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Something worth celebrating
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No, it wasn’t pretty, but in times like this it’s important to celebrate good things. By beating the Houston Dynamo, the Sounders have qualified for the the Western Conference semifinals for the 14th time in 16 seasons. It’s the seventh most in MLS history, and the only teams who have done it more had 13-season head starts. Jeremiah and Aaron give them their due.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsors
00:00:02
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Fullpool Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Fullpool was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounders supporters. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Meet the Hosts
00:00:25
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. now i get to do voice reads for the sounder at heart podcast network
00:00:40
Speaker
about sell <unk> it
00:01:21
Speaker
we all got of sudden go
00:01:30
Speaker
since sounder horrible commentary that you didn't take lo seriously
00:01:41
Speaker
welcome to another episode of no so aette desk sponsored by full pull wines and you our subscribers We're recording on Thursday, November 7th, 2024. I'm your host, Jeremiah Shannon. Joining me today are my co-host, Aaron Campo and our engineer, Lickett.
00:01:56
Speaker
Well, just off the bat, I just want to say that if this show feels a little bit less celebratory and fun than it deserves to be, I apologize. ah this is actually the We delayed the show twice because we we weren't going to record on Tuesday. We thought we were going to record on Wednesday. We we did not do that. ah But i'm not going to get I don't want to bog this down too much with politics and or or whatever, but I think anyone who listens to the show probably knows ah aarin at where Aaron and I are coming from. And i don't we don't need to spend a whole lot of ah time on that. So I'll just say...
00:02:30
Speaker
This is the Sounders podcast, and we've got some genuinely positive things to talk about, so we should let's let's do that. I'm sure most of you are listening to this as an escape anyway, so ah let's just start there.
Sounders' Playoff Journey
00:02:41
Speaker
ah Even if it wasn't the prettiest performance, the Sounders made it through to the Western Conference semi-finals after beating the Houston Dynamo in another shootout on Sunday. This time, they needed seven rounds to do it with Stephen Fry, coming up with a save on Tate Schmidt's final attempt to seal the result. It marks the 14th time in 16 seasons that the Sounders have at least advanced this far and they now have about three weeks to rest up for either LAFC or the Vancouver Whitecaps who will play tomorrow. ah And then we'll we still don't even know when that game is. But ah anyway, Aaron, what do you what do you make of of this performance? What do you make of sort of the the bigger picture surrounding the Sounders right now?
00:03:20
Speaker
I think it was a very 2024 Sounders performance. yeah And I mean that in every every sense that could be taken. um I think the the circumstances that they went into the game without Albaro Snack, without Jordan Morris.
00:03:35
Speaker
make it really impressive um to to be able to get the game to penalties. I almost won it in regulation. yeah and you know I think it's one that they can be proud of. It was not one that I i think anyone enjoyed watching ah too much. it was i have been I've defended the way the Sounders play this year a lot. um I tend to like the way they play, their style of play. I'd love them to score a few more goals. but generally they just play a style of soccer that I really enjoy. They did not do this, that on Sunday. It was not enjoyable. It was a pretty boring game up until like the end. um But that's okay. I mean, you know, you're missing your two best attacking players. um And you're, you're under pressure and, you know, from a a Houston midfield that has been really good this year. And, you know, when they, when they were able to, to go up a man and, and I'm sure we'll talk about those circumstances a little later. um
00:04:28
Speaker
But they were able to to get the goal. They weren't able to keep Houston off the board, which is frustrating. And that's been ah a little bit of a trend this year, giving up those late goals in situations where they really shouldn't. But credit to Houston. I mean, they they played, I thought, really, really well.
