Round Here: NYCFC and DC United draw in New York’s Home Opener
Five feels important. Five senses help us navigate the universe. Beethoven’s fifth symphony was etched into goldand sent to the stars. Shiva has five faces, Jesus had five wounds, Islam has five pillars and the Torah has five books. There’s the Jackson five, the Furious Five and the MC5. Michigan State had the Fab Five and you get five for fighting in hockey. Five feels important.
So on March 10th, I drove up to the Bronx to watch home opener number five for New York City FC. I had not missed an NYCFC home opener since the team first took the pitch. From Sebastian Velazquez to Federico Bravo to John Stertzerto Jo Inge Berget to today. I even joked with Tommy McNamara last year about how much seniority he and I had over everyone in the locker room except David Villa.
And now, of course, Villa’s gone to Japan, and Tommy’s in Houston. And I myself had not been to the stadium in nearly a year, watching from a distance as Patrick Viera said au revoir, as Domenec Torrent said hola, as players came and went, and as the team searched for its new identity.
But now I was back. Me and 24,000 of my closest friends, enduring the arctic cold and wind, watching my fingers turn blue as I tried to type notes about the match, as I thought just how hard that pitch must feel, and how almost inconceivable it is that warmer days are just around the corner. And here’s what I learned.
Better Run Like the Wind
NYCFC’s home opener was my first opportunity to see Alexandru Mitriță in the flesh, as it were, and okay, wow.He has pace, he has a terrific first step and he has the kind of technical skill on the ball that looks computer-generated. The fact that the ball wasn’t quite curling for him today, thus sending some of his shots wide, is no reason to panic. They will. And when his timing with his teammates improves, as it usually does over the course of a season, I expect he will have the kind of impact that, if left un-marked, will do a lot of damage to opposing defenses this season. And if opposing teams do mark him, will open up scoring opportunities for players like Valentin Castellanos, Jesus Medina, Anton Tinnerholm, and who ever else Dome Torrent has his eye on.
