The cantilations of the Angel City Brigade can be heard all the way in space. In lower Earth orbit, the international space station picks up radio and television signals as it speeds above a region.
It was with the same urgency a DC United squad kicked off the match against the LA Galaxy. Mika Vayrynen was immediately called into action when a Steve Birnbaum header found Brian Rowe in no mans land. This began Major League Soccer's first dynasty's domination over its newest. As a fan of the Galaxy and all things celestial, this wasn't easy to watch. Chris Pontius made sure of that just before the final whistle when he netted the matches lone goal. Stefan Ishizaki's commanding display in midfield was no consolation on this bitterly cold night, unmitigated by my fathers piercing stares in my direction.
We began the week in my Citroen-- my father crammed shotgun and me at the helm for a road trip to Florida. The aforementioned makes clear my love for all things celestial, so we headed off to see the space shuttle launch to the ISS. My days however are spent in an alcoholic abetted stupor which causes me to sometimes miss major details as well as minor ones. I'm not sure what it was I was drinking when Nasa announced they would retire the space shuttle and start piggybacking on Russian Soyuz Rockets. I soon discovered the Baikonur Cosmodrome is a long way from Cape Kennedy which is now called Cape Canaveral. My dad was crossed at me and at himself for listening to me. I offered a consolation--- somewhere in my utterance were the words DC United, RFK Stadium and promised victory by Arena's men, which must remain nameless as it conjures thoughts of disappointment.
The last time DC united defeated Los Angeles was back in August of 2007 when David Beckham made his league debut. Juninho wasn't in the squad then but on Sunday he finally got a chance to wear the captains arm band, a well deserved accolade in a career that is just now approaching its prime.
The champions have started the season much as I start my days: scattered and panting. United's inimical trio of Deleon, Arrieta and Pontius darted about the Galaxy's half, menacingly, finding Brian Rowe off his line on numerous occasion, much to the consternation of A.J DeLaGarza. Woeful was the Galaxy's performance. With Steven Gerrard headed here in the Summer, I dare not think about what I fear is in store for the Galaxy this time around. Other than the ability to fill seats at the then Home Depot Center, Beckham did little that year to add to the teams merits. Gerrard will be jumping right into the league after trying to get Liverpool into a top four spot for Europe, with very little time off.
This squad needs a bit of reshuffling. They have become complacent with recent success. There are several former Galaxy players at DC who didn't quite fit into the squad in their day but would now. Getting them back clearly isn't an option, but I do believe Arena's judgement and decision making may be a bit cloudy. He has done well since arriving from New York, exceptionally well in fact, but he is past the apex of his career. This is the truth. Think I am wrong? Well just wait till the post season, we all remembered what happened last time a big name English player moved to L.A.
I must stop writing now my father has fallen asleep at the wheel and we are fast approaching the Canadian border...
TO BE CONTINUED
