New Video, Sirk Notebook

Another good video from a different part of the Nordecke

And, Sirk has another notebook up which is a good one.

Here are a few excellent excerpts about the fans, but the whole article is worth a read:
Although some of the exact projectiles can be debated, there is no mistaking that a line had been crossed. I asked a couple of Crew players about it, and their responses were great. I'm not talking about the words they used, which were just fine. Rather, I am talking about the way in which their words were delivered. There were no freaked-out overreactions. Rather, just acknowledgments that it went too far this time and the hope that next time will be better.

"We'd rather not have beer bottles be thrown," said Ezra Hendrickson. "Someone could get hurt. It's the first time they've done something like that. We love those guys. We feed off their energy. We don't want them throwing beer bottles, though. That can make even one of our guys get injured. At the end of the day, we want them to get keep supporting us like they have, and as long as they stop throwing dangerous things like beer bottles, we will have no problems."

"Obviously, we want to keep it clean," said Danny O'Rourke. "Bury guys in streamers and make it intimidating. That's fine. It even gives us a little breather and a chance to get set. All we ask is that everyone keeps it clean."
And if you can't trust Danny O'Rourke when he tells you to keep it clean with the opposition, who can you trust?

Anyway, the players recognize that a good thing is going in the Nordecke. There was no panic or overreaction to the bottle episode, assuming it was a one-time event as part of the section's growing pains. Even Ralston himself commented on the improved atmosphere and said he didn't mind the streamer shower until it got out of hand later.

So I say follow their lead. It's not a time for the organization or the league to overreact and ban streamers based upon one bad night. Going forward, it would be unfair and unfeasible to expect the supporters to police themselves without help from security. People are there to enjoy the game, not play policeman. And the last thing anyone needs is vigilante justice in the stands. Also, it would be unfair and unfeasible to expect security to be able to discern who is throwing what once the corner kick melee starts. And nobody wants heavy-handed security meddling with the Nordecke. But perhaps having a few extra bodies hanging around, specifically for Projectile Patrol, wouldn't be a bad thing.

Quote from Frankie:
"They were still cheering, even after we lost," he said with a smile. "In years past, you didn't see that. We probably would have gotten booed a little bit here and there. I think they appreciate how we have been playing and the effort that we have been giving, and in turn, we appreciate the extra boost that they have given us. They gave us that extra boost tonight, so it's a shame that we couldn't come through for them. But they still showed appreciation for us after the game, and it felt really good. I've seen that plenty of times in Europe, and I think we're finally starting to get that European feel in America, which I think is a good thing. People try to dismiss soccer by saying it's a 'European sport', but you know what? Where I'm from, it's one world and one game. If people are passionate all over the world, why shouldn't we be just as passionate in the United States? It's not European or South American or anything else. We're all in this together, and it's just a beautiful game."

Btw, I have been working like crazy but I'll have my post game NE report and my pregame RSL reports up soon.