Season begins today for RSL

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The time has come to simply play soccer.

In the nine months since Major League Soccer awarded Salt Lake City an expansion franchise, fans have waited patiently while a general manager and coach were hired, the team name and logo were unveiled, and then one-by-one a collection of standout players were acquired.

Beginning today, Real Salt Lake is no longer just a logo or a collection of players from other teams. Nope, after RSL faces the MetroStars today, the team will officially be listed in the MLS standings with either a win, loss or tie. It doesn't get any more official than that.

"This game is pretty huge for us," said RSL midfielder Andy Williams. "Everybody is looking at us as an expansion team, but I don't think anybody on this team thinks that way. We have a lot of experience."

Salt Lake kicks off its inaugural season today at 5 p.m. (MDT) against the MetroStars of New York. The game will be televised tape-delayed at 7 p.m. on Ch. 5. Every home and road game will be broadcast in English on AM-1280 and in Spanish on AM-1600.

While the fans' anticipation has reached a fever pitch the past couple of months, the players have been laboring away since Feb. 1. In fact, it's been exactly two months and one day since Real Salt Lake's players and coaches gathered in Bradenton, Fla., for training camp.

After spending three weeks in Florida, the team trained for two weeks in rainy Portugal, followed by two more weeks in southern California. During that stretch, RSL posted a 5-3-4 record in exhibition games.

"It's been a really long preseason," said defender Matt Behncke. "It's been a lot of good stuff, but at the same time it starts to wear down on you. We're just really looking forward to the first game."

Ironically, it's the MetroStars who resemble an expansion team on opening day. Even though coach Bob Bradley is optimistic about his team's chances this year, the Metros are very much in a rebuilding mode this year, and injuries have decimated their roster even more. Virtually every publication's MLS preseason predictions have the MetroStars finishing last in the Eastern Conference.

"I think with our experience, it will be a good advantage, unlike New York who basically has a whole new crowd," said Williams, who played half a season with the MetroStars in 2002. "Hopefully, we'll be gelling before them."