Trick or treat? Eastern Conference Championship or suckage?
RSL fans on pins and needles
Sandy, Utah — If you’re not from Utah, it will be easy to get confused Saturday evening. All the cars in LDS church parking lots will give the appearance of pre-game tailgate parties, but should you get sucked into one, you’ll surely be disappointed. Trunk-or-Treat gatherings are not sponsored by Real Salt Lake (RSL) nor any of its supporter groups. They’re simply the Mormon Halloween equivalent of circling the wagons. (Just replace the Indians with modern day pedophiles and candy lacers.)
What will RSL hand out to its fans who come knocking Saturday evening? A trick (a loss like the one they incurred on July 18th), or a treat (a win like the one on April 2nd)?
In their ‘09 home opener in April, RSL’s Robbie Findley scored a hat trick and RSL beat the Columbus Crew 4-1. The second time the teams clashed in July, Jason Garey returned the favor scoring two of his own as Columbus demolished RSL with a 3-1 victory. Much can be said about both games in an attempt to predict the outcome of Saturday’s game. Columbus fans may argue that Real caught the defending MLS champs off guard with the early season victory. The Crew hadn’t rubbed the proverbial sleepy-bees out of their eyes. Of the summertime debacle, RSL fans would argue that the complexion of their team was so different at that point in the season that you can’t use it as a point of reference.* Both sides have their points, but lets not forget that this is soccer, anything can happen.
The playoff semifinal game is set to begin Sat., Oct. 31, at Rio Tinto Stadium at 4 PM, MT. Fans may watch the game on KUTV (Comcast 2.2, ONN, and get streaming results on http://web.mlsnet.com/scoreboard/). Tickets are still available and may be purchased at http://www3.ticketingcentral.com/V2/Quantity.aspx?8CC27A0A971AE0F
*Note: The CONCACAF Gold Cup denied Real Salt Lake the use of Will Johnson, Jean Alexandre and Kyle Beckerman), Fabian Espindola served a one-game suspension, and Andy Williams did not travel with the team as he was with his wife, Marcia, who was being treated for leukemia.
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