I thought it may…or may not…be of interest to watch a Major League Soccer game on television with me — one of six I watched on TV last Saturday. Call this a non-live live blog.

AsI watch this afternoon’s match between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution, I’ll share my thoughts  with you from beginning of the pre-game show through the end of the post-game coverage.  Ready?  Here we go:

4:30 pm CT:  The final(?) USL1 Final postgame just ended on Fox Soccer Channel (Congrats to Montreal) and I’m now sitting in my living room recliner waiting for the Bosley Hair Restoration commercial to end and the MLS telecast to begin.

Christian Miles opens the broadcast:  “Live It Here”

Have BlackBerry on one arm rest and Diet Coke to the left.  Laptop is….well, on top of my lap.

4:33 pm: Game setup by Max Bretos and Christopher Sulllivan.  I used to dislike both as broadcasters, but both Max and Chris have grown on me.  I now like Max’  kitchiness and appreciate their knowledge of MLS and CONCACAF and the fact they generally keep focused on the game.  Katie Witham…hmmm….ok…lineups….what happened to the dangerous Revs?  I guess injuries and transfers have weakened them.  Katie predicts Brian McBride could be dangerous on corner kicks and free kicks.  Thanks Katie.

4:35 pm: USA vs. Costa Rica highlights.  I still have to listen to the unbelievable Honduras radio broadcast of the end of the Honduras vs. El Salvador game where they switch over to calling the USA vs. Costa Rica game in incredibly passionate voice.  I understand that Jonathan Bornstein is being hailed as a hero in Honduras!

4:36 pm: NY at RSL highlights.  Nice to see Andy Williams score even if it did go against my pick in the Pastorino Prediction League (I’m currently on top!!).  RSL is still behind Seattle in the standings.  If it stays that way at the end of the season, I win a wheel of cheese (Colby) from RSL communications maven John Koluder!

4:38 pm:  VW goal celebration commercial, the bunny hop.  Not sure that it makes me want to buy a Bug, but I do enjoy these spots.

4:40 pm: Geico sponsors pregame…they’re on the Milwaukee Wave’s sponsor hit list.  Now there’s a Panasonic commercial with four MLS stars…Did Blanco just give his jersey to the ref?  Was that Chris Klein taking liberties with Blanco’s chest?

4:43 pm: Cross promo of EPL games reminded me that satellite TV pioneer billionaire Stan Hubbard suggested an all soccer channel idea to Buzz Lagos and me at a meeting in Hubbard’s St. Paul headquarters in 1996…..alas, Hubbard’s son quickly shot it down as an idea without an audience.

4:45 pm:  There’s Shalrie Joseph….damn, I remember thinking I had successfully traded a couple draft picks for his rights in 2002 for the Fire when he was holding out prior to signing with MLS.  It seemed all parties had agreed and then Sunil Gulati overruled Steve Nicol and the rest of the Revs management to nix the deal.

4:48 pm: Brian McBride tap dances around the “Do you miss Europe?” question.  Love Brian, but not exactly a quote machine.  Waiting to hear him say ”we just have to take them one game at a time”.

4:51 pm:  When the MLS promo shows Sacha Kljestan celebrating a goal by imitating Blanco’s Aztec Warrior celebration, the word “Virtuoso” flashes across the screen…shouldn’t it say “Impressionist” or “Satirist” instead?

4:53 pm: Steve Ralston interview…one of my favorite non-Fire MLS players ever.  Tried often to get him in trade from Tampa and New England….never came close unfortunately.

4:54 pm: Just saw a Tweet saying tonight is Paul Mariner’s final game as Revs Asst. Coach before taking a similar role with Plymouth Argyle. He always reminded me of the Hanson Brother in Slap Shot played by former hockey pro Steve Carlson.  Paul will be missed in New England.

4:54 pm: Is that Leslie?  It is.  Just saw Milwaukee’s own Leslie Osborne uncredited in a commercial for Golme.  An hour ago, I helped Red Stars GM Marcia McDermott put the finishing touches on a contract offer to the WPS free agent in efforts to bring Leslie back to the midwest.  She’d be a great addition, but the Red Stars are up against the salary cap as we’re also trying to keep Cristiane, so I’m not sure if the offer will be good enough for Leslie.

5:04 pm: Mrs. Livingston just jumped in my lap as lineups were posted. I like the Fire’s starters.  Blanco on bench to start should help in the 2nd half.  Rolfe coming inside from the right, Pappa on the left with Nyarko and McBride up top will be dangerous.

5:06 pm:  Game on. Jorge Gonzalez in the center.

5:08 pm: Patriots logos, football lines and field turf….ugh, ick, arrrgh.

