A long long time ago...in a land far away...I promised I'd never start a thread about a certain Chicago Fire player. Well, I am sorta breakin' the promise...and sorta not...but I simply COULDN'T resist pointing out the interesting juxtaposition of two of our favorite (or despised, depending on your perspective) BS players by the inestimable, and highly entertaining Dan Calichman, who was holding forth in an interview by the equally estimable Dan Loney in Cybersoccer news. Anyway, here's what Dan C. said: Loney: How is the level of Division III play nowadays? Calichman: That’s hard to say. Yeah, I mean, I watch UCLA play Stanford in Division I, and I think “Ah, you know, the game’s only so-so.” Then I watch our games, and I think, “Ah, they’re only so-so.” It’s hard to compare. I think the level of soccer in general is getting better. I would assume that the level is better now than it was when I was playing. Especially in Southern California. This is a hotbed for soccer. You just have great players. I would say in general, the average Southern California player is better than most. So, I think the level is generally higher. But still, it’s hard, because I’m coming from a professional world, where the young kids are Chris Armas. The young kids are Clint Mathis. You’re dealing with kids like this, and then I go into this world where I’d have to lower my expectations of them. But not as great as one would expect. Loney: How much lower are the expectations? I don’t want to insult the Claremont players, but - Calichman: No, God no, but when you talk about Chris Armas and Clint Mathis, we can lower our expectations. See: http://www.cybersoccernews.com/columnists/loney/021212loney.shtml Hmmmm.....before some of you out there slam this, remember, it wasn't ME who said it...and the guy who DID say it, of course, played at a high level, and we all know that the opinions of guys who played at a high level are better than anyone else's opinions, right??
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Enough with the Redlands bashing, dude. It's just wrong to bash the school that produced the following esteemed citizens: Warren Christopher, David Boies, the lead singer from Cracker, the creators of Cheers, and me. Besides, everybody knows La Verne has the weakest admissions standards in SCIAC. Putz.
La Verne also leads SCIAC in red cards every year. In 2001 they AVERAGED one per game. Ah, Redlands. Caltech soccer's most famous victim back in '97. And the opponent for 4 of my 6 NCAA appearances to date. Including both of my "injured for season within 60 seconds of subbing in" games. (I don't blame them for it - that kind of stuff happens.)
If you went to school named after a cheesy sitcom set in Milwaukie, you'd be angry, too. I always made a point of watching CalTech when they came to play, in any sport. It was usually ugly, but your players always played so freakin' hard it was ridiculous. Loved to see the hustle. That, and I figured there was a good chance a few would be famous some day, and I could say, "I saw that guy get dunked on in college waaaaay back when."
If you were around in 2000 and went to away games, then you may have seen me sub in, receive the ball on the wing about 20 seconds later, and get my ankle broken after two touches. If you were around this year, you may have seen the entirety of my 40 seconds or so of action this season. Entered the match, picked off a bad pass from your center back, tore ankle ligaments with no one even close. I wonder if I should just refuse to play against Redlands.
karl, i'm not sure of your point. to me calichman was saying when you talk about the armases and mathises of the world, you should lower your expectations when talking about the clairement kids. it's a bit ambiguous but that's how i read it. i could be wrong though, and even if i'm not, i'm still not sure of your point.
Well, I wouldn't try to work TOO hard to "gloss" this, as they say in English Lit class. Though "Clint Mathis and Chris Armas" has an alliterative quality that, say, "Clint Mathis and Pablo Mastroeni" does not. However, that Dan C. spoke of THESE two players in the SAME breath -- the one player that some on these boards think is the second-coming of the Deity, and the other player who some on this board (often the same folks who want to engage in the aforementioned deification) think is warmed-over merd.... Well, I found it..amusing. Others may find it...irritating. To each his own.
Geezum Karl. a> You're quoting Dan "decent player at Williams, now coach at Claremont" Calichman. Not Brolin. b, c & d> you're literally pretending your expression ("same breath" ) offers a calculable estimation. e> Do you think, just perhaps, those names came to Calichman's lips because Armas and Mathis were on the Galaxy with him - unlike, let's say, Mastroeni? Just maybe? f> When Calichman played with Armas, Armas was the eminent defensive midfielder in the league.* One of the best and most underrated players in MLS. It is now the year 2002. You know, even some of us [Mathis groupies who think Mastroenni's succession was overdue] still think of Armas as a great player. When I read that quote the first time and thought about lining up in practice against Clint Mathis and Chris Armas, it caught my breath. Then when I read you stretching that quote out of proportion... well here we are back again. *Supporting clue for those who apparently need it: Calichman refers to Armas as a "young kid."
--Dateline of article: December 12, 2002. --Tense used: "the kids ARE" (emphasis mine). --Guilty of overanalyzing: Noah Dahl --Guilty of playing along: Me --Having fun at this: Me --NOT having fun at this?: Unclear, but it could be Noah.
I agree with Noah. Karl said, hey look at this quote from Calichman. His exact quote was.... "it wasn't ME who said it...and the guy who DID say it, of course, played at a high level, and we all know that the opinions of guys who played at a high level are better than anyone else's opinions, right??" Karl you used the above quote from Calichman to support your Armas over Mastro opinion. Which is fine. I know that you are partially kidding when you started this thread. Just don't say something like, Noah was taking this too seriously, when he comes with a much more rational explanation for your quote. Its allright to have your favorites Karl. We all do. In the immortal words of Junior Soprano, the next time you come in here Karl you better come prepared.
Excerpt from the same quote: "I think the level of soccer in general is getting better. I would assume that the level is better now than it was when I was playing." Probably covers d-mids as well. ; > But I think an Armas/Mastro controversy could still loom. The Bruce type thinks a lot of the Armas type, and the Bruce type sticks hard to those they favor. Bob Bradley moving to acquire Richie Williams for the MetroStars? (And Pope and Moreno?) Bruce obviously undervalued Mastro, in my opinion, before the World Cup. So I wouldn't be that surprised to see Mastro lose his spot to Armas or even a Bobby Convey.
I'm sorry I missed your fleeting moments of glory, Elninho. You must admit, we have a pretty nice soccer field. One more SCIAC athletics war story: I was friends with a big-egoed pitcher on our baseball team. He transfered from a Div. I school, had a dad in the Padres organization, and thought he was "all that." The only game he ever pitched was against Cal-Tech. He went like 4 innings. Afterward, he was bragging that he had 3 strikeouts, as if Cal-Tech were full of major league prospects. I don't think he understood that the team probably had an average SAT score of 1597. Too funny. Maybe Redlands' admission standards are too low.