After reading Dave McKenna’s “Martyr Most Foul” (Cheap Seats, 9/5) I cannot resist some very necessary comments:

Thanks for coming out to what seems to be your very first D.C. United match. I am only sorry that you didn’t care to support D.C.’s only winning team until you could find something negative to write about. I say “very first” because many of your assertions display a total lack of knowledge about D.C. United’s record, their players, and most of all their fans.

First, your assertions that fans are motivated to cheer for Mario Gori and Raul Diaz Arce because they are newly respected because of charges brought against them is simply ridiculous. This is compounded by your incorrect statement that they are only recently popular and more so than many other players on the team.

“Gori’s a fine defender, but the charges, not his play, were surely behind the stadiumwide chant.”

Whatever, Dave. Gori was out most of this season with an ACL injury. He was such a vital player last year, many were concerned about how we would fare without him. His first game back on Aug. 9 (vs. the L.A. Galaxy, before the charges), he directly challenged the overconfident keeper (Hartman), stole the ball from him, and scored a fantastic goal that will most likely be in season-highlight footage. Fans went nuts over his play then, just like all last season. People chanted, “Gori, Gori,” then, too, among many other times in appreciation of his top-notch play. Not just since he has been accused of a terrible crime, as you pointedly say. Every game since then people are glad to see him hit the field because he is an important player that fans haven’t seen nearly enough of this year and they (we) are always ready for more.

Diaz Arce is tied (with Jaime Moreno of D.C. United) as the leading scorer in the entire league! He regularly out-jumps players 6 inches taller than he is and makes breathtaking plays that have everyone in the stadium on their feet. He almost always receives roaring applause when introduced. People are always there for Raul, not just this year.

In conclusion, the next time you are going to insult the sensibilities of your readers, please know something about your subject. If you are in fact a soccer buff, and what I have said is no news to you, then shame on you, because if this woman is not being truthful, she is wreaking havoc on the lives of a quiet family man and a newlywed with his first child on the way. Do they not deserve the benefit of the doubt, too? Or in the ’90s do we suspend that favor based on the nature of an accusation?

Screaming Eagle

Arlington, Va.

via the Internet