Hartford Athletic - 2021

[kibblesnbits]

What's even sweeter, they faced a team full of ringers. Red Bulls started 7 guys under MLS contracts.

That's the beauty of the game. A well coached team that worked together beat a team that just threw talent on the field. I haven't been to Dillon yet this year, but I've enjoyed watching this team on TV. The progression from year 1, a team I was rooting for but I really hated their style and lack of mid-field play, to last season when they started to get some first class coaching and began to create a sense of team, to this season's smoother transitions and build ups, has been remarkable. The only downside is that it appears they've adopted a strategy of grabbing young European coaches who probably won't stay long if they are successful. Hopefully they can keep this one for at least a few years.

 

[Waquoit]

The only downside is that it appears they've adopted a strategy of grabbing young European coaches who probably won't stay long if they are successful.

I honestly don't see a downside to hiring a good coach. This guy is a home run. It's better than some hack that nobody else wants.

 

[Waquoit]

FWIW, Connecticut has a decent shot at landing a NWSL franchise for New England, placed in Hartford.

Hartford just announced a women's team, Butch. Can I put you down for season tickets?

 

[Waquoit]

Walmer Martinez from Athletic was not only called-up to the El Salvador MNT, he got on the pitch scored in his first game. He might play against the USMNT in July.

 

[Adios]

The Hurricanes are doing better in Raleigh than they would ever have done in Hartford. Too many pro teams around here. We need to let the Whalers go.

 

[Adios]

Hartford just announced a women's team, Butch. Can I put you down for season tickets?

That's not a NWSL team. Bad move.

 

[ZooCougar]

That's not a NWSL team. Bad move.

Oh yeah? In your expert opinion why is that?

 

[Waquoit]

The Hurricanes are doing better in Raleigh than they would ever have done in Hartford. Too many pro teams around here. We need to let the Whalers go.

That is objectively false. They didn't come close to matching Whalers attendance until they won the Stanley Cup. In Hartford they didn't make the playoffs in their last 5 years when 75% of the teams made the playoffs.

 

[Blue Devils]

That is objectively false. They didn't come close to matching Whalers attendance until they won the Stanley Cup. In Hartford they didn't make the playoffs in their last 5 years when 75% of the teams made the playoffs.

I don't know anything about hockey but it's my understanding that a Stanley Cup win is better than no Stanley Cup win. And well....the closest the Whalers ever came to that was a handful of short lived playoff runs in the 80s.

 

[Waquoit]

I don't know anything about hockey but it's my understanding that a Stanley Cup win is better than no Stanley Cup win. And well....the closest the Whalers ever came to that was a handful of short lived playoff runs in the 80s.

That's what I'm saying. They won the Cup just a few years after moving. No reason to think it wouldn't have happened in Hartford if they stayed. The attendance in Carolina was far, far below Hartford for the first years. It did not pick-up until the Cup bandwagon. If they win the Cup in Hartford they are still here in a shiny new building.

 

[Palatine]

The Hurricanes are doing better in Raleigh than they would ever have done in Hartford. Too many pro teams around here. We need to let the Whalers go.

If the Whalers had won a Stanley Cup in Hartford instead of winning just one playoff series during their entire stay in the city, the Whalers would have done much better in Connecticut. With few seasons excepted they were either mediocre or stunk.

 

[Adios]

That is objectively false. They didn't come close to matching Whalers attendance until they won the Stanley Cup. In Hartford they didn't make the playoffs in their last 5 years when 75% of the teams made the playoffs.

Not objectively false now. The Hurricanes have no competition besides college basketball. They'll play in Whalers jerseys because the organization wants to emulate the hockey culture of Connecticut.

 

[Adios]

If the Whalers had won a Stanley Cup in Hartford instead of winning just one playoff series during their entire stay in the city, the Whalers would have done much better in Connecticut. With few seasons excepted they were either mediocre or stunk.

I don't disagree. Unfortunately, the NHL was trying to move the Whalers and Devils out of the Northeast. Brodeur saved the Devils, though that's the franchise that should have been relocated before the Whalers, based on fan support, to this day.

The Whalers were a 16 or 17 year run in the NHL. That's not long. The NHL didn't want them here.

 

[Adios]

Oh yeah? In your expert opinion why is that?

Why is it that you are the only one who asked?

 

[ZooCougar]

Why is it that you are the only one who asked?

Because it’s such a strange statement.

 

[Waquoit]

They'll play in Whalers jerseys because the organization wants to emulate the hockey culture of Connecticut.

Is that wrong?

 

[Waquoit]

538 only gives Athletic a 20% chance of victory tonight at Charlotte, the team some say are the 2nd best in the conference. I'm hoping HA comes away from the game still the only undefeated team in the conference. A win would be incredible.

 

[Adios]

Is that wrong?

With athletes becoming saints of the modern day, you tell me.

 

[UCFBfan]

Another win from HA! +9 GD...solid start to the season at 4-1-1.

Can someone explain how there is such a difference in games played within that division? HA and Charleston have 6 and 5 games respectively while others have 8 or 9.

 

[Waquoit]

Another win from HA! +9 GD...solid start to the season at 4-1-1.

Can someone explain how there is such a difference in games played within that division? HA and Charleston have 6 and 5 games respectively while others have 8 or 9.

They gave teams some flexibility in their early season scheduling as the latest COVID protocols weren't in place. Charleston started late. And Hartford lost a game when the other team had a COVID positive.

 

[ZooCougar]

A bunch of teams fixing to leave the USL. Details emerge for new MLS minor league planned for ’22

 

[Adios]

Major leagues are monopolizing minor leagues. Geez. Someone want to contact NYC or the RB about a team? Revs will probably put their team in RI.

 

[Waquoit]

Major leagues are monopolizing minor leagues. Geez. Someone want to contact NYC or the RB about a team? Revs will probably put their team in RI.

Do your homework, Butch. RI will have a team in the USL to compete with Athletic next year.

 

[Adios]

Do your homework, Butch. RI will have a team in the USL to compete with Athletic next year.

That's what I mean. That RI franchise can choose to affiliate itself with the Revs.

 

[kibblesnbits]

That's what I mean. That RI franchise can choose to affiliate itself with the Revs.

The Revs already have a fully-owned affiliate, Revs II, which is currently in USL League I but will probably join the new league while continuing to play out of the Foxboro complex.