I believe

US vs Mexico World Cup Qualifier.
President Elect Donald Trump.

Dear American Outlaws, these things should not mix tonight.
A few months ago AO took a stand against the "puto" chant. I'd never been prouder to be a US supporter. I wish to see that same standard to the code of conduct tonight.

I'm sure there are Trump supporters in the group. Don't make the chants against Mexico about him. Frankly, I hope to not hear anything negative against Mexico tonight. The stakes are now higher than the game.

Have fun, stay safe, and hug it out after the game no matter the score.

Let's keep the rivalry about the game.

ETA: I found all these links after the game, and although we lost, I couldn't be prouder of the statements before and during the game.

After Trump's election, USA, Mexico players display unity with pregame photo

Before U.S. and Mexico Play, Fans Push for Respect in a Charged Atmosphere

Bradley out, Jürgen in

Thank god for Macs. Typing umlauts is much easier than in Windows. :)

I wanted a change, and I'm happy to see it, but I reserve judgment until I see what Jürgen does. First up, nothing less than Mexico.

(sigh)

It felt like a carbon copy of the Brazil Confed Final.
I groaned when I saw Bornstein come in for 'Dolo. I knew the Mexicans would go straight after him. We're definitely at a transition stage for the US men, especially in the back. Ike Opara please don't be injury prone, your country needs you.

On the plus side, both US goals were well worked pretty goals that took advantage of Mexico not defending well.

Bob, you proved that you actually can adapt game to game, but the US needs someone better. Thanks for what you've accomplished. I won't be surprised if he stays on, but the US needs a change.

Everyone settle in for a Mexican reign for a few years.

Now take a deep breath, and settle in again. It's WWC time.
Just win, baby. :)

Time to represent

Just win, baby.
This is a damn good Mexican team that's shown kinks in the armor the last two games. The US started great against Canada, struggled, and now seem to be finally gelling. We'll see if Bob plays it straight, or if he continues to change things up. I think Landon will start this time around (not that hard to fathom). 


Army and Outlaws be careful, don't do anything too stoopid, and give them hell. I wish I could be down there in person.

Y KANT JOHNNY/JANE SCORE?

After watching the women take on Mexico in their WWC send off friendly, and last night's USMNT debacle against Panama, I've fucking had it with these teams not being able to put away their opponents.

Let's start with the women, they did everything but score until Cheney saved them with a blast from the goddesses. They're not ready for the World Cup, and they need to be a lot cooler in front of the net if they're going make their way through the knockout rounds. If they expect Abby to provide the goals, they're in trouble. She's a holding forward now. She's good for heading set pieces, and for laying the ball off to speedy, clinical forwards to slot the ball home. She's not fast enough or good enough with the ball at her feet to do anything else. Let's hope someone steps up for the women to be that stone cold finisher. Can someone tell me what happened to Sydney Leroux, and why she isn't on this team?

The men...fuck...the men are in piss poor shape. I wasn't happy with Bob Bradley's re-up after South Africa, but I was willing to give him a chance. His teams don't come to tournaments ready to play. This learning as you go shit has to end, and that's Bob's fault. I'm tired of the US figuring out how to attack after they've put themselves in a hole. It's gotten stale, and it's time for a change. Short of a miracle win against an on fire, in form Mexico (+13 goal differential in 3 games!!! Are you fucking kidding me?) in the final. I think Bob's gone after this tournament. They need new blood. The forwards aren't getting shit for service. The midfield is too unsettled, and the defense is just too green. Do it now before World Cup qualifying. Please.

Day 17 - Ruh row

To the tune of Rule, Britannia!:

O dear England,
her fans too blind to see,
you're the Queen of Mediocrity.

Well, they might be seeing it now. At least we US fans weren't expecting them to win the whole thing. Missed goal call or not, y'all got your ass whooped.

Same with Mexico. I was cheering for ya, but damn, Argentina made you look like an amateur side.

