An Open Letter To FC Dallas' Squad Ahead of Game 2

Dear FC Dallas,

If Saturday is the end of 2025, do not hang your heads in shame.

Months ago you were left for dead, an afterthought amongst a sea of imported global stars and surprising upstarts. Nobody was paying attention to you, because there was nothing happening worth said attention.

Instead of retreating into obscurity, you rose to the occasion. Two plus months of success, only one loss in that time, while re-defining your entire season in the span of ten games. From the depths of darkness to the light of the postseason, your hard work saved a previously deceased season.

That by itself should repel any regretful feelings. Should it all end Saturday night, do not succumb to the dark embrace of failure. You didn't fail, you just didn't succeed as much as you wanted. That'll put you in company with 28 other teams in the dying hours of December 6th.

It doesn't have to end Saturday night however.

Yes we all saw what happened in Vancouver last Sunday, y'all more than anyone who were on the field for every minute. There's no sugar coating it, that wasn't good. We all know it, so there's no sense in running from the truth. Owning that moment is a big part of development, of growth and maturation as a group. Don't let it swallow you whole, because one thing is for sure:

Sunday night was an outlier.

That wasn't the same group that dug in to save their season when their death warrants were all but signed. It wasn't the same group that launched themselves on Decision Day into the second season when the vast majority thought their odds were slim. It wasn't the same group that embodied their coach's mantra of warriorhood, of a fighting spirit that should never extinguish.

Don't let one bad moment define you, especially when there's so many others that contradict it.

There is no other time but Saturday, no other place but Toyota Stadium. Your season hangs in the balance, in front of supporters that want nothing more than your success you have the chance to say "not tonight" to that creeping darkness of winter. "Not tonight" to the finality of a well-fought campaign, "not tonight" to the invaders from up north who have every intention of putting you down.

Rebuke them.

They are mighty, they are talented, and they've made you taste blood. That should motivate you, not scare you. Yes your backs are against the wall, but let it support you as you come out swinging. This is the time, the place, the moment to define yourselves how you want to be known. There is no day but Saturday, no time but the ninety minutes you're given, and no other option but to fight.

Fight for yourselves, because you're worth fighting for.

Fight for your teammates, so that they might fight for and alongside you.

Fight for your supporters, whose love never wavers even in the face of supreme adversity.

With your shield or on it lads. The choice is yours.

Make it count.