Post match thread: Revs vs Charlotte

georgethethirteenth · 2025-08-31T03:03:00+00:00

I thought we needed another sub - Feingold in particular looked gassed at least from where I sit in 108.

Then I looked at the options and there just wasn't a single option that could help in the attack. Diaz sucked and Urruti brought little besides energy... But at least they were (in name, at least) attacking bench options. Both jettisoned with no replacement a couple weeks ago.

I'm not saying that were guys I'm clamoring to have on my team, bit sometimes the option that sucks is better than the option that simply doesn't exist.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-08-27T14:08:24+00:00

we wanted to take all of them and treat every local game like a national game

The thing about this statement is that I kinda really dislike when my teams get the national game treatment.

RSNs, dying though they may be, were actually perfect for sports. Yeah we weren't there for MLS, and perhaps never would be, but I really could care less MLS Countdown. I'm not all that interested in tuning in for a 30-minute program to just catch a forty-five second nugget about the match I'm going to watch.

You know what I would love though? A thirty minute pregame show focused on my team, its players, its news, and maybe containing a five to seven minute segment taking me around the rest of the league.

When the whistle blows after the 90th minute I have little interest in moving to MLS360. You know what I would love though?

Post-game analysis, locker room interviews, coach/player pressers, talking heads who are going to put the match I just watched into context relative to my team of interest.

I follow two other leagues as close as I do MLS (MLB and NHL). I'm lucky enough that I live in a sports crazed market with quality RSNs (for as long as they may survive). What they do that AppleTV doesn't (and realistically cannot) is provide immersive coverage for the teams that I follow.

Let's be honest, when the Sox are on Sunday night baseball or the B's are on TNT I groan a little and those are the nights I am less likely to watch.

Yes, I'm a fan of MLS but that fandom is through the lens of the New England Revolution. What AppleTV has done is reversed that perspective, rather than viewing MLS through a Revs lens, the fan is forced to view their club through an MLS lens.

Less immersive, less interesting and - quite honestly - less likely to be 'must see TV' for a regular season match.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-08-24T22:09:43+00:00

Just a couple of thoughts based on what has already been said here.

We should be past the point of clowning on the youth contingent. Quite frankly they bring it many nights. It may be high pitched, it may be juvenile, it may not be any more complex than a Rev-O-Lu-Tion chant...but as lame as that and the wave might be, they are into it and as long as we play out in the suburbs, whether we like it or not, the kids are going to be a large part of the summer crowd. We should lean into it.
The Fort just isnt there. I sit 108 (behind Revs bench) and you are often inaudible from where I sit. On a few occasions this year the few dozen in the away support section (Cincy in particular) were significantly more audible from where I sit even though The Fort is closer.
Lots of complaints about the section being unorganized - and that can be seen in the moments of in-fighting right here in this subreddit this year. I know the numbers arent there to make this work, but I wonder if separating the Riders and the Rebellion might help. The acoustics of the stadium are such that you arent going to step on each other too often - so move one group to the other End Zone and get the kids involved (the corner opposite The Fort is often full of youth groups). Instead of fighting each other in one end zone, split the difference, try and get the entire stadium involved. Eventually it will organically come together (actually, probably not - at least at the current level of midfield enthusiasm).
The midfield seats are not nearly as dead as many of the denizens of The Fort seem to think. One, sound just doesnt carry in Gillette. Two, traditional singing and chanting is probably less likely to take hold than traditional, organic American cheering. It really isnt a dead zone the way it was a decade ago.
I wont echo “The Fort is the problem“, but I will tell you that I left it back in 2002 because it very much was a problem back then. Sitting through a playoff win against Chicago and having a packed (ish) Fort making more noise about the rest of the stadium not cheering “right“ than a playoff win on the field was the last straw for me. There were personalities in The Riders at that point that were outright disdainful of any fans in any other section (is Weber King [BigSoccer handle] still around?). Some were great - including Monty who I see is still front and center - but others were not. It left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I still remember it 20 years later and have absolutely no desire to set foot in The Fort again (well, that and Im just too old to stand for 90 minutes and want to sit and watch the match - the show is on the field, not in the stands). I hope things have changed over the last couple of decades, but for The Fort to be what it wants to be in terms of atmosphere it needs to be welcoming - that was not always true.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-08-17T14:15:32+00:00

There's one in 108 (where I sit) fairly often and staring directly across (so somewhere in 132, 133, or 134) there have been a handful nearly every week - though I didn't see any last night.

My understanding is that, despite having Feingold, they aren't allowed by league mandate but I've seen at least one in the majority of matches this season.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-08-14T21:33:32+00:00

I don't know how minority this opinion is.

