Screaming Eagles

Fellow Screaming Eagles,Yes, United’s match in Columbus on Sunday was a heartbreaker. United is out of the MLS playoffs for the first time since 2002. That’s rough.

But it should be said that even a rough year to be a United fan is a great year for fans of other teams. United added another major trophy to its collection this season by winning the US Open Cup for the first time since 1996 and, in the dog days of summer, brought us a winning streak and an exciting style of play that sure looked like that of a championship side.

And 2008 was a great year to be a Screaming Eagle - thanks, of course, to all of you who joined the club, cheered for 90 minutes in the sections, hung out at the tailgates, went on a roadtrip, or wore your SE gear with pride. We smashed the membership record we set last year, so thanks to all of you for being the best fans of the best team in MLS. We hope to get bigger, better, and louder in 2009, and I know you’ll be ready.

It’s never too early to think about the future, so if any of you are interested in getting more involved with the SEs in 2009 in any way, please send me an e-mail at paul@screaming-eagles.com.

There are a lot of people who deserve special thanks this year. That includes the club’s incredible executive committee - all of whom spent an inordinate amount of time doing SE work out of love for United and often received little in return other than my mercurial reactions.

But I also want to thank every person who volunteered at all for the club this year - and there were hundreds of you. If you helped make one of our massive tailgates happen, helped Tim and Jennifer create their incredible tifo displays, worked one of our tables anywhere, assisted Nicole with tickets, participated in a charity event, volunteered at the Shamrock Festival, loaded or unloaded the pods, played the drum, waved a flag, helped us take down a banner, or did anything at all, you made the club what it has become - the best supporters group in MLS.

I didn’t do that. You did that. Thank you.

You still have three more chances to hang out with your fellow SEs before the end of the MLS season.

1. United’s last home game of 2008 is against CD Marathon in the CONCACAF Champions League tomorrow - Wednesday the 29th - at 8 PM. Come out one last time to cheer on the guys and swap stories with everyone at the tailgate. We’ll have beer, non-alkie drinks, and pizza at the usual tailgate spot in Lot 8, and as usual on weekdays its all free. Tickets are still available, you can contact the SE Ticket Mistress at tickets@screaming-eagles.com until 4 pm today to order in advance.

2. The annual United Awards Reception is being held the next night - Thursday the 30th - at 7 PM at the Atlas Theater, 1333 H Street NE. Individual tickets are $100 and include open bar and a dessert reception with the entire team and front office. Proceeds go to DC United’s charitable arm, United for DC. This is a great way to cap the year - a low-key, fun, semi-formal event with food and drink and a lot of SE friends. You can get more information and register for the reception here.

3. Continuing a tradition that started with the very first MLS Cup match, the Screaming Eagles are going to MLS Cup this year. The match is on Sunday, November 23rd at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, and we’ll be in sunny LA for a long weekend of sun and fun. Book the flight on your own, and we’ll get you your match tickets (which are $50 each) and into a hotel with other SEs at a very reasonable rate. As a bonus activity for those who can get out there early, we are also putting a group together to see our hometown Washington Capitals take on the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, November 20th at the Staples Center. If you are interested in anything related to the MLS Cup 2008 roadtrip, send an e-mail to roadtrips@screaming-eagles.com.

I hope to see you at one or all of these upcoming events. Look for fun social and charity activities this offseason as we ramp up to the start of the 2009 season, but, in the meantime, thanks again for an incredible 2008.

-Paul Sotoudeh, President

90 minutes, 1 season

All these MLS games for DC United and it all boils down to 90 minutes in Columbus.  There’s been a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of hardship.  It’s simple.  Win, and United plays either Columbus again, or Houston.  Who really cares?  At this point, one more MLS game at RFK is what we want.

So to those going to Columbus, ignore the local idiots, don’t offer to pick up dinner for a Crewzer and hopefully United will pour as much energy into the game as the travelling contingent.  For those at home, pulling their hair out or nervously twitching or furiously yelling at the little referee in their TV:  We’re with you.

In the meantime…

One fringe benefit of being in DC and being a DC United fan is that the Washington Post covers the team quite well.  Take a look at Steve Goff’s Soccer Insider Blog post about Tino Quaranta’s 1 year anniversary of being sober.   Tino’s come a long way, and we wish him and his (now increasing - Congrats, BTW) family the best.  Yeah, Tino’s adding to the DC United baby boom, and booking his slot for next year.  Though it’ll be hard for the team to beat this year’s kids (Olsen, Peralta, and Fred all had kids this year - well, actually, their wives did).

Also Dan Steinberg returned from purgatory, to re-find RFK.  He’s got a great post of Louis Crayton singing, sort of reminds you of Bobbyboswell.com’s post about Emilio singing last year.  Note to Behindthebadge.com - video, we need video.  There’s also a post about new DC United goalkeeping sensation  Quvas Kirk….and how he couldn’t figure out how to get the GK jersey on.  He’s got a ton of spiffy suits, and he can’t pull on a jersey before the gloves?

