Season 10 In The Abyss
If you look up after you walk out of that liquor store somewhere on route 82 on the outskirts of Union, N.J. -the birthplace of former Chicago White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice, he of the matinee-idol good looks-you will notice the Robert Crumb landscape of power lines and hanging, cylindrical transformers.
Also noticed are the $4.99 non-ironic six-packs of Schaefer and Busch beer in cans, a lot of which is needed if the evening's New Jersey agenda includes taking in a MetroStars professional soccer game. The MLS might be the only pro circuit in these United States in which a general manager of a team visits the franchise's long-standing fan club in the parking lot and gives them free beer.
That is what Nick Sakiewicz, the GM of the MetroStars, did last Friday night in section 16A of the ever-popular parking lot at Giants Stadium.
Sakiewicz's gesture may have redefined fan relations in the transient glossary of sports marketing. Appropriately, Nick was officially co-hosting a "Career in Sports Night" seminar during the pre-game hours inside Giants Stadium's airport-loungey and brilliantly named Stadium Club.
Though long overdue, the "free beer" attention from the MetroStars front office surely makes standing among the disjointed 9692 attending the MetroStars vs. Chicago Fire match less painful than usual. The rain held off, yes, and the star, Frenchman Youri Djorkaeff, was indeed on the field wearing the red-and-black jersey of the local side, and the new MetroGirls spirit squad did make an appearance running up the stairs of section 101. So life should have been good in Metro-Land. Then the game started. Obscurity mixed with mediocrity to create a mockery of a sham of a lie.
The lackluster 1-0 loss to Chicago hardly bears description, though Djorkaeff did seem to energize some of the limited action near the enemy goal. Still, it was another horrible performance by the MetroStars, the kind that brings about an unfashionable self-loathing among the diehards who remember the origin year of 1996 and find the "Season 10" MLS promotional items to be somewhat depressing.
There are no known remedies for getting stuck in TriBeCa Film Festival traffic trying to get to the Holland Tunnel, which leads to the Meadowlands and bad soccer. There are only post-game salves like catching a rock 'n' roll act called Red Elvises at Lillie's bar in Red Hook. They were supposed to be playing in Boston. The gimmicky demeanor of the Red Elvises was a baffling mix. They could be laughing with you or at you.
On this particular Friday night, if you had a MetroStars ticket stub in your pocket, it was probably the latter.
-Spike Vrusho