5:09 pm:  Max says FSC studio host Todd Grisham is out due to his wedding. I was with Todd in a hotel bar once when the bartender almost started hyperventilating and begged him for his autograph due to his WWE duties.

5:11 pm: Reis goal kick shows scattered crowd at Gillette which puts most of the fans on one side’s lower level.  I hate that stadium…maybe, because the Fire ended so many seasons there.

5:15 pm:  Nice Charlie Davies 9th min tribute by Revs fans for the Boston College product. Here are some tributes for Ashley Roberta, the woman who died in the crash.

5:18 pm The football lines do serve a purpose on offsides situations…

5:19 pm: Sullivan talks about Rolfe and Prideaux leaving Fire after this season….who else I wonder…

5:20 pm: Jon Busch tries to get tall as a header skims just over the bar…Jon has a lot of good goalkeeper attributes, but height isn’t one of them.

5:22 pm: Captain CJ Brown deservedly gets his moment from Cris and Max.

5:23 pm: The proximity of the field boards to the Revs banner signage causes clutter that looks a bit third worldish.

5:27 pm: The lines remind me that the addition of football lines in the fall at Soldier Field caused the soccer field to shrink by four yards (116 yards instead of 120 yards at the beginning of the season), so the 18 yard box lines would match up with the NFL 10 yard lines. Noticed the Revs match up the 18 yard box with the 15 yard lines meaning the field is VERY short (106 yards).

5:33 pm: Heaps gets away with a leg kick to Prideaux’s neck.  Jay’s always been a guy Fire fans have loved to hate.

5:40 pm: Toronto beat RSL tonight and, for now, moves ahead of New England for the 8th and final playoff spot. I picked TFC in that game to make me 2-2 so far this week.  I’ve got the Fire in this game.

5:45 pm: Arrrrgh….Rolfe chip nearly goes in.  Cat is back on my lap.

5:51 pm: Halftime. Scoreless.  Not the best soccer.  I’ll choose to blame the short field and the playing surface and not the strategy of both teams to avoid giving up the first goal at ALL costs.

5:56 pm: Crowd shots….looking for my Twitter friend @Hoover_Dam.  Don’t see her, but I see her handiwork.  She does very good work.

6:00 pm: 6 on 6 questions at halftime with Kevin Alston and Jon Busch. Pretty lame questions. Do they only ask them six and use them all or do they ask more and use the six best responses?  I suspect it’s the former, but should be the latter.

6:06 pm: The American Airlines spot with Milos was funny the first 312 times i saw it.  Since then, not so much.

6:08 pm: 2nd half starts, no subs.

6:10/6:12 pm Buschy gets caught out of goal twice, but Revs fail to capitalize…twice

6:11 pm: Chris makes a Lubos Kubik reference!! I love Lubos.  Don’t tell Piotr or Chris, but I think Lubos is my fave Fire player ever.

6:12 pm. Mariner and Nicol shown standing on the sideline drinking a beverage…coffee?

6:13/6:15 pm: Fire defensive breakdowns unconverted by Revs….again and again. Our fortune’s bound to end.

6:16 pm: Which of the yellow lines is out of bounds?  GREAT shot of @Hoover_Dam’s artwork on a Revs throw-in!

6:19 pm: And another giveaway and another missed opportunity again.  Does anyone want to win?

6:20 pm: First sub of game.  Revs bring on Castro for Mansally in the 58th min.

6:23 pm: Fire gets its first good chance(s) of 2nd half and takes too much time.

6:24 pm: Breakaway Rolfe, Reis trips him…..PENALTY!!!!   OMG. Jorge BLEW it.  Instead of a 100% penalty, he calls a dive and yellows Rolfe.  Well, that could be the game and the center decided it. Mark Geiger similarly incorrectly gave Columbus a draw on a bad penalty call in Chicago last month that cost the Fire two points and now this.  ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

6:30 pm: Momentum went Revs way after missed penalty call.   Now Blanco comes in for Pappa in 68th minute.

6:31 pm: Dube’s flick just wide of goal and slips past a group of armed men with capes and funny hats.

6:32 pm: FSC shows promo for next Fire game vs. Chivas USA Thursday night.  Will be induction night for Fire legend Chris Armas. Looking forward to seeing Chris again and welcoming him into the Ring of Fire.

6:34 pm: Fire win guarantees Chicago a playoff spot for 11th time in 12 years.

6:37 pm: Is Calen Carr available? Yes he is.  Maybe for Baggio?

6:40 pm: Twitter’s burning up with angry fans (Chicago and neutral fans) about the poor Gonzalez decision non-PK call.

6:42 pm: BAGGGGIOOO!!!   Shoulda, coulda, woulda….great breakout by Blanco to McBride to Baggio who just missed connecting with Brian’s cross.

