Propaganda: 11 players, 1 goal

So it's been awhile since I put out a new wallpaper and figured it was time to remedy that situation. So without wasting any more of your time here is the new bit of propaganda and what is currently adorning the desktop of my laptop.



-Ultra

Crew vs Vancouver: first contact

The Crew has kept their record of never losing to a Canadian club (whiskey not counted) intact on the back of Emilio Renteria's brace in their 2-1 victory. This was the first game in over a year that I did not take in from the Nordecke. Instead I was on the stage enjoying the beer garden and view from behind the goal. So here's a few pictures to take in of the pre-game and game itself, enjoy...




















-Ultra

Crew vs TFC: View from the Bar

So finally after over a month without my own laptop I finally have it back. This is a soccer blog so I won't go into the details of my ordeal but lets just say I will never be buying a Dell Computer again after all of that hassle. Onto the game!

It was finally that time of year again, The Massive club were taking on Terrible FC up in the land of ice and snow. This yearly guarantee of at least a point on the road came a good time of the year, Easter Weekend. This meant the usually small crowds that are associated with this were not our problem and we could watch from the comfort of our local bars. I took in the game down at the Hudson Street Hooligans bar on Summit and Oakland. The bar is a members only club that can be joined for just 20 bucks, for which you plenty of goodies to make it worth the trouble. I highly recommend checking it out sometime if you get the chance, It is the only supporters owned bar in the USA and a great place to catch a game.










click to enlarge

-Ultra

Technical Difficulties

So I haven't been posting a lot lately and there is a reason for it; my Computer has totally crapped out on me. The poor old gal is five, very rough, years old and has been broken for a few days now. So while I wait for it to get back from Dell all fixed and new I've been relegated to an old mac which I do not like very much. The result is me not being able to mess around on my photo editor and come up with new imagery right as the season gets started. So please do bear with me I should be up and cranking out new stuff in a week or so and I will try to come up with some other content (most likely videos or photos) and post them from here as well.

-Ultra

Tifo Idea: Dalek

Just a few more quick two stick Tifo ideas for this season. I've been watching a bit of Doctor Who lately and I figured a Dalek is vicious enough to go along with the COBRA and Imperial logos I've seen at games. I've left them black and white this time since that'll pry be easier for stencils or projectors when making them.





-Ultra

Preseason Blues

March 19th marks the start of the 2011 MLS season for the Columbus Crew and for neurotic fans, like myself, this is both an exciting and stressful time. It's a time when we start to find out what this team is really like, and if what we've seen up to this point in preseason really matters.

Now normally I'd say preseason results are largely meaningless in any sport, and even more so in MLS. The games are played by weird grab bag rules with unlimited subs, 30 to 60 minute periods and all sorts of guest and trail players. Usually this makes the preseason nothing more than glorified try outs. This year though feels a bit different. Perhaps its because of the massive roster overhaul,or perhaps it's because it was early start back in the CCL, but this year preseason feels like it matters. The new look Crew of 2011 has no real identity, and it would seem these preseason games would be the time to establish one.

The trouble has been a plague of injuries sweeping through the locker room. Having key guys like Marshall, Hesmer, Gaven, O'Rourke, Francis and Gruenebaum out means that the new guys are left on their own to figure out who this team really is. This of course isn't exactly groundbreaking news, but it's exactly the kind of stressful situation that makes preseason so draining. Crew fans are notoriously bi-polar (spending just a few weeks on the bigsoccer.com message boards can show that to anyone)and having your team get beaten repeatedly with a corps of new players is no help for our fragile psyches.

Couple these beatings with a miserable away leg in the CCL and a lack of any signings that are known commodities and a dreadful outlook tends to sneak in.

The only saving grace maybe in the knowledge that this has happened before. In 2008 the team had a average to sub-par preseason, and had just come off three straight disappointing seasons. Yet that Crew was able to rally and become one of the best teams in MLS history.

Do I think this year will be a repeat of that magic? Of course not.
But I can hope that some sort of middle ground is found and this team can prove that I had no need to worry or have these preseason blues.

-Ultra

Tifo Ideas: Nordecke on Tour

So the Crew open the season on the road against the old foe DC United. Since it's a paltry eight(ish) hour drive down to our nations capital there should be a fair number of Crew fans there in away support. With that and the other road trips that will be made this year, either organized or not, here are a couple of two stick banner ideas for those who hit the road to support the Massive. For a good set of instructions on how to make these into two stick banners check out this link and send a big thanks to "Thoma Gol" for info.




click to enlarge

-Ultra