What happened tonight won't determine the future of the season. What will determine the future of the season is how we all -- players, staff and fans alike -- respond to what happened.
First thing? I'm hoping there's not a huge rush to blame Ben Dragavon for the loss. Yes, Kasey Keller probably could have stopped that goal, but Keller got himself red-carded. I'm not saying it was his fault -- that was a helluvan unlucky bounce that sent the ball into his arm. What I'm saying is that Dragavon went into the game in the worst possible circumstances and he did okay. I'm hoping we don't make him the villain in the loss, especially since we're probably going to need him next week.
And kudos to Kansas City on that goal. They sensed the weakness and exploited it over and over in that five- or ten-minute period until it finally counted. I'm thinking if Seba had been able to stay on the field, the midfield would have have been able to spread out and give more support, and that goal never would have happened. But he wasn't, and it did, and we move on.
I'm actually not all that disappointed about this game. What would really have disappointed me would have been the team coming out in the second half and playing as poorly as they did in the first. They weren't playing that well even before Kasey got sent off, and afterwards it was as if all the stuffing got sucked out of them. I thought Montero should have been subbed off, and those are words I never thought I'd say.
But instead they came out in the second half and fought. Everybody -- from Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg to our hellaciously awesome central defenders (MAN I love Hurtado!) -- played as if they still wanted it. Three inches lower on that free kick, and this would have been a draw. And that's what gives me hope that this team can do this, next week and onward. Even playing without Keller next week, even playing against the only team ahead of us in the standings, they can do this.
And we need to support them as they do.
That's all I've got in me tonight. Keep the faith! Scarves up!