Racing 1 Gotham 1 Post Match Thoughts
Courtesy EM Dash Photography
I’m going to start this season’s last home post match analysis with a couple of confessions. The first one is that this picture from EM Dash Photography made me cry. I'm not quite sure why it hit me so hard all of a sudden, but I am going to miss writing about this particular team. No other future achievement will minimize the fact that I loved this team for being first, fierce and and fun. Having started this site because Racing was the first top tier professional franchise in Louisville since 1976 and wanting to record their history, I have been so heads down in writing that I didn't realize how emotionally connected I had become. Several times in my life as a fan I have found myself angry, sad, elated, apathetic and nervous while watching one of my favorite teams. I have felt an emotional connection with my favorite teams before, but not like this. Losses would ruin my day. I bailed on one nameless franchise because I was tired of the losing. I switched alliances based on moving to Louisville for college. I gave up on baseball when it turned into math for me. Basically I purged my childhood teams. It gave me the ability to watch a sport without it ruining my day based on the outcome. I adopted Arsenal as my main interest because they were (at the time) good, fun to watch and distant. I could enjoy the positive things about them and kind of let the negative ones roll off my back. I watched the NBA and NFL with rooting interest, but not a favorite team. Even Lou City who I have followed fairly closely has lacked that emotional connection. I expected to be able to maintain emotional distance from Racing, because I had become a pro at compartmentalizing sports from the rest of my life. I said I was going to cover the team as a “fan”, but really I was covering it as journalist who could be lazy in his writing by calling himself a fan. However, over the course of the season that began to change. It was so gradual that I didn't even notice it myself. I had become fully emotionally invested again. However, this time I had learned to only take the good parts of that investment. This is going to sound odd as a fan, and I am sure it will change in future years, but the results of the matches didn't matter to me. Well, at least not like they used to matter. A Racing loss has never ruined my day, but a win sure has brightened it. I have enjoyed every minute, especially at home matches.
Now for the second confession: I probably didn't watch last night's match as closely as I could have. My friend George who I share LouCity season tickets with came to his first Racing game. We talked just about the entire match. I didn't miss any game action, but I probably missed some nuances. I hate that I missed Lance McGarvey calling out Carli Lloyd's yellow card. I will try to find decent audio of that. Also, I asked both Racing and Gotham content creators if they thought the 1-1 result was fair. Everyone pretty much agreed that is was, but with Gotham having a slight advantage. A quick look at the numbers show this, but I now have a full blown lavender tinted glasses problem. I can’t be objective, at least not in real time. The xG charts, which I frankly still oscillate on with regards to their usefulness are likely going to show a 2-1 advantage for Gotham. I don't care. It felt in real time that Gotham wasn't the least bit dangerous in the second half at all, but like I said I may have missed something.
As for the overall play, I was most pleased with McClure and Kizer up front and Riehl and Bonner at the back. Lund was solid as was the rest of the team. If you read my column with Zach Allen-Kelly for the State of Louisville this week you know he predicted over 50% turnover. I guess that's possible, but 30-40% feels more realistic to me.
And finally, that may be another reason I cried when I uploaded the picture above. Some of these players will never wear a Racing jersey in Lynn Family Stadium again. At some point this offseason my heart will harden a bit and I will predict who will be elsewhere next season. Right now I can't bear to lose a single one.
