Hello Colorado Soccer fans. We did not expect to be doing this podcast! Matt is galavanting around England with the girlfriend. Mark is hyped for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds playing in the USL Championship Final!

We separately discuss the Apple TV MLS Season Pass news. MLS voted to change the schedule format to the European style. We got a schedule for the 2026 MLS season. Lionel Messi is coming to Mile High on April 18. We've got USL thoughts. Also, Matt talks Denver Summit FC.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. Well so much for taking a few weeks off. Chris Armas will not return as head coach. Pádraig Smith and Kevin Demoff had a press conference. It was informative but also it wasn't.

Holding The High Line banters about the USL Championship and MLS NEXT Pro playoffs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks have a tough road game at FC Tulsa to start the playoffs. Colorado Rapids 2 are hosting MNUFC2 on Sunday in the Western Conference Final.

Then we react to Armas Out. We give our thoughts on the press conference. It was a big deal that someone from KSE was there to speak. It also felt like Groundhog Day. Many Rapids fans will be underwhelmed. We try to make sense of it all.

The guys end the show with a draft of our realistic and ideal coaching candidates. Vincente Sánchez anybody?

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. The 2025 Colorado Rapids season is over. A lot happened after the full-time whistle. Holding The High Line sits down for a looooong chat to discuss the Chris Armas apology and do a season review.

The guys break down the 2-2 draw against Los Angeles FC and why it was a microcosm of their season and their matchup against LAFC. We discuss how Colorado came so close to winning and so close to making the playoffs.

Then Matt talks about the post game press conference with Chris Armas. Spoiler alert, he and I are good. But this is a good 'Inside Baseball' conversation about MLS media relations and how journalists do their work covering a local beat.

Rabbi and Red then review the season, Lord of the Rings trilogy style. We talk about Chris Armas' future with the club and why the timing of this extension or decision to let him walk is so interesting. We discuss roster options for 2026 and what other players could depart. We look ahead to positional targets for the 2026 January Transfer Window. Then we give you all the information on the offseason. Spoiler alert, it's going to be a couple weeks.

Here's some links to stuff we talked about during the episode: When Playing It Out Of The Back Goes Wrong (@WPIOOTBGW), Mark's open letter to Chris, and Matt's thread discussing it.

Thank you for listening to us all season long, High Liners.

1:00 Intro Banter

5:00 Recapping the 2-2 draw with LAFC

22:00 Chris Armas Press Conference Discussion

28:00 The Press Conference Audio

61:00 Season Review

94:00 Chris Armas future/Potential Coaching Search

1:45:00 End of Season Roster Decisions

1:54:00 2026 Tactics and January Transfer Targets

2:15:00 Offseason Roster Schedule

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. This week on Holding The High Line, it's Decision Day 2025. We preview the Rapids hosting Son and Los Angeles FC. We talk playoff clinching scenarios. It's a mess.

The guys banter about the USMNT game and international window. Matt goes Inside Baseball talking about what national team media is like.

Then we preview LAFC, Fan Appreciation Night, and Decision Day. What do the Rapids do formation wise? How do they break down the Black and Gold and guard against Son and Bouanga on the counter attack? What does the Out Of Town Scoreboard need to do depending on if the Rapids win or draw?

Then we discuss big picture what this weekend means for the Rapids off-season. Chris Armas is still out of contract. There's contract decisions as well.

During this episode, we discuss Laurel Pfahler's (Queen City Press) open letter to MLS Comms. You should read it.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. Well, that was underwhelming. This week on Holding The High Line, we break down the Rapids out of town scoreboard.

The guys banter about the international break. The USMNT has two friendlies and no juice. Zack Steffen didn't get called up. He did not deserve it. We talk about Poch's every worrying comments. Also not that many of you are going to the game on Tuesday at DSGP.

Then we take a high level view of the Real Salt Lake game and the Rocky Mountain Cup. Can Rapids fans take solace in retaining the Cup for the first time since in 19 years? Is the team for sure missing the playoffs? How about Cole Bassett again being played at left wing?

We discuss the Chris Armas contract talks. Matt has some non-Rapids first team news to update you on. We look at playoff elimination scenarios for the weekend. Gulp.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. This week on Holding The High Line, we are joined by Marcelo Balboa to preview the Rocky Mountain Cup! Rabbi discusses the high holidays and how it relates to sports and life.

We discuss the 1-1 draw with Minnesota United. Rafael Santos had another standout performance. They had issues breaking down a low block. Cole Bassett is still being started on the left, which isn't ideal. Paxten Aaronson and Rafael Navarro still need to click.

