You're right. Soccer is not really a hobby though. Where I come from, it's a religion. And missing the World Cup is like getting excommunicated.
Funnily enough one reason I was first drawn to soccer in the 90s was because of the laid back vibes it carried compared to other sports in the U.S. Growing up I always thought it was like the surfing of team sports. I always dug the chill, niche culture of the game, especially compared to the mass obsession with American football, a game I never quite understood as a kid. These unending debates about building the proper system to shape professionals amuse me, as the whole thing is so far removed from the interest that first drew me to the sport.
My fall-back teams should be France and Argentina. I lived in Argentina until I was 11, my mother is from France. But being part of the soccer landscape in the USA is different. In France and Argentina, it's the finished product. Here, I saw it start again after being dormant for generations. It was a project, a new beginning. Being there, many years later, makes you feel like one of the pioneers. When I arrived to the USA in the early 80s no one took soccer seriously. By the time I stopped playing at the turn of the millennium, things had changed hugely. It's that feeling of seeing something you love grow, gain respect, move slowly from the barrio to the mainstream, see people turn into real fans and follow the incipient league, all those things. I didn't expect it to happen fast enough. But it did. And now I feel a part of it fell apart. How not to be upset over it?
No. It's still a sport I really like, although my enjoyment of it will never be along the "soccer is religion" lines that Suyuntuy refers to. Hard to escape the culture you were brought up on.
Although the last 5 years have been closer to Giordano Bruno territory, rather than just plain ol' fashioned excommunication.
Both of my teams, the USA and Bulgaria, currently suck. This WC is going to suck. Next few years will suck too. To what extent both my teams suck I'm currently unsure of. I wouldn't be willing to bet money either will be in Qatar. Kinda sucks being a fan right now. The only certainty surrounding US soccer is that Pulisic doesn't suck. Yay. I'll root for France. Top collection of young talent globally. So good that Pulisic is the only player across our entire pool who could made their U21 squad. When I think about that, it sucks.
I'll root for whoever plays ugly and has the most talent in unglamorous leagues. Always fun to see a contender go down in the group, especially when they lose in a manner that essentially has their fans complaining "they made it too hard for us to score!"
Germany (muh heritage) Poland (Lewandowski is one of my favorite players) Iceland (lovable underdogs) Anyone playing Mexico. That being said, I have every intention of watching as much of the World Cup as I can. It's the biggest sporting event on the planet, with or without the USMNT. It'll sting tremendously, but I wouldn't miss it for anything
I will be rooting for you guys to do what you always do. Nothing more and nothing less. I hope CR and Panama can get out of their groups too. CONCACAF needs a good showing in this WC, because the 2006 WC will be dropped for the FIFA confederation multiplier. If all 3 teams can get out of their groups then I think our confederation multiplier could go up, which will help all the teams in CONCACAF.
Australia? Cahill and Dempsey so similar. I for one, will imagine when Cahill scores in Russia (because he will) ...wow! Dempsey would have been the only player in history to score in 4 world cups.
all teams in their pots to choose from. Pot 1: Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France Pot 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia Pot 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran Pot 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
This video/song is next level soccer trolling, I was bracing for when Brazil would come... Anyway, I think Iceland will be everyone second team next year
Iceland and Panama should get some extra-fans due to the virginity factor. With no Italy and no Ireland, the pubs in America are going to be dead.
Why would they be laughing at you specifically? You didn't cause the US not to qualify. You didn't play or coach in that match. You were not at fault for this catastrophe. --- Quite honestly, the MNT deserves the derision right now. I hate to say that, of course, but it's painfully obvious to everyone here.
I was 100% we were going to qualify. Frankly, even now, I can't believe everything went the wrong way for us. We're usually rather lucky, but this time it was the opposite. The first Panama goal... how can a ref not see it didn't go in? Anyway, happy for the Canaleros, actually. It's a shame Zusi scored on them last time, but they were like us this time around: asking for us to take it easy on them, counting on others instead of themselves. Karma, uh?
I certainly can. The second all of those teams knew that the USA was losing, they laid down and threw their matches. It's obvious. They wanted to stick it to the "********ing gringos" and Trump (in their view).