It is time for your old pal Tino to let the New Eng-er-land Revolution finally win an MLS Cup championship.
Remember the curse that the Boston Red Sox finally broke a few years back, the Curse of the Bambino, for trading Babe Ruth?
Unbeknownst to most people, the Revolution have been suffering under the Curse of the Tino since they began playing in 1996.
Let me explain.
First, I take you back to 1993, the year I fell in love with soccer fans in the New England area. From the fall of 1993 through that wonderful summer of 1994, I worked for the FIFA World Cup in Boston.
From the entire year of run-up events to that magical summer in Foxborough, the fans in that area were incredible, full of passion and zest for the game from Café Paradiso in the North End all the way out to 'burbs.
Not long after the World Cup, I would leave the States for a bit to spend some time working for the greatest football club the world has ever seen: Crystal Palace in southeast London.
After my time at Palace, I applied for a job to help start up the Revolution when I was moving back to Boston.
After going through the interview process and everything, one day I went into a local convenience store and picked up The Boston Globe.
There in the sports section, our own Frank Dell'Apa had written that the job I had wanted had gone to someone else. That's how I found out.
And being the mature man I have always been, that's when I threw all those wonderful New England soccer fans under the "T" and put a curse on the Revolution.
The curse took a while to really sink in, heck it was my first curse, what do you want from me? For instance, Nicola Caricola's own goal back on April 21 of 1996 did give the Revs that first win over the MetroStars at The Swamp.
But my curse grew like a fine wine, and is still in place to this day, as evidenced by the Revs majestic 0-3 record in MLS Cup title matches.
But all of that is about to change.
I am finally ready to let the Revs lift the MLS Cup.
So why am I finally ready to lift a 12-year-old curse?
I mean, the Boston sports fans are not exactly going through a rough patch right now.
The Red Sox are now the Yankees.
The Celtics have taken my beloved Kevin Garnett from the Timberwolves and if they can stay healthy, will be a legit contender this year in the East.
And the Patriots may lie, cheat and steal (signals) more than the Chicago Fire, but they are looking pretty good for a return trip to the Super Bowl.
But the Revs fans have been here before. Three times. As that whispering voice said in "Field of Dreams," it is time to "ease their pain."
Am I getting soft in my old age? Yeah, probably.
Is it because the Queen of the Palace is with child once again and I am feeling a bit nostalgic? Yeah, probably.
Is it because Taylor Twellman despite scoring like 473 goals in MLS throughout his career still could be one of the most underrated players ever in the league? Works for me.
But this is more for the long-suffering fans, the ones who are still ticked my curse made the Revs pick Jim St. Andre as an allocation player.
The ones I caused all these years of cruel results and oh-so-close moments.
Sorry about last year, boys and girls, that was just mean.
Now this is no knock on the great fans down in Houston, who have had that place rocking, especially the last couple matches.
This is about history. This is about an old curse that needs to go the way of Astroturf fields and short corner kicks.
This is about growing up.
This is about rekindling a love affair with the great soccer fans in New England.
C'mon you Revs.
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
