#dalvsea

Dear Trix,

Hoo boy.  Where do I start?  Well, maybe with some honesty.  The beginning is a very good place to start but honesty might be better for us at the moment.  I watched a replay of the game against Dallas, as promised.  And it was terrible.  Just mind-numbingly terrible.  If it’s not clear by now, I think sport has a lot to teach us.  This must be painfully obvious to anyone who reads this… if anyone reads this.  But yeah, let’s put our cards on the table.  I think there’s a lot life lessons to be gleaned from sports and it’s something I care very passionately about (another thing I feel is important--caring passionately, I mean; also, to clarify, sports are the thing I can passionately about, not life lessons).  ANYWAY.  I try to wrap both of those in a neat little bow for you.  But this game against Dallas…  YEESH.

We started slow, then showed some signs of life, and right when the game was (more or less) beginning to move in a positive direction Clint Dempsey nut tapped a guy.  If you don’t know what that is, great.  If your curiosity starts getting the better of you, ask your dad.  I’m sure we both became quite familiar in our middle and high school years.  So, the ref goes to VAR and sends Deuce off with a straight red.

Now, we’re being honest, so let’s be honest.  Before VAR, this probably wouldn’t have happened.  The move was off the ball and cleverly hidden from view from the officials and most players on the pitch.  But you know what’s not cleverly hidden from view?  CAMERAS.  A professional athlete can’t so much as pick their nose or scratch their butt without it becoming a gif on SB Nation.  Now we can argue whether there was intent, if Dempsey actually hit him, and whole host of other things but it doesn’t really matter.  A move like that, whether or not it lands, is going result in a red card.  So a lineup already depleted by injury is now playing a goal down and a man down.  I don’t have to tell you it didn’t end well.

So, what’s to write about?  A classless act on a soccer field hurt a team already suffering from factors outside their control.  You don’t write about it, you write it off.

Well, you write it off and you look forward to the next game.  I hate to tell you, Trix, this was more of the same.  Kelvin Leerdam slaps a guy for some ticky-tacky BS gamesmanship.  Again VAR.  Again red card in the first half.  Again we lose.  It was dumb and it cost us a game.  Which is the 3rd time in 3 games of regular season league play.

I’ve written to you about bad days before, so I’m not going to do that again.  And I’ve promised you honesty, so I’m just going to say it, there is nothing to learn from these two games.  They were awful.  I hope to forget them, to tell you the truth.  If we play well and lose, I’m disappointed, but if we play like garbage and get our asses handed to us… well, who cares?  Why are we here if we’re not going to put in an effort?  Why am I spending the precious little money I have to watch games for team that can’t go 90 minutes without turning this into a lame MMA spectacle?

Trix, I haven’t lost faith in the Sounders.  But the near future isn’t so bright.  Technically we have until May 1st to bring in new players but I don’t think we’ll see real improvements until the summer transfer window which isn’t until July 10 (and goes through August 8).  So we’re talking at least 3 more months of likely frustration.

I’m at a loss, Trix.

But I hope you’ll stick with me.

Stick with us.

Stick with the Sounders.

Really Trying Here,