Wednesday’s goal made me think of another “Hand of God” goal. Which eventually led me back to this video, which has long been one of my favorites. It’s Diego Maradona, a man completely ill-equipped to live a life that does not involved kicking a soccer ball. But when he’s kicking that ball…

Oh, the joy.

For him, and for us.

Oh, look. It’s the U District. And there’s Lake Union. And there’s the Space Neeeeeeee…..AARRGH!!

They have defiled our beloved landmark with the logos of rival teams!!!!!!

They coulda stopped with the MLS Cup Logo, which is cool. But nooooo. They had to take that extra step.

All I have to say about that is:

Pffbblltt!

Full gallery here.

(As in everything else in life, past performance is not an indicator of future price, blah blah blah. I was just curious about how much money I’m passing up.)

Section Row Qty. Sold on Price*
126 FF 1 11/18/09 $38
Section 126 FF 2 11/18/09 $39
124 FF 2 11/18/09 $50
333 I 4 11/18/09 $38
113 D 2 11/17/09 $102
103 V 4 11/17/09 $50
116 QQ 2 11/17/09 $48
113 P 4 11/17/09 $75
N/A N/A 2 11/17/09 $75
140 R 2 11/17/09 $50
Section 335 BB Mid Field 2 11/17/09 $49
301 B 4 11/17/09 $40
CLB 212 K 4 11/17/09 $149
CLB 232 N 2 11/17/09 $115
133 B 2 11/17/09 $100
135-Mid Field F 2 11/17/09 $125
CHR108 L 2 11/17/09 $144
113 R 2 11/17/09 $80
308 A – FRONT ROW 2 11/17/09 $70
109 G 6 11/17/09 $298
*All prices per ticket

So remember a few weeks back, when I journeyed back to visit my old MFP poll and was shocked to learn that the Brad Evans fans had been battling the Roger Levesque fans, causing the poll to grow to over a thousand votes?

That was nothin’.

When I closed the poll today, the final vote count was… (drum roll, please…)

6,430 votes. I am not kidding. And the winner was…

(Note how I put the “more” tag here, to make you click? Because I’m sly that way.)

Roger Levesque, with a grand total of 1019 votes, or 16% of the total!

In second, would you believe we actually have a tie? Osvaldo Alonso and Sebastien Le Toux, both with with 709 votes, or 11%.

Brad Evans’ fans apparently wore out their voting fingers, because he was a late fade, finishing fourth with 626 votes, or 10%.

What really impressed me about our diligent voter(s) is that they were equal-opportunity. Nobody was left out and everybody got at least 5% of the vote. (I’m guessing these people have a maternal area similar to mine and don’t want any of our boys to get their feelings hurt. Which makes me love whoever did this all the more.)

Final results are here. If it’s not showing up in Results Mode on your screen, click the View Results link on the bottom. Because I’m way too dang lazy to do a screen capture and post it.

Thanks for voting! We’ll definitely be doing this again.

Because how often do we get to go to a championship match for free? (Or…well, not free, exactly. But you know what I mean.)

Of course, not everybody is thrilled by this matchup. The biggest turnoff, of course, is that Seattle won’t be there. So the decision to be made is: Go to the game, give the tickets away, or sell them to the highest bidder?

First, the case for attending the game:
We, as season ticket holders, represent Seattle and Qwest Field to MLS and the TV audience. We show up (preferably in rave green), we cheer, and we show Seattle in its best light even though our beloved team isn’t playing. This could, in theory, increase the odds that Seattle will be shown favoritism for future stuff. Like another MLS Cup game. Or an All-Star game. Or a USMNT game. Or…dare we say it…World Cup 2018?

Something to think about.

But not everybody will be sold on this idea, especially for a game four days before Thanksgiving. In Seattle, in November, when we’ve probably already used up all our good weather karma. Some folks are going to prefer to sell their tickets. So how’s that market looking?

