Poetry Corner Kicks: MLS Cup Final

Penalty Kicks. The season came down to penalty kicks. I have heard from those in the biz that PKs are the worst way to lose a game. Just ask Lovel Palmer. But here’s the thing about penalty kicks... they are exciting. I went to a sports bar close to my apartment to watch the game. I might have been the only real soccer fan in the place, but the bar-keep was good enough to play the game on the majority of the screens and have the audio from the game played throughout. For those of you who have ever tried to watch a soccer game in a non-soccer bar, you know how rare and beautiful this is. Throughout the game I would overhear the occasional snarky comment about soccer: diving, acting, etc... all the usual stuff. I was fine to let it slide as I’ve heard it all before. But by the end of the evening, the whole bar was roaring and groaning with every made and missed PK. By the end of the game, everyone was cheering. I can think of other ways I’d rather lose a game, but I can’t think of many other ways that would bring more drama.

That said, it was a fun game to watch. As a die-hard Philadelphia Union fan I didn’t have a horse in this race, but it was fun to see these guys knock each other out. Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake battled it out in freezing temperatures to decide who left with the trophy. A quick aside, given that the Union didn’t attempt a single PK all season, I can’t imagine how the Union would have fared in such a situation. Below is the Poetry Corner Kicks recap of the final.

Both SKC and RSL a trophy hoped to seize
But in the end the goal became just simply not to freeze
The ground was frozen solid and the ball was even harder
Which made it hurt to head the ball by substitute or starter
The whistle blew, the game began between the last two standing
But who would win, Real or Wiz (at least before re-branding)
In minute twenty-five Sapong would give Real a fright
But Tricky Nick Rimando stopped the header in mid-flight
Then Nielsen had a scare himself in minute twenty-nine:
The ball came trickling in behind but never crossed the line
Before the half Dom Dwyer had a shot that might’ve scored
Alas Rimando got there too and quickly closed the door
Sapong would miss just after half, his aim was high, askew
Real would take advantage then in minute fifty-two
Saborio would get the ball from no-look-passing Kyle
His shot was true, Rimando missed, the goal was scored in style
Real could not increase their lead to bury deep their host
A couple shots went off their feet and straight into the post
With only fourteen regulation minutes left to play
The powder-blue defender Collin scored to save the day
He headed in a corner kick that came from teammate Zusi
He celebrated with the fans who thanked him most profusely
The tie would lead to overtime where neither team would score
So off to PKs they would go to see who could score more
Graham Zusi and Saborio had misses that surprised
But Palmer’s miss would give the hosts the much sought-after prize
So Sporting Kansas City are the winners of the cup
They end the season in the way they tried to draw it up
Next year they’ll fight the challengers who will come fierce and fast
But now’s the time to celebrate- they’re champions at last