United they stand, but United may soon fall

Last night, after blogging briefly re: hockey, marathoning, and NYC chefs-turned-cynical scribes, I headed to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to watch the hometown XI, DC United, take on Jolt Cola New Jersey, er, Red Bull New York in the second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals; United had taken the first contest by virtue of a lone goal by (likely MLS MVP) Christian Gomez. The fans were 100% ready for a renewal of the longtime rivalry, but the local boys played - and were coached - absolutely horrendously for the first 85 minutes. If it weren't for another late Gomez strike, the two sides would likely have gone into extra time and, possibly, penalty kicks, which, in my opinion, is less than optimal for settling who advances and who doesn't, but I suppose it's better than having the two teams just keep playing until one collapses enough for the other to score a cheapie. When the goal went in, the crowd of 21,455 seemed to rise as a giant, thunderous, black monolith.

All in all, it was a good match, with DC advancing by the skin of their teeth, 2-1 on aggregate. Even if they make it past New England next Sunday and into MLS Cup 2007 (which is far from a likelihood), I think Houston (who I can't really see losing to Colorado in the Western final, but who caved in to the scourge of political correctness before their first season post-San Jose began) is the class of the league and will beat United or the Revs without much difficulty.