Road Trip To Columbus, Oct 26-UPDATE

Thanks to Chicago’s win over the Red Bulls tonight, the Columbus Van Trip this Sunday is ON! All DC needs is a win to advance to the playoffs, so come join us for a fun road trip you’ll never forget.

And the trip is cheap! $40 per person, including match ticket - that’s cheaper than it would cost you to drive yourself. And, if you’re willing to help out and drive 6 or 7 hours in total (the round trip is around 14 hours), your trip will be only $5!

We have three pickup spots to choose from:

7:30 AM - Arlington, VA - Summers Restaurant

8:15 AM - Gaithersburg, MD - Park N Ride at I-270 and MD 124 (Quince Orchard Road
and Montgomery Village Avenue)

9:15 AM - Boonsboro, MD (just south of Hagerstown) - Park N Ride at I-70 and MD-66

We’ll leave Columbus right after the game and get back to the DC area likely around 3 AM.

To Sign Up: Send an e-mail to paul AT screaming-eagles.com. Let Paul know where you’d like to be picked up and also let him know your cellphone number.

Tickets Only: The Crew have blocked off a section for DC fans at Crew Stadium this Sunday. Tickets are $14, but the section will not be sold to walkups at the ticket window on game day. They are only available by either calling Brad Kessler of the Crew directly at 614-447-4152 or by signing up for our trip.

See you all bright and early on Sunday

Viewing Parties for D.C. United-Columbus

If you’re not heading out to Columbus on Sunday, please come out to one of the viewing parties with fellow SEs. Kick off is at 5 pm, come early to get a good seat.

Momo’s Sports Bar
1334 U St, NW
Washington, DC

Babylon Futbol Cafe
3501 South Jefferson Street
(inside the shopping center)
Falls Church, VA

Kitty O’Sheas
2403 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA

It all comes down to this….

So here it is.  The home stretch.  The playoff push.  Crunch Time.  Any number of sports cliche’s apply here.  But it United needs some help to make the playoffs.

1.  The easy way.  Both the Red Bulls(Thursday night) and the Wizards (Saturday) lose, and United wins on Sunday.  United leap frogs them both to gain a playoff spot.

2.  The complicated way.  Either Red Bulls or the Wiz lose, and United wins.  United goes past one of them in the standings, and then gain a playoff spot.

3.  The really complicated way.  The Red Bulls and Wiz tie and United wins.  All three are level on points, and then United would need a huge victory (4 goals) to clinch a playoff spot.

The easiest thing for any United fan to do here is to root for a Red Bulls loss and then a United win.  But let’s key on a Red Bulls loss first.  Missing two key players including their goalkeeper was thought to be a plus going into last weekend’s matches, then Red Bulls backup channeled both Ron Hextall and some Minneapolis Metrodome Astroturf-like bounce to pull a goal out of thin air (note: the Columbus goalkeeper can come play outfield for the Nats anyday).   A loss there would have given the advantage to United after they beat Pippi Longstocking and the Revolution….but it was not to be.

A turnaround?

Ben Olsen was quoted in Steve Goff’s Soccer Insider crediting the rookies for the turn in play.  He’s absolutely right in that the team has been playing for each other of late.  But the turnaround can really get traced back to the front office with the little note that DC United was breaking from MLS ranks and not using the lame MLS web-template for it’s website.  Instead a local developer will take over and we can expect all kinds of neat world class web-soccer stuff in 2009….including an actual store that won’t steal your credit card number.  Obviously THAT news sparked the team.  But the Champions league efforts by the young players are huge positive, a couple of months ago those games were dreaded as ’schedule congestion’ but maybe now we can look at it as how the team re-bonded.

Other notes from CONCACAF play:

Ben Olsen served as an assistant with Tom Soehn out with a red card suspension.  The team always plays better when Ben’s around.

Rookie James Thorpe got his first real minutes with United in Mexico against Cruz Azul.  Sadly due to another maniacal CONCACAF referee with a grudge to bear, he only lasted 32 minutes before getting his second yellow.  But they were 32 minutes without a goal against.  Statistically United’s best goalkeeper in 2008!

Quavas Kirk, a noted snazzy dresser, though is giving him a run for that title after being in net for TWO scoreless minutes.  Though with no cards, and no ejections, statistically, Kirk may be the better keeper…..

The guys will be suited up in their “Sunday best” for the Annual D.C. United Awards Reception so come and check them out (and support United for D.C.).

D.C. United Awards Reception

Thursday, October 30

Atlas Performing Arts Center

1333 H St, NE

Washington, DC

Cocktails start at 7 pm, Awards at 8 pm

For more information and ticket purchasing, go here.