I haven't been able to track down the online version, but when I picked up the Chronicle's Sunday paper yesterday, Donovan was on the cover of the papers inset newsmagazine, and was its feature story. The writer (mostly a hack imho) detailed his familial background as well as many of his reasons for leaving Germany, and for not being interested in going back. It's well worth a read if you can track down the link, or pick up the paper at your library.
Nevius Yeah, isn't this guy an established soccer basher? With that in mind, send an e-mail to the Chronicle. This was a cover story with good photos, it was well-written and totally complimentary. Time to praise.
bigsoccwr misses nothing. I was greatly hoping that this was one of the things that would be ignored. kind of pretend that it was never written
If you knew nothing about soccer, or even sports in general, that would be a great article as an introduction to the Donovan story. I wrote the guy to tell him job well done. Nice to see it's SF Chron doing it too - need to build up the hometown support for the Quakes.
People really DO like it when you're nice A reply from the author of the Donovan article: "Hey, thanks for the nice note. Always a fine line between the real soccer fans and the casual readers, glad to hear you think I was able to walk it. Your kind comments made my day. CWN " It's all about the positive energy. From here on out, instead of complaining about everyone who bashes soccer, I'm complimenting everyone who supports it. My letter is below: Hi C.W., > > I just wanted to write in and commend you on a job well done on the Landon > Donovan article. As someone who is a life long soccer player and fan, > Donovan's story is one with which I am very familiar. However, your article > captured his career so well, a reader lacking even basic soccer knowledge > would know the general story as well as I do. Donovan has made San Jose and > the US proud, and I look forward to reading more soccer news in the Chronicle. > > Once again, great job. > > Thanks, > Charles Wilson
The thing I found disturbing is, according to the way it was written, it seemed like it was an "off-the-record" type of remark. Just the kind of thing to make a young star distrustful of the press.
also here in Yanks Abroad... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11580 The period comment was a bit much for me. but all in all a good article
Solid article. More insight into how the Leverkusen situation took shape. I got past the comment. If he can take MLS to a higher level then great. Our thoughts are that the best play in Europe, which is most likely true, but if the guy wants to stay here then all the power to him. I hope it helps him and US Soccer. What I find interesting is that a guy like John O'Brien goes to the Netherlands and is enjoying it, granted after some time, but in Germany for Landon it was totally different. I'm just trying to understand the positions. Is it the countries cultures, the guys mentality, or a combo of both? I would bet though that if Landon Donovan were to return to Leverkusen things might be really different from his first experiences there.
Re: People really DO like it when you're nice Good letter, Charles. I wish more Bigsoccer folks would follow your lead and writer letters to the authors of positive pieces, instead of sending those ill-conceived, badly-written rants that sound like the soccer fan is a crack addict whenever the sport is insulted. As to TEAMUSA's question, I'm guessing it has little to do with the country's culture and more to do with the player. I mean, there are some Americans thriving in Germany, and I'm sure that the Netherlands wouldn't have worked any better for a 16 your old LD than Germany did. There's a thread in Yanks Abroad that deals with this issue, by the way. It revolves around an article written by Bigsoccer poster GersMan... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=10497
cp, I followed your lead: From: "cw nevius" <cwnevius@sfchronicle.com> To: "Barrett Rossie" <barrett@rdadv.com> Subject: Re: Nice article, CW Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 10:19:21 -0700 X-Priority: 3 First, thanks. Second, excellent points. I completely agree with the idea that a well played athletic contest is compelling, regardless of the sport. I was converted to soccer by the World Cup, especially the Brazilians, and to hockey by the Olympics, especially the old Russian Red Army team. Thanks for the note. I will pass it on to our editors so they know folks are reading and responding. CWN ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barrett Rossie" <barrett@rdadv.com> To: <cnevius@sfchronicle.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 10:20 AM Subject: Nice article, CW CW: Thanks for the article on Landon Donovan. I'm a San Francisco resident who goes to San Jose for nearly all the Quakes games -- ever since Landon joined the team. Before that, I would only go to one or two games a year, just out of a sense of obligation to support the team and the sport. It really wasn't much to see... like watching the Warriors the last few years. Only, both teams were usually like the Warriors. Ugh. Now, I go watch the Quakes because... it's fun! Two things have become really clear to me in the last year or so. 1) Any competitive, well-played pro sports match can be fun, soccer or baseball or basketball or hockey. However, a bad baseball game, or a bad soccer match, or a bad basketball game, is worthless. The MLS was close to worthless at the beginning. But the league has improved substantially in its 6+ years, the teams are better, and the players are better. Landon, Grazianni, Agoos, Cannon and Ekelund are the real deal. A lot of people have formed bad impressions of soccer because they simply haven't seen good soccer. (Complicating matters, it doesn't show well on tv, as compared to football, which probably shows better on tv than it does in person.) MLS is, at this point, a pretty decent league that puts a good product on the field. A night out at Spartan to see the Quakes is generally as much fun as a night out to see the Warriors, or a trip to a 49ers game, etc. -- this is what I've heard repeatedly from friends who've gone to their first Quakes game. 2) There was a time when soccer fans felt a need to "convert" people to soccer. I'm not sure where that came from, probably feelings of inadequacy left over from the 70's or 80's -- but it's no longer the case. Most of us just want the chance to enjoy our game like any other sporting fans. I think in natural time people will discover that soccer, when played well, is as entertaining as any other sport. Your point about the artistic Brazilians and the defensive Americans was right on -- but thanks to the new generation like Donovan, it's changing. Best wishes, Barrett Rossie San Francisco
Props Barrett. I get the impression that CW is above all a sports fan - not a soccer basher nor a soccer evangelist, just a sports fan. Some believe you need to jam soccer down the throats of others for them to like the sport. Here is an example of how people will come to love the sport when it is played well. As for the editor remark, I actually received a follow up e-mail from the editor of the magazine, asking for my permission to publish an excerpt for Letters to the Editor. Again, another example that shows people pay attention to positive feedback.
I don't think so. The Germans do discriminate against US passport-holders. No matter what, if LD returned, he'd get the cold shoulder like most Americans have.