Goodbye Donovan

Czar Jake · 11-04-2004, 06:31 PM

Well according to the Quakes boards of a certain other forum website, Landon will be rejoining Bayer this weekend. I guess there is upside and downside to this, but it will be tough for me to get used to. I'm not a Quakes fan but who can deny Donovan is one of the most exciting (if not the most) players in the league. Maybe he'll be back one day. In the meantime he'll always be around for USMNT stuff. Thoughts?

montgjules · 11-04-2004, 07:53 PM

That is unfortunate for the Earthquakes (not that I care about them as a team too much...) and for the league as a whole. He had good name and face recognition, which is good for soccer here in the U.S. Good thing we still have Freddy to make headlines occasionally.

Neil · 11-04-2004, 10:10 PM

This seems bad for the league, but I believe there's a young American kid out there playing soccer in a park that is going to change the face of U.S. soccer. We have amazing athletes in just about every sport in the world. The U.S. kicks ass in everything we do, it's only a matter of time for soccer.

SoccerPrime · 11-05-2004, 05:44 AM

Bad for MLS, bad for Quakes, great for Donovan, great for USMNT.

I am a huge Landon fan and I will miss him. With him, the Quakes were easily my former favorite team. Is Quake Nation in turmoil this week or what?

And Freddy is no replacement for Landon. No way.

montgjules · 11-05-2004, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoccerPrime

Bad for MLS, bad for Quakes, great for Donovan, great for USMNT.

I am a huge Landon fan and I will miss him. With him, the Quakes were easily my former favorite team. Is Quake Nation in turmoil this week or what?

And Freddy is no replacement for Landon. No way.

I just meant that Freddy still brings press attention to the sport. He's a sort of celebrity-athlete, even more so than Landon.

clarette · 11-05-2004, 08:35 AM

I'd be surprised if he stayed over there long-term, to be honest. Every time he talks about Germany, he looks/sounds like he's got six months to live or something.

SoccerPrime · 11-05-2004, 08:57 AM

I don't think he likes Europe because of his previous experience. But if he is playing, I am sure he will be happy. Did anyone watch the Leuvenkasen vs. Madrid CL match? Bayer L is awesome. Landon is lucky to be playing for them.

I look for Donavon to return to MLS in about 4-5 years.

Jim Umber · 11-10-2004, 07:15 AM

🙁 Yeah, that's too bad. He's been one of my favorites, too.

:D But now we're gonna have some favorites of our own! Yeah man! I can hardly wait!

Czar Jake · 11-10-2004, 02:06 PM

Plus from what it sounded like, Donovan's eventual return to MLS could be to Salt Lake! Fitz-Gerald named him specifically as someone who had "high praise" for Coach Ellinger. He also mentioned Adu, Beasley, and Petke by name.

montgjules · 11-12-2004, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montgjules

I just meant that Freddy still brings press attention to the sport. He's a sort of celebrity-athlete, even more so than Landon.

I have to start by saying, "No, I don't watch daytime television." But I was feeling sick today, lying on the couch in a stupor, flipping through my limited number of channels. My eye was caught by Ellen DeGeneres announcing that "coming up next" would be Freddy Adu.

That kid really is dynamic. He was comfortable, funny, happy, and an all-around great plug for soccer. He brought Ellen a jersey that had the MLS logo on the front and "Ellen D." on the back with the number 9. Even if some people may not be happy about him being the highest paid MLS player, he is worth every cent in publicity. How else could the MLS logo get flashed across a TV show like that?

The also showed some brief shots of MLS in action, mentioned the MLS Cup on Sunday, and set up a big net for Freddy to shoot into. The poor guy they set up as "goalkeeper" just stood there looking stunned as Freddy shot the ball around playfully.

This kind of post may not appeal to some, but I'm just happy to see soccer being mentioned in mainstream environments.