MLS Thursday Night: Colorado Rapids v New England Revolution

By: Bob | August 16th, 2007

The great American experiment known as MLS Thursday Night lumbers on with the Colorado Rapids playing host to the New England Revolution at the Dick. This one doesn’t have the luster of say, the NBC Thursday Night lineup in the mid-80s, but New England is one of the more enjoyable teams to watch in MLS and Colorado is always prone to doing something fun like taking part in a brawl. So watch we will. [Update: Or maybe we won't. This game was dropped by ESPN so that they could show Beckham sit on the bench against Toronto a few weeks ago. Apparently you need Direct Kick to watch it. Doh!]

After starting the year playing soccer that was almost decent, the Rapids have descended to their normal depths having earned just one win in their past 11 games. That win came last week against versus the league-leading Houston Dynamo of all teams thanks to an own goal by Dwayne De Rosario. The Rapids might need a few more own goals this evening. The team has scored a mere 3 goals in its past 9 games.

On the other end of the spectrum are the New England Revolution. The Revs have been on fire lately, suffering just one loss in their last 7 league games. New England leads MLS with 34 goals with Taylor Twellman and Andy Dorman combing for 16 of them. They look like they are on pace to reach the MLS Cup again where they will probably lose again.

A few things to keep an eye on while you try to muster excitement for this one instead of tuning in to reruns of Night Court and Family Ties.

1. Taking the strike out of striker – If you want to point to an area where the Rapids have room for improvement it is at the striker position. Jovan Kirovski has played in 18 games and has a whopping 3 goals. His lack of production is only outdone by that of Nicolas Hernandez. The Argentine forward has found the net once in 1,472 minutes.

2. Heaps of praise – For someone who has never earned a cap for his country, New England defender Jay Heaps is pretty darned good. Heaps has played in every minute of every game this season for the Revs, but he has gotten less air time than David Beckham’s left toenail. Hopefully ESPN will do a profile on his shopping habits.

3. Bloated Bellies – Can’t fault the Rapids marketing people for trying. “All You Can Eat Night: The Rapids are giving you the chance to fulfill your greatest desires: soccer and food! It’s the Rapids’ inaugural “All You Can Eat Night”! For only $35 per person, you can get a seat to the game, plus all the nachos, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, hot dogs, soda, popcorn, and more, that you can eat!” Clint Mathis must be devastated he was traded before this promotion went into place.

Enjoy your snacks and the game.