1) What is Colorado Rapids culture like, as opposed to other football cultures you've experienced as both a fan and an employee? I mean that both in the bigger sense of "what has Colorado shown you that’s distinct from (or similar to) other cultures you've experienced, like in England generally or London specifically?" and in the specific sense of the Club itself as in "What’s the difference between the culture of Arsenal FC, or growing up as in the fan culture of Chelsea, and being a part of the Rapids culture?"

First off, the other cultures you mention have evolved over many generations. They have, also, not had outside influences helping shape how the sport is seen, viewed and followed. Here in the USA, other popular sports helped create and shape the sporting landscape. Now, all of a sudden, this ‘outside’ sport takes hold and there’s a battle with identity. Are soccer fans in the US supposed to be like European fans, or NFL fans, or Mexican soccer fans, or baseball fans? I get a real sense of ‘how are we supposed to behave?’ from around MLS, not just Colorado. And now, not only are there the internal influences of other sports, but there is now the infiltration of the same sport, but from overseas, so fans here see how English, Spanish, German, Italian, etc club fans support their teams.

The Arsenal and Chelsea culture is different now to what it was when I was having to put my hand in my pocket and attend as a spectator, back in the 1980s. Part of the huge difference in culture is about more than just the fans. It is about how much the sport resonates within the very fabric of society, and its elevated status (or otherwise) in the mainstream media. In the Rapids’ back yard, I would compare the culture of following a Premier League club like Arsenal to a Colorado native following the Broncos. It is that constant reminder of who you are, who your team is, who the stars are, the heroes, the rivals, the storylines, the history (with all the memories handed down through the generations).

That isn’t here in Colorado – yet – because of so many factors. For one, it’s so much easier to punch through that glass ceiling if you’ve not got a load of people clad in Broncos orange sat right above you, refusing to budge or even acknowledge you.

I hear this quite a lot from those inside and outside of the USA. What is the state of the soccer culture? What is it more akin to compared to other parts of the world? Will it ever be the same as the type seen in Europe. My answer varies, because I don’t see it as straight-forward. It’s still a very young culture, and one that is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. Whether in Spain, Brazil, China or South Africa, the soccer culture in these nations are pretty much the same at whichever stadium you’re at. That’s not the case here in the USA, as the evolution of football and that football culture is at different stages across the country. In Colorado, you can see the differences within the stadium on any given game day – from the raucous crowd that makes up C38, and does a fantastic job to generate noise – to the rather more sedate elements elsewhere. But it’s changing, and with the help of the intelligent supporters’ clubs. They have a vital role to play in educating the new fans, and the next generation of fans.

Part of the football culture in the States – and it’s a result of the general sports culture – is this need to be up and down from your seat during play. In England, you would have a few beers before the game, grab a burger/hot dog/pie/pasty en route to your seat, and there you would stay. A couple of minutes before half-time, you’d try and beat the rush to the restroom/concessions stand, and then firmly back in your seat well in time for the second half. And you would cheer, shout, clap and whinge for the entire 90 minutes. Again, that’s not the universal way at the moment. The fans ought to be very much part of the theater, at all times of the game.

Editor's Commentary: What I think is interesting is that we often define soccer culture in the United States by what it isn't more often than we define what it is. I wanted to get both sides of that. We define so much of what we do as fans by the example set within England. But we're not England. And even within England we aren't Londoners or Mancs or Liverpudlians; we're Coloradans. How is it Coloradans support football? What is unique to us? This has, as it turns out, been a very difficult question to answer.

2) Sports journalism is still journalism, but it’s also a species of storytelling. As a storyteller, with sport as your medium, you’re constantly looking at the hard data of games, interviews and statistics to craft stories and narratives about clubs, teams and players. What would you say is the narrative of the Colorado Rapids first team from last year and this year? How do the individual stories of players, staff and fans contribute to and feed the narrative of the first team or the club as a whole? Or are they not running together at all?

Where we are at the moment, answering this before the Seattle game and after five defeats in a row, it’s clear that there have been bumps in the road. Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, though, I think we’ll look back at this as being one of transition. It’s not a word fans like, and I’m not particularly keen on it, but a new coaching staff takes time to do things their own way. The way MLS is structured makes it very difficult to apply the ‘quick fix’ approach that is evident in most other leagues, where teams can go and spend what they like on who they like. That said, the Rapids at their strongest were able to compete with most in this league. Prolonged absences and injuries have obviously blighted the recent form, but this is a club which is making strides on various fronts, though it’s the results and performance of the first team which take center stage – and rightly so. The stats don’t make for happy reading at present, particularly when you look at the 51 points (and 5th) achieved by the team of 2013. In a results-based business, it’s all about the points column come the end of the regular season, but that’s to overlook the desire, determination and drive to recognize the weakness and get better. We all have a role to play in moving the Rapids onwards and upwards. In some shape or form we’ve all invested in the club, and all have a desire for it to grow and succeed – that’s where the individual stories come together. Fans, players and staff are all responsible for shaping the direction of this club.