6:2 DC United MetroStars Nelsen Moreno Eskandarian 2 Stewart Olsen Gaven Taylor 07.03.04 · League

Did the final score really matter? 3:1, 4:1, 5:2, 6:2, should we really care? If you were a Metro fan throughout these years, shouldn't you be used to this by now? And the question is, why are you still a fan, if nothing changes after years and years of crap?

With the poor games in mid-week by Craig Ziadie and Fabian Taylor, they were left out of starting lineup today, replaced by Tim Regan and Mike Magee. But it was Eddie Gaven continuing his tear of late, scoring the first goal of the game. In the 18th minute, he took a through ball from Amado Guevara, beat the DC offside trap, and chipped the onrushing Troy Perkins for a 1:0 lead.

And then eleven minutes of hell came. In the 30th minute, Metro defense failed to cover Ryan Nelsen on a DC free kick, and he headed it in into the Metro net. Seven minutes later, Jonny Walker made a horrendous blunder, trying to dribble out of the box on a back pass like he often does. This time, Jaime Moreno caught up with him, forced a turnover, and tapped the ball in. Finally, in the 41st minute, Alecko Eskandarian was left alone in the box for an easy shot that Walker had no chance on.

The second half? Who cares, really. Gaven was the lone shining moment for the Metros, fighting off three DC defenders on Taylor's goal that made it 4:2 and for a moment restored some hope. If this happened in any other game, this play would not be forgotten, but in this one it just stands up as one bright light in the middle of the big pile of feces that the Metros laid up.

So why do we keep coming back? Why do we still hold some hope that something will change and we will ride off to the sunset with the Metros as the winners of... something? Why do we keep going to the games, and watching on TV, and posting on the message boards, and reading this site... Why?

Lineup: Walker, Regan, Pope, Parke, Leitch, Clark, Gaven, Vaca, Guevara, Galvan Rey, Magee. Subs: Brenes, Taylor, Wolyniec.