Step one toward becoming a true soccer fan is supporting the Sounders. Great job, Seattle, we’re all over that. But recognize that it is all a march toward the real prize: the international game.
Today the US men’s national team played a World Cup qualifier against archrival Mexico in Mexico City. We lost, 2-1, on a goal in the 82nd minute. I’ve been walking around, head slumped, with Charlie Brown music taunting my ears ever since.
Granted, we weren’t really expected to win. Although we currently lead our neighbors to the south in World Cup qualifying standings, our Yankees have never won on their soil. Ever. The United States’ all-time record in Mexico is 0-22-1.
Mexico outplayed our lads for most of the game, and the altitude at Azteca Stadium (7,300 feet above sea level) clearly took its toll in the second half. But we scored first, with a beautiful through ball from Landon Donovan to Charlie Davies, who sprinted into the penalty box and blasted a shot pasted the Mexican goalkeeper. But Mexico wore us down, and eventually put two balls past our keeper Tim Howard, then stalled their way to three points.
Yeah, it sucks to lose. But it’s awesome to win. So if you’re just getting started as a Sounders fan, I implore you to join Sam’s Army. Our next game is September 5 in Salt Lake City against El Salvador. It’s pretty much a must-win.
That’s just Step Two. Step Three is realizing that the national team is just a bunch of guys whose day jobs are beating the shit out of the guys you really care about, and adopting “club over country” as your anthem. I don’t give a shit about the US men’s team. If you think I’m going to root for Landon Donovan or Brian Ching, you’re crazy.
World Cup? I’ll probably root for Cameroon or Ghana.
i still can’t get over the poor behavior of the fans (and some of the players, too, to be honest.)
throwing trash and crap at our players when they’re taking a corner kick? a Mexican player grabbing an American player by THE THROAT!!??
…and we can’t even wear a “yankees suck” t-shirt at Safeco.
not a lot of class or sportsmanship down there in Mexico.
world futbol is a rough sport, it is not for the fleece wearing pansies of the northwest. u want to see rough? go see a scotland celtic vs rangers match. full of protestant and catholic former terrorists who are drunk on warm lagers.
throwing trash? thats kids play around the world. there are tons of shootings when argentinian clubs play brazilian or paraguay clubs. and lets not forget the war that hondurias and el salvador fought over a soccer game.
anyway, the US team should have beaten the mexican lads. the Mexican lads have been stinking up the field this year and they were about to be eliminated from the world cup, they woke up in the concacaf gold cup after panama tied them and el salvador beat their silly butts.
anyway,they should have won but they didnt, thats futbol.
as far as the world cup the spaniards are expected to destroy everyone so i say cheer for argentina and the messi boys.
sounders are stinking up the place but im sure theyll rebound.
Champions League! It’s every year, and it happens on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Ugh….that was such a drag. I thought we’d have a result there for a while. And, yeah, Donovan getting pelted with cups and bottles (and then being shielded by the riot police) was a sight to be seen.
Did you Seattle folks have a live english language broadcast? I was stuck with a Justin.tv-supplemented Telemundo broadcast. First it was two seconds ahead, then it was two seconds behind. America hates soccer/futbol, and that’s too bad.
Hi Brian, welcome to the world’s game. The Stranger needs more soccer coverage, I’m glad you’re writing.
First, like you said, we weren’t supposed to win today. Azteca’s is one of the worst venues for any “guest” team in the world. The fact we scored first and so quickly was spitting in the face of Mexico. For them, it was a “must win”. The fact it took long to do so should just further their qualifier jitters. If there’s a complete national breakdown, it won’t be because of swine flu or the drug war, but because Mexico fails to make it for the world cup.
As for our next game, I wouldn’t call it a “must win”. El Sal lost today to Trinidad, fixing the two at the bottom of the group. As I write this, Honduras is beating Costa Rica 2-0, making the top four tighter, but just us four.
Fun fact: Mexican fans bring ziploc bags full of their own piss to throw at the Yanquis.
But recognize that it is all a march toward the real prize: the international game.
Eh, I’ll watch the international stuff if I happen to catch it, but I care tons more about the Sounders. There is something unsatisfying about a national team and since I only watch sports for amusement that really dampens my interest.
I am also annoyed when they take our players. We should only do international in the off-season.
@2,3,4,5,6,7- That is why Soccer is the most ridiculous sport in the world. Not only can a “match” on the “pitch” end in a “nil” “nil” “draw”, but PEOPLE lose their lives at these games on a regular basis (both fans and players). And, soccer fan, your proud of that? You really want Americans to buy into your ridiculous sport?
Say what you want about the ignorance of (american) football fans, how we’re brutish, and not smart enough to pick up on the passion and creativity of soccer, but the worst I’ve ever seen at a NFL game is boarish language (and maybe a fight when the Raiders were in town). There’s no moats, no barbed wire surrounding the field at NFL games. I guess thats why the Sounders SC will never be taken seriously, huh?
#9 That’s why gridiron is so fucking stupid and booooring -a bunch of posers pretending they’re battling like 11th century knights, or WWI infantry. The connection between american football and the military is too clear; it is nothing resembling “sport”.
