Ryan ChartrandI’ve been toiling away in an office in Mott Gym for the past six months and had to come out of retirement. The new crop of Mustang Daily columnists has produced plenty of professional sport analysis, but how about some attention to the Cal Poly campus?
With a historic event on the horizon, I had to come out of retirement and give Cal Poly athletics a voice since no other columnist has.
Here it is: Professional football is coming to Cal Poly. Can you believe it?
No, it’s not the 49ers. Nor is it the Raiders or the Chargers. Think closer to the nation’s capital. No, not the Patriots.
We’re talking D.C. United, the Columbus Crew and the San Jose Earthquakes – the other “football.” That’s right, Major League Soccer is coming to San Luis Obispo for a pair of exhibition games – the ‘Quakes against the Crew at 7 p.m. Friday and the ‘Quakes against United at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Some people out there might still be under the passé impression that soccer is foreign and boring.
Let’s face it, folks – soccer is in. It’s trendy. It’s hip. It’s the apple-bottom jeans, the boots with the fur; it’s low-cal diets, going green and “The Office.” David Beckham is in (and Posh Spice is re-invented). Soccer is what Tamagotchi pets were in 1996.
Bottom line: If you’re not with the footie, you’re committing a serious social blunder. You might as well hop on the Britney (Trainwreck) Express if you’re still stuck on that “soccer is un-American” nonsense.
The rosters of these squads are chock-full of talent, featuring six players with World Cup experience and four with Olympic appearances. Jaime Moreno, a striker for D.C. United, is the MLS’ all-time leading goal scorer. Joe Cannon of San Jose is a two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
Still not impressed?
D.C. United is the Juventus or Manchester United of American soccer. With 11 major titles won and a strong core of returning players to go along with Argentinean megastar Marcelo Gallardo, United has established itself as the premier team in Major League Soccer.
Prior to its franchise’s relocation to Houston in 2006, San Jose was every bit as elite as United. The ‘Quakes won five domestic titles in 10 years. Now, after two years without a soccer team in San Jose, current Oakland A’s owner Lou Wolff has resurrected the once-proud organization.
This is soccer at its best. We’re talking 90 minutes of uncut, uninterrupted action on a pristine pitch in one of the finest collegiate soccer venues in the nation, Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
If you were one of the 7,143 spectators who witnessed Cal Poly’s upset of 2006 NCAA College Cup Champion UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 17, 2007, you know what the footie atmosphere is like. You remember the Mangler Nation dressed in gold, chanting the olé song to the tune of, “Poly, Poly-Poly-Poly, Po-ly, Po-ly.” You remember going nuts in the bleachers when Anthony Grillo scored the eventual game-winner and anxiously counting down the final seconds before rushing the field to celebrate the most storied win in the program’s history.
Soccer is here, folks.
Frank Stranzl is a former Mustang Daily sports columnist, a journalism alumnus and a sports information intern for Cal Poly athletics.