April thoughts

Well here we are at the end of April, and I am finally sitting down to put more thoughts in print. I promised as the season got going I would be more active on the blog. So here I go, finally keeping my word.

The first part of this season has been great so far.  I have had a great time tailgating and going to matches. The crowd this year seems much more knowledgeable about the game. Sure, there have been quite a few folks just there for the party or just getting into the sport after last years success, but for the most part, smart fans.

I have had the fortune to bring a couple of folks to their first pro matches, and to bring folks to the Cauldron for the first time. They all have the same thing to say. "That was great!" I have to admit, I drank way too much at the home opener. It wasn't by design. I planned on partying, just not that hard. My friend Joey joined us for that game. He thought the crowd in the parking lot was outstanding. All the food, beer, and people really impressed him. This was Joey's first time at an MLS match, and obviously his first time in the Cauldron. I didn't hear anything but compliments from him about the stadium, atmosphere, and game play. I look forward to getting him to more games and hopefully buying season tickets. My little brother has also finally made an appearance at LSP with me. He went to a couple of games at CAB with me a few years ago. Needless to say, he had a blast and will be back for more. My dear friend Scott came to the LA game. Last minute tickets are great. Scott has always enjoyed the game, just not at the pro level. I coached both of his sons, and joined him at the boys high school games. Again, all good things to report. Scott had a great time before and during the game. He got into all the noise and excitement right away. I know for sure he is excited to come back.

I have to start another paragraph to tell the story of another friend.   I recently got back in touch with a friend and former teammate from high school. After graduation we went our separate ways and went where life took us. Mine took me to work, marriage, and fatherhood.  His took him to college, then work, marriage, and fatherhood. I shot him a message on facebook and asked when he would like to get together and catch a match with me. I knew he had been to LSP previously, just not to the members section. He was up for it, so off we went. Normal pregame festivities. Food, cold beer, and lots of tales of days gone by.

 Now as I said, we played together in high school. I moved out to Tonganoxie at the end of our sophomore year. I had no clue that some red-neck school would have a soccer team. Turns out they did. I showed up for practice shortly before our junior year ready to play, but not sure what I was going to face being the new kid. Nick was one of the few guys that welcomed me straight away. He ended up being captain of our team for our senior season. After coming a couple of games from winning state our junior year, he had big shoes to fill. Nick jumped right in and took off running. For those of you that know me personally, keeping me calm can at times be a chore. This was no trouble for Nick. He was always able to calm me down and voice my frustration to the appropriate person in a civil manner. I was lucky to have him as a teammate. I hope he feels the same about me.

Back to the game. Nick had a great time in the members club. Getting to see something set aside for "members" only impressed him. He thought the service and the care we get in the members club is top notch. His first match in the Cauldron was enough. The chanting, singing, and harassing the opposing team drew him right in. He picked up and started singing along straight away. Nick is now putting together a large group of his friends to join the Cauldron for the Toronto match.

I would like to thank everyone that has helped me show my friends such a wonderful time. You all make it so easy to get new people to come and enjoy their trip to our little slice of football heaven.

March 5 SKC ramblings

I  am at home with a sick little boy, so I decided I would drain some of the clutter from my brain.

Like most of us, I am looking forward to another fun season at LSP. I think the staff and players have done a tremendous amount of work in preparing for the 2012 campaign. It was great to have so many of the guys stay in KC over the winter to work out together. It seemed as nearly everyone came into camp ready to get into tactics rather than spend time getting into shape. The Arizona portion of preseason seemed much better in my opinion. What little I was able to see looked pretty good. When the team got to Florida things didn't seem to flow as well as I thought they should have. Watching the first squad play was a bit hard at times. It looked as if they hadn't played together before. Sure, there were moments when things seemed to gel, but it all fell apart as quickly as it started. The reserves and trialists looked better. They did however have much more to play for. Several of them were looking to earn a contract and a spot on the roster. With all that being said, I am not terribly concerned with the upcoming season. I think whatever was in the guys heads will be out come March 10.  While I'm not sure we will be on a tear like last season, I like our chances. We have maintained the core group of guys that made the run last year. 2011 ending like it did left a bad taste in many of the players mouths. Adding Convey was a great move in my eyes. As long as he stays happy, he will do great here. Sporting is so deep up front, we should have very little trouble scoring more this year than last. We don't have the same luxury at mid and defender. Hopefully everyone can stay healthy and out of trouble. I think SKC is poised to make another run at the top of the conference and hopefully the Cup. The technical staff showed us last year that they can correct problems when they arise and turn things around. Hopefully this season won't need such a dramatic shift. Regardless of the outcome of the year, I am most looking forward to being back at the park and having fun. Games are my escape from reality. Win or lose, I will still be there yelling and cutting loose.

