Monday, May 08, 2006

32 Days to Go and Simmering

Sorry for the absence, real life intrudes from time to time.

On the treadmill at lunch time today, I was struck by the soccer intrusions around the 11:30am SportsCenter replay by:

1) A promo for next Wednesday’s Champions’ League Final
2) An ad for the film “Goal: The Dream Begins”
3) A promo for the World Cup

Combine that with last week’s US roster announcement, the recent wire story on our fearless leader’s “awareness” of the importance of the Mundial and a the trailer of the Greenestreet Film’s “Once in a Lifetime” documentary of the Cosmos, and you’ve got nice little soccer groundswell bubbling up a month before the World Cup.

Of course, every time the big show rolls around you’ll get the tired, played-out “Americans don’t get soccer,” column in the daily rags, but with the matches played in the afternoons (mornings on the West Coast) this time around, the tournament will be a lot more accessible to casual fans.

On Bruce’s Men

Can’t say I have any beefs about Arena’s roster selection, but I let out an audible gasp when I saw Conrad & Ching on the roster. Suffice it to say that both players will be choices of desperation. Can’t imagine either will see playing time in the Nats’ first two matches. Really bad news about Hejduk missing the trip. Albright doesn’t have the same skill set, and I don’t see a lot of difference between the Virginia product and Conrad.

The New York Red Blahs

A posting on the Metrofanatic board asks “Are the fans dead?” Frankly, after all the changes made over the last few months, an 0-1-4 record on the field (with only 4 goals scored) and two weeks between matches, I have to say, “probably.” There’s very little to be excited about with this team, and with Chicago (four-match unbeaten streak) coming to the Swamp this Saturday, things won’t get any easier. After RB shot the proverbial promotional wad for the April 8th home opener, there’s been little evidence the team still exists. There’s no news on the team’s “Director of Soccer Operations.” I still think the logo’s cool, though.

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