Playoff System Critique
00:04:42
Speaker
And look, I don't love that teams can advance on two shootouts. I think that kind of sucks. I think you should have to win at least one game and in regulation to to get out. ah If it's going to be two games, if it goes to three, obviously,
00:04:56
Speaker
you know there's There's no other way to do it, but um but that's that's the system. And I don't think there was any way the sounders were doing anything but playing, not necessarily playing for penalties, but playing with the idea that getting the penalties was a pretty good result, considering who they were missing. and they did They did quite a good job of it. And I'm very glad to be through that series. Houston's a good team. i yeah the I felt confident that the Sounders were going to win, but I also could easily have foreseen a reality where Houston got the better of them. So to get out and to give the team a little bit of extra time to rest up, I think is a really positive thing.
00:05:38
Speaker
Yeah, the three having three weeks off is not ideal from a competitive standpoint. for Purely for the sounders, the fact that it it hopefully erases any doubt that they'll be at full strength when they return from when they come back to play. That's obviously a positive. I definitely wasn't looking forward to the prospect of us talking about whether or not Rusnak and Morris were going to be available for a potential third leg.
00:06:05
Speaker
or a third game. So like in that sense, I think getting out of the getting out of this round after two rounds was was clearly the preferred method here. I will say, since you mentioned it, I don't so much mind teams that advance on two shootouts the way that the Sounders and and actually Minnesota United did as well. what i would ah ah The thing that I've always been worried about and I do think is ah is continues to be a significant flaw in this system is when a team wins in regulation in one of those first two games and then gets eliminated by two shootouts. Like that's where it, that's where the the scales start to feel tipped to me. Yeah.
Game Highlights and Analysis
00:06:47
Speaker
Because fair enough if you win intuition, if you play two games, you win two shutouts, whatever. Like I don't, that's not the way I would want to do it, but I don't really have an issue with that. It's, it's the, when you lose in regulation and then you come back and win, you know, like there was a, it obviously didn't happen this way, but like,
00:07:03
Speaker
The rapids losing 5-0 in the first leg and it really not being any different than them losing in a shit a shootout. yeah That doesn't sit real well with me, but that's the that's the system we're using. That's the system the sounders are in. ah and This was not, like I said, this was not a particularly exciting game.
00:07:22
Speaker
i I will say that the Sounders deserve a fair amount of credit, I think, for the way they performed in the shootouts, both of them. yeah They went 12 for 12 from the spot. Really the only only attempt that Steve Clark even came close to making was the one on Obed Vargas, which ended up being the the winning kick for the Sounders in this leg.
00:07:44
Speaker
he i I watched that replay a few times. I still don't understand how he managed not to save it ah because he he he dives and gets like both hands to it. And somehow it just. Still goes. Yeah, it's kind of perfect. Apparently, Steve Clark has now allowed 17 straight penalty attempts, which is not what you want. It's not what you want, especially for a guy who was talking a lot ah before both shootouts. ah Not did not.
00:08:14
Speaker
perform quite up to the standard that he set for himself there. ah But everyone else, other than the Obed Vargas one, I thought everyone else looked great. ah Really, really great in terms of their confidence, where they put it. Like it wasn't quite as clinical as the first shootout where you had, you know, basically three straight unsavable penalties to seal it. Like these were Most of these panels used were plausibly saveable if if Clark had guessed the right way. But, you know, he didn't on almost any of them. So, and I love the Rui Diaz one where he clearly
00:08:50
Speaker
was playing the Penenka. And as a result, he was very slow to react when Raul just kind of blasted it almost down the middle. And he did get ah a little bit of a hand to it, but it was, you know, he hit it so hard and he got such a late jump, he was never going to save it. So I do, I found myself feeling, you know, I don't know, I see if the Sounders go to another shootout in this series, in this playoff.