I just finished up watching the film Pelada. I am glad it was recommended. Not only was it nicely done, it made me think. I haven't played organized ball since high school. Sure, I have played pickup games here and there. I have also done a bit of coaching. I have just been looking for something that gave me this same sense of belonging to the game that playing did. I think that is a big part of what I am doing here. I still have the passion and fire I did while playing as a child. I just don't move as fast or as well as I used to. I  know I am too old to go out for open tryouts. I can't keep up with kids more than 10 years younger than I. What I can do is continue to go to matches and stay involved with the game however possible. Writing this little blog helps as well. I am getting my football story out there, as well as the story of SKC from my pov, and the story of others. As previously stated, I am fortunate enough to be able to bring a few people to their first MLS matches this year. I want to get their stories out and hope it can spread the game.

It has been great this off season for me. Getting involved with the SKC chat on Tuesday nights has been a blast. Being around everyone involved with painting the banners the past few weeks was great as well. Meeting many of the others involved with the Cauldron has opened my eyes a bit. I have always been one to keep to myself and keep walls up around me. I am still that person and always will be. What I have seen is that is ok to listen to other people and accept help and advice from them. Not everyone is out to push their ideas and thoughts on me. However some are. I really don't have the time or desire to deal with many of the people I come in contact with. The beautiful thing about the Cauldron and the game is, I don't need to deal with them. I can go do what I want to do and be happy. Everyone else is entitled to do the same. If you don't like what I do or who I have around me, go away. It was made clear to me in the process of painting banners that someone thought their group was better than mine. Shocking I know. Well good for you. Go sit with your group, that is so much better than mine, and have fun. I really enjoyed the thought that I cared. What got me going is the smug attitude that came with the unsolicited comments. I didn't ask about anything. I was just spoon-fed someone else's opinion. I don't mind groups not being best friends, just don't cry when you talk trash on someone else and they don't stand for it and put you in your place.

It has been good for me to follow several blogs this fall and winter. I appreciate the variety of writers that put SKC news out. I have found myself drawn to the blogs that are written by strongly opinionated authors. I have found what had been written very ignorant or stand offish at times, but that is the wonderful thing about opinions. I get on my soap box here and shout what I want to shout. Even the things I have disagreed with have made me think, so the fundamental disagreements have been a good thing for me.

With the season finally starting, I will be more active on here. I will actually have something to talk about. I have only jumped on here when I have something to say relevant to the club and the folks around it. I look forward to meeting some of the Tuesday night chat crew and others this season. I hope that my stories and thoughts will be entertaining enough to keep people coming back to read new posts. I am hoping to expand the blog a bit so I can add photos and other things pertaining to the Militia and SKC.

First of 2012. Finally!

The joys of a laptop and a wi-fi connection. I can sit on the sofa and type up a blog. Surely a wonderful thing.

So far this has been a monthly deal for me. There hasn't been much going on,  so there isn't a whole lot for me to comment on. I assure everyone once the preseason and season get going, I will have plenty to say. Perhaps more than most care to hear.

I was able to be home and watch most of the Superdraft. I was overjoyed to hear my fellow fans and Cauldronites so loud and proud on ESPN. Good show for KC to a national audience. The videos I was able to find of both of our draft pick were quite good. Both young men look like they should fit in well and gain a wealth of knowledge from PV and the rest of the club. Dom should be able to step in and get some quality minutes in training as everyone tries to figure out their  roles and places in this years front line.

