The Boston Red Sox had their Curse of the Bambino, until they finally won a World Series in 2004. And the Red Bulls had their curse of Caricola, until they finally earned their first meaningful silverware Sunday night, celebrating the Supporters’ Shield in front of a sold-out crowd of supporters after a 5-2 win over Chicago.
And it was those who had suffered the longest – head coach Mike Petke, assistant John Wolyniec and equipment manager Fernando Ruiz, who has been with the club for its entire title-less existence – who likely felt it the most. Petke – who played more games than anybody in the team’s history – has always worn his heart on his sleeve, and Sunday his heart was bursting with emotion.
“There’s no hiding who I am and what I represent,” Petke said. “I wear it on my sleeve every day and these guys know, so it wasn’t difficult when I first got the job to portray to these players what the club means to me and the fan base because I wear it every day. The question was, are they going to follow? And to a man they have. These guys are proud to play in front of the supporters that we have.
“At the end of the day, you sit back and say, ‘Seventeen years, this club has nothing to show for it as far as hardware goes.’ It was tough for me to grab that and raise it over my head because we have five games left. But looking around, our captain Thierry [Henry] jumping around in the moment, and guys understanding it’s the moment.’’
Henry grabbed the Supporters’ Shield — given to the team with the best record in MLS — brought the team in close together and handed it to Petke, waving everybody back so the 37-year-old Long Island native and fan favorite could bask in the moment.
“That’s why it was important for them to hold the shield,’’ Henry said. “You could sense it was extra special for Mike. They grew up as fans of this team and they played in it. You could see Mike was having more pressure than usual. It’s normal. It’s the team you support, you grew up in. He was trying to hide it. You could see that tonight.
“I think the fans, us, we will always remember that. But like I said before, you got to follow with [winning the MLS Cup]. Hopefully we can. If we talk about tonight, it’s a great moment, great moment. We’ve been waiting for that for a very long time and people that have been at the club before me even longer. I wanted Mike and [Ruiz] to lift the Shield before everybody else.”
Henry took the Shield and gave it to Ruiz, and prompted him to raise it as well.
“I didn’t expect anything. But it was a sign of respect. You can’t buy that. I earned that,’’ said Ruiz, the equipment manager for every player who ever suited up for this club, from the first in Tab Ramos to Nicola Caricola, whose own goal in the final seconds of the franchise’s first home game doomed them to defeat and spurred stories of a curse. There were a host of highs and lows since.
“Many lows? They were basically all lows,’’ said Ruiz, who claims this team is different. “It’s really a reflection of Mike. He was never the most gifted, skilled player, but he always gave 150 percent. … With the heart and love for the team they’ve shown this year, we’re on the way to bigger and better things.
“I’ve known Mike since he came here [in 1998]. A couple of times we could taste it so bad, and it got away. Hopefully between myself and Mike and Johnny we can win it for the old guys.”
Wolyniec was another club stalwart, a hard-working striker who played alongside Petke and was eventually offered a place on the coaching staff. The Staten Island native served as a more measured contrast to his emotional former teammate.
“What I like was there was a lot of buildup to this game, but our guys didn’t shrink,’’ Wolyniec said. “You have to give them a lot of credit. We’ve been able to do that a couple times this year and that’s the sign of a really good team.
“[It was] fantastic, probably the best night this club has seen. It’s been a long time coming. The buildup throughout the week, all the stories and questions about curses, it’s just a really good feeling, great to see the fans so happy.”
Speaking of curses, Petke chuckled that he felt terrible that Caricola was associated with some fictional curse, adding now that it’s over, “I hope he’s sitting back in Italy enjoying a cigarette and a cappuccino.”