I’ve got one word: 2009 Season in Retrospect

By: NathanHJ | November 30th, 2009

2009 WC Trophy Celebration

And that word is: unexpected.

I moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and prior to making my home with The Angels I was an MLS fan rather than a strident partisan of any particular team, though I had a soft spot for United (I was living in DC when MLS started up) and for San Jose (I was living in Oakland before I was seduced by Hollywood glitz and glamour). But now that I was within 20 miles of an MLS club (does Chivas count as an MLS club?), I thought maybe I should become a fan of an actual team, rather than an entire league.

That year the Galaxy failed to make the playoffs, just one short season removed from winning the MLS Cup and Alexi Lalas did the only sensible thing he’s ever done in MLS team management: fire Steve Sampson and hire Frank Yallop. But that didn’t really go along way to making me into a real honest-to-god Galaxy fan.

Then, in January 2007, the team announced it was signing David Beckham, just a month or so after the league had adopted the, uh, Beckham rule. But that didn’t make me an honest-to-god Galaxy fan, either. Though it did kinda get me excited.

No. What made me an honest-to-god Galaxy fan was watching a team composed of raw rookies, a bunch of underachievers, the occasional no-hoper, one superstar, an entire hospital wing full of injuries, and a lop-sided schedule that would make even a robber-baron like Jay Gould blush from the brazen cashing-in, play some of the most god-awful professional futbol I’ve ever seen in my life.

But with heart and guts and a sense of team that is rare in an American sports landscape littered with people paid millions just to ride the bench. At points in that lost season of 2007, the Galaxy could only dress 14 players due to injury and suspension. And yet, the team, which needed to win six out of its last seven matches, including away at Houston, put together a streak that brought them to the brink of the playoffs on the last day of the season (we’ll forget about the bad Beckham give-away and the John Thorrington shot that won the game for Chicago).

That’s when I became a Galaxy fan.

And I tell you all that to tell you this. In the three and a half years of mostly mediocre and occasionally farcical futbol the team has played, the 2009 season was a gift, an unexpected finish to a season that recalled the grit and heart of 2007. And put to rest the memories of the three years when AEG left the team without adult supervision.

Lots of pundits were saying that in MLS Cup, the Galaxy were favored, heavily favored in many cases, but I didn’t think so. In reality, the team was never dominating, just determined, never unstoppable, just practically unbeatable (6 losses in 30 games). So I wasn’t expecting that the Galaxy had it in the bag and in the end, they just missed bringing home a completely unexpected 3rd MLS cup. Instead they are now tied with New England for most MLS Cup loses in MLS history.

But I don’t care. Because the season feels like a triumph to me. Not only did I get to see what a real partnership between Landon Donovan and David Beckham could look like, I also got to see:

*Solid goalkeeping from both starter and backup
*A second Rookie of the Year in defense
*An MVP season from a completely engaged Landon Donovan
*The surprise development of AJ Delagarza
*A midfield that could actually control the ball during matches
*Two playoff games at the HDC (three really since I went to the “away” game against Chivas)

There was a lot in the season that wasn’t as awesome, but I don’t care, really. Because after 2006-2008, this season was a gift. An unexpected gift.

I blame Bruce Arena.

I’ll be back in the next few days with some thoughts on what the Galaxy need to do to be competitive in 2009 and with general MLS news, especially following the negotiations between the MLSPU and the league over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

What about you guys? What struck you most about 2009? What was surprising? What was disappointing? What did you think about the season as a whole?