I have a picture I'm trying to download on here of a guy in a fury uniform tryingto make throw in. He has a mustache and I'm notsure if its Brooks Cryder or Bill Straub. I'll try and figure it out and post it. BTW, Steve I found your page...Real cool! http://www.jamiepeck.com/atoms/psuedoatoms.htm
Excuse me if these pics look a little out of date or discolored but they are almost 30 years old. Brooks Cryder Sonny Askew This is theASL player I mentioned earlier Jimmy Roland
In my day, we didn't have Fatheads! We put a picture on notebook paper and stuck it on the wall, and that's the way it was and we liked it!
TG: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife. EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of cold poison, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah." MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'. ALL: Nope, nope...
I thought those were Wallbangers... "Well, when I say wall, I meant it was a wall to us..." Kenn beat me to the quote of the classic Python skit.
Speaking of the NASL, I love this old quote: If the idea of America winning the World Cup seems slightly amusing to soccer pundits--especially those who have never visited America or have not watched the young American student competing in high school or college athletics--here is a word of caution: there is no athlete in the world more competitive more receptive to change and more determined to win than the American boy; furthermore in the American Negro athlete America has the most dynamic, and explosive, force in world sports today. Give a coach of the calibre of Ivan Toplak of Oakland, or Phil Woosnam of Atlanta 11 top American high school athletes for five years and a complete new style of soccer will emerge--one based upon speed, power and the American penchant for tactical formations--an exciting and formidible style that could well give America the World Cup by 1974. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Soccer For American Spectators, written by Basil Kane in 1969. 1974?? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha....
And in 1974 they said it will happen in 20-30 years and we're still waiting. I'm sure having no league from 1985-1995 did plenty to hinder the sports growth but when you look at the state of American soccer today, although we've accomplished a lot, there is still a long way to go.
Great times & gimmicks during those NASL days..... Joe Raduka Paul Paunovich Shep Messing Volker Fass & Alec Lindsay
That was Sonny Van Arnem. He sued to keep Jimmy Hill from moving the Express to DC, but settled for the name and logo. Van Arnem later bought an option to purchase the Edmonton Drillers in 1982 from Peter Pocklington. He also put out a press release saying he was negotiating to buy the Detroit Red Wings. Thank god Mike Ilitch was showed up. Both teams eventually realized that Van Arnem was "all hat and no cowboy" as they say down here in Texas.
Thanks for those pictures of the elder Twellman. He was probably one of the best true Americans (not a Canuck or a naturalized citizen) to play for the Kicks. I was probably at the game where he was wearing the orange home kit. Gotta love those 1970s color schemes....
Three words: Karl-Heinz Granitza I remember the Sting in the summer of 1978. I think when they bought in Karl-Heinz Granitza & Arno Steffenhagen. If I'm not mistaken I think they were both bought when (recently deceased) Malcom Musgrove was fired and coach Willy Roy was hired. They finished the season strong and made the playoffs with a 12-18 record I think it was but it was mostly becuase of to those two. here are some cool pics of your dad..sorry they came out so big...great player! For those German speakers/readers, I just found an awesome article..... http://www.herthabsc.de/index.php?id=4459
for those who didn't see this thread...... SI Vault Article 1984: NASL, USSF and MLS https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=778677
Well the difference there is that the U.S. invented basketball. FIBA kind of takes the fundamentals of what the game was invented to be, and interprets them as properly as they can. But right now the NBA wants to standardize the differences found in college, NBA, and Euro ball in order to build up international competition and provide a real second world sport that could go toe-to-toe with soccer eventually. And I'd say basketball is the closest to finding a truly worldwide fan and player base in the world of sports. But the NBA is the razor's edge of talent in the sport and brings in many international players to be showcased there -- much like the BPL. Thus, the NBA has the most pull in shaping what the game should be. So it would be like the U.K. taking the lead (having largely created organized Association Football) and making changes to what they think would make soccer more exciting for a world audience. Only soccer is already the top drawing sport in most nations. There really isn't any reason for FIFA or the FA to lead the sport in new directions, and if the MLS wants street cred amongst the sport, they need to respect the way the BPL plays and ultimately aim to be like them, with an American flavor that can speak to true soccer fans that live in America (American-style names, cheerleaders, mascots, etc.) But either people like the sport or they don't. We need to teach the game to the youth of America in order for it to survive. This is the same case with baseball. To someone not familiar with why we love baseball, it is a very boring sport (so I've heard). But we don't watch it because it's edge of your seats entertainment. (Gridiron) football already has that distinction.
just one question to all you NASL fans out there What was in your opinion the strongest NASL team ever? Personally I think it was the Cosmos in 1980, but of course you know a lot more than I do
I think you are right. The 1980 Cosmos team had to be the strongest. Hennes Weisweiler was the coach and he instilled discipline into the team that had been lacking. They beat Teofilio Cubillas and Gerd Muller in Soccer Bowl 80 that year. Paul Gardener recently wrote an article comparing year 12 in the NASL vs year 12 in the MLS. Of course the NASL won out. I believe Chinaglia scored 2 and Julio Cesar Romero scored also while the Cosmos won 3-0 I think it was. I would have said the 1978 & 1979 Cosmos teams. However, when the Cosmos lost to the Minnesota Kicks 9-2 in the playoffs in 78, I would tend to think they slipped up. Everyone is entitled to an off night but there is no excuse to losing by that margin in such an important playoff game. The Cosmos won the next game I believe 4-0 but had they been on aggregate, the scoreline would have been 9-6. They won the ensuing mini game in a shootout but they were lucky to go thru to the Soccer Bowl that year. then in 1979 they lost to Alan Ball, Phill Parks and the Vancouver Whitecaps in a shootout and didn't make the Soccer Bowl that year either. Here is a picture of the 1977 Cosmos which had to be the weakest Cosmos team until possibly 83/84: Chinaglia, & Pele Franz