Go Bears.

Also, the situation with the stadiums was supposedly overblown. Dave Alioto has said that they’ll be focusing on two places or three at maximum. I’d bet for sure that McAfee Coliseum is one and then a small stadium somewhere in the Bay. It would be Stanford Stadium in a perfect world, it was the perfect place for the Chelsea game and our sideline seats were towering over the field. Great stadium for soccer.

Josh, I agree, this is a big risk, especially with some Earthquakes fans possibly still bitter that their team upped and left a couple of years ago. I hope it works out – it’s a huge and critical market for soccer in America – but they really need to get a SSS built as soon as possible.

I’m trying to recall a single one of these intentionally-nomadic arrangements that has worked out, and I can’t. Relocation of the odd playoff game due to facility conflicts is one thing. But the only comparable examples I can even think of in a purportedly-major league were from the old ABA, the Virginia Squires and the Carolina Cougars, and we see how well they ended. Better to either pick one sub-par stadium and stick to it except for *one or two* big games, or delay the team’s return until the new one is built.

So I’m glad to have them back, but am far from enthused about the nomad plan. Spartan has issues (primarily the fact that it is seriously narrow, with unforgiving concrete stands on both touchlines), but it is the club’s spiritual home and the most appropriate facility in the area. I note the website says that they expect to play “most of their games” in the South Bay, but I think I am right in saying that Spartan is the largest facility in that area (unless they consider Stanford to be “South Bay”, but few locals would). So does that mean most games in Spartan, “big” matches at Stanford, Candlestick (3com, Monster, whatever) or Oakland, and perhaps one or two small matches at smaller venue (college or high school) somewhere in the area? I don’t see what you get from that you don’t get from having a single home with perhaps a few matches further north.

It may be that Wolff sees failing to commit to Spartan as a tactic to get what he wants from the local authorities to build the new stadium, but if it is a tactic it is a dangerous one. Clubs need tradition and continuity, and this one has quite a discontinuous history). People in the South Bay do live in their cars, but they rreally aren’t going to want to drive someplace differenent every second week to watch a soccer game.

And they should bring back the old colors and logo; this one has never appealed to me.