6:44 pm: Typical solid outing by Brandon Prideaux. Always gutty and tough.

6:47 pm: Shalrie’s boot to Blanco’s back.  Ouch.

6:49 pm: 88th min…this result is going to feel like a loss….a defeat to the ref.  Sigh.  C’mon Fire.  Get a goal.

6:51 pm: How many Revs players have yellow shoes? Wells Thompson, Kenny Mansally, anyone else?

6:52 pm: Carr for Rolfe in 90th mn.  2 mins stoppage time.

6:53 pm.  Daniel Woolard back from injury subs for Nyarko.

6:55 pm: Christopher Sullivan says “Tremendous point on the road for the Fire.”   Why don’t I feel that way?

6:55 pm: That’s it.  FT 0-0. Damn.  I guess a point at Gillette is ok, and we can still clinch a playoff spot later tonight with a little help, but we should have had the full three, which would’ve really helped get the second seed in the East.

6:57 pm: Post-game interview with Chris Rolfe and he says Reiss pulled his arm back, but caught Chris with his elbow.

6:59 pm: Hey, that’s my buddy Dave Johnson wrapping up the broadcast with the recorded “No reproduction permitted without the express written consent of Major League Soccer” message.

7:03 pm:  Steve Nicol interview.  He said, “We’re very disappointed.” and then some other stuff in a Scottish brogue that I couldn’t understand.

7:06 pm: Denis Hamlett interview: Very good response to the non-PK call. “What, you trying to get me fined?” And then went on to make it clear he believed it was the wrong call, but was pretty diplomatic about it….and he successfully avoided the fine.

7:14 pm: Matt Reis ignoring the fact that he dove into Rolfe’s path: “I didn’t have much contact with him and he went down easily.  It was nice to get a call.”

7:20 pm: Jay Heaps: “If you ask me, the referee did a terrific job tonight.  Jorge did a fabulous job.”  Seriously, that’s what Jay said.  God, I’m glad he’s hated by Fire fans…and for good measure, Katie instinctively agrees with Heaps by saying, “Yes he did.”  Another reason to be happy about this.

Well, that probably wasn’t the best game for me to “watch” with you, but they can’t all be like this.  Hope you enjoyed “watching” the game with me — pardon my obvious Fire bias and I’ll be back in this space next week.

The following video highlights of New England’s torment during their 4-0 destruction at the hands of my Chicago Fire last Thursday, set to Bocelli’s “Con Te Partiro”, was made by a friend of mine in Chicago’s Section 8 and warms the cockles of my heart. The New England players’ reactions mostly stemmed from the seventh minute dismissal of Jeff Larentowicz for a “tackle” on Chicago’s Brandon Prideaux. Enjoy.

Beyond its aesthetic brilliance, I think this kind of supporter-made video is important for MLS. We need to make people realise there are rivalries — such as the increasingly bitter one between the Fire and the Revolution — in American soccer that cut close to as deep for the organisations and hardcore fans as Liverpool-Manchester United. I’m not joking about this: I have friends in Section 8 who have taken the thousand mile trip to New England’s home, Foxboro, for three consecutive years in the playoffs and watched the Fire lose. I seriously fear for their mental health should it happen a fourth time. One could even say the same about rivalry in the USL for a Timbers fan with regard to Seattle (let’s hope that rivalry is resurrected in MLS some day).

As well as understanding the supporters’ passion, what we need is more focus on getting to know the players both on and off the field as characters. I’m glad the Fire have Blanco almost as much for his ability to piss opposing players and fans off as for his wondrous ability on the ball.

I dislike the soap opera that the English Premier League has become now — but all the same, it’s important for MLS players to be known and loved and hated outside the hardcore few. Unfortunately, the mainstream soccer media here does little to help. That’s why blogs like The Offside Rules, with their witty interviews of MLS players and focus on their lives off the field, really help.

And who are Section 8, you ask? Here we are during the New England game:

(See more photos here.)

Oh, and for the New England fans out there still complaining about the dismissal, please explain how this is not a red card:

How’s this post for stoking a rivalry?

Video courtesy of Section 8 Chicago.

Overall, I’d say there’s more variety than in past years, and Adidas have thankfully toned down the wavy stripe obsession from 2007 (see the 2007 versions here). What do you think, and which ones are the best and worst?

Kansas City Wizards, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes

DC United, New England Revolution, Chivas USA

New York Red Bulls, Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire

FC Dallas and Houston Dynamo

But that’s jumping ahead. About an hour before the game, when the bar was still filling up, a bloke walked up to his friend, a fairly old Scotsman in a Fire jersey.