If you’re looking simply at asking prices — the prices the sellers are requesting to give up their tickets — the answer is “good.” Asking prices on StubHub are ranging from 200% of list price up to 400% and above. People with seats close to the amazing midline seats I stumbled into (list price $35) are asking from $150 to $400 apiece.

But how much are they actually getting for these seats?

Stub Hub’s most recent sales as of 11/16/09.

Lower Level 127 U Buy Any Quantity 5 11/16/09 $60
Lower Level 127 U Buy Any Quantity 3 11/16/09 $60
Lower Level 127 V Buy Any Quantity 6 11/16/09 $53
320 Terrace A 5 11/16/09 $58
332 G 3 11/16/09 $32
334 M 2 11/16/09 $48
148 (food/drink inclusive) C (3rd row) 2 11/16/09 $125
Club level 211 S 2 11/16/09 $65
240 Under Cover X 3 11/16/09 $46
214 A 2 11/16/09 $50
119 EE 2 11/16/09 $68
Lower Level 127 V Buy Any Quantity 5 11/16/09 $53
CLB211 W 2 11/16/09 $75
108 U 2 11/16/09 $125
119 – Great Seats! D 1 11/16/09 $150
135 D 2 11/16/09 $168
144 T 1 11/15/09 $45
240 Under Cover X 2 11/15/09 $56
Lower Level 127 U Buy Any Quantity 2 11/15/09 $60
126 DD 2 11/15/09 $70
*All prices are per-ticket

The only sale close to my seats was for $125 each. Not $400, but still over three times their face value.

Keep in mind, though, that we’re less than a week out. The closer we get to the game, the more prices are going to drop. And with Seattle out, there are already a LOT of tickets on the market. Some of those tickets are going to sell, and some are going to sell for high prices. But I don’t know of any way to make sure that your tickets are among the chosen few.

What this means is that, try as you might to sell, you may end up with tickets to a game you’re not 100% sold on attending. If that happens, do your fellow fans a favor: Please do not simply forget about the tickets that are currently sitting in your “special stuff” file just because Seattle’s season is over. Scalp them. Or give them away, even if it’s to that guy at work you’re not too crazy about, or to your boss’s sister’s best friend’s cousin.

Or better yet, go yourself. Have a beer. Enjoy the pinnacle of MLS success in 2009.

Because let’s be honest here: Beckham will be here, in his first MLS final ever. (Because better late than never.) And with him will come the international spotlight. And that spotlight will also be shining on Qwest, and on Seattle. And we’re the ones who have control over the picture that international audience will see.

It would be great if the view wasn’t one of empty seats.

David at SSE has very generously given us first right to name the players and publish the full photo answers to his quiz.

(And doesn’t that make us feel special?)

Seattle Offside regular commenter LJ was the winner, the first to guess all eight players. Well done LJ!

(No idea what we’re talking about? Here’s the original quiz. Here are my guesses. You know. From before I stopped guessing.)

#1, the first set of pale legs, is our backup defender Tyson Wahl.

#2. The easy one. As I said before, the clues are as follows.
1) red boots
2) under armour
3) Wait. Is that a #17 I see? Who could THAT be?

#3 is the second pale set of legs. Which David promises do actually belong to Nate Jaqua despite the original photo going missing.

And #4 is…

Oh, sorry, our Stephen. That one probably got old twenty years ago, didn’t it?

#5 Brad Evans. Yes, it’s Brad Evans.

I thought I would find the original, full-length photo less disturbing than the cut photo. I don’t. So let’s move on.

(It’s only a trick of fabric, air and shadows. It’s only a trick of fabric, air and shadows. It’s only a trick…)

(Sorry, sorry, sorry. Okay, I’ll grow up now.)

Oh, Mandy! Look who we have for #6?

Oh, btw, this would be a good time to bring up that Mandy’s Evan Brown song has now reached over 8,000 views.

And here’s the full-length photo of our James Riley, which shows that it is possible to rock the “short-sleeves-with-gloves” look.

Was there any doubt about #8? As I said in my original guess, nobody does the hands-on-hips thing quite like our Kasey Keller.

