Screw the Mississippi Brilla. We're lucky to get out with a draw, 1-1, our first point in franchise history. #9 was dashing again with an early goal, and #15 showed off his skill and grit all night. Our goalie made key saves down the stretch, and a Brilla open net header went six inches wide right in the final minutes. Becoming winners takes time and the entire team seemed collectively disgusted with the outcome, a good sign.
It would be easy to ride the refs, complain about the soft red card on our best defender in the middle of the 2nd half when we were up 1-0. It's temping to whine about the penalty kick given Brilla late in the game, which they converted to tie the score. But, no need. The Chupacabras crowd was relentless, "You're horrible!" from a man to my left, loud and booming, "The Ref sucks!", from another man up front, as his gal cringed. Even a small boy to my right got in on the heckling, yelling out a a slur, covinced the Chupacabras were being robbed of their first win, as his parents sat gloomy silent.
Somebody has to pull the cards, somebody has to blow the whistle, somebody must take the blame. It was real anger simmering in the stands. Gestures, vulgarities, and aggressive pleading. The sorry Refs can't card us! We're invested, on the cusp, in the den.
