A beautiful summer night with a loud and boisterous crowd awaiting the introduction of the man of the hour, Thierry Henry. The players lined up for pre-game introductions, Tottenham on one side, the NY Red Bulls on the other. The boos rained down as the Tottenham players were introduced.
Then came the Red Bull intros, and the players received their customary applause. The announcer ran through the starting lineup with his usual enthusiasm…”at Forward #10…Macooooooumba Kaaaaandji”…eventually he reached “Midfielder #33 Carl Robinson…AND MAKING HIS NEW YORK RED BULL DEBUT…” and you could hardly hear a word the announcer was saying after that, but through the deafening roar you could just barely make out…”AT FORWARD…#14…THIERRYYYY HEEEENRYYYY!”
In following this team for 15 years, I have only heard one instance of the crowd being louder than they were for Henry’s introduction, and that was in the 26th minute when Henry scored his first ever goal as a NY Red Bull, giving them a 1-0 lead over English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspurs.
But, as expected, Henry was subbed out at halftime, and being that these are the Red Bulls, inevitably they would find a way to ruin the festivities. Juan Pablo Angel, nursing an injury, was left out of the lineup…and with Henry now a spectator on the bench…the remaining Red Bulls, while outplaying Tottenham for most (if not all) of the game, were unable to take advantage of their opportunities. And, as customary when dominating a game without scoring, defensive errors cost them the game. Both, errors can be attributed to brainfarts by backup (NOTE “Backup”) goalkeeper, Greg Sutton.
So, I say let’s take up a collection and get these guys some Viagra, because without Angel and Henry, they are just shooting blanks!
Peace
G
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