(Oh, and the keeper pants kind of gave it away too.)

Thanks, everybody for guessing, and thanks, David for letting me play the game!

I wasn’t that impressed by LA’s extra time win over Houston, but RSL’s win over Chicago on penalties was hugely entertaining. (Part of it was that I hate Blanco, and RSL made him run for 120 minutes. It was not pretty at the end. Heehee. And then RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who has never really impressed me before, came up with three saves in the penalty shootout. Great fun.)

And now we know who’s coming to Qwest: The Upstarts vs. The Goldenballs. Two questions for you.

1) Are you going to the game? (FO has just released 6000 more tickets.)
2) Who will you be rooting for?

(Thanks, David!)

Or not?

If you’re not quite there yet, here are a couple more videos to cheer you up:

First, what is probably my favorite soccer-related ad ever:

And next, we probably shouldn’t laugh at the following photos. But we will anyway.

After doing this, I would like to make the following announcement:

Other people have spent far more time studying our guys’ legs than I have. FAR more.

But David has asked for my thoughts and hints on the players, apparently because my XX chromosomes will offer up a different perspective from the norm? So let’s get started. And when you’re done, stop by David’s place and make your guesses.

Rather than go with the first one first, let’s go with the EASIEST one first. #2.

Hints:
1) Red boots
2) The clothing article that Kickette refers to as “the evil that are base layers.”

(Not that I read Kickette regularly. Or anything.)

And if that’s not enough, there’s the little matter of…
3) The number on his shorts. (Not THIS leg. The OTHER leg.)

You got it, right? You’re welcome.

Next. Another easy one? Or not so much? When I was swapping emails with David, I guessed this one and another one. He said I got one right. So either his #1 is NOT Nate Jaqua or this is NOT our #1 goalkeeper. What do you think?

Me, I think this one has to be Kasey. Because nobody perches hands on hips in disgust (or in post-upfield kick reflection) quite like The Keller.

Either that or it’s Chris Eylander or Ben Dragavon or Terry Boss doing a Kasey Keller imitation. (Do those thighs look a little massive to be Keller’s?)

Oh, what? The man’s almost forty. I can notice.

So examining the legs here, in Photo #5, one can see that um…um…

Holy crap, that photo’s disconcerting.

I really don’t want to know who that is.

And I think I’m done now.

Actually, I think I’m scarred for life. Thanks, David.

(Please tell me that’s just a trick of light, fabric and air pouches.)

There are more photos — of legs, only of legs — over on the original page. Do be sure to go and make your guesses.

First, time to vote again! The fields have been narrowed down to ten apiece for the AT&T Goal of the Year and Degree Men Save of the Year.

(Not to be confused with the FAR less prestigious Verizon Goal of the Year or Old Spice Save of the Year.)

Also, why is antiperspirant the sponsor for the save? It would seem to make more sense to have it go to the guys who have actually been running?

But then again, I guess it also makes sense to have it go to the guys who lift their arms up over their heads.

(Why am I imagining that this particular issue was a topic pf intense discussion at a marketing meeting way back when?)

But I digress. Patrick Ianni’s bicycle kick goal against Houston and Fredy Montero’s blast against New England are still up for Goal of the Year, and Tyrone Marshall’s overhead save against Columbus is up for Save of the Year. Go vote. They are depending on you.

Second, it’s the attack of the off-season surgeries!

Steve Zakuani is facing shoulder surgery and Zach Scott just underwent sports hernia surgery. Which was successful. Which approaches the outer limits of the types of details we want to know about sports hernia surgeries.

Third, even reading about this gives me an attack of crowd-phobia, but I know there are some of you out there who like this kind of thing, so I bring you: The MLS Supporters Conference. For more details, check GoSounders or Seattle Soccer Examiner.

And that’s it for the need-to-knows. Now time for another video to cheer you up from your post-playoff-exit depression. (Or anger. Or denial. Or whatever-the-hell stage of grief you’re currently in at the moment.)

A Pepsi ad. One with Beckham. But even non-fans should like it.