(W)Revs Wrap, 02.09.07: The Fans' Speak

In an attempt to get my finger still closer to the pulse of the Revs' Nation, I'm making an effort to visit Big Soccer more often. As it happens, I struck lucky on my first visit by finding a thread devoted to kvetching about the offseason stagnation. On message boards, as in life, some people just have a better capacity for putting things bluntly and without a lot of fuss. One poster, who goes under the handle Patsfan1, hit on just about every angle of what has New England Revolution fans feeling anxiously blue about 2007 (I'm quoting him in full and hope he doesn't mind):

"OK so yet another look as of today, with training camp starting soon:

* No shirt sponsor announced
* Unused 2005 Allocation (that trade looks better and better everyday!)
* Unused Dempsey allocation
* No announcement on a DP
* Field turf
* No players signed that actually have professional experience
* Question mark at LM (do we know if have a solid starter?)
* Question mark at RM (Ralston's age)
* Question mark at AM (can Dorman handle that spot every game?)
* Attendance dropping (if we get 1st place in lowest attendance, do you get a trophy for that?)
* Schedule that will be changed a few times after it comes out
* Question mark at striker (other than Twellman)

There's nothing in there with which I disagree. Depressing, yes. In the best case, the Revs starting eleven, which is competitive enough, will remain healthy throughout the season....hey...stop laughing back there. But, realistically, that's a hell of a lot of luck to ride and I don't think anyone assumes this will happen (see: Noonan, Pat - love him to death, but he's got a vicious injury bug chewing on him).

For all the grumbling (13 BigSoccer pages' worth at time of posting), other BigSoccer participants countered with an optimist's thread. But there's a good deal of stretches and barely-veiled sarcasm in there...and it's not nearly as long...so far...I suppose I should give it time to "take off."

To paraphrase Clubber Lang: "My prediction? Pain."

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