Morning Afterthoughts: The Logic of Frankie

Posted by: Smitty



Before a soaked crowd of 15,000+ in rain-drenched Gillette Stadium, the Columbus Crew beat the New England Revolution 1-0, taking all six possible points from the Boston boys in the month of September. Along with those points, the Crew left Massachusets with a few other things in their possesion:

- The inside track on homefield advantage in the playoffs
- Ditto on the Supporter's Shield
- A lock of Shalrie Joesph's hair
- About 12 gallons of water from Hurrican Kyle, once all the uniforms were wrung out
- Another clean sheet by William Hesmer and the defense
- One more ticket sold for the L.A. Galaxy game

That last bit comes courtesy of Franklin Hejduk. He made a play that all of Crew Nation enjoyed for a split second before realizing its consequences. After getting stoned on a rifle shot, which was collected by Matt Reis, Hejduk ran up behind Reis and tried to kick the ball out of his hands. Immediately, the appropriate colored card emerged form the ref's hip pocket, and since it was the second Banana-colored card for Hejduk in the game, he was sent to the showers. At the time, this meant the Crew had to hold a tenuous, 1-goal lead for the bulk of 30 minutes to gain the full 3 points. It didn't look good, and many were wondering what Frankie was thinking.

Then the Crew went out, played as well as any 10 men can given the circumstances, and got the 3 points. A more cautious (and obviously, less intelligent) fan would say that it was still a poor judgment by our team captian, but fortunately it all worked out.

Rubbish. Frankie had a lapse in his judgement? Please. The man has been around the block, and knows exactly what he's doing when he's on the field. I'm not buying the "he lost his head" moment, not for a second. Instead, I believe Frankie was executing a perfect plan to set the stage for the most important two months of the Crew's history.

Number one, Frankie knows better than any of us what's going down on the field. Certainly, he felt the Crew were more than capable of handling the suddenly anemic Revolution without him. Further, he knew that the guys could get big heads if they whupped on the Revs agin by a score of 3 or 4 to 0. So, instead of keeping the team at full strength, he figured he would level up the playing field, and make the boys work hard for those last 30 minutes.

But that's only part of the reason Frankie took the 2nd yellow. He also did it to get a much-deserved break next week, against the woeful L.A. Galaxy. Knowing the game will have little bearing on the playoffs, Frankie obviously decided that,since the rest of Columbus hasn't seen fit to come out to Crew Stadium this season, when they finally show up for Beckham, he'll return the favor, and not be on the field. It may be a message very few if any of the soccer moms will get, but it's a message nonetheless, dammit.

Also, one has to believe that Frankie has come to enjoy his postgame sip of brew from the supporters, to the point that he decided it was about time he hung out with us for the whole game. And since his only two options were this game or the D.C. match, he could finally afford to take a much-needed staycation to Columbus Crew Stadium. Don't believe me? Witness Sigi Schmid, who, after 30 minutes of thinking about Frankie's idea, decided to order up a bleacher seat for himself this weekend as well, getting ejected near the end of the game for verbally assaulting the ref. Clearly, the Nordecke is becoming an alluring proposition for the organization's elite. Perhaps, Mr. McCullers won't even need the Preident's box next season...

But surely, the final and most obvious reason Frankie nearly took Reis's foot off on the restart had nothing to do with retaliation. It's all about the mental edge.

Let's be honest; everyone's initial reaction to Frankie's foul was something along the lines of "What the hell was that?!?". But that's just what Hejduk wanted. Everyone already knows Frankie is a bad ass. He'll cut you back, he'll tackle you with two feet, he'll run you down and make you say uncle. Oh, and now? He'll also take your goalie down from behind. What next? Maybe he'll slide tackle the official, headbutt your coach, or take down your over-priced forward, rip his head off, hollow out the deceased's skull, and use it as a spitoon. The sky is the limit, the opposition will think, because Frankie Hejduk is crazy.

Crazy like a fox, I say.

When Frankie take the field, keepers will be looking over their shoulder. When Frankie takes the field, women will hide their children, especially the ones clad in all-Beckham gear. When Frankie takes the field, any number of very bad things could happen next. You thought he wouldn't go there? Oh, he'll go there, girlfriend. And that's the point. For the rest of the season, Frankie has put the league on notice. They'll be looking for him to cause some kind of yet-to-be-seen havoc. And instead of havoc, Frankie will stroll up to forwards who are quivering in their boots, and take the ball off their feet. It will be stealing candy from a baby, or in the case of Taylor Twellman, an overpriced bitch.