00:09:13
Speaker
I will still feel very nervous, but they have shown that they can they can do it. Steph Fry made, you know, he he didn't make the save until the seventh round. And and what is becoming a trend with him, he he made another save, but he was off his line, which I swear to God, he's done that three or four times. Yeah. But, you know, this is these are good things. These are these are good things to be complaining about. ah If the centers had gone out, if they'd lost both of these shootouts,
00:09:43
Speaker
um Obviously, we would be singing a very different tune, but they didn't. Yeah. i mean that's That's the thing, right? um you you you You played a game by the rules. The rules are, if you win the shootout, you know you get a point, as it were. And first one to two points advances. And I think, obviously, if the Sounders have lost that first shootout, I think the second leg probably looks a lot different. Yeah, that's fair. There's a decent chance Jordan Morris plays, I think. um i don i bring that with the real possibility yeah I don't know if was in the same situation where it was more of a precaution. but
00:10:23
Speaker
I don't think the Sounders would have played as defensively. They wouldn't have had the the luxury. It would have been a different game plan. Yeah. And and i I feel confident in this team's ability to get the results they need. So, um you know, I think to say that they were lucky. I mean, to some degree, sure they were. But I think to say that, you know, um the fact that they advance via two shootouts takes away anything ah from getting through the series, I think is kind of missing the force for the trees.
00:10:53
Speaker
Yeah, and and honestly, the the playoffs are not have never been about style points. they've It's never been something where, you know, the the best the Sounders ever looked in the playoffs was probably 2017, where they sort of like blitz their way through the Western Conference. They came into.
00:11:12
Speaker
the MLS Cup absolutely flying, and they got smashed. ah Even though the score line was only 2-0, they really got outplayed by the widest margin of any ah championship game they've been in, I'd say. and and that and that And I only bring that up because form, especially in the playoffs, is just not really worth anything. No, it's really not. And just, you know, the Sounders whole thing is keeping the scoring environment low. they're They're not going to give up a lot of goals. They're going to stay in every game. And when other teams are also playing a little more tense and and
00:11:54
Speaker
defensively than maybe they typically do. You know, the the thing with Houston has coming into the series was Houston's going to play, you know, they're not going to sit back and they set way back in the first leg. And I didn't think they were as aggressive as they typically are in the second leg either, even though they they needed had a pretty low line of confrontation in both games, even by their, their standards.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yeah, and whether that's down to the Sounders being able to force them to do that to some degree or whether they're just going to be a little more conservative in the playoffs, which I think most teams tend to be. um Either way, I mean, that that was the reality. It was just a ah tense.
00:12:30
Speaker
Uh, game and, and both games were, were pretty tense and defensive and, and the sounders, any teams that want to try to outdo the sounders in that regard, I welcome them to to try to do that. I think that's going to work out pretty well for the sounders. if That's the way teams choose to approach things. Yeah. Especially if they don't, I mean, and I, and I think Houston was probably particularly poorly suited to play that kind of game. Cause they didn't have guys that were going to.
00:12:59
Speaker
you know, break you down individually, whereas like an l LAFC can kind of play that game, but there's not a lot of, other than LAFC, I don't think there's really any teams that can reliably play that that kind of game with the Sounders and and hope to get away with it. Does does Christian Roldon scoring though, does that change, is that worth anything from a narrative perspective?
Player Spotlight: Christian Roldon
00:13:23
Speaker
I mean, I i think it is, um I,
00:13:28
Speaker
it would have been really frustrating to have two consecutive nil-nils when you played a decent chunk of time up a man. Yeah, yeah. um Yeah, and you they end up playing up a man over 60 minutes in the two games. and And I think that the Sounders have not been great playing up a man this year. um Again, they were missing their two most important offensive players. So those those things are certainly factors as well. But I felt much better that he was able to get on the board, absolutely.
00:13:56
Speaker
um It was a nice play, too. It was. It was a very nice goal. It was a nice give and go between Leyva and Nuhu. And Nuhu's cross was... I mean... It was great. It was a perfect cross. It was one of his better passes, although I do feel like he has gotten better in the final third the last few months. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, maybe it's small sample size flukiness. I don't know. It's not typically a skill guys add at the stage in their careers, but it always happens. Well, I think he's good at his...
