We weren't exactly planning on a trip down to DC this weekend, but with the conditions from Sandy taking their toll on game ops are Red Bull Arena, we're here.
To borrow a favored phrase from pretty much all MLS head coaches at one point or another: It is what it is. And it ain't that bad. It's freezing, but we have no complaints.
Neither, it seems, do the two sides contesting tomorrow's match. We arrived early enough to catch the end of D.C.'s training which, while closed off to public and press alike, still featured plenty of levity during the team's cooldown period and subsequent media session.
They might not admit it, but this is a confident group facing New York at home, having put it to their Atlantic Cup rivals here once already this season. And even though it will be hosting a match in November weather on just three days notice, word is that RFK is inching closer and closer to max capacity.DCU assistant Josh Wolff remarked that he worries for some of his kid's soccer-playing friends who's parents haven't finalized their tickets yet.
Sell-out on Saturday or not, many will no doubt be in attendance thanks to the club's marketing push this fall. It's obviously working.
By early afternoon the temperature had dropped considerably (It was really cold) and a big ol' bus arrived to drop off 30-odd dudes in navy adidas gear outside the D.C. United training ground.
As we've come to find out over time, the Red Bulls have a certain someone who revels in training ground shenanigans, and today was no different: Thierry Henry was on song.
Joking and jabbing, poking and prodding, no one was safe. For someone who's portrayed as quite closed-off away from the pitch and a cold-blooded killer on it, it was a refreshing sight.
So after a week of worry, everything is ready for tomorrow. The players are ready to get going, you can see it. The venue switch might be gnawing at the minds of a few in each respective camp, but outwardly everyone seems to share the same attitude.
It is what it is. And it ain't that bad.
