As I write this, I am currently putting off completing the rough draft of a business plan to type words into a little white box, on a website known as BigSoccer.com. About three years ago, my posting on this site began, and I honestly can't really remember what the internet was like without it. The discovery of the website is fuzzy for me. 3 and a half years ago I began to lurk, reading posts, and taking it all in. How did I discover the site? I vaguely remember a link in a Jeff Bradley article (could've been Grant Wahl too) that I clicked on, and a new world was opened to me. A world where regular people actually sat around and talked about soccer. The digital water cooler, as it were. I was nervous about posting my opinion for the first time. Being new is never easy, especially in a place like the internet where anonymity can inflate character traits, and create all new ones, in many people. Since The Crash, records of my early posts have disappeared (thankfully). And only my more informed posts live on. Like most newbies, I deservedly got ribbed for quite a while. But I took my licks and have smartened up, and now I can dish out the same punishment I received to all the new kids on the block. BigSoccer has been a gateway for me with many individuals, most I haven't even actually met in person (although I plan to at some point). I know I'm only one mouse-click away from having a private conversation with players of many different levels, writers for ESPN, MLS, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, the GM of an MLS team, the father of the best player in MLS, etc... I could go on and on at the amazing network that BigSoccer has given me. Some of the highlights of my time at BigSoccer.com: Nutmeg's Saga of Soccer Babe Michael Mejido's April Fools gag of a lifetime Tom Flannigan's Personal Vendetta against Title IX Several posters Personal Vendetta against Tom Flannigan Mike Segroves Antics The Drunk Thread Karl Keller's steadfast support of Chris Armas in the face of massive attacks from BS posters The Crash, and how it made me realize just how much I depended on BigSoccer The people I've met along the way So how did you guys come upon BigSoccer, and what else have you experienced on BigSoccer do you guys look back on with a smile?
Great stuff Peledre. My personal story is much the same. I actually began perusing the boards over at chicagosports.com (The Chicago Tribune Sports Page) back in Spring of 2000. In late Fall of 2000 Hala informed several of us that there was a better place, a "Promise Land" if you will. I continued to lurk on the Chicaog Fire board there and on BigSoccer till I finally couldn't just read, I HAD to post. I have been addicted ever since. I pony'd up some registration funds last September because my BS habbit was only taking up my time and not my money, and damnit, why can't Huss and Co. have both? Some of my favorite memories include [some on your list] Nutmeg's Soccer Babe Michael Mejido's & The Ultimate April Fools Mike Segroves The Rivalry XI The Smack Offs The FFA Board The Politics Boards The Single Malt Society Following PBP threads for big games. There are more, but that's all I've got off the top of my head.
Ah yes, some of the PBP threads have been fantastic, as well as the In-Game AIM chats that we've had in the last 2 years. They have been classic as well.
I'm still loyal to the original, rec.sport.soccer, the usenet group that gave me soccer news from around the world before graphical web browsers were born. You can see the "best of" at http://www.rsssf.com/rssbest.html However, I broadened my horizons and joined up here at BS where I have jumped in with no fear.
I lurked for a few months before jumping in. I can't really remember how I found the site though, oddly enough. I just find the site to be a lot of fun and outlet for what I guess is an obsession with soccer-in the best view of the word "obsession." Some moments/things: 1. A debate I had with Matt Clark on the issue of diviing. He got the better of me, to be fair, but I just couldn't let go 2. The MLS attendance threads. We watch, and watch, and watch, and watch, and watch.... 3. The match P-B-P of the Alaves-Liverpool Uefa Cup final in 2001. A cracker of a match, with jpegs popping up faster than...a good example of a web community from various parts, creating a "moment" if you will. Only three moments I regret: A nasty thread re: South Africa's ability to host the World Cup. Said some things to Flannigan and Lastort that I wish I could have expressed differently. Two other threads, one with Superdave and another with Andy B...I should have done better. Overall, after four years of posting, I enjoy the collection of people who come here and contribute. And who knows...perhaps some day we'll get that Pele vs Maradona thing sorted out
I'll add the PBP on little games. Basically, the PBP on Fulham or Hannover games is great, but it only uses the Internet to overcome the physical distance, with the added benefit of its focus on Yanks. The late night PBP I enjoyed from US U-17 pool games from New Zealand qualifies as a truly special BigSoccer benefit. The Seagroves Manifesto needs to be mentioned again. The BigSoccer American draft (as evidence of the depth of knowledge and interest among a select few) The amazing thread where the Bigsoccer members tracked down that guy John Carlos Elliot (was that his name?) who turns out to be no good.
