A Few Thoughts On The Home Opener

Before I forget.

• Marco Pappa had a very good game, for the most part. The assist was obviously a great play, and he seemed involved -- the knock on him has always been that he will completely disappear from matches for long stretches.
• I liked that Patrick Nyarko was taking guys on one-on-one. Didn't always work, but he kept at it. That could be an important addition to his game.
• Sebastian Grazzini has to be an early leader for the most-fouled played in the league, doesn't he?
• Wasn't totally sold on Tornaghi in goal after last week, but he's definitely winning me over.
• Pavel Pardo is playing really, really deep in the midfield, and it's hurting our ability to get forward effectively. I would still rather see a sort of 4-2-3-1 formation with Pardo and Pause paired up in front of the backline.
• The only possible rationale I can think of for the Cory Gibbs yellow card is that he was grabbing the Philadelphia player with his arms, because the leg he stuck in to actually make the play on the ball was a good two or three feet away from making any contact. Similar to the "you got him with the body" explanation/excuse in basketball when there's no contact on the arm. That said, I haven't seen a replay.
• Really disappointed at the new, thematic concession stands at Toyota Park, mostly because they changed the one behind the upper deck that used to have the really good Italian beef sandwiches.
• I actually think Section 8 was somewhat restrained with their visual displays, which I wholeheartedly approve. They did the big "reignite the Fire" bit at the beginning, but other than that, there were actually fewer flags and banners than I expected. Of course, I expected more flags than people. Still sounds a bit more regimented than when I used to drive, but they finally got another real drummer either last year or the year before, which helps quite a bit.