Aside from the obvious downer at the end, I still have largely positive feelings about the season. There are very real concerns about the league's love for Forge, the ineptitude of the CSA, the gong show of the first leg and the fallout afterwards, the league format, etc. But all of that being said, I think that Saturday's game was just a loss - straight up. 90 minutes to score, at home, and we couldn't get it done. I don't even think that it was a clear cut missed penalty call that led to the Forge breakaway. The amount of Cavalry chances that were squandered was really the story of the game. The ref wasn't perfect, Forge parked the bus, their keeper is a time-wasting (insert vulgarity here), but there were so many chances that didn't get buried.
Maybe I'm just an optimist, but I think that this was a great first year for the club and I think that it can be built on. We have good owners who are willing to adapt, a great little venue, outstanding support, and the list goes on. I'm not trying to gloss over the obvious issues that we've all been talking about, but on balance, I feel good about where soccer is in this city.
Of course, I could have done without a lot of the shenanigans and the Forge hard-on, but there is no denying that it has sparked a great rivalry and we now have a number of very good reasons to despise a club and players that, a few months ago, we didn't even know about. I hate them more than the Oilers.
I still won't be able to commit to a season ticket next year, but I'm fully on board and will get to at least as many games as I did this year, and I hope to improve on that. I like the game day experience and I have to keep reminding myself that this didn't even exist a few months ago - it feels like it has been around for so much longer.
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