00:14:27
Speaker
He's better, I think he's making better decisions in the final third. like he'll Every now and then he'll he'll hit a shot where you're like, what are you doing? but You know, for the most part, I feel like when he when he shoots, it's because he's got a legitimate look and he's better about sort of driving that, but he's better about trying to do the sort of Manchester City thing, ah which was this play, basically, where he drives to the end line and then cuts it back to the penalty spot. And Christian, who I will say that this is the good thing about that is Christian has struggled offensively this year. This was only his second goal, I believe, in all comps and
00:15:04
Speaker
And so I think that's good for him because they, if they can get him feeling a little better offensively, that's, that's clearly good. A little ironic that it comes after he had moved back a line, he started the game as a number 10 at halftime, he and Obed Vargas switched. And then when ah Danny Leyva came in, obviously he was still sitting, sitting back there. So a little ironic that it, that it comes after he's being asked to do less offensively, but it was good. for You know, it's good for him to see the ball hit the back of the net, you know? ah Yeah. ah Did you? I still I don't I don't quite know how to feel about it because it's so weird but Houston just shooting themselves at the foot both games. Picking up just brain dead red cards.
00:15:52
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, one of them from your captain, one of them from another key... Your star player. Yeah. Just shocking. I have never seen that. I can tell you that much. I remember when VAR first came online and Dempsey got sent off for the sack tap and people said, man, players aren't gonna be able to get away with this stuff anymore. And I think... You're gonna have to stop.
00:16:18
Speaker
And I think for the most part, they have, right? yeah Like players have internalized the fact that they are being filmed and they can't do that kind of stuff anymore. And this was just the most blatant thing in the world. And Ben Olson's reaction to it was just. Like talking about the number of red cards they've had to the referee. Yeah, like like it's like, why do you think the fourth of his cares that you've got five red cards against the founders like?
00:16:46
Speaker
he spit on the guy like he's good to what do you want what do you want man the funniest thing is that he it's not like he bit and then tried to play it off like i'm just clearing my throat or something it was he he like looks at him and he spits at like he does the like I'm doing this at your feet kind of thing like I'm spitting on your I am I am absolutely disrespecting you and I am perfect and then he mad dogs him after and of course Armando Rio Real has his back turned the whole time so I don't know maybe that I don't know if that makes it worse or better but ah like
00:17:25
Speaker
Everyone, it was the most obvious, like it was the most obvious thing. It was the most obvious thing. that There was no plausible deniability. And I think the thing that's crazy to me is that, like, I think Herrera, my recollection is that He was pretty much like, yeah, whatever. Like he didn't really try to fight it too much.
Houston's Errors and VAR Impact
00:17:44
Speaker
And that's the thing that makes Olson's reaction so shocking and is it's like this was not a judgment call. Like he saw a video of a guy spitting at him. It's like, I mean, effectively a boundary call. It's like, what are you why are we arguing? Right. And i I saw a few people be like, well, I mean, he probably didn't see, you know, see it. So he didn't he doesn't really know what's going on. And it's like, OK, well, the referee said, hey, he spit at me into a microphone.
00:18:10
Speaker
Like that's He's not gonna just make that up because I don't think Anyone could say or Armando Villa Rio was looking to hand out a bunch of cards in that game like it was no and a really physical game And I will say I read or I watched Ben Olson's press conference after and he had sort of like kind of to take he was less he was obviously he was much more composed, but he I Ratcheted back his his complaints and he was more focused on and and this was I don't think it doesn't justify it but it did give some at least It's it's a little better angle which was he felt like the referee was allowing the game to get out of control and so when in the games out of control players are getting frustrated and
00:18:55
Speaker
That doesn't excuse the behavior, but it sort of explains it. yeah I don't white quite buy it because the sounders were not doing anything. There's still like a range of emotions that you can show your frustration over. like in like I'm a little bit more sympathetic, and maybe this is Homerism, I'm more sympathetic to Obed Vargas in a game where the referee is not doing a good job controlling the game.
00:19:18
Speaker
like swinging, yeah like yelling and swinging his arm in frustration. Like that's to me, that's harsh red card, right? This is. You spit. You spit on him on camera.
