Skip to main content

Off the Post and So Close - Closing Thoughts on 2015 Red Bulls Season


Off the post. Off the freakin post. 

That's really all I can muster up after the New York Red Bulls fall short yet again after a splendid season that included the second Supporters Shield. Despite digging ourselves in a huge hole in Columbus by giving up a goal in the first nine seconds of the first leg, another in the final seconds, and never being able to put up the all-important road goal, I didn't lose hope. Even until the very end. 

I guess that's why this loss hurts so much. 

After a season that began with town meetings and a fanbase thoroughly upset with the firing of Mike Petke (as was I) things did not look good. There was NYCFC entering hte market, and of course the big question of "how good are we WITHOUT Thierry Henry?" I will openly admit, I was wrong about Ali Curtis and Jesse Marsch. They had a vision, a philosophy, a style of play, and stood behind it. And as we now see, it worked. Big time.

This season was absolutely fun. Lots of goals. A great pace on the field. And of course, I loved the approach of going with youth over the high priced old imported players (looking at you NYCFC).


After being in the building, in box seats nonetheless, for the 2nd leg of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against DC United, I really thought this could be a special year. Possibly the year we hoist the MLS Cup for the first time ever. 


Instead, we played lousy in two legs against a strong Columbus team. Poor passing within the box and a ton of ill-advised turnovers were the absolute downfall. But here we are. Another heartbreaking conference final loss. 

And a loss only inches away from a possible different result. So close. So damn lose. Off the post. Off the freakin post. Ugh. 

But that's sports. And that's New York Red Bulls fandom. So it goes. That insane last minute wraps up my support of this club thus far. 

Regardless, I'll be back to ride with these Bulls again next year, once again wishing, that it'll finally be our year. 
Labels:

Recently Read

Would You Rather: Questions 121-130

This edition of "Would You Rather" is credited to the NBA Would You Rather NBA Account on Instagram ( See Here ). Adding to the fun, this edition (and possibly future ones) are all NBA basketball questions.  121. Who would you rather have on your favorite NBA team - Giannis Antetokounpo or James Harden?  Seeing how I'm a lifelong suffering Knicks fan, the thought of any of these guys in blue and orange is hard to believe. With that said, I'm taking the Greek Freak for this reason - I enjoy watching him play a bit more. Nothing against Harden who is amazing as well, but at times, the ball sticks and that isn't always fun. Plus, I feel like we haven't yet seen a finished Giannis. 122. Would you rather have Giannis Antetokounpo with no driving ability or James Harden with no Three-Point shooting ability?  This is definitely a weird and unique one, but I'll take Harden. Giannis without his strength doesn't offer much. However, if Harden's d...
Read more

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 6/7/26

The Sunday Sundown Rundown (formerly in the format of "3 Up and 3 Down") is where I share thoughts on three topics that piqued my interest, along with my favorite photo from the week. Artificial Intelligence in K-12 This week, I had the opportunity to talk to two dads who work in K-12 education. One is a teacher, and the other is a tech engineer who provides the digital infrastructure for a school district. What I came away with was that artificial intelligence was being slowly integrated into teachers' everyday lives, with some restrictions. However, the tech engineer gave me real insight (with real-time laptop evidence) of some of the tools being built to automate everything from bus schedules and communications to medical visits and disciplinary processes.  All of that to say, just when you think you understand the power of A.I., there are so many levels to it all .  So many... Sports Media Space With the recent run of my New York Knicks (you can see my comments after ...
Read more

Knicks Postseason 2026, NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs

Part of me is in disbelief that we are here...the other part is raging and ready to go. Four more wins! Let's. GO! So much of this NBA Finals feels poetic, historical, and dream-worthy, for so many reasons, to so many different parties. This includes the NBA office. I'm sure they are loving this matchup for their biggest stage.  While defeating the Spurs does exercise some demons from 1999, I'm not sure I care about that at all. As noted from my thoughts in the Eastern Conference Finals, at this point, just win. Review Thoughts from Round 1 Review Thoughts from Round 2 Review Thoughts from Eastern Conference Finals Just. Win.  I don't care who the opponent is. The narrative that comes with it, or how we do it.  Just. Win. The NBA Cup win seems like whiteboard material for them, yet a serving example for us to match up with them. Again, it doesn't matter. Both teams are completely different beasts since November, through growth and experience.  This all comes down to...
Read more