The End of an Era

I mentioned the possibility two days ago, but now it's true - Pat Noonan has left the Revs for greener pastures in Norway. The Rev's didn't pick up the option on his contract, hoping they could start talks lower than the $225,000 salary he earned last year, but instead lost him to Norwegian Premier League side Aaeslund Fotballklubb (or AaFK for the abbrv'sters). I would find it hard to find a reason not to go to sunny Åeslund, which sits about 4º South of the Arctic Circle. But though Åeslund may not have much sunlight in the winter, they apparently get NESN - after the 2004 MLS season, which saw Matt Reis earn the starting job in New England, the former Revs goalkeeper Adin Brown joined AaFK.

From the Revs perspective, it's always disappointing to see one of your starters going, especially when it leaves us with only two forwards with game experience on the roster. And he and Twellman were buddies, so Noonan's departure won't help keep Twellman here... but if I'm being completely honest, I'm not too upset to that Noonan's leaving.

I always found Noonan remarkably frustrating to watch. He scored goals, yes, but he had a terrible tendency to miss wide open opportunities. My frustration always prompted me and my brother to yell "NOONAN" in the middle of Revs games... you remember Newman from Seinfeld? I'm not saying that Noonan is the embodiment of all that is evil, but it was that sort of a yell. Alas, love him or hate him, it's the end of an era. He played for the Revs for 5 years... runner-up Rookie of the Year... and just as Superman had his Lex Luthor and Jerry Seinfeld had Newman, I'm sad to see Twellman and Noonan splitting up.

MLS.com had an interesting piece on all the changes the Revs are making this offseason... and I thought it seemed like a lot, but this fleshes it out a bit more clearly. Again, it's out of necessity, and we knew this was coming - last year was always going to be the last chance that group had to win something, as it became clear early on that Twellman/Ralston/Parkhurst/Joseph were going to keep getting interest from abroad. And to their credit, they did win something - the much-maligned but much-loved-in-my-book Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - but the MLS Cup once again eluded them. Reading this article, though, I realized that a lot of these moves - the draft picks, Albright - could fill in the missing pieces better than I had anticipated. Maybe last year wasn't the last chance after all.

Best of luck to Noonan and his fellow ex-Rev and expatriate (ex-Patriot?) Adin Brown. I'm glad I now have a team to follow in the NPL, or Tippeligaen in Norwegian (which is impossible to read). Last year, AaFK just barely escaped relegation, finishing 11th out of 14. But at least the skiing's good? Maybe Aqua will come through town on their reunion tour?

Oh, and PS - This doesn't scare me. Patriots opinions coming.