American soccer - Most popular for 2007
Viewing all posts which authors have tagged ‘American soccer’.
You can also subscribe to this tag's feed.
I should have attended the Illinois State Cup Final at the home of the Chicago Fire, Toyota Park,
last Friday: CHICAGO A football game between Croat and Serb expatriates in Chicago was interrupted
when Serb and Albanian fans started a fight. The Sunday match between Croat Adria and United Serbs
teams was stopped in the [...]
If the rest of the world thinks Major League Soccer is a Mickey Mouse league, what would they make
of the level below that, the United Soccer Leagues First Division? Well, if they saw the crowd from
the Portland Timbers final regular season home game of their USL season, they might think it's a
[...]
Jamie Trecker, guest blogging for Luis Arroyave at chicagosports.com, has some comments on MLS'
marketing failures: In fact, the only two groups that MLS hasn't tried to attract are the ones that
actually have showed up to see the games from day one: the hardcore fan, so to speak and those of
us out here who [...]
Guillermo Barros Schelotto is a very popular man in Argentina right now. Eight months ago, he left
Boca Juniors, where he'd become one of the most succesful players in the club's history, to move to
Columbus Crew of the MLS in the United States. On Tuesday it emerged that his boyhood club Gimnasia
La Plata [.
Readers who like to characterise MLS as a Mickey Mouse league (don't be shy about it, folks) have a
little more ammunition today as the poor old Kansas City Wizards announced their home for the 2008
and 2009 seasons. From playing in the absurdly large Arrowhead Stadium (home to the NFL's Chiefs),
the [...]
The other day, we and some of our commenters poked a little fun at the Kansas City Wizards' plans
for the future, which include moving to a minor league baseball stadium for the 2008 and 2009
stadium. Several Wizards fans stepped up to defend their team, and we're not afraid to eat humble
pie here [...]
Or do they want consumers, perhaps? Disturbing news out of New York (or rather, New Jersey), as Tim
at Notes From a Soccer Junkie reports on heavy-handed security at last nights New York Red
Bulls-Chivas USA game: Paid attendance was a miserable 10,500+ for a nationally televised scrap
with a decent side from the Western [...]
It's been a thrilling and dramatic week of cup action here in the States, but even without the
incessant Beckham buzz, you'd be hard pressed to have noticed. Many bloggers have been pimping the
US Open Cup - a tournament that goes back to 1914, by the way, a reminder to those who mistakenly
[...]
Recently, thanks to Chicago's Windy City Wanderers F.C., I went to my first ever indoor soccer
match. In America, indoor soccer has at times been big business, using aggression and scoring and
showbiz to attract considerable crowds. It's got a rich and long history, at times the only way to
see some of the best [.
Last week, we posted a pretty positive note about the rising overall attendance in MLS: and it has
ended up being an excellent year overall. With the final numbers in, it's worth mentioning a few
negatives as well, with regard to four of the teams that made the playoffs.
Team..G.....Total....Avg.....2006.....Change..Median NER...15....251,812..16,787.
Whilst some might say that ESPN's Bill Simmons epitomises the typical American sports fan-writer
today, the keyboard of Will Leitch has provided a different but vastly popular take on sports over
the past two years. Will is probably the most influential sports blogger around: the site he edits,
Deadspin, now attracts over seven million page [...]
We've spent much of the summer complaining about the media coverage of the Beckham Farcical
Roadshow 2007 and similarly, about the British media's frequently abymsal coverage of "the MLS".
So let's take a moment to point out when there's good coverage, too: the Observer Sports Monthly, a
colour supplement from the Observer newspaper that regularly [.
Folks, I already listed some reading material for you earlier today, but I did want to quickly
point to something else American soccer fans should take a look at Sports Illustrated asks MLS
Commissioner Don Garber many of the questions we've discussed ourselves here lately, about
expansion, single table, designated players and so on. [...]
