The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: The Weekend That Was (Not)

What a weekend for soccer.

You had the 2015 Olympic Qualifying Semifinal round in Sandy, Utah.

The Colorado Rapids took to the home pitch for the final time in 2015.

And of course, the CONCACAF Cup.

Again, what a weekend.

But that does not mean that the weekend was a great weekend for soccer.  There was much more bad and ugly around the soccer universe, but was there good?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly:  The Weekend That Was (or was not)

The Good--Struggling Here: To be honest, there was nothing good (from a soccer perspective) this weekend.  I know that some folks had fun with fan appreciation day, but that is a minor blip for me.  When I go to a Rapids match, I expect to see a team that plays good, attractive soccer and for the bulk of Saturday--that did not happen.  The Rapids looked lazy on and off the ball and did not have much of an attacking threat.  It was as disappointing a game as I had seen in a long time and the worse part about it for me: it was all too predictable.

But, what was good about it for me is that it was also a reminder of why I love this team so much.  There were moments (albeit brief) that rekindled that Burgundy spirit and made me believe.  I will never give up on this team.  Ever.  But I have to admit to seeing my faith wavering in them.  But every now and again on Saturday, they made me believe again.  This is a massive off-season for this team, and major changes need to happen for this team to be competitive.  So, yes.  At times I get frustrated, and pissed off, but at the end of the day, I still care for this team.

I am probably delusional.  It's not as if the Rapids have given us much hope for the future.  But I have to have some sort of hope in this team....no matter how misplaced it is.

The Bad--The USMNT losing to Mexico: The Saturday night match was a (sort of) nightmare.  Losing to Mexico is never a good thing, but to the rational observer--Mexico was the better team.  There have been a number of difficult things said about this match, and for the most part, I get it.  People are pissed.  And there are good reasons to be, but at the end of the day, whether Jurgen is a crappy coach or not, the bottom line is this:

Mexico is a better team then we are.  The sooner that is accepted, and then a solution is developed to fix it, the better.

The Ugly--But that U-23 team: Whereas the Rapids losing to Montreal Impact and the USMNT sucks, it is not all that shocking.  Deep down, we kinda saw it coming.  But for the U-23's to lose to Honduras in Olympic Qualifying is down right horrific.  It is an unmitigated disaster and a failure of not only that team but more of an indictment of where US Soccer is heading.  They US team blew it when trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and they have made the road to Rio far more difficult then it needs to be.  US Soccer needs to take a long hard look at what they are doing and try and come up with solutions that are going to work for the development of the game in this country.  Cause right now, it is a dumpster fire.

So the Weekend that Was (Not) has come and gone and I am facing five months without a Rapids home match and a USMNT floundering.  What is a soccer fan to do?

Pick myself up, dust myself off, and go again.