Although Mazzoleni did everything in his power to keep Lazio
off the board and give the advantage to Milan, waiving off not just one but
probably two penalty claims that were valid for Lazio, he had no idea that he
was up against a Milan team that could shoot themselves in the leg multiple
times within a single match. Or the punctuation mark that Philippe Mexes would
make in the seven minutes of stoppage time to leave Milan on ten men and also
leave the Milan fans to wear the Cone of Shame. His behavior, of course, only
slightly more shameful than the behavior of the Milan fans themselves, who
whistled and chanted against their own team when they were down. And I don’t
know what is more shameful – doing the opposite of supporting your team or
pretending that you had no idea this team was going to play so badly with the
squad they had available. Will this be the game that everyone wakes up and
smells the coffee?
 |
| When our fans are shameful, we all wear the cone of shame |
The game had everything… a potential brawl less than two
minutes in, fouls by the dozens, a Menez cleat to Marchetti’s head, seven
yellow cards, a broken ankle (Djordevic,) and injuries galore. Everything that
is, except De Jong. We knew a few days ago this was going to be a mess, hence the return of the Drinking Game. Milan started
off well enough with Menez’ early goal, but we were slowly deflated by an
on-point Lazio. The biggest talking point, of course, was Mexes’ psychotic
episode. After Mauri not getting the penalty for Mexes’ shirt tug in the first
half, the two of them had been mixing it up all game. Mexes, also ex-Roma, did
not like Mauri’s challenge right after stoppage time, so he lost it. Having to
be restrained by Muntari (the irony is not lost on me there,) play resumed, but then he walked over to Mauri and put one hand up to his neck as if to choke him, and that was the red
card. However he was not done. He went over and attacked Mauri again, was
wrestled off by Montolivo and more, then came back for more, I think almost
everyone on the team tried to pull him off before he finally left the pitch. Vergogna.
But as shameful and horrible as it was, I think I am more
disgusted by Milan fans. According to one “enlightened” individual on Twitter,
fans have a right to whistle and chant against their team when they’re down.
Because they spend their hard-earned money to go to the stadium each week. Who
does that sound like? Juve fans. Entitled, horrible,
eat-their-own-young-even-when-they’re-winning Juve fans. Except they claim to
support Milan. Apparently, those fans get to whistle our team, deflating them
more than conceding a goal and ruining the team for the rest of us, because they are some kind of elitist snobs. I
suppose they also burn the restaurant down when they don’t like their dinner?
Where is the faith Inzaghi asked of them? Where is the patience we were told we
would need for this past two and a half years? Where is their fandom, their
basic human decency to actually support the team they claim to support?
 |
| A poor performance from Milan, but a great performance from Lazio |
Why are these results shocking people? Like a train wreck
you somehow didn’t see coming in an open field? Wake up and smell the coffee.
In 2012, we sold Thiago Silva and replaced him with Acerbi. We will not be
defending well any time soon. We have had three coaches in just over a year.
Changing again will not only cost the club more money, but will likely produce
the exact same results. Because when you
change 4-5 complete starting lineups in the squad within two and a half years, you can expect neither
results nor consistency. This is not rocket science, people. The problems on the pitch are merely a result of much, much bigger problems. You are attacking the wrong people. Wake up and smell the coffee.
If you think it’s okay to kick your team when it’s down just
because you spent your hard-earned money for the privilege of seeing them play,
then you are supporting the wrong team, my friend. Those scumbags wear black
and white. This is Milan. We are fans. Fans support their team, especially in
times of crisis. So you’re angry? News flash: WE ALL ARE. WE ALL WANT CHANGE. It’s just that some
of us try to keep it classy. Some of us realize that hurting your team when
they are struggling doesn’t change the problems at all at the club, it makes things worse. That our
voices are better raised when they are not against those who are fighting on
the pitch for us. Some of us realize that this squad was never built to win, and so we
neither expect it nor act like entitled little brats when the wins don’t
miraculously come, striking out like a pack of wild animals, hurting the very
thing they claim to love. Vergogna.
 |
| Mexes channeling the Milan fans, apparently |
I was disgusted by Mexes’ breakdown, but it’s not his first
time. He is always a risk, and will serve a lengthy ban for it, too. But I want
to vomit when I think of all of the fans who jeer their own team when they are
down. All of the fans on social media who act like they just woke up from a
seven year nap and had no idea that Milan sucked this much and are Chris Crocker level hysterical all over everyone else's TL. It’s not news,
people. This stuff has been going on for a long time, and especially for the
last two and a half years. What is news is that, like
we talked about on the last podcast, Milan fans have apparently lost
all class. Berlusconi can sell the club, Galliani can die of his Obsessive
Transfer Disorder™, and Inzaghi can be sacked. The players can be sold to Serie
B teams and we can buy the best players in the world. All of those things can
change, but the horrible behavior of Milan fans at the game and online can
never be taken back. Even this Milan deserves better than that. People who can make
the connection from horrible transfer choices to low quality squad to poor results
without making things worse. Wake up and smell the coffee. And then please do
something about that class.
This post inspired by the music of
Rammstein
Our next match is
Coppa Italia Quarterfinals
Milan vs. Lazio
Tuesday, January 27 • 21:00 CET (3pm EST)