I was at a bar full of Fire fans last night, watching my Chicago Fire beat DC United 3-2 on
aggregate in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. It was a thrilling and agonising game for
both sets of fans, the Fire almost blowing a 3-0 aggregate lead, with DC's late equaliser ruled
[...]
The success (in terms of attention) of myfootballclub.co.uk has spawned an imitator Stateside.
Mysoccerclubusa.com is a venture to create a fan-funded club in Scranton, Pennsylvania, best known
as the setting for another American copy of a British success: the sitcom The Office. Indeed, the
man behind it is an active member of MyFC himself. You'll [.
It's MLS game day in DC, Chicago, or Houston, and the "Latin flavor" is as thick in the air as the
carne asada fumes surrounding the tailgate grill. Spanish is a prevalent pre-game language of
choice among the supporters' groups, and the main event unfolds to the accompaniment of chants and
songs in which [...]
It's pretty hard to avoid David Beckham right now in the United States, and it's not often (Mia
Hamm in the 90s? Pele in the 70s?) we can say that about a soccer star in this country. As this CNN
article explains, While Americans have had only brief flirtations with soccer in the [...]
Steven Wells has begotten quite a spawn: ever since Britain's punk-poet threw a shaky spotlight on
MLS supporters' groups, and pumped up by the arrival of David Beckham, there has been a torrent of
articles in the media supposedly shedding light on this heretofore unknown world. This week have
come three more articles in the mainstream [...]
From the Department of Doomed From the Start comes adidas' "Represent" campaign, the centerpiece of
which is a custom downloadable song written for each team. There are some pretty decent bands in
the lineup, so I'm trying to figure out why most of the songs are such a disaster. Music and sports
do [...]
Try as the likes of Ian Plenderleith might, it's increasingly hard to satirise the David Beckham
Extravaganza. Reality has become too absurd. Major League Soccer (USA), the J.League (Japan) and
the Hyundai A-League (Australia) today announced an unprecedented and innovative partnership in the
creation of a new international soccer tournament to be hosted in Honolulu, Hawaii: [.
Grant Wahl, perhaps the U.S.'s preeminent soccer writer, has an excellent feature on David Beckham
for a Sports Illustrated cover story this week. While we might be sick of Beckham already, Wahl
does a good job of capturing the possibilities Beckham brings for MLS' growth. Beckham is
realistic: "The hype is there at the moment, [...]
Undefeated at home, heading to the playoffs, and all in the year MLS has achieved unparalleled
prominence and Chivas USA's crowds are down considerably, as the Los Angeles Times reports. Chivas
averages 12,191 fans per home game this season, down 39% from a year ago, filling less than half
the seats at the Home Depot [...]
Or, if one were to be cruel, I could have called this post: After Twelve Years, MLS Almost Back
Where It Started. The raw numbers, after 96.4% of the season, thanks to Andy_B at Bigsoccer: MLS
Average Attendance after 96.4% of the games played. 1996 17,306 1997 14,536 1998 14,231 1999 14,333
2000 13,619 2001 14,941 2002 15,653 2003 14,882 2004 15,581 2005 14,978 2006 15,354 2007 16,629 MLS
Median [.
Looking for a team to support in the United States? Think names like the "Galaxy", "Red Bulls" or
"Dynamo" are just, well, all too sensible? Well, my friends, say hello to the Pennsylvania Stoners.
The Stoners were reformed this month in Lehigh Valley, and will play in the National Premier Soccer
League. [...]
In Canada this week, Vancouver finally welcomes the Soccer Messiah, aka David Beckham, for a
rearranged game against the Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL tomorrow night tonight. As the always
thoughtful Global Game blog asserts, though, his arrival is more interesting as it "raises more
interest in pre-existing soccer traditions than in the soccer actually [.
Just as Seattle seems set to lose an NBA team, so it gains an MLS one. I'm not sure that's an equal
trade in the American sports arena yet, but it's excellent news that the league will finally have a
presence in the Pacific Northwest. It's been rumoured for a while, but the Seattle [...]