“What are you doing here tonight?”, he asked.
“Watching the Fire in the playoffs,” the Scotsman replied.
“Oh, that Mickey Mouse thing?”
“Aye, but you know, that’s what they used to say about the Scottish League.”
“That’s true.”

I think people do still say that about the Scottish League, at least in England, but you wouldn’t do so to a bar full of Rangers or Celtic fans watching an Old Firm derby unless you wanted to lose your teeth.

It may sound trite, but games like last night’s passionate thriller help MLS build its own history and credibility. We are building rivalries, based on passion, bile, loyalty, irrational hatreds. The things leagues that have been around for decades depend on to keep fans interested even if the world’s best players aren’t on the field.

And indeed, try telling the hundred Fire fans screaming their heads off in the bar last night after the game, or the DC fans feeling the pain this morning, that MLS is a Mickey Mouse league. The latter’s responses are especially revealing, as we’ll discover after the jump.

Consider Pitch Invasion contributor Max, a DC supporter. He emailed me last night, after the game, and his words speak for themselves.

I have a splitting headache. And I want to cry. I mean, I literally
want to just cry all over my keyboard. I’ve never reacted to any
play, ever, like that called back goal when I thought it was good.

Good job by your boys. I hate, fucking hate, Blanco so much I can’t
even comprehend.

This is horrible. This is football, huh?

I need beer.

This morning, D at the DCenters emphasises instead his reaction based around pride despite the fall.

Tradition.

It was the slogan of the season, backed up on the web banner by more silver than you see in the teeth of your average Crunk performer, a tally we added to this season. It was a promise, but it was also the biting fear entering this match against Chicago, a team we’ve never beaten in the playoffs, a team that we’ve never scored upon in the playoffs, a team that dealt us one of the most humiliating defeats we’ve ever suffered in 2005.

. . .

Only, tradition is not merely about trophies (though that’s a lot of it) or is it about match results. It is about watching a team I care about, and watching a team repay me with their effort on the pitch. For all the under-10 youth league soccer cliches, sometimes heart can be more rewarding than results, and for me personally this was one of those games. Even as Eric Wynalda was discussing the similarities to 2005 while the sound of the Sabers game on the TV next to us in the bar threatened to drown him out, United rallied and went down fighting. When I thought Gomez had collected our third goal, I screamed aloud, jumping up and down, only to collapse when the goal was (correctly) called back. But they kept at it, even with the disappointment.

Can I complain about the first half? Of course. Can I complain about us losing because of a misstep on the road? Yes, absolutely… But I won’t. Instead, this is more personal. My ultimate complaint is that I was in Buffalo, New York on the final game of DC United’s season, and I didn’t say good-bye in person. For this team honored our tradition, fought valiantly, and I shall miss them. This off-season will likely see at least one of those players I saw not step onto the field again. I didn’t know I wouldn’t see Esky again before he was gone. Who knows how it will be this off-season? And I wish I could have had a chance to say good-bye myself.

In a similar vein, Longshoe at Who Ate all the Cupcakes also emphasises his longstanding connection to DC, and argues it’s something American soccer fans can build best with teams in their own country.

I talked before about the Atlanta Ruckus being the first team I ever really felt connected to. The second was DC United. John Harkes was my favorite player back then, and DCU became my team when Harkes was allocated to them. When they drafted Mike Huwiler, a former Ruckus player, that just sealed the deal. I still have the first DC United shirt they ever sold, with Harkes’ autograph on it, even though it’s pretty much falling apart at this point.

By this point in my soccer life, I was able to see the big European teams play from time to time. I saw a Manchester United v. Newcastle game that hooked me on the Red Devils because of their attacking style and Cantona’s brilliance. However, I’d get to see that United 4 or 5 times a season while I could see the DC version in most every game. It was no contest as to who I cared about more.

. . .

I don’t have that type of history with other teams I follow, there’s too much distance. I’ll go out of my way to see a DC game, but just don’t care about other teams enough to do the same. DCU feels like “my team” while I just like watching the others play. Does that make any sense? It’s hard to really put into words, but that’s how it is.

That’s why I get so ticked when people say things like, “But it’s only MLS…” or “That was a pretty good for an MLS game…” or something similar. This league, the one in our backyards, shouldn’t be taking a backseat to leagues thousands of miles and oceans away. I really want to see that change quicker.

Next week (if the New England Revolution put away the New York Red Bulls this weekend) the Fire will travel to Foxboro for another playoff match up with the Revolution, something we face with a similar trepidation as DC do when they face us in the playoffs. There’s history there; bitterness there; scores to be settled on the field, and everyone involved will feel it.

This is what the league needs to build itself on: stories of revenge, redemption, long standing emnities, rather than the empty marketing we saw in the songs the league commissioned for each team.

Photo by Max J. Rosenthal on Flickr.