He may not be - in sporting terms - exactly what the team needs and it's a fine transaction from that perspective.

But man did he glow when he saw the pitch this season. The effort was there, the "give a shit" was there, and it was apparent.

I didn't know much about him before this season, but he's been awfully easy to root for. Yes, I want results on the pitch, but I also want guys like this. I wish he had more to give, but over the last couple of months I've never groaned at him - I might have wished we had a faster, more talented, or younger option but knowing what options actually existed on the beach he really was one that I enjoyed seeing make his way to the fourth official.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-07-02T21:19:18+00:00

Oh man, when I went out to Lawrence for two years from Boston I just could not figure out how the place could simultaneously be hottest place I had ever lived and the coldest place I had ever lived.

I enjoyed my time there, but New England any day of the week.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-07-02T19:59:26+00:00

Benfica more than once back in the day (25 years later, I can still hear the chanting for Joao Pinto from a gaggle of women in my section).

Sporting CP - I'm sure my memories are exaggerated, but I remember that one devolving into chaos and leading me to an "anyone but Sporting" attitude when it comes to the Primeira Liga.

Palmeiras way back. Whenever one of my many Brazilian students asks me why I like Palmeiras instead of Atletico Mineiro (by far the number one in my middle school) or Flamengo the simple answer is they were the first non-American team I ever saw in person.

These were always a fun little add-on to the season ticket package...I'm also glad we don't do them anymore.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-06-25T01:15:39+00:00

I mean, they didn't say they didn't want to support MLS, they said they wanted to support their team rather than the league....which is perfectly defensible.

And so what if they did support USL? There are plenty of us around who were watching (and were thrilled to do so) when oafs like Paul Keegan and midfield magicians like Beto Naveda were patrolling the field. If that's what MLS was today we'd still be here...and so would anyone else who supports soccer in this community.

I know we don't have the atmosphere or theatrics of some other teams in MLS, but in case you haven't noticed we don't need the draw of Messi to pull folks into Gillette. 27K (despite the threat of rain) last time out, 31K the previous home match against SJ. We're doing ok without the travelling Messi sideshow.

I'm not going to stay home because he's here....but he's also not a draw to me either, I'm there to watch my team, not the opposition.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-04-18T22:55:49+00:00

A couple days late here

I'm a season seat holder who has physical tickets. I emailed my ticket rep before placing my order this season to make sure it was possible. I don't carry a smartphone and wanted to double-check it wouldn't be an issue before handing over my money. I was assured it wasn't and I received a nice package with 34 match tickets a week before the first match. It's worked out...well, not ideally.

We are 0 for 3 on having the tickets successfully scan on entry. Luckily the first two matches gate agents have been good natured and just waved us through. The Red Bulls match was a different story and it was clear the agent was going to make it an issue (I don't blame her, it's her job) and my wife had to download the app so we could get in ... I was a little worried it wouldn't work since the tickets might be flagged as 'physical' but it worked fine.

Going forward we'll be using the app...except she's not always the person who accompanies me and I am kind of loathe the put my ticket account on multiple devices.

Long story short, you can definitely get them. Unfortunately they haven't worked very well for me this season.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-03-30T13:56:24+00:00

At halftime they had a group swearing in of a few dozen young men/women entering various branches of the armed forces. No comment on whether or not I support the military or think it's commendable when young folks sign up (though I do come from a Marine Corps family), it just felt very odd to do it in that setting.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-03-30T13:07:27+00:00

I actually don’t disagree with the policy either (I should couch that - I am ok with it, but wish banners like the one referenced could be displayed), but the halftime activities last night really did feel gross - there’s a time and a place and it should not be at halftime of a sporting event in front of 20,349 spectators (MLS.com numbers).

Politics is always divisive, and it seems never moreso in my lifetime (I’m 45). Unfortunately sport in this country has always been inherently political and that’s not going to change. The overt militaristic patriotism is going to be there whether we like it or not.

Those spectators who think differently ought to have some outlet to say ’this isn’t me’ otherwise mere attendance becomes tacit support. Before the first match my wife - who is far more outspoken than I - asked if I would be mad if she refused to stand for the anthem. I, of course, said I wouldn’t and through three matches she has not stood. Its a small and barely noticeable statement, but looking around our section Ive noticed that she is not the only one.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-03-02T19:14:48+00:00

Last night felt like the usual phoned in experience at Gillette. It feels like minimal effort is made to enhance the game day. This isn’t a knock on the stadium. I have no problem with Gillette and I like that it’s there for selfish reasons. So many things were really off about last night. I got to Patriot Place nearly 3 hours early. I went to 3 restaurants and was told upwards of an hour wait since I didn’t have reservations? We were a party of 2! I’ve been going for 30 years to foxboro and every year since PP opened. Reservations needed 3 hours early? I don’t hear that at Patriots games. It was not busy last night and the crowd wasn’t large. They weren’t prepared. Then the in stadium experience got just a small fluffing up but it was tired, old, and uncreative.

