Historically, it was a short offseason.

by Matt Bell

With the Rapids making the playoffs for the first time in three years—the Semis for the first time in a decade—towards a cup creeping closer and closer to Christmas, it has been the shortest off-season in club history.

But you can’t tell the supporters that.  For the die-hard fans the winter has been as long and as dark as any one past.  Subsisting on zero-dark thirty broadcasts of matches played an ocean away in…whatever country they favor, is better than nothing.  But it’s hardly a substitute for the live show.

For the supporters, Saturday came as a beacon of spring. Of new life. A new season of Rapids soccer. And with it the resumption of a club renaissance. 

2016 saw record setting attendance and unprecedented talent acquisition showing the fans that the Front Office is finally taking this team as seriously as they do.  The addition of Golden Boot winner Shkelzen Gashi, Micheal Azira and US Men’s legends Tim Howard and Jermaine Jones were an iron keep atop the solid defensive foundation built in 2015. 

There was reason for optimism even before that first kick-off.  After a tumultuous start to his coaching career and a sophomore year spent rebuilding the organization both on and off the pitch, Mastroeni starts his fourth year at the helm of the club. 

The changes have been slow. Painfully so for most, but they’re paying dividends.  After two years hovering almost at the bottom, our newly bolstered side scrapped their way to almost the top of Major League Soccer leaving the expectations of pundits across the continent in their wake.

This offseason the Rapids did exactly what the fans hoped they would do: Focused on offense. New talent from at home and abroad are poised to solve our goal scoring problems while an in-tact defense should stymie any attacks against us.  If we have one collective wish this season it’s to leave the scrapping behind and win some matches by a comfortable margin.

Saturday came at last and though we lacked a few starters, confidence was high.

The tailgate happened, as it always does. And the sun shone, as it sometimes does. The Voice of C38 had a live interview, as it always will.  Old friends got re-acquainted and new friends, lured by the success of last season, became part of a bigger family of supporters. 

 

We talked about the competition and the front loaded home schedule (only 5 home games after July 4^th!?).  We compared notes on trades and predictions on everything from player health to match results to MLS Cup chances.

We picked up right where we left off, just like it had been the shortest off-season in club history.

Then the Rapids played, and won. They picked up right where they left off, just like there hadn’t been an off-season at all.