute. He had a couple of touches, but he never got a solid chance at goal, which was disappointing. And you can't tell me that there's anything that Clarence Goodson, who started, can do that Cory Gibbs, who didn't play, couldn't have done. Apparently Bob Bradley didn't see the tape of the Chicago-Colorado game from September. I'm an incurable homer. What can I say?

MAN OF THE MATCH: I'd have to give it to Adu, who scored his first goal. Cooper was a threat and scored, Altidore was very active and really seemed to enjoy creating plays for his teammates, Kljestan was all over the place, El Guzano had two beautiful saves late in the game, Bornstein was rock solid on defense but had some really mediocre crosses. Adu's goal, though, was a thing of skill and shine. The power and touch he put on his strike -- with very little room to operate; the ball was just outside the goal box -- were worthy of a World Cup match. Otherwise, his game was full of movement, thought and exuberance. He and his teammates were fun to watch.

GUATEMALA'S MAN OF THE MATCH: Carlos Castillo had some nice runs down the right flank in the second half. He was a speedy little guy and one of the few players I thought that stood out at all. Guatemala played like a team that wasn't going to like the cold or the altitude and didn't think it had a chance to advance against a superior side, which it basically didn't.

Posted by George Tanner at 9:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack