In the midst of the controversy over the Washington Redskins name it was pointed out to me that Syracuse University, affectionately referred to as the Orangemen, officially changed their title to simply “Orange” in 2004...almost ten years ago. This, to avoid the apparent gender bias of referring to the collective as Orange-men, even when we do have women who play for us and cheer us on. Once an Orangeman always an Orangeman is what we like to say...and for me there is no gender bias associated with the term. Orangemen refers to the collective players or fans on the team and only reflects gender so far as the gender make-up of the team and fan base is known. We have female players and fans who are Orangemen so collectively the term Orangemen is gender neutral. Women can be Orange”men” just as women are wo”men” and as an Orange”man” they are just as hu”man”. But instead of being wo and hu they are simply Orange, collectively, we are Orangemen. I’m well aware that even the term women and human, have also been categorized as having gender bias, which prompts us to use terms like “person”. But, in normal conversation, human and women have not yet been struck from English Language. And, there is no way we are changing our name to Orangepersons. In the end, unless a group steps forward complaining that the term Orangemen is discriminatory we are not prompted to change our name to Orange. An Orange is a color or a fruit. We are definitely not a type of citrus or simply a color choice. Syracuse Orange went in that direction thus leaving us to be the only Orangemen on the block. We should be proud because our name is both gender-less and uncontested.. Now onto last nights game...
As the Fall officially took hold of Northern Virginia, with the nip of winter in the air, and the smell of falling leaves all around, it is officially soccer season. The Orangemen assembled, slowly, at Arrowbrook Park in Herndon for another fixture with the Great Pretenders, led by Michael R. It appeared we would have 14 by the eVite, however at kick-off only 10 Orangemen had arrived and we had to rely on the Pretenders to supply us with number 11 to get the game started. At home games we’ve got to do better on getting to the field on time, not the least of which is the fact that I have to pay for the field ahead of time, and last night the ref was looking for his recompense early. Also, and more important, with the colder temperatures upon us, everybody needs to warm up. The other reason an earlier arrival is important so you know the rules under which we are playing, like having to remove jewelry, or whether or not we are sliding. Last night was a no sliding game. So please get to the field on time.
Last night we had an all star line-up. Jan was in the back sweeping, Matt was ahead of him as stopper. Karl was in in his fav position as right full-back and Chuck started as left back. Tedd started in midfield assisted by our loaner, Genaro, with Maurico on the right, and Alfredo on the left of midfield. Johnny H and Mooch started up top. Players who rounded out our Orangemen power last nighted included Bernie, Cris, Steve H, Will H, and a friend of Genaro’s.
The Orangemen dominated possession for the first 20 minutes of the game. We controlled the midfield and pressured the Pretenders immediately, winning and winning the ball. We had a number of opportunities to score, and our persistence was repaid when Johnny H found the back of the net. Eventually, the Pretenders found they form and mounted numerous counter attacks, but Jan was able to run down the serious threats, and Dr. Matt was able to use his speed to break down threats before they developed. When Cris took the field our dominance in the midfield was boosted considerably as his ball control is exquisite, rivaled only by Ben who took the night off to walk in the park with more visiting family members and look at the changing leaves. Also, with Bernie’s arrival (Bernie went to the wrong field) which we’ve all done once or twice, or three times, he complemented Johnny’s speed up top which always takes the pressure off and allows us the defense to recover and reset.
The Pretender’s never gave up and during the second half they were throwing everything at us. In fact I lost count but at a minimum the Pretenders hit the post or the cross bar on at least five shots. That’s not to say we didn’t have our share of chances at their end of the field, we did, however we didn’t hit the pine that many times. Unfortunately, in the last minute of the game, the Pretender’s were given a corner kick. The ball went to the back post, a scramble ensured, and they were able to tie the score with only seconds remaining.
All and all it was a fantastic game…
I need to point out that the ref last night issued at least one yellow card to the Pretenders for dissent, and was considering a yellow card for dissent for us as well. There should be no reason to talk to the ref. If a yellow card is shown, walk off the field. Also, after Bernie took down one of the Pretenders strikers, was shown yellow, and walked off the field, everyone else should be walking away from the incident. That diffuses the situation. Walking toward the incident or debating with other players just increases the tension. Will H, who was already on a yellow, was seconds away from being shown red, which would have reset our “Sportsmanship” clock. I want to point out that the Orangemen haven’t had a red card since Nov 6, 2012. We are at exactly a year...it would have been ironic to reset the clock at the one year point. So way to go Orangemen, 365 days without a red card. Well Done!
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