As many of you already know, I am a Chicago Cubs fan. I know you may think this is a very sad thing to admit. Especially here in the New York area with so many fans of a team (you know who you are) who need more then their own set of fingers and toes to count all your Championships.

My usual first thought in April is “will this be the year?”. The typical year, however, follows one of two scenarios. One is that we start out really strong and then die out about two thirds of the way through the season winding up somewhere near (or at) the bottom of the Central Division. The other scenario is that we chug along all season with moments of brilliance and then, usually by the skin of our teeth, we make it to the playoffs. But, alas, the playoffs are a time to see the curse in full action once again and we go home without any type of trophy at all. Sound familiar?

At the end of the season for the Cubs this year (which of course was when we were sent home in the first round of playoffs), there was an article on the teams website titled “What it means to be a Cubs fan”. I read the article even though I know from lifelong experience exactly what it means to be a Cubs fan. But as I read, I found some parallels with what it means to be a Red Bulls fan.

“It means that you always have hope, and that your dreams will come true if you keep believing, “This was the start of the article. Certainly this is true for those of us who were MetroStars fans and now cheer for the Red Bulls. It is what we must do. At times it seems that is all we have is hope. After we blow yet another playoff opportunity, we go home, dust ourselves off and start dreaming about next year. The end of this season and the off season look to be the usual roller coaster ride and challenge our ability to stay the course. First we lose our coach, “the coach”, the one we really thought would bring the winning combination. Who will our leader be now? We wait………. Then we lose our own “Heart of the Bull” winner and fan favorite Joe Vide. And we say goodbye to Cletus once again – he must feel like he is attached to a New York rubber band!!! Who will leave us next?

“That’s OK, because we stay with our team whether they win or lose. There’s a lot of people that bail on other teams.” This is what it means to stay behind a team known as the Lovable Losers. I have not seen my team in a World Series in my entire 43 years. My father, 84, has only seen them there once – and they lost. It makes it seem easy to cheer for the Red Bulls – 12 years is really not that long!!! Soon we will focus on the new players the new coach will start to bring in. We will start to get excited again. We will look forward to the new season and all it could mean to us. We will hope and dream and make plans around the fact that we WILL be in the MLS Cup this year.

The one place where I could not draw any parallels was in the wonderful comments about seeing a game at Wrigley Field. For anyone who has been there for a game, you know how truly special the “Friendly Confines” are. If you have never been there, it is worth the drive to Chicago!!! We Red Bull fans have to look at yet another year in Giants Stadium. But, eventually, we will be in our very own park. A place where we can win a Championship and store the trophies that we will win. A place where we can start a new chapter in our teams history. A place where can hope that next year will be ANOTHER great season.

But, until then we just hope and hold the faith and dream.

We love you Red Bulls – we do.

Even when it seems nearly impossible…………..

- MamaBull

Well, it is THAT time of year, again … Roster changes, coaching changes, league changes . . .  does anything stay the same anymore?!!  At least I think I have a been a good fan, so hopefully some of my wishes below will come true (in no particular order):

Win an MLS Cup before the first match in Red Bull Park: Lofty? Perhaps. Although, I did hear Marc de Grandpre specifically say a while back that this was one of his priorities for the club. It is anyone’s guess when this inaugural match will be, especially with all the “unexpected delays” and negotiations between AEG and Red Bull.  However, now that the Red Bull organization has sole ownership of the project, maybe it will finally pick up momentum again. Besides, of all the things I cannot stand about Giants Stadium, an MLS Cup would wash all that misery away for me.

Keep Juan Carlos Osorio for more than one season: I can only chuckle at the shuffling of coaches since I have been a season-ticket holder (2001). Although clearly, it is NOT a laughing matter. I am pleased with this decision by the Red Bull Organization; notwithstanding coach Osorio’s “rise to fame” during the 2007 Chicago Fire season. Coach Osorio seems to personify the fire, the passion of The Beautiful Game. Combine that with his strategic and tactical expertise, I am banking on a very different Red Bull side for 2008.

A healthy David Beckham: One can speculate ad nauseum, but in the grand scheme of things, Becks is GREAT for MLS. Even when he was not 100%, he still entertained, he still draws crowds. With ESPN slowly getting on the MLS bandwagon (and I mean SLOWLY), why not give the media a focal figure. Not to slight the many other talented MLS athletes, but I do not think any have the resume that David has. Not a criticism, but an observation, which apparently is shared by many MLS/SUM executives. While I look forward to watching a healthy Beckham in 2008, NOTHING will come close to the Red Bull/Galaxy thriller in front of ~ 69,000 fans and non-fans on 8/18/07!!!

An invigorated USMNT: With Olympic qualifying around the corner, and WCQ set to begin in the summer of 2008, I just hope that we can put the expectation/performance mismatch of the 2006 World Cup behind us. We (America) love sport and love the hype, but I would like to see the hype and results be better aligned in 2008, and certainly by 2010. I am still getting over it . . . YES! I am confident we will qualify again! GO STARS AND STRIPES!

Success to our Heart of the Bull Award recipients: A friend of mine once quipped about being careful to whom we give this award to, because it seems to be a “curse.” Indeed, Marvell Wynne (our inaugural recipient in 2006) and Joe Vide (2007’s honoree) were both traded the following season. Personally, I still miss Marvell Wynne, but if I had the choice of playing at Giants Stadium or BMO Field, uhhhh . . . .

As for Joe, he is helping to rebuild the San Jose franchise, and will likely be a key roster selection for them. We will miss him, too. He really impressed us last season. We at RBN take this award seriously. Could it be that coaches around the league are just waiting for RBN Nationals to tell them who on the Red Bull roster provides the best value? Curse? Nawwww! Flattery is more like it!!! We know how to to pick them!

Better weather for the Opening Kick 2008: With our fan club turning THREE (3) in February 2008, most of us are veterans of the Opening Day “crap shoot” (emphasis on “CRAP”) for weather on this day. We just never get a break, but the unique energy and excitement of Opening Day gets us through. The emotional drama also takes away years from my life expectancy. RagingBullNation will be 3 years old soon, but I feel 300 years old NOW!! LOL By By the way, I failed to mention that the first match for 2008 is scheduled for April 5.

More quality Nationals and Diplomats for RagingBullNation: Sounds cliche, but we are nothing without a strong active membership. With Mama Bull overseeing things, I am looking forward to another season with some of the greatest Red Bull fans, and PEOPLE I know! Check out what we have to offer for Nationals and Diplomats!

MERRY CHRISTMAS . . . and Happy New Year!! For those totally offended by my religiously biased, inciting, and abhorrent greeting, 1) get a life; 2) Season’s Greetings! Feel better now? Seriously, from all of us to all of you, have a safe and wonderful holiday season!

If you have been surfing around www.MLSnet.com, www.NewYorkRedBulls.com, www.USSoccer.com, www.FoxSoccer.com, or your soccer site of choice during the off-season, you should know that there are a lot of great developments within MLS and US Soccer, which will all mean positive changes in the long run for our brand of soccer. Here’s to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) through 2008 and beyond!!

YIRB

Chief Toro