While traveling in Asia after the World Cup, I talked with a lot of people about soccer. One time I was talking to this guy from Holland, and we started talking about the USA team. He then told me about after the 1994 World Cup, Alexi Lalas was extremely popular in Amsterdam cause of the rebel/cool dude look he had back then. In Amsterdam in 1994, ecstacy (MDMA) was even known as "Lalas" on the street. If you wanted to buy an E you would ask around for a "Lalas" Some E dealers in clubs would even wear US Soccer jerseys with "Lalas" on the back so people could find their drugs for the night easily. Man, Imagine! The US Soccer players already had a huge effect on Europe and its culture back in 1994. Think I'll have to make a trip to Amsterdam one day and celebrate with a "Lalas" while im there.
He was definitely an icon. Even people I talk to that know little about U.S. soccer still can at least mention his name. Not his play, mind you, but his name. It has to do with the Cup being here that year. I'm sure we'd be hearing the same about McBride/Landon for the next 10 years from people who know little of the sport. Ok, that was my little rant I've been dying to say. Maybe I need a "Lalas"?
During World Cup '98, right when it started I was in Madrid for the first few games, getting ready to head up to Paris for US-Germany. At my hostel there would be a big group of us that would watch the games, and we would sit around and talk and drink and party. I met a Chilean couple and told them my name and they asked me where I was from and we talked for a while, but after I told them that I was American they kept calling me "Lalas". I don't know, maybe in Chile Lalas is slang for *****head or something, but I'm pretty sure they were referring to Alexi, just because that was probably the only American soccer player they knew. He was pretty famous in Italy when he went over there too, even though he hardly ever saw any playing time.
That may have been true, but they eventually dumped him, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't because he was starting too much.