The ball was over the sideline. That was clear to at least half of the 21,747 people who jammed Mapfre Stadium on Sunday night. It was pure fact to the millions and millions, in 140 countries, who saw the television replays.
“That ball was out,” Crew SC midfielder Tony Tchani said. “I’d say probably like a yard (out).”
Tchani had a good view. He was right there. So was an assistant referee. So was Portland Timbers right back Alvas Powell, who kicked the ball back in play.
Tchani took control. He was about to pick up the ball to hand it to a teammate for a throw-in when Portland midfielder Darlington Nagbe stepped in, played the ball on up the field and, one pass, one cross and one header later, the Timbers had a 2-0 lead in the seventh minute of the MLS Cup championship game.
“It was a punch in the face,” Crew midfielder Wil Trapp said.
- Michael Arace, Columbus Dispatch
I understand disappointment. I get great expectations being inexorably ground into dust. I’m a Minnesota Vikings fan…so yeah, I know from tricks of fortune and having your heart ripped out.
Being a compassionate soul, I can even relate to Columbus Crew fans whining about bad calls. Yes, Portland’s second goal came after the ball had rolled well out of bounds. Bad luck, horrible call…right? Of course, if I grant Crew fans the right to (justifiably) bitch and moan about that call, they don’t get to ignore the clear handball committed by Michael Parkhurst on the Crew’s goal line. His “hand of God” moment in the second half prevented the Timbers from scoring. Bad luck, bad call…but you don’t get to complain about the call that went against your side while simultaneously ignoring the call that didn’t. Either way, Portland would have had a goal; no amount of self-interested whining and complaining is going to change that.
Tit for tat. The calls balanced out. In the end, the scoreline was a fair reflection of the Timbers out-playing the Crew. It’s not a state secret that MLS officiating sucks donkey balls. Timbers fans could recite chapter and verse the times their side was jobbed by inept officiating this season. EVERY team in the league could provide a catalog of complaints, the majority legitimate. This is the reason I have little sympathy for complaints from Crew fans about the officiating. Yes, Jair Marrufo has proven time and again that he shouldn’t be refereeing beer league games; how he was selected to referee an MLS Cup game defies rational understanding…and yet there he was, “rewarded” with the honor of refereeing the league’s showcase- the MLS Cup.
To Crew fans, I’d only say that I understand your disappointment. Losing a championship game stinks…especially when your goalkeeper takes a mental walk in the park and gives up a cheap goal 27 seconds after kickoff. It’s even worse when your defense goes on holiday in the seventh minute and goes down 2-0 before the popcorn vendors even made it into the cheap seats. Should the assistant referee have raised his flag? Absolutely, but there’s a flip side to that argument: Michael Parkhurst should have been issued a red card for his deliberate handball and a penalty kick awarded to Portland. Parkhurst wasn’t and the Timbers weren’t…and that’s where the legitimacy of complaints from Crew fan ends. Each side got jobbed. It evened out. Your side lost. Sorry, but the Crew didn’t play well enough to win, even with the inept officiating.
Oh, and one other thing that Crew fans could benefit from keeping in mind: Throwing beer cans and other debris at opposing players celebrating a goal is as low class and immature as it is dangerous. Grow up; you just revealed yourselves to be assholes on national television. There’s such a thing as losing with class; you might want to figure out how to do that. That also goes for the Crew fans ESPN showed flipping off the Timbers after the final whistle. Stay classy, y’all….
The Timbers won, and they did it on the road with class and dignity, which is more than could be said for the Crew and their fans. Sometimes things don’t go the way you want; Timbers fans can attest to that. Sunday was our turn for once.
