The Colorado Rapids hosted a fan forum for the Season Ticket Holders today via teleconference and it was an hour spent where few difficult questions were fielded by the panel and not much was learned. Rapids President Tim Hinchey, Vice President/Technical Director Paul Bravo, Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni and Captain Sam Cronin were on the call today taking questions from fans.

Some Thoughts:

1) They took actual questions: I know there was a concern that the Rapids would only accept pre-screened questions. It did not appear to be the case as the panel fielded a number of questions.

2) But not much was learned: I can't say that anything that was said was earth shattering or made me think, wow this team is on the rise.

3) Playoffs? The Rapids still think the playoffs are a possibility. There is no chance of this, but I appreciate the optimism, no matter how misguided it is.

4) The Window: Hinchey admitted that they mismanaged the 2014 transfer window. This was nice to hear. Because they did. I appreciate when someone admits they screwed something up.

5) Pablo in 2016: Book it. He is going nowhere.

6) The Notable Quotables: Here are a few quotes from today. Remember that everything has a context and it was critical to hear the call, but here are some of the best quotes from today:

From Tim Hinchey:

We are bitterly disappointed with where we are today

We ask for more patience

We continue to invest in all areas of the club

We have seen tremendous growth in the club and we have almost quadrupled our season tickets since I arrived

We have not resigned ourselves to be a mid market team

We have shown both and home and on the road that we can beat anyone in the league

But we want to be more consistent

We want an attacking style of play based on strong foundations of discipline

Unfortunately we haven't always been in a position to get the player we want at the right time.

We need to have a strong supporters group

It is up to C38 if they want to move

We are going to continue to invest

We have increased our budgets over the last couple years

We have gotten into the DP market for the first time

All of this takes time. These are not things that happen overnight.

Ownership is investing in the club and in the marketplace.

Last thing we need to do is to get results on Saturday night.

Investment has gone up every year and will keep going up every year.

From Pablo Mastroeni:

Sam led by example and wanted the responsibility to be Captain.

Drew was in and out of the team and we needed a leader

Things take time

Where we lack, and it's no surprise, is the finishing part

Most important thing is a structure to build from

Currently where we stand is not where we want to be

The frustrating part for me is that we are so close

The playoffs are a realistic possibility for us

None of the decisions I make I go rogue with.

All the decisions I make are heavily talked about

On thing that cant be questioned is the 100% commitment to each other.

The fight and the spirt of the team is never questioned.

From Paul Bravo:

We need to create our own environment for players incoming and for them to understand who we are and what we are about

Selling our state, community and club in the best way we can

Using the college system to bring young talent into the group

Its not that we have changed our focus its that things are not as straight forward as players and fans would like and that comes with peaks and valleys and consistency is key to getting first team minutes on a consistent basis

We have been close on a number of occasions

We do feel we have a great group of guys

No one person is more important than the club

Ultimately we are trying to build a model that can sustain success over time

Everyone at the club is under scrutiny

If we do not make the playoffs everything will be evaluated at the end of the season

Who are we building the club around: Dillon Powers

He has shown he can be a top player in this league.

Another player I would put in there is Dillon Serna.

And the last one would be Juan Ramirez. A guy with tremendous upside.

From Sam Cronin

Win or lose it falls on the players shoulders

As players we will do a better job, win or lose, to thank the fans for their support

Our product in the final third has not been good enough. We are getting more players in advance positions