Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Black Magic Senorita

We're less than three weeks away from the USA MNT opening final round qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Our first opponent: Mexico. It gets better. The game will be played in early February in Columbus, OH. A veritable fortress of American support and an undeniable home-field advantage in terms of weather. Add to that the fact that the SoB/DVI (myself included) will be present... Mexico is in for a rough night. But the Mexicans appear to have an ace up their sleeve.

Yesterday, the AP reported that a major Mexican sports newspaper is turning to voodoo magic to give the "Tri-Colores" a boost in Columbus. I'm not making this up. Mexican fans can bring in the press clipping in exchange for a USA MNT voodoo doll. Is there any more proof that the USA has passed the Mexicans by in footy? While our best strikers are filling the nets for teams like Bayern Munich (Landon Donovan) and Fulham FC (Clint Dempsey), the Mexicans are passing out voodoo dolls.

Dear Mexico, voodoo magic will not prevent the weather from being below 30 degrees. It will not prevent the entire stadium being filled with raucous US support, this game is not being played in LA or DC or Dallas. Its being played in Columbus frickin Ohio. But hey, when you've got nothing left, its worth a shot right?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover

I've been about this blog writing business since I was in college and it only just occurred to me that my home blog never mentions this one passion of my life. This singular passion that at my very core brings out the best (and worst) of me. The game of football. And yes, I'm American, but on this blog I will call the game by its proper name, thank you. So I decided to start this new blog in conjunction with my current blog Disorderly Conduct.

As a follower of the beautiful game in America I have grown up without a true team to follow. I grew up in Florida and was a fan of the Mutiny, but alas we all know how that ended. For the last decade of my life or so I've been forced to wander the streets of America rooting for Manchester United here, Fulham FC there, and maybe every now and then the Columbus Crew. Well that all changed very recently when the city of Philadelphia was given an expansion franchise with MLS. I found out about the official supporters' club, the Sons of Ben, and became a charter member. The team kicks off in 2010 and next week the official voting for the team name will commence. So expect a lot of my posting to tell the tales of the SoB's and my take on the development of the new team as we approach the "365 days countdown."

But let's get one thing straight... as a coach and former player I am no fan of the officials. So dissent will be the name of the game on this blog. Dissent. Such a lovely word.