Real soccer fans, most of the coaches, most of the players and anyone else involved in the sport of soccer who has at least half a brain would like to see this abomination "relegated to the dustbin of history" (as a certain old revolutionary used to say).
For 3 years fans have done survey after survey, walked out in protest as the CrapShootouts start, held up signs and banners bemoaning this charade, and yet it remains, a mockery of the sport.
Longtime soccer writers rail against it, as do most -- if not all -- of the MLS coaches, but none of them has any power to change this since the lords of MLS have decreed that we must have a "winner."
And even the players -- most of whom detest it as well -- are forced
to go along with it. None other than US (and SJ Clash) striker Eric Wynalda
who was kocked out of action for from 4-6 weeks after being felled in this
ludicrous pantomime of soccer has gone on record opposing it. Waldo was
quoted recently -- apparently before his injury -- in his AOL online journal
about the CrapShootout:
"Unlike every other league, the MLS has to have a decisive winner. They think that this is what the fans want! As far as I can tell, the fans would rather see a tie, than the anti-climactic (sic) shoot-out. In my opinion, the shoot-out makes a mockery of the game...the shoot-out is no way to decide a hard fought battle between two deserving teams."The best anti-shootout argument is the games themselves. San Jose, a poor team by all acounts, started the season at least attempting to do the right thing. They scored 7 goals in their first 3 games, and came from behind to tie the game twice, once on a "golazzo" by ex-Rev Victor Mella. Unfortunately, they also gave up seven goals, and managed to lose the shootout each time. To the "winner at all costs" crowd, look me in the eye and tell me that the Clash deserved zero points for their first three games. Very discouraging for a team that is expected to struggle for every point this year. Can you really blame them for trying to grind out ugly 1:0 wins from now on?
While's it's too late for Waldo to do anything about this right now, it may not be too late for his MLS colleagues.
Who are the only people who have the power to defy MLS gurus and put an end to the CrapShootout? The only people who actually participate in this farce: the players.
What would happen if -- at the end of a drawn match -- the players simply went on strike?
No, not to sit out future games in a traditional labor action. But why couldn't MLS players -- borrowing from the valiant and courageous United Auto Workers during the Great Depression who simply had a "sitdown" strike inside the plants until they could gain victory over their oppressive working conditions -- simply sit down in the center circle after a drawn match and say:
"No Mas!"
What would MLS do? What could they do? Fire the players? They'd have to fire two entire clubs. And if other players from other teams did this, what then? Replace MLS players with A-League callups? I don't think so?
What kind of spectacle would MLS come up with to "entertain" the fans after the draw as the players remained seated in the center circle? A pie throwing contest? Duelling mascots -- with live ammo -- from 20 paces?
What would MLS then do about the scoring system? Give BOTH teams one point? That would be a novel idea! Or would they penalize them by giving both teams zero points?
MLS players may not be well paid compared to their brethren in other professional sports, they may not yet have their own union, but they could strike a blow for dignity, for the purity of the game, for their own health and professional integrity if they stood up for the principles of the sport and refused to participate in any more CrapShootouts!
Think of the press that MLS and the sport of soccer would get! MLS wants the press to pay attention to the league. Well, let the players do the job that MLS media flacks have been unable to do. Who says we can't get the lead story on ESPN's SportsCenter?
SOCCER PLAYERS OF MLS UNITE!
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT THE CHAINS HOLDING DOWN THE MLS 5 SECOND
CRAPSHOOTOUT CLOCK.
LET TIES BE TIES! NO CRAPSHOOTOUTS!
VIVA LA HUELGA CONTRA EL "SHOOTOUT"