UHAC Futsal Second Season Preview
Posted by: kmikeym | From: January 5, 2007
Okay, so my estimate of our performance was way off for our first season. I can admit when I am wrong, and it turns out the teams are better than I anticipated. We ended our inaugural season with only a single win and the bottom of our division. Additionally I only posted a single video of the games.
But this is season two! We now have a little experience under our belts and the roster is unchanged from last season. As we build team chemistry and the specific skills of futsal we will become a force to be reckoned with. And of course, we now have rivals.
Last season when we played the Dudes FC we anticipated a win, and we lost. Right then we decided they would be our rivals. It helped that they went to the same place to get a post-game drink, meaning we could continue the trash talk and rivalry off the pitch. When the team was still forming we had attempted to recruit Adrian Chen (as the team owner I was thinking we could market an athletic aftershave with him on the team: "Smells Like Action, Smells Like Chen" CHEN, a new fragrance by UrbanHonking) but he was still tied to his Albina Going FC contract. As a new team we couldn't afford to buy him out and some not so pleasant words were exchanged with the AGFC manager, Zach Dundas.
Well, last season up in Division 2, the AGFC had a worse time than we did, winning not a single match. While losing Division 2 still ranks them higher than us losing Division 3, it does mean that AGFC, AKA The Unicorns, are now in the same league as we are, and therefore they are also our bitter rivals. With two teams as rivals it seems only fitting that we should honor the mutual dislike and create the Rivals Cup.
This coming Sunday marks the first time the Rivals Cup will be issued. The Albina Going FC offered the following statement via press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Unicorns Thirst for Pegasus Blood.
Going Gaffer Says "It's All Kicking Off" As Club Braces for
Cup-Tie Turmoil Against UrHo Athletic.
PORTLAND, OREGON -- The Albina Going Football Club begins its Winter campaign this Sunday in dramatic fashion: with its first-ever cup-tie. The Mighty Unicorns face new-minted Third Division foes UrbanHonking Athletic Club in the inaugural match of the Rivals Cup, a new independent competition that promises to become something of a connoisseurs' delight as it unfolds alongside Portland Futsal's official league table.
"Athletic challenged us in the Rivals Cup and then developed what promises to be a fascinating format," said Albina Going manager Zach Dundas from his cigar-smoke-shrouded office at the club's Gothic headquarters building in North Portland. "All credit to them. That said, we've already cleared a spot on the mantel for the little cuss."
The Rivals Cup format was unveiled Thursday by UrbanHonking AC chairman Mike Merrill, a notorious Svengali figure in Portland sporting circle known to sport a replica kit with giant dollar signs in the place of jersey numbers. The winner of Sunday's non-league match between the two popular clubs will be the initial cup-holders; thereafter, league points among three clubs--AGFC, UrbanHonking and mystery package Dudes FC--will determine who takes the trophy at the end of the futsal season.
Albina Going expects a bumper squad for Sunday's match, with almost all key players returned to the training ground after the holiday close-season. "We're looking to limber up for the Third Division, of course," Dundas said. "Speaking strictly for myself, I know I consumed a bit too much of my Gran's pie over Christmas, and I'm eager to get back out on the pitch."
Other Going players to watch for include Michael Day--who promised to "bring my finishing boots" to this momentous match--and Dutch-American midfield Peter Noordijk, who is said to be particularly eager to rectify his ancestral homeland's reputation as a nation that always bottles it when hardware's on the line.
Going's mercurial chairman, Boris "The Bulldozer" Karamatzov, is known to have taken a keen interest in the outcome of Sunday's fixture. In fact, it was rumoured at press time that the Siberian tungsten billionaire might charter a private turbo-helicopter to attend the match in person.
"The Chairman's never been out to the ground itself," Dundas remarked, though he refused to confirm Karamatzov's plans. "He's got a bloody great flat-screen in his den, and prefers to watch matches there in the company of select female friends."
Anticipation among supporters is understandably fervid. UrbanHonking's support is known to come out of the woodwork for the big occasions, while the Unicorn Army, in the words of one prominent supporter, has been "sharpening its horns."
#
THE RIVALS CUP :: INAUGURAL MATCH
ALBINA GOING FC V. URBANHONKING AC
7 pm Sunday, 7 January // Portland Futsal // FREE.
You better wait 'til you see how our international players do...you may change your tune.
Posted by: Zach at January 5, 2007 4:48 PM
John, all I'm going to say is:
the transfer window opened on January 1st.
Posted by: wise at January 6, 2007 11:11 AM
Post a comment:
We really need to sign some foreigners Mike.
Posted by: J_John at January 5, 2007 3:36 PM