Hedrick's highlight video made me think he could give the defense another enforcer.  What I saw was a defender not afraid to get in the mix and move forward. Decent headers, decent touches and passes, and plenty of physical play. If I am right and that is how he plays out, look out MLS. SKC will have a brute squad on the back line to protect Jimmy. Perhaps I am doing a bit of wishful thinking, but oh well. That is how I played the game. I just think you gotta let the other team know nothing is going to come easy, and you are going to be in their face the whole way.

I was a bit put off with CJ and his comments a while back when talking of perhaps playing in Europe. I fully understand this is his job and he will need to secure his future as football won't last forever. I just don't like seeing people cut their teeth in MLS and running to Europe. If this league is going to continue to get better, we have to find a way to keep talent here. Donovan went to Germany and couldn't cut it, for whatever reason. He came back to MLS, got some good money and is thriving. His loan spells in England are a great thing. He is bringing eyes and respect to the league from across the world. Although I am NOT a fan of his, I hope he stays home to finish his career. As far as foreign stars coming over to play near the end of the time, it brings fans in just for the star value, but it would be better if we could find a way to bring these guys over in their prime. I know our league is still young and working  on fitting into the mix on the global market. The MLS needs to make the money to get and keep big name players in the US. New York and LA are not the only teams that matter. The Cosmos stacked their lineup all those years ago and we all know how that experiment worked out. There has got to be equal chance to draw these people in league wide. The more teams that can grab or better yet, grow big talent, the better. The casual fan is going to be more likely to come to games and turn into a true fan if someone they have seen on ESPN or FOX plays in their city on a regular basis. I hope that what I want happens. CJ is a joy to watch. I don't doubt his loyalty to SKC. I would love to see him succeed both here and with the national team. I only want our players to build a strong squad here and stay. Maybe I am just a bit old school in thinking the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back.

I was fortunate enough to join some of the Cauldron folks at the recent Comets game. It was the first time seeing the Comets since I was a boy. My kids were kind enough to go with me. A big thanks to all that helped put that together. The highlight of the night for me was the retro game at halftime. It was a real treat to see Gino Schiraldi and Tatu out on the floor again. Hopefully I can get out to the IEC and catch another game before season's end.

Isaac, author of Footy Chronicles, brought up some good points with his recent tweets and blog. Check out his blog if you haven't seen it. He brought up the current number of blogs and what is being put out there to read. What is it that the bloggers are bringing to the table? What makes yours different from the rest? Well Isaac, I submit this to you. Mine is opinion. As stated in the description of this blog, this isn't a place for breaking news. There are plenty of fine bloggers out there taking care of that. I am here to give my thoughts on goings on. I also just want to share my soccer story. I get a kick out of telling people about what I experience throughout the season. I am however going to be stealing and idea from Isaac. He is going to interview folks that write blogs, run supporters groups, and have twitter accounts dedicated to SKC. I am going to try to get new people to come join us for matches, and tell their stories. What I put in this blog comes from my heart. I am going to have these people give me their thoughts from their hearts. If they have a good time, I will insist they let us all know why. If they think the whole experience was a waste of time, same think. I want to share why they think so. Again, it is all just to tell a story and let us know as fans what we can do to better a visit to Livestrong Sporting Park.

I look forward to the preseason getting underway so I have more to talk about. I really do want to put more out there for your consumption. This season is going to be great. I finally feel I have found my spot with everyone in our little world. I have people that follow me on twitter and find what I have to say entertaining enough to keep following me. I hope my blog continues to grow and gets new folks stopping by to read it. I owe a huge thanks to those that have spread the word about my blog and twitter. A huge thanks to AdAstraSKC for adding this to the list of SKC blogs. Again, I put this out to share what is in my head with the SKC world. If you read this and disagree with me, so be it. I am usually up for a good debate. If you read this and think it is all rubbish, don't read it. I am not in this to deal with people being pricks. If you really have nothing better to do than put people down that are putting something original and sincere out there, get a life. Preferably far away from mine.

We are just 2 short months away from getting the 2012 season underway. The buzz building around this year is getting louder by the day. I would love to see a gathering of bloggers before a game for some good food and good banter. I would get a big kick out of the SKCchat people getting together before a match. We have had a good time during the offseason "getting together" on tuesday nights to chat about what is going on. Faces to go with names would be cool.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I will do a better job of keeping up and saying more. It's all just finding a balance and making sure I take time to do this.