roarksown1
14 Oct 2005, 03:11 AM
Look, we're all ecstatic about the USMNT qualifying for the World Cup and all and it's exciting as hell to guess and speculate about the groups in Germany, but there is one small detail to work out ahead of time.
The labor dispute.
For those of you who don't remember, there was an averted strike that was postponed until after World Cup qualification that now needs to be settled ahead of the Cup itself.
The U.S. Players Association and U.S. Soccer will both be playing the game now with loaded decks:
The USPA will say, "We've qualified and done our part, now you do the right thing and pay us what we deserve or we'll pull out and embarrass this country by being the first to boycott a World Cup."
The USSF will say, "Are you really going to screw up this opportunity to appear on sports' grandest stage and increase your own individual value exponentially by not following through, thus embarrassing yourselves for the whole world to see and never getting a look at a lucrative contract?"
I'm sure there are a number of other arguments on both sides that I don't plan on covering right now, but this is a VERY serious issue that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later so there's time to properly prepare for the Cup and not deal with personnel issues during crucial friendlies against other World Cup squads ahead of the tournament.
I would like to see the groups get together IMMEDIATELY and sort this out as opposed to waiting until the last minute that we see some ridiculous squad of reserves go out and play against Germany in that March friendly.
What's the status? What's the word on the street?
Get it done boys, get it done...
The labor dispute.
For those of you who don't remember, there was an averted strike that was postponed until after World Cup qualification that now needs to be settled ahead of the Cup itself.
The U.S. Players Association and U.S. Soccer will both be playing the game now with loaded decks:
The USPA will say, "We've qualified and done our part, now you do the right thing and pay us what we deserve or we'll pull out and embarrass this country by being the first to boycott a World Cup."
The USSF will say, "Are you really going to screw up this opportunity to appear on sports' grandest stage and increase your own individual value exponentially by not following through, thus embarrassing yourselves for the whole world to see and never getting a look at a lucrative contract?"
I'm sure there are a number of other arguments on both sides that I don't plan on covering right now, but this is a VERY serious issue that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later so there's time to properly prepare for the Cup and not deal with personnel issues during crucial friendlies against other World Cup squads ahead of the tournament.
I would like to see the groups get together IMMEDIATELY and sort this out as opposed to waiting until the last minute that we see some ridiculous squad of reserves go out and play against Germany in that March friendly.
What's the status? What's the word on the street?
Get it done boys, get it done...