It seems appropriate that a spirited discussion of champions occurs in the "Soccer but NOT Rapids-Related" thread.
LAFC is off to a big ticket sales start. They also have a very expensive new stadium on the old LA Sports Arena site, snug next to USC in South Central.
Amazing PK double save and goal line clearance at the Memphis City FC game last night. Late chance for @ChattanoogaFC with a PK against @MemphisCityFC. pic.twitter.com/ygtUf7V6Od— Chattanooga FC Academy (@CFC_Academy) May 25, 2017
Did you guys know that the Mexican National Team was training in Denver ahead of their matching in LA vs. Croatia on June 1st? The company I work for was extended an invite by the Rapids to take in a Sunday training session.
I break all kinds of rules and this is a "private event" that is supposedly hush-hush. So I will at least ummmmm you know ummmmm just say "company". Nah....F**** that who cares. .
The middle school squabble between Brian Schmetzer and the Timbers' mascot is amusing. On Wednesday, Schmetzer said this about Timber Joey: “Well, I don’t like it I can tell you that,” Schmetzer said when asked about Timber Joey’s tradition of slicing a log slab after every Portland goal at Providence Park. “I mean that log and his whatever – I don’t even know if he’s a real lumberman or whether he’s just a guy. I’ll do a little digging on that and I’ll get back to you.” On Thursday, Portland's mascot gave a classic reply when he replied on Twitter "sorry. I had to look up who Brian Schmetzer was...." Dunno, but I wouldn't want to pick a fight with a dude whose forearms look like a Grizzly and who has a chainsaw in his hand. The MLS is developing some fun goal traditions. I think Portland's goal celebration is cool. (This season, ANY goal celebration would be cool, but that's another issue.) Montreal's bell is another fun one.
It takes a while to develop any tradition. I'm not sure the Rapids will have enough SOGs by the end of this season to get in enough practice on a tradition. About the only game tradition I've developed this year is the reflexive two-handed facepalm.
Just caught a bit of Sounders v Timbers, they said Geiger will be refereeing in the Federation cup in Russia this summer. I'm surprised because he had some really bad games last season, isn't this suppose to only go to best referees ?
Totti's final game http://www.espnfc.com/as-roma/story...ti-on-retirement-im-not-ready-to-say-its-over My study abroad coincided with Totti's first games with AS Roma as a 16yo. Was my first experience with "Big Time" Soccer and my first game I saw live just happened to be the Derby di Roma which was an completely insane atmosphere back then. The stadium literally looked like it was on fire and I also learned that it was almost as bad to wear neither team colors as wearing Lazio's colors and I still own the jersey (no name or number- Roma was not good back then) I purchased on way into the game. I have seen a lot of soccer played in a lot of different countries since then but not sure if anything will bump it from the top of my experiences list. Tutta la mia vita è Giallorossa
The ASG is juuuuust a tad pricey this year. The game is August 2, in Chicago's giant toilet bowl built on top of Soldier Field. Yes, Real Madrid is the opponent, and it would be fun to see them play. But yikes. A nosebleed seat requiring binoculars to see the players is $50 to $75. End zone upper seats are $80 to $90. End zone lower seats are $125. Anything in the lower sections with a view of the touchline is $250 to $300. The special ticket packages are $450 to $800 per ticket.
Interesting that Messi has a room for Jersey's (guess post game shirt exchanges) and who'se they are. https://www.instagram.com/p/BT3PjaKFrgv/?taken-by=leomessi
Just incase any of you cool cats want to watch the Colo Springs V OKC US Open Cup match tonight at 7pm... Here is a link to the stream. http://www.ussoccer.com/lamar-hunt-us-open-cup/schedule
So...Gold Cup. Is this traditionally the Gold Cup no one cares about and sends B teams? I assume Mexico will, since they'll be in the Confed Cup. Will the new format change the type of teams that will be sent? Will the US go all in so they can win it with Mexico's starters being in the other tournament?
In past years, yes, this is the one nobody cared about. Now that both Gold Cups get you a shot at the Confederations Cup though, who knows.
So federations always send their best teams but in the scheme of things really a b/c side. With Depth we now seem to have I and Mexico I still think regardless of who is sent we are still the 2 favorites.
There's a nice article on mlssoccer.com about Minnesota United's new stadium. The article links to the stadium construction page of the team website, which has more information. A few highlights: The stadium will be ready for the start of the 2019 season. (Or, in Rapids-land, the start of the 2020 preseason.) Capacity will be 19,600. That seems awfully small for a large metro area stadium. It also appears to be a slight down-size from the original stadium announcement. The stadium page contains this odd statement: "The building has been designed to be bird-safe . . ." There are bird-killing stadiums? Well, other than the fried chicken restaurants? Kidding aside, the stadium looks nice. It's in a convenient location in St. Paul, right off I-94 and on a light rail line. The best irony? MNUFC's sponsor is Target. The stadium will be next door to a Wal-Mart. It looks like parking could be a challenge, since the stadium will sit in the heart of an established neighborhood.
This is probably a reference to the new Vikings stadium in Minneapolis, which due to its glass exterior has resulted in numbers bird strikes/deaths.