Some of my favorites: Semi-legal Korean webcasts PBP: Freddy Adu plays first official game for US in Guatemala. EVERY poster interested in US soccer is listening to that Guatemalan radio feed with that announcer breaking the land-speed record for words per second (12.43). "Greatest thread ever": A poster actually starts a thread sincerely addressing his problems counting to 10. American in Nepal: Wallace Jackson becomes Yank Abroad, no complaints about cloudy weather. Translation Service: Find a match report in nearly any language, and request a translation. Results are often prompt and reliable.
the "yeti fc" thread in which the guys over at the ya board almost bought a nepali soccer team. that was classic.
I remember the first time I posted on a sports message board. It was a debate about the top ten athletes of all time on a now-defunct site. The list I posted included Pele, Maradona and Di Stefano. All the other posters on the board, most of whom were "Joe Six Pack" American football and baseball types, flamed me for even daring to name soccer players in a "serious discussion about sports." I continued posting on that site for a while, always referencing soccer, not caring how many people I pissed off. I just wished there was someone else I could talk soccer with. I posted on the board on the Revs website for a while, but there were hardly any regular posters. The most people I ever saw on the site at one time was five. Then one day, while reading a post on the Soccer America boards, I came across a link to Big Soccer. I clicked on it and was in awe. I found myself in a place inhabited by others who were outcasts of the mainstream American sports scene. It was much more organized and structured than the SA boards. Visiting Big Soccer made me feel like I was a member of an underground secret society or something. I couldn't believe such a place actually existed where American soccer fans could talk soccer, shoot the breeze and find the latest news and rumors. I was in heaven. I lurked for a long time before making my first post, partly because I wanted to take it all in, and partly because I was afraid of saying something stupid that would draw the ire of the denizens of this wonderful place. Big Soccer is my favorite site on the web. I come here every day. I can't imagine the internet without it (Well, actually I can. I just chose to forget my lonely, depressed web surfing during The Crash). It's the first place I learn about any breaking soccer news or silly unfounded rumors. It's a place where I can speculate about the future of MLS, lament over the lack of an MLS franchise in Rochester, call for Bruce Arena to be fired for including ABMOD on a roster for a friendly against Turks & Caicos, and debate the implausibility of insituting a promotion/relegation system in MLS. For me, Big Soccer is a community - a community of diverse people of all backgrounds and viewpoints who share a single passion: the beautiful game.
685 posts on a U-17 match PBP Following each high-profile YA as they make their debuts The only sports-page I need -- MLS News and Analysis's daily news summary Finding someone who's heard of a patch of dirt off the coast of Honduras, even if they haven't heard of the 3d division team that plays there A more cogent political debate cannot be found online Not having to look at the official LA Galaxy website message boards Brad Friedel is a son of a bitch Allows me the ability to follow soccer 365 days a year, exactly as the gods intended The single biggest drain on my productivity What turned me from a soccer fan to an obsessed lunatic Proof positive for what Alexi Lalas said about soccer fans: that we're more intelligent, better looking, and all-around classier than your run-of-the-mill sports fans I missed the crash. Not by much though -- I found out about the site through a Jeff Bradley piece on ESPN.com that gave suggestions of activities for those left in the crash's wake.
Yanks abroad from nederlands to Nepal and and seven (before JK left ) inthe EPL.Oh and Commander Clint.and Gooch.and Wade Barrett...and Michael Ricketts. USN&A... no rivalries smack allowed (not that there's anything wrong with rivalries smack).Discussion of past,current and future Nats such as Reyna,Friedel (to Brad Friedel!),Adu,Armas (enough about Armas!)Regis,Convey,Kenny Cooper and...Michael Ricketts.(nancyb,did you at least get his address?) The Liverpool board with honorable mention again to kopites recounting of the tragic day at Hillsborough.YNWA. Some interesting stuff in the beautiful game thread. Politics.I lurk there.It's my guilty pleasure. The fitness thread and my peeps there -haven't posted there much of late,but I'm still working out.You are still my fitness support group. And I have to say that I miss hearing about Big Ed....
I found out about BigSoccer as a poster on Soccer365.com That site has become so xenophobic, homophobic and tiresome that if those idiots that posted over there actually talked about futbol it was a miracle. Anyway while reading some posts I heard about a site called BigSoccer so I thought I'd check it out. Been hooked ever since. Since I've been here I've enjoyed so many different forums. I love reading thru the MLS Rivalries forum for some good laughs (I never post there, too many sharks in the water) I love the DC forum and have come to meet and make many new friends because of it. FFA is great too and my alltime favorite thread was fiddlesticks guide for BigSoccer newbies. Chris Baileys girlfriend dumping him was a classic too. So many good ones I can't remember them all. See some of you guys on the Drunk thread.
