Issue #7 - Statistically Vibing
Excitement abounds as the Whitecaps shine with a thrilling win over Inter Miami, and carry on the excitement against Minnesota United!
Hello!
I’m completely new to the newsletter business, so if you see just a plain ol’ “Hello!” up above it’s because I didn’t think to ask for your first name originally. If it’s something you’d like to share, feel free to reply and I’ll add it.
Otherwise, lets continue to bask in the glory of the Whitecaps FC!!
The View
Up until we saw Messi, Suarez, and Busquets get off the plane here in Vancouver, I was telling anyone who’d ask me that I didn’t think Inter Miami would send their top side to Vancouver.
The turf we all know about. The length of the trip is another thing. And with the first leg in Vancouver, there’d likely be some thought to getting a “result” here to capitalize upon back in Fort Lauderdale.
Boy was I wrong.
What else was I wrong about? Not opting in to keep my seats as a season ticket holder.
So how thankful am I that the Whitecaps FC got everything right?
SO VERY THANKFUL!
I don’t know how to describe what we witness last week against Inter Miami. You had a sold out stadium that was loudly and proudly pro-Vancouver (sure a good number showed up for Messi, but they still cheered for Vancouver). You had Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter do the things they’ve been doing all season. You had a Whitecaps backline absolutely control nearly every Miami offensive push. Sure they bent a little, but at no point did they ever break. And Yohei Takaoka did everything he needed to on the few opportunities that came through.
Taking a two nil lead into Miami’s home ground is something else. Doing so having completely rotated the squad that made the trip to Saint Paul is something even more.
Could this actually happen?!
On the note of what we saw from Vancouver on the road against Minnesota United, had you told me the Whitecaps FC would nearly rotate every player in their starting XI and go into the half at nil-nil, I would’ve been happy.
So when they weathered the limited storm against MNUFC and took that nil-nil score line into the halftime dressing room, I was a happy Whitecaps supporter.
Jesper Sørensen may not have been as happy. Or maybe he was. Hard to tell.
But he made a few changes to kick off the half, with one of them the insertion of Berhalter and boy did it pay off early. With an absolute cracker - initially ruled offside but vindicated through VAR - he gave the ‘Caps a one-nil lead. Then it was the insertion of Pedro Vite, who’s an absolute season, that gave the ‘Caps both a two-nil and three-nil lead (could’ve been four had it not been for Daniel Rios’ butt).
Vancouver decided it was time to win, and win they did.
Sure they gave up a late goal. And yes there was some controversy as the result of some alleged remarks from Minnesota’s Joseph Rosales (which if he said what he’s accused of saying, should be punished severely).
But the Whitecaps won and won well.
What a time to be a fan, eh?!
The Good
The crowd at BC Place. Whether you’re sitting in the Supporters section, sitting with me (in spirit) in 231, or in the upper deck, y’all brought it on Thursday night. Y’all were rockstars. I felt the energy here at home.
Tate Johnson. Who’s the President of his fan club because I’d like a membership please.
Sebastian Berhalter. What a stud.
The Not So Good
Joseph Rosales. He knows what he did.
Around the Pitch
Much has been said this season about the statistical beasts that are the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
And while I’m a jaded Vancouver sports fan who happens to live his life on vibes, it’s even hard for me to argue the stats suggest this side is the real deal.
How real you ask?
As real as the 2019 side according to Jamon from LAFC that absolutely dominated the MLS on their way to a Supporter’s Shield. Yes they did lose to Seattle in the Conference Final, but Seattle simply got hot at the right time (something they do regularly).
While this season is still early, Vancouver has been performing at this level WITHOUT Ryan Gauld, WITHOUT Sam Adekugbe, WITHOUT Jayden Nelson, WITHOUT Mathías Laborda, WITHOUT… you get my point… for extended stretches. Arguably some of their best players, and yet they possess a xGD of above 1.0 based on information shared by Caleb Wilkins (further perspective - the squad’s BEST since 2013 is an xGD below 0.5).
The fact the metrics back up the performance of the team make it considerably hard not to consider the ‘Caps a legit team for 2025.
So maybe the vibes are on to something here.
Thank you for sharing your #ViewFrom posts this past week. Whether it was on Bluesky or by emailing them my way, I absolutely loved them.
And had it not been for everything that happened this week, I would’ve shared them in this post - something I’ll look to do during some dull days… if there are any. 😁
From my seat to your browser!
If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing on social media or forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much! ❤️
-Chris (@lyteforce.ca)