Of all the teams that came away from week two with losses, Colorado had the feel the best after defeat. Not that the Rapids should be content with a close loss, but the fact that the Rapids have scored six goals in two matches has Colorado fans more optimistic than they were a few months ago.
Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Kansas City, complete with a two-goal comeback, wasn’t as fulfilling as the 4-0 thumping of Los Angeles, but it provided an example of a new-look Rapids team with more bite and more attacking quality than the 2007 version.
SBI Correspondent Craig de Aragon took in the match and offers his views on the team’s start to the season and recent loss to Kansas City ( (Share your thoughts on Craig’s piece in the comments section below):
Rapids show promise, but disappoint in defeat
By Craig de Aragon
Imagine you’re 10 years old. You are right in that stage in between a kid and a young adult. it’s your birthday, you’ve got your friends over, having a good time, and everything’s going great. Then it comes time to open presents. You start to open them and you realize that all people bought for you were clothes, books, and even a savings bond.
Now, you realize that you’re not necessarily a kid anymore, and that you have to be thankful for getting presents. But really, all you wanted was a shiny toy, something cool you could play with. Well that’s the feeling that Rapids fans are stuck with after a 3-2 loss on Saturday in Kansas City. We’re trying to be thankful; trying to justify the loss and even trying to find the silver lining just like you would with that sweater that Aunt Betty gave you. “Its great auntie, it’s just my size…uh, I’ll wear it all the time.”
When I asked some supporters what they thought right after the game, they all replied in the same kind of way, by halfway closing one eye, scrunching up their nose, shrugging their shoulders, and saying something like “well at least we came back” or “I guess we did ok” or “I wish we would have converted in the first half, but we did alright.” It’s amazing how jaded we get after one good game.
There were some positives to the game, such as the fact that we can actually score. In fact, our offense looks so good that even a 2-0 deficit doesn’t seem insurmountable anymore.
Also, it looks like Christian Gomez might have been worth the Designated Player slot we traded to get him. He brings such a different element to the game, an offensive mindset and creativity that were missing last season.
Omar Cummings is faster that almost any defender in the MLS and his pace is going to cause problems for opponents. He already had a goal against LA, and probably should have had 1 or 2 against Kansas City. He does need to work on finishing his opportunities though. Our defense although shaky at times, is very deep considering they are playing without 2 maybe 3 starting players. Stephen Keel and Kosuke Kimura are holding their own on the backline in place of Ugo Ihemelu and Mike Petke. Keel had some great defensive plays, and also a few blunders, one of which led to a goal. But overall, it speaks to our defensive depth that we can bring in some young guys that can fill the place if need be.
So not all is bad, but just as that sweater is better suited to be a curtain rather than something you’d wear, this game will never be more than a blinding loss that you’d rather move on from. All the positives that we try to scrape about from it will always be nothing more than our own justification to make up for the fact that we didn’t get what we wanted; a shiny toy, a win.
Craig,
I agree and am interested to see what happens next. Thank you for your article.
J
Bottom line: Rapids lose the game in the last minutes. Does this sound any different than losing the game after 5 minutes expired? Someone needs to teach the Rapids how to win.
You are what your record says you are.
RE: BMer
You’re right it is tough finding good Rapids news/commentary. This is the only place right now I’m doing any writing, but thank you for the kind words and reading the article.
Craig, good article, its not easy finding info on the Rapids. do you have a blog you regularly contribute to, or is this the only place we can read your insight?
Hey man, after that amazing season opener I enjoyed so much, I am still thankful for the 2008 Rapids. Here’s to hoping for you Rapids fans out there that they get back into it.
I’m going to play the devils advocate and say I’m tickled with the Rapids results so far. After a long off-season and very little player movement, I really didn’t know what to expect out of the Rapids this season.
The first game was awesome and Saturday’s game was no exception. They played with lots of intensity and had plenty of chances to put a very good team away.
Finally, I agree with the last post where losing isn’t winning but let’s face it after a disappointing season last year, I like what I see so far. Go Los Rapidos!
It was like watching two different teams in two different games. The energy and desire that the team showed in the first game clearly could not be matched. While in the second game, they were happy to get an offensive opportunity or two in the second half, but basically played to the level of KC. The desire resurfaced when they made the run to tie the game, but as soon as they climbed that mountain, they lost it again and gave up the third goal. While there are some positives to be taken out of the KC game, loosing isn’t winning.
I agree we dominated the majority of the game, with a few tweaks here and there we will be ok. We can walk away from the game knowing we will be competitive for the majority of the games.
The question is, will we be good enough to push Dallas for the third spot? Under the assumption that Chivas and Houston will take the top two.
I’ve now seen Gallardo who replaced Gomez in DC and Gomez back to back and skill wise I saw no difference. As far as desire give me Gomez any day.
Yeah, I took a positive from the game in that I turned it off with disgust when it was over, wondering how we had managed to lose that game. It was certainly a bit more even in the second half, but Colorado dominated the first half…DOMINATED. KC did not really bother us from open play until the third goal unfortunately. Obviously the set piece defending let us down. Conrad is usually someone you want to keep an eye on.
Overall, I feel pretty good after two games. We won the first one and should have won the second one really based on how we outplayed them the majority of the game. Hopefully we learn from this and get something out of a tough game in New England.