Instant (Over)Reaction: Chicago

This weekend had all of life's simple pleasures: new towels, peanut butter cookies, November Rain on the radio, beers and hot dogs with friends and of course, a Sounders last second victory.

My buddy J-Will and I attended a Mariners-Sounders doubleheader and luckily for us, the drama that was so sorely missing in the M's game was provided doubly during the Sounders game. I am usually not in the business of gushing over a game, but Saturdays game against Chicago had a little bit of everything. As always, some comments:

• Playing the role of villain was not Freddie Ljungberg, but centerback CJ Brown. He got into it with Nkufo. He fell down when the 5'6" Nyassi ran into him. And he talked trash to Alvaro Fernandez. It's easy for me to call him a prick because he's not on my team, but I know if he was on the Sounders he would be one of my favorites. A lot of teams have them. You know, the players only a mother could love. While he was able to draw Nkufo and Nyassi into getting cards, he wasn't able to get any of our boys to land a sucker punch even though he probably deserved it.
• I really appreciated how Ljungberg's return was handled by everyone involved. First off, Freddie was nothing but a class act in his pre- and post-game press conferences. When he left we all assumed it was because of some friction in the locker room, but he and his former teammates had nothing but glowing remarks for each other. Same goes for the front office - both parties realized that soccer if a business and were able to keep emotion out of it. Finally, the fans treated Freddie correctly during pre-game introductions by showing him our appreciation. Then in keeping with what we are about, we treated him like any other opposing player once the whistle blew.
• What else can I say about Alonso? For the past few weeks he has steadily been getting his bite back. Saturday he was charged up and won every ball that came his way. It's only fitting that he got the task of shutting down Ljungberg as Ozzie, not Freddie, was always the heart of this team. He really was the player of the match in my mind.
• Jeff Parke had an unfortunate call go against him, but he remains really really solid in the back. I know the team's MLS shutout streak of 351 minutes was stopped but it came as a result of a PK, which shouldn't really count.
• A few fans behind us were KILLING Nkufo all night. I mean, killing him. I'm not even sure I heard that kind of hate directed at Nate last year. Look, we can all agree that he has not lived up to billing so far. He has been bad. But, he remains the best target forward we have and should be starting. People should not expect him to be a forward like Montero because his role is different than Montero's. Yes his scoring needs to come around, but I am convinced that he still is doing a lot of little things to help this offense. It can't be a coincidence that they are undefeated in MLS play since he arrived.
• Tyson Wahl does a good job at reading the game, but his passes are still an area of concern. That being said, his run down the line and subsequent assist to Fredy was very nice.
• I cannot emphasize what a big win this this. Chicago still have three games in hand, but now trails us by 8 points meaning they would have to win each of those games to pass us. Considering they are 6-7-6 on the year, that may be a tall order. Currently we sit in 6th place with 32 points, five points ahead of 9th place Toronto. Some experts are sayin 44 points will get us into the playoffs - if that is true, that means a 4-4-0 record in the last 8. It is never easy in MLS, but with remaining games against NE, KC, Chivas and Houston (not to mention crucial matches against Toronto and Chicago) it should be easily attainable.
• Fredy Montero continues to be amazing this year. I told a friend walking out of the stadium that regardless of whether he scores or not, I have been happy with his effort this year alone. The past two CL games were not his best, but I think we can all give him a pass after being crushed by the freight train named Zach Thornton. He wasn't perfect Saturday night - in fact sometime I lost him on the field - but he took his two opportunities and calmly converted them. For a team that has a tough time scoring, his deft finishes are a welcome, welcome site. I think he may be playing his way into a European deal (or maybe a MLS DP spot as hinted at by Hanauer)
  

Now the attention turns to Wednesday's US Open Cup Semi-Final against Chivas. The thought running through my mind is that we will see wholesale changes to the squad, but I'm not so sure of that anymore. I have a feeling we will see Mike Seamon, Tyrone Marshall and Nate Jaqua, but those may be the only changes in addition to the return of Leo Gonzalez who was suspended from Saturday's game. I am really excited to be at Starfire when it's packed - a lot different from the days of old when we had 1000 people max at home games.