Off To Gillette To Get Wet

Well, this should be fun.

For the third straight year, the Revs home leg for the first round of the playoffs will be hindered by extreme weather. Granted, the torrential rains stopped just in time for the game last year, but we don't appear to be as lucky this time around. The storm formerly known as Hurricane Noel is beginning to slam into Southern New England and it doesn't look pretty. The most severe weather is scheduled for a few hours before kickoff, an ominous sign for those peddling popcorn and super pretzels at the game tonight.

So the crowd will be about half the expected 16,000. Big deal. Those of us who will brave the elements will have the chance to witness firsthand another chapter in Revolution history, before the sport "takes off" and prices out the working man. Though this has been a disappointing trend for the front office (also, the 2004 home leg was during game one of the World Series), the onfield heroics have been legendary for the team. In 2004, they surprised Supporter's Sheild winner Columbus Crew 1-0. In 2006, they bested bitter rivals Chicago Fire in a shootout after going behind 2-0 on aggregate.

However, the most famous has to be the 2005 game against today's opponent's former incarnation, the Metrostars. Fans had to drive through blizzard-like conditions to even get to Foxboro. The Revs went into the game down 1-0, and Youri Djerkoff scored a second half goal against the run of play. Words can't describe what happened next, so I'll just let you watch the video:



Good stuff, huh. A repeat by Khano would negate his 2007 performance in my eyes.

So, keys to the game:

* Get lucky with the weather
* End of keys to the game

Seriously, the wind is going to create havoc. Both teams are fairly evenly matched and it'll be nature deciding this one.

Get out to Gillette. The season is on the line and the winner gets to host the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday (thanks for the choke, DC). History will be made tonight. Will you be watching at the stadium or searching for matches to light candles when the power goes out? I hope the answer is obvious.