00:19:32
Speaker
in 4K. Like I get that you're frustrated, but like there's other things you can do. Like if he had, if you had just cussed him out, which yeah there are but several instances of that in this game. Like there were numerous instances of, of descent that were shown in this game that were unpunished and fair enough. Uh, but it was, I don't know. It was, uh, I'm not surprised. I guess I'm not very surprised that Hector's option was not exercised. Yeah. Uh,
00:19:59
Speaker
Pretty appalling behavior from a ah designated player and a guy wearing the captain's armband for your team, you know. Thank you for listening to the Sound Rit Heart Podcast Network, which now includes no sonnetes, lobbing scorchers, and the cooler guild.
00:20:12
Speaker
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00:20:30
Speaker
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00:20:54
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So ah the other thing about Christian that I felt like we should bring up is, you know, he he ends up giving up the young goal, which I don't really think is on him. That was, you know, he's he's trying to put himself in a position to block.
00:21:11
Speaker
ah to be to defend. and it just happens to like i guess it It ricochets off ah Fry and it goes off him. so To me, that' the issue there was more the turnover and sort of failing to close down like put any pressure at all on Dorsey who sends in the cross. I don't need to go through all that. but What I was impressed by is Roldon knows that ball came off him. He, you know, he knows it's an ogle that has to feel like shit. And he basically demands to be the first shooter in the shootout and then absolutely roofs his penalty. Uh, and he's not someone, you know, he's missed penalties at least once, if not more than that in shootouts before. And he, you know, really confidently hit both of his penalties in in these shootouts. I was, I, I actually was legitimately impressed by that.
00:22:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think that that's the kind of leadership you want from from a guy like Christian who is so important to the team. and And yeah, I mean, I think it takes- Spitting on people. Absolutely, absolutely. And I do think it takes a lot of guts to to do that, to so you know own up to your mistake, which as you said, like I'm hesitant to even label as a mistake um and go out there and and get it done. and And his penalty in the first leg was great as well. like I think he's found his penalty taking method, and which is just to knock the piss out of it. you know yeah Um, yeah, Jackson raya from the Jackson Reagan school. i thought There was, there was actually a pretty great quote today from Brian. Uh, when he was talking to the press after training today and someone and asked him, well, what was the conversation you had with Jackson Reagan? And he's like, well, I don't really have much of a conversation. I just said, I need you to take a penalty. He says, okay, I'll do it. That's what you want. He's a pretty, he seems like a, ah like supernaturally unflappable guy.
00:22:58
Speaker
Jackson. Yeah. he Yeah. And that's he he definitely has that demeanor of ah like you. It's hard to imagine him getting to work. Like we've seen it more in games. Like I think that he's made a point of trying to sort of bring that out in himself. But I do not. I think he is sort of like at his heart sort of a gentle giant type. Yeah.
00:23:21
Speaker
ah If there was a, I don't know, what did you make of, of Raul Rui Diaz's performance this one? I mean, he was, he was basically a non-factor, right? He, he was, um, I,
00:23:33
Speaker
On rewatch, I felt like I was a little harsh on him in the moment because he was being asked to do a lot of dirty work without any support, and that's tough to do. sure um And so I don't want to be too harsh on him, I guess, but he he was the non-factor. I mean, he he wasn't really doing anything in the final third.
00:23:55
Speaker
um And, you know, his hold-up play, despite what's being asked of him, it is what was being asked of him, and and he didn't do it well. And, you know, I think having him there and having the outlet, even though he wasn't performing effectively as an outlet, was important. I don't think this game goes the way it does if there's nobody upfield to bump the ball up to um when the Sounders were under pressure. So I think it was still the right decision to to play him there.
00:24:23
Speaker
Uh, but he's just a super limited player right now. And you know, I'm glad that he's on the team for penalties because I, I think he's probably the best penalty taker on the team. And, uh, you know, and I, I still think that he's a guy where if you need a goal late,
00:24:39
Speaker
i'm I'm more than happy to see him come on because I do think he's capable of creating something from nothing in a way that that other guys on the team aren't, but he's just not a 90 minute player. and And I think I said on the last episode, if he plays 90 minutes, we're in trouble. And it didn't turn out that way, but I don't think it turned out that way because of Raul. I think it was in spite of him, unfortunately.
