The New Colorado Rapids

After last season Denver's Major League Soccer team, the Rapids, looked as if they would consistently be a bottom half team. Especially with a powerhouse team in Houston, how would the struggling Rapids ever make the top of the division. Then, in a flurry of exciting activity, Arsenal's new 18,000 person stadium was finished and, even more important, they have made a partnership with Arsenal, one of England's Premiership powerhouses. Now, looking at the present situation only weeks before the start of the season the Colorado Rapids look poised to become, in a few seasons, one of the top MLS clubs.

Last season things looked grim for the Rapids as they slipped to fourth place out of six teams, but only two points ahead of fifth place Los Angeles. One of the only high points was midfielder Pablo Mastroeni starting for team USA in the world cup, despite the fact that he was the only Rapid present. To make matters worse, Los Angeles, who they had just barely beat out for fourth place, would be acquiring All Star David Beckham from Spanish club Real Madrid. It appeared as if things would only get worse, they were looking down in the standings, not up. Even fans had sensed this and each game seemed to hold less and less people after a league leading attendance the first season. There was no better time to unveil a whole new look, and outlook, for the Rapids organization.

Despite the dwindling amount of fans at recent games, everyone seems to believe that the new stadium in Commerce City will garner more attention. For one, everybody seems to believe in afresh start, and having a stadium to call their own also gives the Rapids more spotlight on the Denver sport's scene. Also the new area is in a largely Hispanic area of the city, and as seen by the recent game between the U.S. and Mexico in Pheonix, Mexicans on average are far more passionate about soccer. Few other countries could have a home game with their national team attended by a majority of fans from the other national team.

It may not seem like much, but even new uniforms and colors can be important, if only for symbolic reasons. Changing to a new look could herald in a new age for the struggling team, a sign that they are very interested in change. So the new colors and new uniform make sense in light of the other changes.

The most important change could be the partnership with one of the most storied and successful Premiership franchises of all time. Having input, no matter how much, from managers of such an impressive club will undoubtedly improve the Rapid's management. Even more, Arsenal has over the years been one of the most successful clubs at finding budding talent from other countries and training them to be all stars. So the Rapids could take some of these standouts on loan each year, improving their team both on the field and off as the new talent shows his unique skills. Beyond this just having the name to back you up and gather advice is worth its weight in gold. So the next time you look at the tough Dynamo Houston squad or Beckham on LA, don't forget the Rapids who could merge from the pack as a new powerhouse.