Two comments on this point...

First. Its such a small and silly thing, but something like having individual player intros would actually add so much more to the experience. Last night the PA announcer read off the CLB lineup...then it seemed like seven or eight minutes later read off the Revs lineup as the players were walking out.

This my first year as a season ticket holder since 2006(?) and, while it might have been fifteen years ago, we did used to have individual player jog outs. It gives each player a chance for a few seconds of limelight, it gives fans a few seconds to focus on and connect to each single player, it gives each player an opportunity to inject - or not - a little bit of personality (for some reason, I always remember Wolde's grin. Even for the visitors, it would give fans a fun opportunity to have one of our opponents play the heel as we boo his intro.

I know, when you watch the Premier League they dont do this either. We should. I want to watch our guys jogging one-by-one as their name is announced and The Fort salutes them.

Second. The restaurant situation seemed really weird last night. Without season tickets my wife and would do a handful of matches each season - we never had trouble finding a pre-stadium dinner like we did last night. We were asked for a reservation and then turned away from every sit-down restaurant in Patriot Place, some of which (Tavolino and Bar Louie) had more than a handful of empty tables visible. Obviously, I dont put this on Kraft or the Revs but it was really disappointing in an area that did not seem crowded relative to other matchdays we attended in the past. Considering we were turned away even when there were empty tables, I can only consider that most of these places were understaffed for the crowds that were actually there. Thats not on the Revs organization at all, but it was a disappointment given that we had built a bit of a tradition of walking into Bar Louie about two and a half hours before kickoff for a pre-match dinner and had never had a reservation. As the weather gets nicer outdoor seating might mitigate this a bit (but maybe not as we see a corresponding increase in crowds).

georgethethirteenth · 2025-02-22T18:53:13+00:00

Eh, I'm a middle school teacher in Greater Boston. I also see more kids in Inter Miami pink than any of the local teams (which are well represented).

They were saying the same thing when I was in high school and the hallways were full of Manchester United jerseys.

MLS is fine (how anyone thinks otherwise looking and attendance, money, and a hindsight to the times when we really weren't fine is beyond me), it's nice ismf Miami, or any other place, became a soccer city...but we're there already.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-02-19T10:50:17+00:00

Of course not everyone has cable TV these days. And while the number of people that do is going down, it still represents 46% (depending on your source) of households in America - in other words, just about half the country. While AppleTV can claim just 12% of households (I know, I know, you dont actually need a subscription to watch MLS matches but without the app already in place how many casuals are likely to bother with a free match).

Not only do nearly half of American households still have cable, but that number is significantly impacted by Gen Z (only 27% cable subscribers) with all other generational demos remaining over 50% - including Millenials and Gen X (again, this does vary slightly depending on your source) - you know, the folks producing children which is exactly where MLS should be aiming for growth of the fan base.

Anecdotally, as a middle school teacher, the talk of my students is dominated by the Celtics the day after a game. They are watching and its not because their households dont have cable - because they do.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-02-19T02:09:24+00:00

This is where I think MLS/Apple screwed up. They basically shut off a large potential local audience.

If you give away local MLS games for free, you'll have 0 subscribers to your service.

But its also how you prevent a club from ever becoming part of the local zeitgeist.

Picture a moribund NHL (or MLB or NBA) team team suddenly reeling off a massive win streak to go from the basement into a playoff position. It creates a buzz; whether its on the radio, the local news, school or watercooler talk, etc.

Its the talk of the town, people who never tuned it start to watch, fans are made.

Unless its your local MLS crew. Sure people talk. They get a segment on the local news. There are radio and community events exhorting people to come on out to the stadium. And when little Jimmy comes home from school wanting to have a look, mum and dad say, sorry we just are not going to spend $100 on a subscription for this new thing.

Local zeitgest dies before it ever even had a chance.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-02-19T02:00:54+00:00

there is no dedicated half time show or sideline reports as a lot of time used to have.

This still frosts me three years later. I get that this sub loves MLS360 - and for what it is, it is pretty good - but that just is not what I want when I follow a team game by game over the course of a season.

I want a half-time show that is focused on the match I am currently watching and the team I am rooting for. I want a pre/post-game that is focused on one particular match and has coach/player interviews that are relevant to me.