00:25:03
Speaker
And it was kind of a tough situation. The Sounders were in. and We haven't talked about it yet on here, but Danny Misofsky picked up a quad injury, I guess on Friday, I think it was. And yeah apparently it's a reasonably serious quad injury. They think he's done for the year. I don't know how seriously they were considering starting him over roll. But having him available for this game would have been nice. Yeah. So kind of a bummer that that he wasn't available. Hopefully it ends up being a moot point from here forward.
00:25:32
Speaker
ah you know But one thing I did want to, um I sort of mentioned this in the beginning. I didn't really get into it, but I do think it deserves a little bit of time to to talk about. ah you know We've talked a lot over the years about their consistency, and I think it's easy to overlook it. But you know I mentioned that they have made the conference semifinals in 14 of 16 years.
00:25:56
Speaker
and The conference semi-finals might not sound that great and it's and it's not. like Just simply getting there is not a particularly great accomplishment. But what's amazing to me about that achievement is that there are only six teams in MLS history who have gotten there, gotten that far more often than the centers. All six of those teams are original MLS teams. And as you may remember from basically 1996 until
00:26:28
Speaker
two out until the Sounders came into the league, ah really, almost everyone made the playoffs. ah It was really yeah like, there was a bunch of years where eight of 10 teams made the playoffs. And if you made the playoffs, you were in the conference semi-finals. Although actually it was it wasn't until 2012, I believe, that if you made the playoffs,
00:26:51
Speaker
you weren't already into the conference semi-finals. So that sort of gives you a sense of of what that achievement meant pre-sounders. It really was not an achievement at all. But still, ah the teams that have made it that far are all original teams. The sounders have made it there more than ah any of the expansion teams that have come in since those original teams.
00:27:14
Speaker
ah But what's even more crazy is that if you take all 122 seasons of ah all the teams that have played that came into the league after the Sounders, they've only made the that far 35 times. So it's like basically you know a little more than double the number of times the Sounders have, but in 10 times as many seasons, essentially.
00:27:37
Speaker
And what's it, I think it's, I thought it was kind of crazy. If you take the 60 of those teams, if you take the s the three teams that have made it to the semi finals conference, semi finals, the most, which is NYCFC, the Philadelphia union in Portland timbers collectively, they've only made it 16 times. So it, which is again, I don't want to make it sound like getting to the conference.
00:27:59
Speaker
semi-finals is some great achievement. But LAFC has only done it three times. ah The Timbers have only done it, I think, five times. ah You can kind of just go down the list. there's not It's not a thing that teams are doing with a lot of regularity. ah and I don't know. I think it's that it sort of i think it speaks to the The thing that makes the sounders so good, but also what makes it very easy to undersell how good they are, or how good they've been.
00:28:31
Speaker
yeah i think that um It's one thing to demand excellence, and I think that that's a positive thing yeah that our fan base is good about, and I think they should continue to be good about that. I think it's going to be passionate and to hold the team accountable for their failings, and because they're they're certainly not infallible. I mean, I think we've been critical of a lot of things.
00:28:57
Speaker
We've been able to point out plenty of flaws. But I do think that it's important not to lose sight of the bigger picture and realize how how fortunate we've been with this team. I mean, missing the playoffs once and in a year that, you know, they won the the biggest competition in which they are capable of playing for. it um I mean, I guess the club World Cup, but if that even is something that happens, you know. ah I think it's just a testament to that. right they They're always right there. You always feel going into the season like there's a chance. And that's that's rare in sports, and um especially in American sports. right like MLS just has parity.
00:29:38
Speaker
across seasons that that um most other top soccer leagues don't. So you know unless you're a fan of one of the big three or four teams in England or Spain or what have you, it's just not something you get ah to to have that so yeah that sort of predictability and and hope.
