Expectations can be heavy. Expectations can be hard to live up to sometimes. You expect us to win. Most of the pundits expect us to win. I’m positive that Neal expects us to win. We've built our entire organizational culture on expecting to win.
Guess what? Red Bull doesn't give a _.
I remember sitting at home writing the note I sent the night prior to the 2012 Final. I remember it vividly; anxious, nervous, and honestly pretty intimidated playing a team that had won a few Open Cups in a row with 40,000 fans in the building every night. The small market team playing one of the big boys….How could we get it done?
Well, that’s not the case anymore. We don’t consider ourselves small market. We’re not intimidated. We find ourselves in a thankfully familiar position of playing for a piece of silverware. We’re on the verge of being the only team in MLS with 4 major trophies in the past 6 years. As in the other situations, competitively there's no clear-cut favorite, so you start to try to figure out just how we get through this and stand on the podium at the end.
In the past, we've implored you for your strength, your passion, your voice, to lift us up in those moments of need and in resounding ways you've always been there. To make that request again is completely unnecessary. There's no question you'll be there; you always are.
This one’s on us. These guys know what we need to do. They’ve been in this moment before. There will be players all over the field that have done this time and time again. They'll be surrounded for as long as it takes by the most supportive atmosphere in our sport. Tonight, this one's on us.
Tonight, expectations will be heavy. Expectations will be hard to live up to against this great Red Bull team. You expect us to win.
We expect to win too….
See you at the end…..#paintthewall