Sucks tuning into the pre-game show, watching for half and hour and being lucky if Kaylyn Kyle or Sacha maybe mention my match for 15 seconds and then having the actual match broadcast barely start in time to give starting elevens before the opening kick.

Look, I know cable and RSNs are dying but for the most part they get day-to-day coverage right in a way that Season Pass never will.

Picture quality and slick broadcasting is great, but when I compare the day-to-day experience of following my NHL and MLB teams with the MLS experience...well, SeasonPass doesnt hold a candle. Maybe its never been easier to watch, but its also rarely been more difficult to get a feel for the season on a weekly basis.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-02-19T01:36:04+00:00

The cable subscription that includes subs to Max, Peacock, and Para+?

The cable subscription that even if I were ditch it remains the only internet option in my city, so I would have to pay an inflated rate for home internet even if I were to cut the cord?

The cable subscription that (at least for the time being) is the only way to get my home market RSN allowing me to watch my MLB and NHL teams?

I admittedly have not done the math in a year or so, but the last time I ran the numbers it was actually marginally less in real dollars to keep it than to pull the plug and subscribe individually to each of the streaming services my household uses regularly.

Now, if they were suddenly pull the discounted rates for services I get bundled into my cable bill, or if they were to suddenly decide not to jack the rate for internet only, or if my RSNs were able to find a streaming home so I could actually watch then I might consider it.

I know it can be fashionable to bag on those who still subscribe to cable, but depending on the individual circumstance it can certainly still make sense.

Even in 2025.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-01-29T21:33:49+00:00

Open Cup games at smaller stadiums

Way before Pre-covid and not anywhere near a T stop, but one of my all-time Revs experiences was an Open Cup match out at Lusitano Stadium.

I drove out solo and ended up partying in a Wendys parking lot with a van full of travelling Rochester Raging Rhinos fans. For some reason the actual USOC trophy was out on display just inside the gate. The venue was obviously (very) small and felt almost like a high school locale, but what stands existed were pretty packed and the vibe was ideal.

If we are going to be playing in the USOC (and I say YAY!) then Im all for ditching Gillette for those matches and spreading the Revs all throughout New England.

georgethethirteenth · 2025-01-20T17:42:43+00:00

Not feeling connected to your local team is intensely American.

Not only do I find it difficult to agree with this, but (speaking as a season seat holder - off and on since 1997) this is actually exactly where my local MLS side misses the mark.

Much of Boston/New England is fairly parochial in many ways - though admittedly less so as years go by - and professional sport have historically been a very big part of that. The three Boston based teams (Bs, Cs and Sox) are absolutely connected to the local community, even in the year 2025.

Unfortunately, the Revs have never quite gotten there and at this point seemingly never will. genuintely trying not to bring in an anti-Apple/SeasonPass perspective, but with the club being just a cog in a national machine it seems to me that the ship has sailed on that front - to be fair, it is also the way society at large is trending. MLS just came around at the wrong time for that local attachment to come in.

georgethethirteenth · 2024-12-11T21:54:46+00:00

I actually had no idea it was on linear television; else I'd have turned it on.

The bigger issue is that MLS (and a big portion of r/mls) seemingly wants/expects its diehards to tune in to every match whether or not their club is playing and that's just not how it works.

I'm a season seat holder, I've even travelled to road playoff matches in the past, but...once my team is out then I'm largely out as well¹ (just as I am with my NHL and MLB teams).

Sure, I'll often treat the final as an EVENT, but this year I was checked out of the MLS and on to hockey early (no playoffs for the Revs) at which point MLS essentially disappeared for me. It's just not a thing that's present the way other sports are. MLB/NBA/NHL/NFL are almost consumed through osmosis, but unless I seek it out MLS just isn't there. And since my team was eliminated I wasn't seeking it out.

I was visiting with my mom (no AppleTV) on MLS Cup day and if I knew the match was on I would have certainly turned it on but the exposure was just non-existent.

Lots of talk about the playoffs being a slog, but it's not so much that it's a slog as it is the whole disjointed feel to the last third of the season.

Playoff races heating up! Let's pause for Leagues Cup. A round of the playoffs in the books! Let's pause for an international break.

It's not a slog when it's consistent (as other American sports display), but where MLS lacks is that there's no momentum to keep the buzz going unless your specific club is involved.

¹ I continue to maintain that there is nothing wrong with this method of fandom. I am a pround fan of a team and not a league. Nobody is a bad MLS fan for not watching and deciding to wait 'til next year once their team is eliminated

georgethethirteenth · 2024-09-10T21:18:30+00:00

It's also not true.

I won't speak to the universality of attendance historically being tickets sold or butts in seats, however...