00:29:58
Speaker
and ah There's been a lot more good times than bad, that's for sure. And that's you know that's something that we should never take for granted because it can change pretty quickly. It can. And and it and I think you look at how many teams underperform in any given year, underperform on their expectations. And certainly the Sounders don't always exceed or even meet their own expectations.
00:30:25
Speaker
But a bad sounder season is still considered a very good season for almost anyone else. yeah And, you know, they I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but it's been to me, I feel like they've at least reached the bare minimum for us to not say that this was a sort of lost season. ah You know, they they got 57, 56, 57.
00:30:54
Speaker
How many points do they get in the regular season? Great question. ah They got 57.
00:31:05
Speaker
57 points is ah is a solid haul. you know I think we talked about how that's a top five season for them. And it's not, like, it's not been a huge, I'm not going to pitch anyone on the idea that it's been a hugely successful season, but I say, I will say this, that I think we're at the point now where either they make Elmos cup or they don't like to me, like whether they, if they, if they go out in this round or the, the, the round after, if they, you know, if they go out in the conference semi-finals or if they go out in the conference finals,
00:31:41
Speaker
those like The difference between those two things is not enough for me to sway my opinion of this season. yeah The only way it gets better to me is it like really better. If they get to MLS Cup, all of a sudden, you I think you start talking about this as ah as a really successful season for them. I don't know. They've got a massive hill to climb to get there still.
00:32:04
Speaker
ah but you know i I don't know, i'm i'm i'm i was talking to but people I was talking to people about this at training today about how I don't know if I care who they face in the next round because if they can't beat LAFC, they probably aren't capable of beating LA Galaxy either, ah especially on the road. Galaxy are probably the best team, looks like the best team in the in Western Conference right now.
00:32:31
Speaker
And it would be way, I feel like it would be way more painful to go out. Like I think they would probably, I think they have a ah better chance of beating the whitecaps than they do of beating LAFC. And I suppose I would, all things being equal, I'd rather host the whitecaps than go to LAFC. But part of me is, is not really that worried about it because if, if they go to LAFC and they win.
00:32:55
Speaker
great I actually feel like they might have a chance to beat the galaxy if they go to LAFC and lose I kind of feel like well they probably weren't gonna be the galaxy anyway yeah I mean I think that beating LAFC to me is enough for me to feel much better about this season even if they do go out the next round ah but I think if you're Analyzing the season. That's fair. If you're analyzing the season on a level beyond the emotional feeling, like the satisfaction that, that I think fans would get from beating LAFC, I think you're spot on. I think it's, they've met the bar for what I consider a good season now.
Sounders' Legacy and Success
00:33:29
Speaker
And if they lose, they're going to lose to a good team. Most likely, I guess they could lose to think there is possibility, but most likely they're going to be losing to a good team if they lose. And, uh,
00:33:41
Speaker
And I'll add this, I'll add this caveat also. I feel like in a way it would be, but if they were going to, if they're going to lose in the next round, regardless, I think it's better that they lose to LAFC because I feel like that at least makes it all the more clear that they have to go out and invest because they they will have now been eliminated by LAFC in four straight competitions. It's very clear that there's a gap between these two teams. If they go out against the whitecaps, it's going to be like, well, you know, the whitecaps were They're not spending any more than we are. why should like that's not the We know that's not the problem. Right. Or it's just like it's easy to chalk it up as a fluke. Right. It's easy to chalk it up as a fluke. The RSL game in 2022. Is that what that was? 21.
00:34:27
Speaker
21. Yeah, because 20. Oh, that's right. That's right. Yeah. In any case, I think it's easier to say, oh, it's a fluke rather than, like you said, LFC is the standard bearer and we can't beat them. I would hope it wouldn't matter, but I do think it's better to be safe than sorry. Because, yeah, you know, it's they have to they have to invest in the team. I don't think we can count on this group of players doing this again next year.
