Disclaimer: DJ Walker's Stream of Consciousness is exactly what it says it is, a stream of consciousness while watching the game. It's not a match report, but is rather meant to be entertaining. Hopefully you will find it so, even if unconventional.

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I had forgotten that last year FCD only had 2 wins in the first nineteen games (sometimes it pays to watch the pregame stuff). That certainly gives some perspective on the less-than-stellar start to the season. That, and the undeniable fact that FCD has played a substantial percentage of the season with a man down.

I don't know much about tactics, but if your formation only adds up to 9, I know that ain't good.

Drew Moor is back in town. I hope he got a friendly greeting from the crowd. He was a fan favorite while he was here, and in fact had a standing invitation to marriage from at least one member of the Inferno, who shall remain nameless for the sake of propriety (you know who you are).

Speaking of the crowd, East Side looks like it is filling up nicely. Good sign.

Ouch. Marvin Chavez just got a calf full of Matt Pickens' cleats. He's okay, but that hurt me just looking at it. As much as anyone, I hate it when soccer players flop around the ground histrionically pretending to be hurt. But, you have to understand that certain kinds of knocks (like this one for example) are fairly exclusive to our sport, and tend to hurt like hell for about a minute, then go away. It's a fact of the game; sometimes when you see a guy flopping around, he is in fact in intense pain, and the fact that he's good as gold a mere minute later is not necessarily an indication that he is an un-manly, thespian-wannabe weenie.

This is especially true in the USA, where that kind of dramatic nonsense is generally not done, and definitely looked down upon. We all know there are parts of the world where this is common practice. I am thinking particularly of a region of South American known, I believe, as “South America”. But not in this country, buddy, no way; here we rub some dirt on it and keep playing. I think it has something to do with the inferiority complex the game has here, vis-a-vis American football. Soccer players know the reputation their sport has in this country, and go out of their way to combat it. Whatever you think of Chad Ochocinco's attempt to play soccer, you can feel fairly sure you'd never see him make a dozen rolls on the grass and wave his arms wildly after a hard foul.

This has been a really positive first 25 minutes. Castillo and Ferreira look really dangerous together, and OH, as soon as I type that, Ugo Ihemelu knocks in a goal! Colorado failed to clear their lines after a corner, and Ugo half-volleyed a Marvin Chavez header right past Pickens from six yards out. Nice.

Marvin Chavez is bleeding like a stuck pig after catching Nyassi's skull right in the face while challenging for the header. Man he's taken a beating tonight, just in the first half hour. Tough kid, Chavez, he’s not afraid to get in there. He's going to have to go off though. He may have a concussion; he's been on the ground several minutes now. Looks like Eric Avila coming in.

Again Sanna Nyassi with the tough foul, this time not even trying to play the ball and bringing Castillo to ground, hard. He's already on a yellow, and really he should be off. He's been out of control tonight. And if there is any soccer karma in the universe, we should see about a seven-man Rapids team by the end of the night.

I like Brek Shea as a left back a lot more than as a center back. He seems more comfortable defensively, and has already made a number of dangerous overlapping runs. This might be the ticket for him. He reminds me of Paul Broome, with his speed and willingness to get forward (there's an old school Dallas Burn reference for you kids).

Goal! David Ferreira, from a sublime through ball by young Castillo. Mayyyybe a hint of offside, but a good no-call by the assistant referee, in my completely objective and unbiased opinion. These two guys together may be the most dangerous combo in MLS. I mean, we knew Castillo could run like the wind, and find the back of the net, but if he can pass like this as well . . . defenders around the league will be losing sleep tonight, I suspect. And if not, they should be.

I do believe David Ferreira pulled a pacifier out of his shorts and put in his mouth as a goal celebration. I hope there's a good story behind this, some symbolism at play. Surely there must be. I'd hate to think he just happened to have one on him as a matter of course.

On the other hand, if he scores goals like that, he can pull a hobby horse out of there, I'm down with it.

You know I always enjoy doing new things, so I'm really delighted to type this next sentence:

Hey, FCD is up 2-0 at halftime!

Yeah, that felt good.

Second half OHHHHHHHH! Eric Avila plays a beautiful ball across the face of the goal right to David, who BURIES it, a mere 20 seconds in. Oh my. Are you kidding me? This is beautiful. Apparently the first three games were an extension of the preseason, and the regular season starts tonight.

Eric Avila, I believe, really needed that. He's had, along with everyone else, a slow start to the season, and may have been headed for the doghouse, and may have been flirting with a fatal lack of self-confidence. This is just what the doctor ordered for Avi.

I love the spray paint thing the referees are doing this year. They spray the spot of the foul, and spray the line 10 yards away the wall must stand behind. I feel pretty sure I could never be a referee under any circumstances, but especially with this innovation, It's almost a certainty I'd be reprimanded for painting a smiley face, or 'accidentally' spraying some mouthy punk who was complaining about a call.

FCD is still pounding the Colorado goal. I'll be surprised if they don't get at least one more tonight. I think Sensei Hyndman is entirely to my way of thinking when it comes to the best way to defend a three-goal lead, which is, of course, to make it a four-goal lead.

I'm not entirely sure Colorado has had a shot on goal yet this evening (speaking of sentences it is a pleasure to type).

Anthony Wallace has gone off with what looks like an ankle injury. I hate to see that; he's another really good young kid that used to play for FCD. Hope it's not too bad.

At his point, with about 20 minutes to go, the East Side of the stadium looks nearly full. The South End is pretty empty, but still, it looks like a nice-sized crowd. This is one of the few times the club has managed to combine a good crowd with a good performance. I can't tell you how many times terrific games have been played to sparse crowds, or good crowds have seen a stinker of a game. This, I'm hoping, is the start of a new trend.

Though to be sure, the mark of a true success is consistently good attendance regardless of recent form. In MLS, I'm not sure that has been seen yet, has it? Seattle has had consistently good numbers, but I don't think they have ever had a sustained run of really poor form in their brief existence. I'm more than willing to be corrected on this point, by any of you who have more complete knowledge of these things. I know Kenn Tomasch does a great job of keeping track of attendance trends in the league; I'd like to get his $.02 on this.

Zach Loyd just got chopped down, unnecessarily. He is another guy who has taken a beating tonight.

You have to say, Sensei has assembled a team that is not afraid to take a knock, which is a handy quality in this league, where defense is often defined as 'foul early, foul often'. I think half the challenge offensively this year will be keeping guys like Ferreira and Castillo off the deck and in the game.

And as if to prove my point, Jeff Larentowicz just completely hacks down Ferreira from behind, studs up, and doesn't even receive a verbal caution, much less a yellow card. What a joke.

The Inferno are in fine voice tonight.

All right! Full time, and what more could you ask for than a sound thumping of a hated rival on a Friday night? Not much, friends. Not much. The only thing I could have wished for was to have been there in person, but I'll take a win regardless of where I watch it.

See you next week for Kenny Cooper and the Portland Timbers.