Then Red talks to Marcelo Balboa. We look back on his jersey retirement. We discuss talking points around the state of the Rapids, the Rocky Mountain Cup, and Pablo Mastroeni. Celo handicaps the MLS Western Conference playoff race and the Supporters' Shield.

Then we preview Real Salt Lake. This is a must win, yeah? We confirm the scenarios in which the Rapids can not win but retain the trophy. Diego Luna, Victor Olatunji, oh my.

Courage, Rapids supporters. Taifour Diané hype.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Soccer fans. This week on Holding The High Line, Rabbi is out for Rosh Hashanah, so Matt Pollard is joined by Jason Maxwell of View From The Couch.

Jason and Matt banter about Ballon d'Or. We have good news regarding John Babiak's health. We recap the 3-1 loss to FC Dallas. MLS released club roster profiles on Friday. We review that and discuss the implications for the winter transfer window. There is an Ask HTHL about the Reggie Cannon G+ numbers. We touch on Eamon Zayed leaving Northern Colorado Hailstorm.

Then we preview Minnesota United and discuss the playoff race as it stands. Thanks again to Jason for the strong performance on the call-up.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Soccer Fans. This week on Holding The High Line, the Colorado Rapids won against Houston Dynamo on a stoppage time own goal! We discuss an FC Dallas six pointer and more.

The guys open with some heavy topics, discussing the gun violence from last week. Also Real Salt Lake kicked a spectator out for wearing a MAGA hat, then apologized to him publicly, and invited him back. This despite wearing political campaign material being against MLS stadium policy. RSL Twitter thinks they found the guy. He's said some bad words and suggested the club send all their foreign players back to where they came from.

The we lighten things up, discussing the 2-1 win over Houston Dynamo. The home debuts from Paxten Aaronson, Rob Holding, Rafael Santos, and Alexis Manyoma were good. Cole Bassett scored on a set piece. The winner was a bit of a lucky bounce but it was a much better performance.

We discuss some recent press releases from Denver Summit FC. Spoiler, they've got more season ticket holders than the Rapids have ever had, probably.

Then we preview FC Dallas. Another mid team with one really good attacker. They've got Lalas Abubakar though.

Oh, and Matt talks about his ideas for MLS 30 for 30 documentaries.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. This week on Holding The High Line, we preview Houston Dynamo and revisit how Colorado Rapids spent the Moïse Bombito money.

The guys banter about the USMNT September international break and the state of the program. We have concerns about Poch's approach to this job and how the player pool has reacted to him. This window didn't really change that. I guess we're excited for the game at DICK's in October.

Then we preview Forever Orange. How good has Jack McGlynn been? How might head coach Ben Olsen approach this game? What does the Rapids lineup look like and what do they need to do to bounce back? Alexis Manyoma debut? We have some answers.

We touch on the FIFA World Cup ticket visa setup and how it's a mess. We touch on why the Denver Broncos potentially moving to Burnham Yard won't change much for the Rapids.

Lastly, we revisit the topic of the Moïse Bombito transfer money and how it was spent. Mark and Matt do some nerd math, look at spreadsheets, and sort out our differences. We come to the same conclusion with different approaches. Enjoy this HTHL sicko nerds.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello Colorado Rapids fans. Well that loss to Sporting KC wasn't fun. Holding The High Line is back to ruminate for too long about it.

The guys recap their travels over Labor Day weekend. Matt went to the family cabin on Michigan to visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, in the Upper Peninsula. He nerded out about the Edmund Fitzgerald. Mark had a less fun weekend. Shout out to the 29th Infantry. Oh, and we talk about the Leagues Cup Final, which was boring and uneventful match and postgame. Don Garber, suspend Luis Suarez for the rest of 2025, you coward.

Then the guys discuss the 4-2 loss at Sporting KC. Rafael Santos, Paxten Aaronson, and Rob Holding made their first starts for Colorado. There were defensive mistakes a plenty. Rafael Navarro missed ANOTHER penalty. There were some good attacking sequences. Then there was an eight minute collapse in the second half. What's not working tactically with this team? Why are they so inconsistent? Will they find continuity? What does all this mean for their playoff hopes and the future of Chris Armas? We try to find some answers.

Then the guys do some house keeping with updates on Alexi Manyoma and Josh Atencio. We then look ahead to Colorado's final five games and what they can and need to do give that schedule.

Oh and here is that Brian Jennings interview article on Rob Holding.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.