Seconds after Roman Torres\u2019 penalty kick hit the back of the net in\u00a0Ontario, my twitter feed exploded\u00a0with regret. Not for Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Sebastian Giovinco and the rest of the reds. But for NYCFC, who, many were trying to tell me, were the real losers on that night.<\/p>\n
Wait, what?<\/p>\n
Yes. Because had Toronto FC won, had Stefan Frei NOT made that insane save in the second half, had Justin Morrow\u2019s pk dipped just fractions of an inch lower, then NYCFC would have won themselves a birth into the CONCACAF Champions League<\/a>. Six glorious months of footie against teams from Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador and more. All to be played during the regular season starting in August of next year.<\/p>\n NYCFC fans were upset but I think it\u2019s good NYCFC is not in the CCL. And here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n 2017 is the team\u2019s first real opportunity to play a regular core starting XI week in and week out. And\u00a0we have never been able to do for a full season. 2015 was marked by the turnover and volatility that tend to be the watchwords for any expansion franchise. 2016 was a little better, but still, Maxime Chanot and Steven Mendoza didn\u2019t show up until midway through the season. And Patrick Vieira continued to tinker with roles for Jefferson Mena, Ethan White and Khiry Shelton. Having to incorporate resting players because of the additional burden of Champions League when they\u2019re still trying to learn each other\u2019s games feels like a needless additional challenge. And anyway, if you like that kind of thing, Vieira will still need to juggle players for\u00a0World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n In case you haven\u2019t noticed, NYCFC won\u2019t have Frank Lampard in 2017. So not only will someone have to fill his spot in the starting XI, they\u2019ll also have to make up his 12 goals on the scoresheet. No doubt we’ll\u00a0spend the\u00a0off-season arguing about how that\u2019s gonna happen. But however it does, it\u2019s gonna mean guys learning new roles and new strategies. Oh and the side also lost Andoni Iraola who\u2019s defensive complement to Andrea Pirlo and his alternative passing option will also need to be replaced by someone. Maybe someone great \u2013 but certainly someone different. And I\u2019d rather they take advantage of the fact that NYCFC is not in the CCL to learn the team and for the team to learn them without the added burden of 6,000 mile joyrides.<\/p>\n Without sounding like the kind of condescending, self-important jerk that everyone assumes is the default personality of anyone supporting NYCFC (or indeed, born within the five boroughs of the City of New York), NYCFC doesn\u2019t need the international attention as desperately as other teams in the league do. Neither from a marketing perspective nor from a player development one. NYCFC\u2019s friendly in Necaxa this past season \u2013 in which Mexican fans lined up around the block for a meet and greet<\/a> with El Capitan and Il Maestro \u2013 demonstrated the pull of the team abroad. Or at least it\u2019s stars. And similarly, with players like Josh Saunders, Chanot, Frederic Brillant, Ronald Matarrita and Shannon Gomez. They all have experience with their national teams, while Eirik Johannsen and Shelton have played with their nations\u2019 junior sides. The fact that NYCFC is not in the CCL won\u2019t rob these players of international experience. So let someone else get that shot.<\/p>\n Because Dallas won the Open Cup AND finished top of the West, the Colorado Rapids get to play in the CCL (alongside Seattle, the Red Bulls and Toronto). Good for them. Let them do all that crazy traveling. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s exactly what Tim Howard had in mind when he transferred back from Everton. Hell, it may even be one of the reasons why Jermaine Jones is taking his talents to LA \u2013 in order to avoid it. But Rapids fans will enjoy it. And let them, they\u2019ll have shorter flights anyway.<\/p>\n Tell me that as a fan of NYCFC you don\u2019t enjoy any scenario that makes things more difficult for our Red Brothers across the Hudson? Especially when you recall that they are also still in the 2016-2017 edition of the League. S<\/em>o they still have those<\/em> matches to deal with as well. So let them<\/em> make those long flights, Let them <\/em>play those extra matches. Let Jesse Marsch be the one to figure out when he\u2019s gonna rest Sascha Klestjan who will invariably see more National Team duty in 2017. Because NYCFC is\u00a0not in the CCL we can rest our players \u2013 or better yet, let them spend more time on points one and two above.<\/p>\n I mean, I\u2019d love to, and I\u2019ve always wanted to see the pyramids of Mexico, the rainforests of Costa Rica, the um, canal of Panama, and everything else those wonderful qualifying nations of CONCACAF have to offer. But honestly, 2016 was a tough year. And laying out major coin for a bunch of flights to these exotic locales \u2013 no matter how enticing \u2013 is just not in the cards. So the fact that NYCFC is\u00a0not\u00a0in the CCL, from a personal standpoint, just fine.<\/p>\n Of course, if someone wants to subsidize my travel next<\/em> year, hey, I\u2019ve got a passport that\u2019s just itching to be filled up.<\/p>\n\n
For crying out loud, let the team gel.<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
2) For crying out loud, let the team gel, part 2<\/h4>\n
3) We don\u2019t need the attention<\/h4>\n
4) NYCFC\u2019s loss is Colorado\u2019s win.<\/h4>\n
5) RBNY\u2019s win is actually NYCFC\u2019s win<\/h4>\n
6) 2017 is really not a good time for me to do all that traveling.<\/h4>\n