Day 12

Congrats to Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and South Korea for making it through. South Africa made Mexico sweat for a bit, but it was nowhere near the excitement of Nigeria/South Korea. Yakubu with the miss of the tournament. Even the penalty he scored moments later won't ever wash the taste of that miss out of his mouth.

As good as it looks for South America, is as bad as it looks for the African teams. I'm rather sad about that.

My focus now is trying to figure out the ways the U.S. can avoid Germany in the round of 16. :)

Day 7

Looking at how Group A and B are shaping up brought up an interesting point. Since Mexico and Uruguay are now tied with 4 points with France and South Africa only having 1 point, all Mexico and Uruguay need to do is tie their final group game and both are through.

However there is one reason for Mexico and Uruguay to be competitive...Argentina. Whoever finishes second in the group will most likely face Argentina in the Round of 16.

For a similar reason the U.S. needs to not just win their next two games, but score as much as possible to win Group C. If things fall into place, they'd avoid Germany, and have a reasonable chance to make it to the semis by avoiding the big dogs.

I still don't hate Mexico...

...but I hate losing to them.

The U.S. played the best 10 minutes of soccer I've ever seen them play in Azteca. Then they scored, and something switched off. I kept watching the midfield back off time and time again, and conceding the ball to Mexico. That can work when you're a fast passing counterattacking team, but for that game they weren't. Mexico made them pay for it.

For the love of God, step up and challenge players on the ball, especially when teams are attacking up the middle. Crosses for the wings tend to be Gooch's bread and butter to break up, but I've seen Rossi and now Castro nail blasts from right outside the penalty area because no one steps up to them quickly.

Charlie Davies looks poised to be our latest great forward. I hope he can sustain his form. His goal was positively cool, calm, and clinical.

It was probably the altitude, but some of their decisions were atrocious. There'd be open folks, but the back line wouldn't see them, and started hoofing the ball upfield. Or Landon would try to use his speed to run by players, only to get caught when he didn't have anyone to pass to. In a place like this, you've got to let the ball do the work, because running around will leave you gassed. I've never seen Donovan get passed like he did during the lead up to Mexico's second goal. This team seemed to run out of fuel pretty quickly.

Oh well, this game wasn't a must win, but the next one is. This home game against El Salvador is huge now that the hex has become a log jam. In fact, they'd better win these next two. T & T away might not be the cakewalk people keep assuming it will be.

On the flip side, Mexico/Costa Rica in Costa Rica is gonna be a fun game to watch.

I don't hate Mexico

The biggest soccer rivalry in North America adds another chapter tomorrow afternoon in Mexico City when the U.S. Men take on Mexico for a World Cup qualifier in Estadio Azteca.

I fully admit that nothing would please me more than to see the Yanks finally get their first win against El Tri on Mexican soil. A trouncing by the U.S. would bring a wonderfully Grinchy smile on my face as I walk around in my U.S. jersey.

However, I will also say that the rhetoric surrounding any game with Mexico by some of my fellow supporters can be problematic. I can recall hearing an individual yelling "Mow my lawn!" in the Sam's Army section in Columbus during the 2005 qualifier. I usually challenge such bigoted stuff when I hear it live, but memory fails if I managed to find the culprit that time around. There's a lot of racism and xenophobia when it comes to this game, and there are a fair number of U.S. fans who let their fear of brown people color their feelings and language around this matchup.

People, you need to let it go. Spending the last decade here in the Bay Area, being around communities of color, and of course being a soccer fan has given me respect for Mexican fans and their passion. I had Mexican co-workers at my previous job, and our passion for our respective national teams never clouded the respect we had for each other as people. I'll miss the bet we usually had, especially for this game. Last time I had to grow out what hair I had left for a month.

I got to see the Chivas supporters Legion 1908 put on a full display last Saturday at Candlestick Park. It was incredible to see. Did they sneak most of that stuff in? Probably. However, that wasn't where my head was. Most folks would find that display frightening. As for me, I wondered if the Casbah took notes. :)