“There’s no excuses when you get to the game”

Since I'm based out of Philadelphia for the first part of this MLS season, I'll be getting to a lot of games at PPL Park when I'm not working elsewhere. I was there this afternoon, covering the Vancouver side of things for the Canadian Press (link via SportsNet) and Prost Amerika (recap, sidebar).

At the end of the day, even after writing three articles, there were still some interesting quotes that I hadn't used, including the above from Martin Rennie. So I thought I'd share them here, along with a few thoughts on the game:

“It doesn’t matter how far you travel or how you get here: There’s no excuses when you get to the game.” -- Martin Rennie

“I think [Sebastien Le Toux]’s fairly level-headed psychologically, but I do think it’s good for him to get this game out of the way and get on with the season. I think it was obviously a big deal for him – he was a fantastic player for the Philadelphia Union, and I believe he’ll be a great player for the Whitecaps as well. This is a hard-working city, and people love hard-working people, and Sebastien – you don’t get much more hard-working than he is – and we’re glad to have him. His work rate is phenomenal, and I think that’s had a big impact on our team, and we can work hard and follow suit from what he’s done. It’ll be good for him to have got this game out of the way now. He can get on with what he’s good at.” -- Martin Rennie

Larger-than-life Hassli a happy camper in 2012

Wherever he goes, Eric Hassli stands out. With his size, his tattoos, and his almost-shaved head, he can be seriously intimidating. A minute later, however, his face creased into a smile, he exudes a youthful exuberance that is a magnet for those around him. Standing a head taller than many of his teammates after a Whitecaps training session Friday morning, Hassli was one of the chief jokesters as Jay DeMerit tried to organize the group for a video to be played inside BC Place. Hassli yelled louder than everybody else (often out of turn) and yelled, “Again, again,” when the group broke up after the second take, just to see how many teammates would take the bait and stick around. MLS Insider Shawn Francis caught some additional hijinks on camera.

Almost exactly one year after signing with the Whitecaps as their first designated player, Hassli is a happy camper in his first full preseason with Vancouver. New head coach Martin Rennie has the Whitecaps – and Hassli – set for a 180-degree reversal heading into the new year, with an impressive array of talent, a more cohesive work ethic, and a 3-0 mark with a 7-0 goal differential in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic.