The Rocky Mountain Cup will stay in Colorado for another year after a valuable Rapids win over Real Salt Lake in front of a fired-up crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night.
Nicolas Hernandez nodded home his team leading seventh goal of the year to give the Rapids its second taste of the regional hardware -- and more importantly, sole possession of the fourth playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"It felt great for two things -- we got ahead of them in the conference and we got to take the cup with us back home," said Rapids goalkeeper Joe Cannon.
As head coach Fernando Clavijo said, it's always good to bring home a trophy.
Even more than the trophy, players like Cannon and Thiago Martins are excited about the passion and rivalry the regional competition is creating.
"I think these fans are really good," said Cannon. "They're really into the match and they make the atmosphere so great. Coming here and trying to create this rivalry is something that is not only good for the two teams but it's good for the league in general. I think this rivalry is going to get a lot bigger with time."
Martins agreed with his teammate. "Salt Lake is our rival," he said. "It's a healthy rivalry. It's good for the fans to get into the game and we need more of that. We need more of that in MLS and soccer in the U.S. -- the spirit of rivals. It would bring more people into the stands."
The rivalry might have taken an ugly turn, however. After the game, Rapids defender Pablo Mastroeni celebrated the victory with gestures to the crowd -- and was engaged in an arguing match with RSL investor/operator Dave Checketts.
After the match, Checketts referred to the behavior of the Rapids players as "appalling", and said in a statement, "I am both outraged and embarrassed that players in this league -- especially a World Cup star like Pablo Mastroeni -- would engage in obscene behavior towards our fans, and am dismayed that no one from the Colorado organization was present tonight to discourage such boorish behavior."
Getting more fans into games and winning regional competitions is always positive for a team, but Clavijo added a dose of perspective on the evening.
"We have to be realistic, it's just another game," said Clavijo. "Seven more games to go, I don't expect it to get any easier than it was tonight. Any time you get three points like this and distance yourself from someone else fighting for a playoff spot, it's good."
Cannon would like for the result to be a springboard that will propel Colorado right into the MLS Cup Playoffs and beyond.
"I'm hoping for this team that it will be a nice turning point and at least give us something to build on for the final seven games," said Cannon.
Even though the Rapids are currently sitting in a playoff spot, Martins knows the race in the Western Conference is far from over.
"Our West Conference right now, everybody is really tight," said Martins. "Every game means a lot. It doesn't matter what happens in the past, it matters what happens now on.
"Salt Lake loses 6-0 to New York and came back and won 1-0 to L.A. and everything was fine. They're already back in the table."
Scott McAllister is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