Indeed, where else can you participate in a 20-man draft of the world's most beautiful women. The full pic of Emmanuelle:
Her tummy would look very cute with a navel piercing. Anyhoo... I think I read something in an issue of Soccer America that I was reading at Border’s a while back about BigSoccer. I figured “what the hell” and registered. Now I can’t get out of the blasted FFA forum, bah!
Boy, threads like this make one sit back and really take it all in. For me its been over 5 years now since I have been on the soccerboards.com (as all old timers will remember bigsoccer original name). I too started out on rec.sport.soccer before moving on to the ISFA mailing lists for the Revolution. One day, I believe Jesse sent me an email to check out the soccer boards that he had created for the Metro fans. His hope was to expand them by getting new fans on board. I took one look at the boards and was hooked from that point on. IN a very short period of time, many of the Revs, Crew and DC United people on ISFA had merged to the soccer boards and the site continued to grow from their. My single most memorable moment was performing the play by play for the U17 World Cup in 1999. I still remember having a tear in my eye having to type in the PPB of Cutler's pk miss to end the dream run for an incredibly talented group of youngsters. It was that PPB that many from the original Soccer America boards first heard of the soccer boards and started a new migration of fans over. Jesse and the gang have a TON to be proud of. They have created the ultimate community for soccer fans that may out live and out grow even their biggest dreams back in the day of the www.soccerboards.com Andy
Don't know how I found the site...I got hooked after I found a thread that told me how to buy tickets for the US-MEX WCQ in Columbus before they were on sale to the public. I'm more of a lurker as my low post count indicates. I keep coming back mainly for the news, but also for the creative and intelligent discussion that sometimes develop.
I, too, was a part of the soccerboards.com era. My name comes from the fact that I was living in Columbus, OH at the time, going to grad school - studying weather (thus the 'wx'), but my heart was still with the Mutiny. It just kind of evolved from there. I drive a car with the FL license plate MTNY GRL. I won't give it up......until the Mutiny comes back (insert wishful thinking here). Anyway, my most memorable thing was being named as one of the top 10 posters to read in 2000, I believe.
How many folks remember rec.sport.soccer (aka rss) on usenet? After 10+ years of reading, lurking and occasionally contributing amongst the ritualistic nationalistic jingoism there were several New England Revolution-specific web-forums started withthe advent of MLS. And then I came across the metroboard site in the Fall of '98. Being a Rev fan, there was no way I could register for something with "metro" in the name, but the conversations were great. Fortunately, the name changed to soccerboards in early '99 and I could join with a clear conscience. The Rev forum on soccerboards was one of the most active back then, behind the metroscum and ahead of DC's mediawhores. But my real hookup with bigsoccer came because of women's soccer. With the approach of WWC'99 we petitioned for a women's-specific soccer forum. Fighting off the local mysoginists it nearly became a full-time job moderating the forum. Then Briana stepped off her line and we dealt with nationalistic jingoism on soccerboards/bigsoccer that would have made rss proud. Then an alleged women's soccer forum at another site closed after WWC'99 and a huge influx of new members here changed the face of the women's forums on bigsoccer forever. I loved the PBP broadcasts by many folks in the pre-FSW and cable package world. Remember when andy_b was far and away the #1 poster on soccerboards? And I was in the top 5?
GoYouRevs = Andy B Anyways, I was lurking on the SI.com soccer message boards when someone posted a link to www.soccerboards.com. I had just recently graduated from college and was rather sad to be finished so I gave myself the screenname JMU Soccer!.. This was about the time of 1999 Confederations Cup and there was already discussion about John Harkes being called up. Being the John Harkes fan I was at the time, I immediately jumped into the discussion. From that point on I was hooked. Shortly there after, I moved from D.C. to Kansas City, and this site hooked me up with the Mystics and other Wizards' fans. In April of 2000, I came home inebriated one night and started a new thread on the Free for All with the caption, "Hello, I'm drunk, anyone else who's drunk please post on this thread, no sober people." Now, I believe it might just be the longest continuously running thread on bigsoccer. I never knew it would touch so many lives. Other memorable monents are -Various play-by-play for WCQ's -The exodus (for the most part) of Sekrah and Ollie -Coordination of Project Mayhem (It doesn't exist) -Mejido April Fools Joke -The Persian Surge before the friendly with Iran in 2000. -The rapid feminist movement shortly after WWC 1999