Great book, well worth the read. I think there are a couple of other good ones to read as well. A Season With Verona by Tim Parks - I'm reading that one now, it's pretty good. Dealing with an English guy who after 20 years of living in Italy decides to follow Hallas Verona for a season going to all the games. So far so good. Fever Pitch is the ultimate fan nut book. Nick Hornby wrote it about becoming an Arsenal fan as a kid and how everything in life revolves around Arsenal. Great book and the movie isn't too bad either. On the topic of MAMSS I certainly have it. I played from age 8 through College and then stopped playing and watching for about 7 years and then FSW came around and I have been hooked again. I'm 35 and after going to England to see Arsenal I came home and decided to play again. First game out I tore my ACL and I'm still recovering from the surgery. I really want to play again.
Thanks for the review of the book, i checked it out and have started reading it. I recently turned 33, left the game alone for a few years, picked it back up playing fairly competitively around age 27 and have since had to have surgery on both knees (it was only torn cartelage - so not nearly as bad). good luck with the rehab.
I missed this thread when it first came up. Without stating my age, I confess to being a victim of MAFSS. I don't know anyone else like me. I've always been an avid sports fan. I grew up cheering for the Pittsburgh Pirates & Steelers. I moved on to Penn State football in college, but I did see Matt & Chris Bahr (Walter's sons, who both went on to place kick in the NFL, as you all probably know) play soccer in State College a couple of times. After marriage I moved to LA & became a Laker's fan for years. I can still stand to watch a limited amount of basketball, but I can't get near baseball or football, even for a Super Bowl party. My sad soccer-syndrome story starts about 1993 when my kids started soccer. I knew nothing. I was a soccer mom, snacks, orange slices & all. Later I reffed, which was a blast. By 2000, my kids were out of it, but my daughter had played some club & high school in Southern Cal, so I got a taste of some great youth soccer & was by then hooked on men's & women's national teams. Today add MLS, Galaxy season seats, Direct Kick package and way too much FSW and my sad story is complete. My husband enjoys soccer, too, but you'd never catch him on BS getting all the latest news/gossip. The only person I can really talk to in detail is a great guy I work with who is originally from Mexico - Cruz Azul, USA Men's & Mexican Men's national team fan. When USA plays Mexico, he truly says that "We" always win, because he roots for both teams, and his kids do too. We've been to a Galaxy game together. Soccer is a wonderful game & really addictive. Young people who play the game today or have played it, plus their parents, are a huge built-in audience for the professional game we love. I know it's going to happen in a big way, it's just a matter of time. If I had any real money, I'd definitely invest. Are there shares of stock out there somewhere?
You are further gone than my wife. However, I will not swap her out of loyalty. FYI, my 11 year old son requested that we move from Chicago to L.A. so that he could play soccer outdoors year-around and join FC Barcelona's club team. I said, "What, and leave your friends behind?" He said, "Dad, you know I would." He would seem to hold promise as a future fanatic, too.
I suggest you all read David Ungrady's book about USL team Northern Virginia Royals. Kinda a poor man's Mircacle . . set in the United States.
It's good of you to keep your wife. Your son sounds like a very promising "enthusiast". My kids are so frustrating to me. My daughter loves soccer in a mild, somewhat interested way, and she is not into spectator sports at all. She only wants to play. I didn't know about an FC Barcelona club team. There are some tremendous boys' and girls' clubs in our area, though. We're in Orange County, south of LA. The skill level blows me away. I'm sure it's the same all over the country, not just here.
This thread is so much like listening to my grandparents tell me about the way back in the long long ago.... Jk I actualy find thread extremlely interesting. I am not a middle-ager yet but I know I will be one day soon. I already have symptoms of Past-your-prime-soccer-disorder. PYPSD or more commonly refered to as "Pipes" They say it will eventually become full blown MAMSS.
If you are in your late 20's and still playing "competitive" soccer......welcome to the club. We don't discriminate.
Great thread. Man, I just want to meet up with all of you middle agers and have a beer. My story. I'm 35 and played since I was 5. Played competitively until college and then dropped the sport for a while. WC94 really rekindled my interest and I started playing again. MLS, FSW, and the internet really helped me get my fix for my now full-blown soccer addiction. I even worked for Soccer America for a year trying to follow the "do what you love" theory. What a blast to watch Champions League at lunchtime with those folks. My wife is a soccer player as well and will go to Quakes games and watch on TV, but she's no BS addict like myself. Alas, my playing days become more and more frustrating with age. ACL surgery, good comeback, then niggling injuries that just seem to hang out. Hamstring, achilles..you know the sort. Still love to play but the old body just does not want to cooperate. I'm sure some of you can relate. One thing I just love is being a part of the growth of US Soccer in the past 10 or so years. You know, when it's under the radar, it's kind of like a nice niche to be in. Like being into a cool band before they go bigtime. In 25 years, it's going to be fun to say I saw, say, Wynalda in the first MLS game of all time. I mean, MLS' quality back then was so horrible, but these guys are legends and will always be in this country. Great thread. Thanks for tolerating my poor writing.