C.R.E.A.M.

Get the moneys. Dollar, dollar bill y'all.

I just paid $400 for two nosebleed tickets for a pre-season practice game that will probably not feature the biggest names of the sport playing for arguably the two most famous soccer teams on this planet (Manchester United and Barcalona). I'm not bitching. I didn't have to pay for this. It's just an example of how much money is flowing here. The game is a "sellout" (you can still pay scalpers for tickets).

Another example...

Doha, Qatar has an average high temperature of over 100° F in June. It has a dreadful human rights record regarding its migrant worker population.
Yet, this country was selected as host of the 2022 World Cup.

We'll move the tournament to November and December when it's cooler (despite being mid-season for the major leagues in Europe), FIFA says.

We'll investigate the poor working conditions, FIFA says.

By the way, Qatar is the richest country in the world by GDP per capita.

Finally, finally, this organization is being taken down.

For soccer fans worldwide, it's been a long time coming.

This bribery scandal could be the biggest in history. We're talking billions of dollars.
It's about damn time.

30 for 30

The ESPN documentary series 30 for 30 consistently elevates sports stories by showing how they relate into society at large.

Of Miracles and Men
Muhammad and Larry
The Two Escobars
You Don't Know Bo
I Hate Christian Laettner

I could go on and on, but this series has been incredible to watch. Elway to Marino is about the NFL draft, the NFL fucking draft, and it's riveting!

This is a series that if you're a non-sports fan, and you want to understand why those of us who love sports do, you need to watch these documentaries.

This is not crossdressing

I am the owner of over a dozen soccer jerseys. The one I've always wanted most since 1999 was the one I'm wearing now. Two stars over the US Soccer crest.
The U.S. Women's National Team jersey.

Available in men's sizes for the first time.

I'm interested in the politics of this move. Plain and simple sexism kept this from happening before.

"Men wearing a woman's shirt/blouse? Har, har!"

To be honest the design is a little dull, but it's simple enough for anyone/everyone to wear. I look forward to hearing the reaction from people when I wear this in public (the first time being this Sunday when I go to Avaya Stadium for the first time to watch the USWNT take on Ireland, a friendly crowd for a friendly). I expect the usual sexist bullshit from soccer fans whenever I bring up the women "it's slow, it's not technical".

Don't care, I'll wear my stars with pride. I watched them earn that second star in person.

As an aside, this isn't my first jersey from a woman's team. I bought an orange Cyberrays kit back in the day with Chastain on the back. It was a woman's XL size and cut and didn't fit the way I like. I finally got rid of it after the letters and numbers peeled off. I keep hoping to see someone in it after I gave it up for donation.

What the fuck is that thing on Pablo's face?

Pablo's gone total hipster! WTF?