How important is the United Soccer Leagues, the two-division tier below MLS? Without
promotion/relegation to MLS, one is tempted to say "not very". But tell that to the fans of those
teams, and you might get a smack in the chops for your trouble. Moreover, the level of soccer in
the USL, as this year's [.
Who decides how soccer is reported in the United States? Let's lay-off ESPN for five minutes -
Cardillo at That's On Point explains how news comes down the wires, and why it matters that the
Associated Press does not have a national soccer writer. After ESPN, the Associated Press probably
influences the minds of sports [...]
I spent most of Saturday in Stanford for the Chelsea-Club America friendly (click for highlights).
I'd planned to write a story about how many Americans, with their disposable incomes and satellite
connections to their clubs, have defied the "prawn sandwich brigade" label to become rabid and
vocal supporters of teams abroad, even despite their [...
As you may or may not have noticed, we have attempted something of a Beckham hiatus these past few
days. From the Becks-cam to the scalpers to the incessant media coverage to the bloggers
complaining about the incessant media coverage to well, you get the idea. But this article in the
Washington Post on last [...]
Well, the Beckham circus passed through another city, another stadium's seats were filled, and
another set of regular supporters made it clear how little they care about David Beckham. The DC
Sports Bog caught it all on camera. Two observations on the video: one, it says a lot about this
[...]
"You're going home in a Cook County Ambulance!". David Beckham received a warm welcome today from
the Fire's hardcore fans, Section 8, as the Englishman entered late in the game. As he came on,
L.A. needed a goal and a win to advance to the playoffs and knock out Chicago, who needed just a
point [...]
In all my excitement over tomorrow's first round MLS playoff matchup, which sees the Chicago Fire
take on regular season champions DC United, I had almost forgotten that most of the country won't
even notice the game. Once again, the issue of the playoffs taking place during October means MLS'
showpiece games are lost in [...]
As much as it pains me to say it, DC United have impressive supporters' groups, in particular Barra
Brava and the Screaming Eagles. Sadly for them, their fervent support didn't help them as they lost
in the playoffs to the Fire once again this year. No, I couldn't resist the cheap shot, and I'm not
[...] SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Photo Daily | November 15 | DC United", url:
"http://pitchinvasion.
I'll let George Vecsey of the New York Times imagine the scene in Pasadena, a town at the foot of
the San Gabriel mountains north of Los Angeles. The dateline to his report reads August 13th, 1984.
Just before dusk on Saturday night, the Firestone blimp lumbered into the foothills of the San
Gabriel Mountains investigating [.
Over at Chicago Sports Weekly, I take a look at a Chicago-based organised pickup soccer club (Windy
City Wanderers F.C.) who have grown from nothing to over 1,000 members in a little over a year.
Their founder, Matt Rosine, discusses their plans for the future, which includes a partnership with
Calle Soccer out of Utah, [.
Say what you will about ESPN's influence on the American sports marketplace, they are masters of
sport as theatre, even in a thirty-second advertisement.
When the news broke yesterday about plans in Milwaukee to host an MLS team at Milwaukee Mile, the
oldest operating motor speedway in the world (according to Wikipedia), the soccer blogosphere and
Bigsoccer posters all had a moment of rare unity: utter madness, they cried! Bad enough we've had
to watch soccer games at [...]
No, not a real battle, with fists and that. Instead, a battle to show what American supporter
groups are all about, with the winner to be crowned Pitch Invasion American Supporters' Group of
the Year. Or some other much cleverer title I'll think up later. For as Max mentioned here
yesterday, some English writers still think [...]
I have said it before, but in light of great articles from Soccernet's Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger, it
bears repeating: the Bundesliga, not the Premiership or La Liga, should be MLS' role model. Uli's
latest article on fan power in Germany has some great examples of why: Depending on the club, the
cheapest Bundesliga ticket for an [...]