But don’t take my word for it, there are legions of 28 year old “football retirees” who sacrificed their bodies for the sport, a sport that just chews them up and spits them out. Sure, there’s stupid violence in futbol, there’s ridiculous taunting (I love chanting “Let Him Die!” at Qwest, but it’s nothing like a heated Boca Jrs game) but it’s real passion. Passion to die for, like “dulce et decorum est” passion. The most ridiculous sport in the world? that’s american football. The most ridiculously passionate sport in the world is easily futbol.
As a sports nut, I love the fact that a couple of you all are bringing more sports coverage to the Slog. I really do. However, you guys should really stop referring to Seattle teams (or the U.S., or any other team, really) as “we.”
I mean this in the kindest, gentlest way possible, but it just sounds silly to people who really know sports. For me, it’s a quick tip-off that the person I’m listening to talk about sports probably doesn’t *really* know sports. (And yet I know you guys do know what you’re talking about.)
I know that probably sounds dumb, but it’s 100-percent true.
Anyway, just a little constructive criticism. Hope you listen.
Oh man, that is quite possibly my favorite Arrested Development moment ever.
Soccer fandom is a very, very intense pursuit in many parts of the world. The experience of polite chanting with the occasional PG-rated taunt at a Sounders match is a far cry from what you’d see in lots of other places, as others here have pointed out.
Meanwhile in real sports, Ken Griffey Jr drove in the winning run to end a scoreless tie in the 14th inning, handing the Mariners a 1-0 win. THAT was a game. The pitching, the defense, the houdini-like manner both teams got out of jams. It ended only when the winning run scored on a base hit, not when an official blew his whistle somewhere in the vicinity of the 93rd minute.
#9 has obviously never been to a Raiders-Chargers game in Oakland.
i have. and yes oak town fans can get rowdy, but ive seen plenty of opposing team jerseys in the stands at the colliseum. ive also been to plenty philly- giants games in philly. and they dont compare to the violence and carnage u will see in scotland league or at a bocas or rive plate match in argentina. the barras bravas of south america make raider fans seem like the mickey mouse club.
it is what it is. i love american football and i love futbol. not to mention baseball, b- ball, boxing and ultimate fighting. theyre all different and all beautiful and violent in their own unique way. to put one down in favor of another or to say one is better is pure nonsense. they are what theya are.
That’s the key thing: fans mingling = low intensity.
In most parts of the world you can’t just walk up and go into a soccer match, even if there are tickets available. You have to have, and show, a history with the club, so they know you’re a fan of the home club and can seat you. If you’re a fan of the away club, you have to sit in the dedicated away section. Of course, you WANT to sit there, because then you can try to drown out the songs of the home supporters with your own songs (and frequently succeed, if you’re in the sedate stadiums of Arsenal or Manchester United). Neutrals in some places won’t be admitted at all, unless they have a local-fan escort.
If you somehow weasel your way into the wrong section, you’ll be escorted out the instant you open your yap at the wrong moment. And in many places you’ll be much happier to face the police than the opposing fans.
Away fans will also in many cases be let out of the stadium separately, and even provided with a police escort to the train station or wherever. In the bad old days in England, this would have involved hundreds of police horses, riot cops with shields and truncheons, and several helicopters. Not so much anymore. But I wouldn’t fuck around in Rio or Milan or Belgrade.
A few yahoos in a football stadium yelling, or a dipshit in the Yankee Stadium bleachers with “NY Sucks” written on his bare belly, or frankly even an American soccer “ultra” with his big banner, don’t even begin to compare.
For the downside to all this, google “Heysel”.
I don’t know, Milan is kind of fun to wear a spanish team shirt in, based on my personal experience.
don’t talk to me about the “beauty” of soccer and “passion” people have for soccer. that’s true of almost ANY sport. have you ever seen a good international rugby game!? it’s the same thing. BUT, you rarely see ANYONE throwing crap at the players. no. that’s something you tend to see south of the US border. sorry to point that out, but it’s true. YES, people in Europe do get angry and sometimes even violent. BUT, that’s the way it is for MOST sports. thankfully, unlike soccer, American Football results don’t end up with shootings, or wars. Sometime idiots in cities MOST of America looks down on go into riot mode. but, that’s still not PEOPLE THROWING CRAP AT PLAYERS!!! IN THE STADIUM!!!! i love that people defend soccer saying how beautiful it is and how creative it is…really? what new innovative formations and styles of play have been conceived lately? none that i can really see. American Football is CONSTANTLY evolving, show MUCH more creativity than soccer. (and, i like soccer, don’t get me wrong) keep in mind soccer is WAY older than football, but it REALLY hasn’t changed that much in all that time. you still can’t use your hands, it’s still played on a grass field (something i wish was still the norm in American Football), you still throw the ball in when the other team kicks it out. there are still corner kicks, and there are only so many ways you can line up players on the field. Football is always changing formations and coming up with new ways of improving the sport. yes. soccer players run more. BUT, so what? American Football players are physically stronger and usually faster for shorter distances…can they run miles at a time, probably not as well as a soccer player, but still. you really can’t sell that one is a more skilled athlete than the other. soccer fans, enjoy your sport, but don’t attack American Football. Remember, Harvard University decided WAYYY back that soccer was a game for peasants/poor people so they learned how to play rugby from british schools since it was the sport that gentlemen played in the UK. from that decision, American Football evolved. so, don’t act all high and mighty, soccer fans. with your “beautiful” sport. problem with it is, it just wasn’t manly enough for us here in America. we’re warming up to it, but get REAL turned off when people spout off about it.