Racing v Thorns Preview
Fox in the rain…which should be the name of a song, poem, book or something…but evidently isn’t.
While this will nominally serve as the preview for the upcoming match between Racing and Portland, it is really more of a meditation (or rant depending or your slant) on how to consume the rest of Racing’s season. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our own type of fandom that we forget that other types exist. Some people are fans of teams due to proximity (and that is even subdivided into local fans and regional fans), some are fans of teams by association (their favorite player in on the team), some are just fans of the league, some are fans of the sport, some are fans of hanging out with their friends in a stadium 15-20 times a year and some are fans for some other esoteric reason (maybe they like the uniform or color or novelty of the team). There is no right or wrong type of fan, but these different types of fans create tension. I will put myself firmly in the proximity category. Those of us in that category are more often concerned with the “team” vs. the players, although we certainly do have our favorite players. We likely will feel sad when our favorite players leave, but we won’t switch allegiance because the allegiance is to the team/city. Fans by association will conversely see their team allegiances as temporary if they exist at all. I have experience in this domain, and it is rewarding but fleeting as time remains undefeated and inevitably you find yourself looking for the next player(s) to follow. In addition, I also love soccer and like hanging out with friends at game. Purple has always been my favorite color and my favorite rugby club is Racing 92 (if you find those facts esoteric). All of this is to say that you can consume Racing however you deem appropriate.
Why you may ask, would any of this be relevant? For me, I am in this for the long haul. These next 3 matches might seem vitally important, but in the grand scheme of things they probably aren’t. Honestly, I don’t think Racing has a playoff run in them this season. I want to see progress and improvement, but I’m really not overly concerned with the points collected in the next 3 matches. I always listen to Tom and Bekki on the Butchertown Rundown podcast and on the most recent episode, they both made good points about winning being necessary to keep your young talent. I don’t disagree, and a poor start to next season may put Fox at risk of leaving, but this club has decided to take the long view on building a team. I could complain about that, but what would be the point? You aren’t going to change the fact that the club is going to play a certain way, so you can either get on board with it or fight a losing battle worrying about why they operate the way they do. I like to assume the best intentions. Some people on WoSo Twitter (which I rarely if ever read) seem to think that ownership groups bought franchises with the sole purpose to make players miserable, although you could in fact argue that that is exactly what these clubs did. I doubt if any of them entered into the enterprise of team ownership with the intention to create dangerous work environments, even if that is what ultimately occurred. In the case of Soccer Holdings, I could either complain about the things I don’t like (but are ultimately stylistic choices that I don’t agree with) or live with these very minor annoyances which frankly probably don’t translate to real performance differences in the table. Long story short, I wouldn’t run Racing the way it is currently run, but who is to say that my way would mean the team would be in better shape. More than likely, it would be much worse. I could pout about it, but I choose to enjoy the ride instead.
Therefore, I want to see good performances and honestly, I won’t get too hung up on the results. If Racing put in 10 performances like they did against San Diego in the next 10 matches and accumulate 0 points, that is a win in my book. That is very unlikely to happen. I believe that ultimately the results will match the performances. If they don’t, then you look at the roster and make changes for next season.
However, I do agree with Tom and Bekki on this point too…there is no reason to play for a draw in any of these matches. If Racing is tied in the 90th minute, it should be a full-on blitz to get that winning goal. I think if the coaches are honest with the players about this, there shouldn’t be any regrets about conceding a late goal on a counterattack. I do worry a bit about the veterans like Nadim and McDonald if Racing loses some matches late, but I believe they know what they signed up for.
I continually get feedback on Twitter (which I increasingly ignore) that somehow Coach Björkegren is at fault for Racing’s lack of results. I think general sports fandom has been brainwashed into thinking that changing the coach is the right decision. It certainly is the easy decision when compared to revamping the roster or the front office looking into the mirror about roster decisions. When the coach does something immoral or loses the locker room, they need to go. I don’t think they need to go or even be threatened with their job being in danger less than a season into their tenure. Having been on this earth for 47 years, I can also pretty confidently say that not every person reading this has been great at their job 6 months into it. I am a firm believer in this: some strategies fail 9 times before they succeed the first time, and some succeed 9 times before they fail the first time, and some never succeed. I also hear about these supposed “great players” that Racing has misused or let go. I think some of you are misremembering last season as this run of great results that somehow inexplicably led to Racing finishing in 9th place and missing the playoffs. Sometimes your roster isn’t good enough. Last year’s wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs. I’m not convinced this year’s is good enough either although it is clearly better. The young players need time to get better, and the coach also needs time to adjust to his players and the league.
If I haven’t managed to run everyone off by now, let me wrap up by saying that you could do worse than chilling out and enjoying the rest of the season. This is supposed to be fun. Some fans are acting like none of this is any fun. I have been in attendance for zero Racing wins this year. I have still had fun at every match I have attended. I refuse to let the results ruin my day. You can’t make me. But feel free to let it ruin yours. Tantrum over.