00:34:57
Speaker
um But I think if you add a couple of key pieces, they could be back to being the standard bearer kind of level themselves. Yeah. Yeah. ah Well, that's I think that's what we have to say about this. I don't know if we have anything else to really get too much into. I was I'll just share. I was shocked that Jim Curtin got fired by Philadelphia Union today. Yeah, I I I saw a couple of Union fans talking about it today and the The gist seems to be that there's a desire. The union kind of want to break up this group of players and Curtin's not ready to maybe do that and wants another go at it. And so it's more of a.
00:35:41
Speaker
We're just not compatible anymore kind of situation. But I think like if I'm the union, I figure out a way to make Jim k Curtin happy. I don't know. But well, he apparently turned down ah a ah Atlanta United and reached out to him apparently about an interview. And he he turned it down, I think is what the story was. You know, obviously he was fired. No, this is before this is like. just Yeah. ah And then.
00:36:08
Speaker
And then I think it was pretty widely reported that FC Cincinnati had been trying to get them before they hired Pat Noonan. And and Philadelphia basically just was like, no, no, no, which feels don I don't know. That was I guess that was long. It was three years ago now at this point, but. I don't know, it's it's an interesting, an interesting situation, and it's I mean, it would it would be it would be very similar to, you know, I said.
00:36:36
Speaker
I guess they missed the playoffs this year. So I guess that changes things, but sure the he I think he was, him and Peter Vermees were the only two coaches that had been there on their teams longer than Brian. Yeah. And Vermees will just be there until he dies. So exactly. I don't know how, I don't know how, brave I mean, that's the other thing that's pretty crazy contrast is you see how the, the last,
00:37:02
Speaker
you know, three to seven years of Peter Vermee's and you compare to that to the last three to seven years of Jim Curtin.
Jim Curtin's Surprising Firing
00:37:08
Speaker
And which guy is the one getting fired? It's pretty crazy. <unk> Yeah, it's. I mean, the the only takeaway I can have really is that sporting cases ownership just doesn't really care. And they're happy around and.
00:37:26
Speaker
I'm not complaining about it, I guess. And then Bruce Arena got hired by San Jose Earthquakes to be both the GM and the the head coach. The ah funny thing there is, is they hired him as the GM and they demoted their current GM to like, ah like so Chris Leach had been their GM and they basically demoted him to ah like a second in command. It's a very strange ah power dynamic that they have there.
00:37:51
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think I'd be super happy with that if I were him. but No, I wouldn't think so. and it's what' The other thing that's been interesting is the San Jose, the people that cut, I don't know how earthquakes fans feel, but the handful of people like I see who cover the earthquakes don't seem really thrilled with it, which I don't know. if i'm I actually think Arena might be okay there.
00:38:17
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, he's it's not like he didn't have success in New England. No, that that was the thing. And people have been kind of like, oh, he wasn't that good. million werere Like, what are you talking about? He led them. He had like their best ever season. Yeah. I mean, I think that he's obviously not a long term plan. ah He's he's yeah not sure older, older gentleman. But I think that it's just. Nobody's going to want to come coach San Jose until they.
00:38:43
Speaker
can get their house in order. And I think he is a guy that can do that. I think he can be a transitional guy. Yeah, I guess back to respectability. But I think ultimately, you know, they just have really bad leadership. And that's probably not changing. Yeah. At least so. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yep. Well, ah yeah, we should probably just call this. ah Aaron, I know it's been a late night for you. So ah thanks for staying up to do this.
00:39:13
Speaker
Absolutely. Thank you, to of course, to our our listeners, our subscribers. I want to give everyone ah another pitch. If you are interested, if you're listening to the show and you like what we do, and you aren't currently a subscriber, I just want to tell you, you can get it 25 bucks a year. And you can feel a lot better about supporting local media. And if you're a regular listener, I would imagine that's something that you find important. So ah Yeah, go out there and and and get a sub. All that said, ah thank you to our sponsor, Football Wines. Thank you to Lickit, our producer. I'm Jeremiah Cheyenne, signing off for Aaron Campo. This is No Study Yetis. And remember, you'll never get alone.
00:40:32
Speaker
one