Tony's Take: Sunday (with a cherry on top)
06/25/2008 3:27 PM by Tony Limarzi
Tony Limarzi, the Radio Voice of D.C. United, provides live match commentary for all D.C. United games on WFED 1050 AM. He recently published his first book, Forza Italia, which is the story of the summer of 2006 – both Italy’s World Cup win in Germany and United’s MLS season.
It could be billed as David versus Goliath, except that David is Goliath. It would have to be promoted as "David – the Goliath of players versus D.C. United – the Goliath of Clubs." That would be a little confusing. [Ed. note – that IS confusing!]
Nevertheless, Sunday's game between D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy should be a real classic in terms of regular season match-ups. In many ways it's reminiscent of the 1996 game at RFK in the hurricane against the Tampa Bay Mutiny. You'll have to confirm this with Mr. Payne, but I always thought that the 1-0 victory against the Mutiny was the first time D.C. United showed what they were all about. At that time they were an inconsistent group still trying to find their identity. Yet, playing against the top team in the Eastern Conference, they put together a convincing performance in difficult circumstances to come away with a deserved and satisfying win.
As for this Sunday, all the pieces are in place for a true playoff atmosphere. You'll have the top team in the Western Conference going up against the hottest team in the league. The lineups will have starpower galore- the reigning MVP, the leading candidate for this year's MVP, the league's all-time leading goal scorer, and the most famous athlete on the planet. The game is on national television: not cable- network television, and the game is part one of a world class soccer double header culminating with the second most important tournament after the World Cup. It seems like the coaches won't need much of a team talk to get the players ready for this one.
You'll often hear the term "message game" or "statement game" when there is an important game during a regular season, but I never really liked those phrases. To me a message or statement indicates that a team wins the games and in doing so shows the rest of the league something. I think that a win on Sunday will prove the most to the winning team itself. The game is more like self affirmation. Whoever wins on Sunday will surely be more pleased with their performance than the opnions of the rest of the teams in MLS.
If Los Angeles were playing in New York this weekend, you would still see Beckham-mania. But since the stage is set in the nation's capital, the game is much bigger than even Beckham. It's the highest profile player, the highest profile club, and two of the best teams in the league, all playing in front of the best and most knowledgeable fans in the country. Everybody in the stadium is in for a real treat on Sunday.
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