Zips still ranked numero uno en EE.UU., y'all!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Old and slow...
I recently got back into playing again. My housemate and his co-workers have a pick up game every Wednesday in Berkeley. It's the first real soccer I've played in several years.
It's amazing how much I've picked up just from watching all these years. I see the field so much differently than when I was a kid and teen playing the game without access to seeing professionals.
It's also amazing how much my body hurts after the game. At 41 the body no longer keeps up with what the mind wants to do. Add fat and diabetic to that and well, it can make things, well, challenging. Just this week I slightly pulled my groin while trying to defend.
I think I've hit the Blanco / Valderrama phase of my soccer career. Stay in the middle and spray pretty passes out to the younger, faster players. :)
It's amazing how much I've picked up just from watching all these years. I see the field so much differently than when I was a kid and teen playing the game without access to seeing professionals.
It's also amazing how much my body hurts after the game. At 41 the body no longer keeps up with what the mind wants to do. Add fat and diabetic to that and well, it can make things, well, challenging. Just this week I slightly pulled my groin while trying to defend.
I think I've hit the Blanco / Valderrama phase of my soccer career. Stay in the middle and spray pretty passes out to the younger, faster players. :)
Friday, September 4, 2009
Now where did I put those shoes?
"This has to be a marathon, not a sprint."
This oft used sports cliché is usually used to describe the philosophy a team takes over a season to help win a championship. Steadily building up the team over months to peak at the end of a season.
In this case, Lew Wolff is using it to explain the struggles he's had in running the Earthquakes. For me, this cliché doesn't quite work. It really hit home for me as I watched the Seattle Sounders take home the Dewar Cup as U.S. Open Cup champions. This team in it's first MLS season is already successful on and off the field. Yet, my dear Quakes struggle on and off the field in its second season back. If this is a marathon, the gun went off last year, and the Quakes are still at the starting line.
What's the answer? If I knew, I'd have a job. Toronto FC showed that you didn't have to have a winner out of the gate to bring in fans. Chicago and Seattle showed that you can have a good team on the field right from the start. Are soccer fans in the Bay Area that fickle? Are we that poor? I know I couldn't afford season tickets this year. Could it be a combination of all of the above and more? Again, I wish I knew the answer.
This oft used sports cliché is usually used to describe the philosophy a team takes over a season to help win a championship. Steadily building up the team over months to peak at the end of a season.
In this case, Lew Wolff is using it to explain the struggles he's had in running the Earthquakes. For me, this cliché doesn't quite work. It really hit home for me as I watched the Seattle Sounders take home the Dewar Cup as U.S. Open Cup champions. This team in it's first MLS season is already successful on and off the field. Yet, my dear Quakes struggle on and off the field in its second season back. If this is a marathon, the gun went off last year, and the Quakes are still at the starting line.
What's the answer? If I knew, I'd have a job. Toronto FC showed that you didn't have to have a winner out of the gate to bring in fans. Chicago and Seattle showed that you can have a good team on the field right from the start. Are soccer fans in the Bay Area that fickle? Are we that poor? I know I couldn't afford season tickets this year. Could it be a combination of all of the above and more? Again, I wish I knew the answer.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Soccer for the people
This weekend the Chelsea/Hull game was broadcast on ESPN2. Tomorrow, not only will Fox Soccer Channel be broadcasting UEFA Champions League games, but games will be shown live on the regional sports broadcast networks, and DirecTV has set aside a series of channels to show those games as well.
It seems that US TV has taken notice of the sport, and it seems that they believe that an English speaking American audience wants to watch. I'm still stunned at the amount of viewing options that have suddenly appeared on the scene. This is gonna be fun.
It seems that US TV has taken notice of the sport, and it seems that they believe that an English speaking American audience wants to watch. I'm still stunned at the amount of viewing options that have suddenly appeared on the scene. This is gonna be fun.
Friday, August 14, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
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. :)
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. :)
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