The 2010 Schedule - Sort of In Depth Review

The schedule is out. I looked at it more closely.

First, I am overjoyed that most of the home games have start times in the late afternoon or evening. Only 4 of 15 home games start at 1pm or 12pm. The rest kick off at 4pm at the earliest. This means lots of time to tailgate. I don't have to get up at 7am to set up by 8am, in order to have food ready to eat by 10am, and time to consume the proper amount of alcohol. Assuming the weather cooperates, we are going to have a lot of fun, long, leisurely tailgates this summer. Love it.

Second, toss in the two week break in June to make space for the World Cup. Perfect. I don't have to split my allegiances or viewing time. I can do both. I love that MLS now takes a break, instead of the stupid approach they took before of playing right through the World Cup. Maybe the soccer specific stadiums have a lot to do with that, but I don't care. They have it right now, so I'm happy.

Third, I'm not sure how I feel about the gaps between home games. The biggest gap between home games is June 10th to July 11th (btw, SSFC plays on the Fourth of July this year, but it's away from home). That's a full month between home games. The only other break that approaches this is from September 9th to October 2nd. Those are long gaps, but I think they might be welcome respites from all the "supporting" I do during the summer.

Fourth, and this is related to Third, I love that the SSFC schedule is front-loaded for home games. The last 8 games of the year are played in September and October, and 5 of them are on the road. That means more games in the summer, when the weather is nice and tailgating/being at the stadium is much more pleasant.

Fifth, the schedule is balanced this year. Finally. That means we play everybody twice, home and away. I think this is helpful, although SSFC will still probably travel more than any other team in the league because of our location in the country.