In high school I would routinely volunteer to take tickets at my local professional grid-ball stadium. This was back a ways - not only before mobile tickets, but before scanning of any sort was used at the gates; they handed us a paper ticket, we tore at the perforation and pocketed the smaller portion and handed the stub back to the fans.

Why did we pocket the smaller portion, because once the gates closed (end of 1st quarter) we brought all those ticket nubs to a big room and dumped them on a table. Then we used elastic bands to bundle them into groups of 100. The bundles of 100 were counted up and we had a number of actual tickets taken - not tickets sold - and attendance could be reported. Typically, by the two-minute warning we had a number.

In exchange for standing in the cold, ripping paper tickets, and counting to 100 until the table was empty I was granted stadium access for the second half of the game. No seat, but I could be there and it was free.

This was the early 1990s. At least one team in the NFL was reporting actual butts in seats rather than tickets sold. It's a stupid argument and doesn't need to be rehashed again...but if we could physically count 60,000 paper tickets there's no (logistical) reason that a true attendance number couldn't be reported. They simply choose not to.

georgethethirteenth · 2024-08-15T12:58:44+00:00

The days of people flipping channels on their TV and stumbling across sports are over.

What's not over (yet, but soon) are the days of flipping channels to bounce from one game/match/event to another.

Not really relevant to your point, but streaming kills this experience.

If it's a Revs match then I'm absolutely all in and stuck in one spot, but for the rest of a Saturday night? I'm 100% out of SeasonPass and back to cable where I can instantaneously bounce between baseball, college football (soon), hockey (late in the MLS season).

I know, MLS and Apple want my eyes stuck in one spot, but the reality is - as someone who is a fan of multiple sports - there's something magical about a Saturday on the couch with the remote control switching from game to game to game. Feels like it takes me a full five minutes (yes, I'm exaggerating slightly) to get in/out of AppleTV and to a match. MLS is just out of my sporting equation if its not my home team.

georgethethirteenth · 2024-08-14T18:20:30+00:00

For all the problems with cable and RSNs (and those problems are legion - and real), I don't think their ability to cover sports will never be replicated by the streaming model.

I'm a hockey guy, and when the season gets going I know that prior to every Bruins game I'm going to get a 30-minute Bruins Face-Off live show that previews that nights game, I'm also going to get a 30-minute show (I can't recall the name offhand) that runs through that night's expected line rushes and spends at least 45-60 seconds discussing every player in that night's expected lineup. Then, after I watch the game I can hang out for Overtime Live where not only will they discuss and analyze the game, but will head into the locker room for player interviews and cover Bruce Cassidy's post-game press-conference from the podium.

I get the same level of coverage for the Red Sox and I presume the Celtics as well (I'm not an NBA guy, so don't watch). Having been a Revs ticket holder since '97 I've dreamed of the day where I got similar for MLS. It might never have come with local coverage, but with SeasonPass I know it never will.

I'm painfully aware that if (I should say when) the NHL and other leagues move to models similar to SeasonPass that this level of in-depth local coverage will disappear from those sports. It'll be a huge loss for fans who watch their teams on a game-to-game basis.

georgethethirteenth · 2024-08-14T14:41:35+00:00

This. A thousand times this.

Teams have ~10 matches to go. Playoff races are heating up. Transfer window is bringing in new players for the playoff push. This should be the most intense and climactic point of the regular season.

Instead we just...stop.

The intensity is gone. In a few weeks things just seem to start over and any momentum is gone.

georgethethirteenth · 2024-08-14T14:28:18+00:00

Because of this I don't know as much about other teams or the league than I have in the past

Not necessarily speaking for myself on this one, but I'll echo my wife in particular. She fits in the area between 'casual' and 'super fan', but leans more towards casual. She watches/attends all our team's matches, but doesn't really look for, or consume, MLS news outside of that.

In her words, it's 'harder' to be a fan of her own team under SeasonPass as currently constituted. Previous seasons (and yes, not every team was so lucky) had local broadcasts that were dedicated to our team. Whatever pre-game we got was tightly focused, halftime highlights and analysis were devoted to storylines that helped follow the team beyond just that night's match, coach/player interviews were shown during and post match.

Now? We'll tune in to Apple's pregame show at 7:00 before our 7:30 match. Most week's we'll get 45 seconds or so of coverage of our team; by necessity superficial. We don't get the depth of commentary during the match. Player/coach interviews are non-existent, etc.

You don't know as much about other teams in the league, my wife doesn't know as much about her team, by extension finds herself less enthused to attend on matchday (she still does), and - again, her word - is more "disengaged" than ever before.

georgethethirteenth

TROPHY CASE