The Good, the Bad, and the, um, Chris Issacs….

By: Anne | May 22nd, 2007

Given the choice, most people would probably rather start off with the good news. Or, if they can take it, the bad. But let me start off with a bit of an introduction.

I’m Anne, and this is the California Victory blog. Victory is a new USL team here in San Francisco. They are owned by businessman Dmitry Piterman, who also owns Deportivo Alaves, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. From time to time this blog may have an update or two on Alaves.

The Victory has players of all different experiences, from MLS to Mexico to European stints in Belgium and Denmark. Most Victory players have ties to California, whether from high school, college, or other leagues. Hopefully we will be able to get a couple of interviews with a few players.

On to the- well - bad news. Unfortunately the Victory is off to a bit of a rough start. They won a Cinco de Mayo exhibition game against Mexico Club Nexaca 1-0, but have since lost their following two (home) games. Badly. 3-1 to the Rochester Raging Rhinos, and, um, 3-1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

But here is the good news. The Victory have only been together for a few months, while many of the other teams have been together for a few seasons. Some very good talent has started to emerge over the past few games, including midfielder Ricardo Sanchez, midfielder Omar Aguayo, forward Yuri Morales and many more.

More good news is that orphaned Bay Area (read: Earthquakes) fans are happy once again to be able to attend live games. All levels of fans, from high school, college, etc… are happy to have a team to support, even if Kezar Stadium in Golden Gate Park can be a tad chilly. Even the local Arsenal Army from the Mad Dog in the Fog and Kezar Pub have traded in an evening of yelling at the TV to an evening of yelling at the, uh, Vancouver Sh*tecr*ps.

And there is, of course, the “1906″ Victory supporters club, several of whom were featuring hand-knit blue and white scarves at last weeks game. How awesome is that?!

So that leaves us with, er, Chris Issacs. Honestly, I love me some local SF Chris Issacs just as much as the next person. But I was a little confused at the selection of “San Francisco Days” to play during halftime. I’m all for the happiness, but is that the message we want to send to our opponents. What about 2Pac’s “California Love” next time?

Ok, ok, maybe that’s not quite family friendly. But surely there are some other options?