Too bad they don't know, Gino Padula is the one you REALLY have to worry about. After all, it was Gino who brought the Crew's hardware from Toronto down to the lobby of the hotel to let the supporter's drink out of it.

THAT, my friends, is truly crazy. But Frankie? He's just massive, as always.

Morning Afterthoughts: Red Bull Gives You Wins

Posted by Smitty

Walking out of Crew Stadium last night, after the Crew's 3-1 dismantling of the New York Red Bulls, I was struck by a thought. At no time tonight did I feel like we were going to lose this game. Not after shots clanked off the post; not after Angel's perfectly taken free kick. Even at 35 minutes in, before Frankie's chip, I remember laughing and making jokes with everyone around me. In fact, for some reason, Jehrico, Blake, my buddy Adam, and I all randomly started singing the entire opening theme to "Fresh Prince." I guess we got bored singing the same four cheers over and over again.

Point is, that type of non-chalant attitude by those four members of Crew Nation is unprecedented in a game where we're losing. Winning by 2 goals? Sure. But instead of worrying about if the Crew would claw back into it and get three points, I was trying to think of a theme song to sing that would top the Fresh Prince reference. In case you're wondering, I almost busted out the "Step by Step" opener, but I wasn't sure I had the whole thing down (and upon further examination, I was waaaaaaaaay off).

This year's Crew team has proven they have the ability to storm back after conceding the first goal, and there's not any one guy the team has to rely on to bring us back. Sure, when he's been in there, Guillermo has been the catalyst, and when he's healthy, he'll be the guy we all look to. But last night, "Super Frank" Frankie Hejduk stepped up with a goal of the week nominee (more on this later), as did Robbie Rogers. But in what has become the defining trait of this Crew team, they just keep coming at you. Even with a 2-1 lead and our defense once again playing lights out, the Crew kept pushing for a 3rd, 4th, 5th goal. It's almost like they have a pot of money on the training table and the last guy to score in the game gets the pot.

We didn't see that last year. In 2007, we got a lead, sat on it, and self destructed. But Sigi Schmid has these guys playing a brand of soccer which I hope becomes the standard of the Black and Gold for years to come. That style starts with efficiency in the back; few fouls in the defensive third, tidy cleanup of most messes, and neat and quick distribution to Brian Carrol, Frankie, or Gino Padula. Those guys press the ball into the offensive third, either by connecting with the wings, or making the run themselves. If that's not there, they find a way to get the ball quickly to the Columbus Distribution Company (Guillermo or Noonan), and they get the ball to dangerous feet in the offensive third. No matter how they do it though, the Crew bring the ball to your front door, and demand to be let in. That's why this year, Crew fans can breathe easy even with a 1-goal deficit. We know the boys won't let up.

Let's hope this style of soccer is here to stay.

Other Thoughts:

- Yesterday, on my way into the stadium, I thought I might give the local sports station (1460 "The Fan") a call to talk about the game. The producer of "The Big Show" with Bruce Hooley answered, and I told him I wanted to talk about the Crew game. He said that even though there were 45 minutes left in the "Big Show", they weren't going to have time to talk about the Crew.

I asked him why not, and he said it just wasn't in their schedule. I asked if they would ever talk about soccer on that show; he said, "Probably not..." I asked him if he could name one player on the Columbus Crew; "Nope, I don't follow soccer" came the reply. Bear in mind, this is the guy who was also reading the 20/20 sports updates, which should include news of sports, specifically those happening in Columbus. On three different report I heard yesterday, there was not a mention of the Crew game.

"So let me get this straight," I fumed. "You're the sports station in Columbus, but you won't talk about the Crew? Do you consider soccer a sport?" He replied he did, but that the audience wasn't interested (if that's what they think, I can't help them.) Then I asked him, if since they are an ESPN Radio affilate, and the game would be on ESPN2, couldn't they at least mention their network programming lineup for the evening? He said he would try.

So to summarize, 1460 the Fan won't talk about a Columbus sports team playing a game that night in Columbus, but they will talk about something their network affiliate is boradcasting all across the country. Reason? They think you and I aren't interested.

