48 hours later and it still hurts; the nature of support of our players

Right, well, nearly 48 hours later and we're still all hurting, but I must say, I'm in a markedly better mood than I was immediately following that final whistle. I mean, it's not like that's a mean feat, by any means, but I'm not metaphorically (or literally) writhing around in agony now, and I won't complain about that.

And after last night's debacle in Portland — wherein amateur side Cal FC defeated the Timbers by a 1-0 scoreline after extra time, with the lone goal scored by former Real Salt Lake striker (four game wonder kid or, well, something like that) Artur Aghasyan — well, it's reassuring, though perhaps for the wrong reason.

That doesn't solve our problem, though, and I won't pretend it does. Delighting in the suffering of others is good and all, but it doesn't lessen the suffering we've experienced. Portland's loss is in no way our gain.

But is it some damning indictment of Major League Soccer? Hardly. Perhaps it speaks more to the reputation of the Open Cup. Perhaps, instead, it speaks more to the state of soccer in the country, though I'm not so sure about that one. After all, this Cal FC side — amateur though they are — is composed of players who, by and large, have played professionally. Most, it seems, are only one or two years removed from that.

Nor is it some reason to shout that we need promotion and relegation. Cup knockouts by smaller sides happen everywhere, and sometimes — I've no specific numbers here or I'd say often — those sides aren't promoted to a higher league at the end of their season. Why these shouts for promotion and relegation have come into play, I'm not quite sure. There are perhaps good reasons to argue for such a seismic shift in American soccer, but this isn't one of them.

What is there to say about our side right now? We've been doing reasonably well in the league, despite our tendency to leave things very late. We can hope that that Open Cup performance was a bit of a one off — as fans, mind — but clearly something is amiss. Is it a motivational issue? Perhaps. Confidence? Maybe. Overconfidence? By some accounts. But there is some problem, and while we can stress about it as supporters, it won't do much good.

Our role as supporters — and I don't mean this lightly — is to support. Not only is there little purpose to actively berating our own players at matches (in other venues, I have no dispute — critical perspective is essential to rational support). For 90 minutes or, sometimes, 120 minutes, we should be supporting our side. Is it frustrating sometimes? Certainly. But you know, booing your own players solves nothing. It doesn't suddenly make goalkeepers confident, and it certainly doesn't make strikers score goals.

Perhaps this is more controversial than I realize. I won't deny that everyone has the right to shout at their own players. That's not at issue. Rights are separate from roles. But I honestly think the least productive thing you can do at a match is to berate your own players. I care not a lick if they're performing badly or not. They need our support — if just to pick them up, or to lift them over hurdles, to convince them that they can cut it.

At any rate, enough for today. Tomorrow, I'll ease back into positivity. Or positivism, but that would be a surprise on philosophical levels.

'Til tomorrow.