Let's prove 1460 "The Fan" wrong. Starting today, and going through next Friday, call the station and ask to talk about the Crew. In fairness, I was a little angry, so try not to act like I did. Be polite, be courteous, and don't try to sound elitist. But call and ask them to talk about the Crew, or volunteer to go on the air and talk about last night's game, or to break down next week's Massive tilt with New England.

1460 AM has local shows on during these two times, so these are the times to call:

Mon-Fri 12-2pm (Midday Show - Mike Riccordati and Scott Torgerson)
Mon-Fri 4-7pm (Big Show - Bruce Hooley, Chris Spielman, Kirke Herbstriet)

Studio line - 614-821-1460

Remember, don't use any four letter words, as they're on a delay, and no one will even know what you said. Plus it makes us all look bad. But do call them and ask the Columbus sports station to let you on the air to talk about a Columbus sports team.

- Some people are saying that Frankie Hejduk's goal was just a lucky cross that went the right way. Others are saying it was a deft chip. Juan Carlos Osorio, Red Bulls head man, said he wasn't sure, but thought it was lucky. The AP story I read after the game said it was a lucky cross. But Frankie himself dismisses that saying he meant to do it. If you re-watch the match, you see Conway was in poor position, and Frankie made him pay for it.

If he meant to do it, and I personally belive he did, it should be a GOTW nominee. Same with Robbies goal. Two excellent strikes.

- Sure it's great to get three goals, but more impressive is how Chad Marshall and Danny O'Rourke shut down Juan Pablo Angel. His only chance was the free kick, which was well taken, but the call that set it up was bogus. In the run of play, Angel had nothing on either of these guys. Especially Marshall, who may need to make sure he is familiar with the process of applying for EU Work Permits here very soon. I mean, he's apparently not good enough for Bob Bradley and the USMNT to give him a call, but I'm sure this offseason, the Crew will field some requests from across the pond for his services.

So let's see, on this team we potentially have:

MVP - Guillermo Barros Schelotto
Defender of the Year - Chad Marhsall
Comeback Player of the Year - Chad Marshall
Coach of the Year - Sigi Schmid

Not bad.

- While I love the cheers we are doing, I'm always up for spicing it up with something new. Jehrico attempted to do this last night, with little success, by singing "You can stick your can of Red Bull up your ass" to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain..." Sadly, it didn't catch on. We also tried to start "Who the hell wears a headband" to the Seven Nation Army tune. Look for these hits and more on our upcoming CD, "Hudson Street Hooligans Love Their Country."

- We walked over to see J.P. Dellacamera and John Harkes after the game. Both were very friendly, and both stated how impressed they were with the team and the Nordecke. Harkes made three references that I caught during the game broadcast to the Hudson Street Hooligans. After the game, he talked more about the Nordecke than about the actual game, though he did say, even without Guillermo, the Crew would be a team that could win MLS Cup. High praise from the best U.S. soccer analyst out there.

- Not To be Debbie Downer here, but the only bad part about last night was that the Crew looked so dominating even without Guillermo Barros Schelotto. While we all know Guille is the best we may ever see in Black and Gold, the two games he's missed show that the Crew can keep ticking even without him, albeit, against poor competition. Hopefully, this doesn't factor in when pundits look at who should get the nod for MVP. Regardless of hwo the Crew are playing now, there is little doubt that Guillermo was one of the factors in changing the attitude of this club. We went from feeling like we would find a way to lose, to knowing we'll find a way to win. That's the mentality of a champion, and Guillermo is one of the few guys on the team who has won a championship. I'd say he has to be somewhat responsible for that turnaround, along with Sigi, and all the other players.

- Speaking of the MVP, I stayed around last night and stood in line at the autograph tent. Sure, it might have made me look like I was 12, but Guillermo was there, in his suit and tie, and I got his autograph on my scarf. I also got sigs from Ekpo and Padula. If the Crew go on to MLS Cup, that scarf will be retired. And say what you will, but I'm seriously considering voting for Guillermo in 2008. Sure he can't win, but if you're asking me who I trust to lead this country? I'll gladly follow Guille before those other jokers.

Don't forget to watch the MLS games this weekend. If the right teams lose, a few more tie, and I stand on my head, the Crew will clinch a playoff spot. Might not be official this weekend, but with the win lastnight the Crew should be in to the playoffs. I know most die-hards will be holding our breath until we see that asterisk in the standings. Here's hoping we get it this weekend, so we can concentrate on the Shield, and then the Cup.