Lagos on with Rick Barry!

I heard about 15 minutes today while driving around.

Rick asked Manny about his experience at Barcelona at the '92 Olympics- Manny talked about how cool it was to walk out next to the original Dream Team. There was more discussion about how Manny had a choice between going out for basketball or soccer in college and decided to go with soccer-lucky for us Quakes fans.

A caller asked about whether there was a push for a new stadium for the Quakes (nope), and what it was like playing at Spartan on such a narrow field. Manny replied that it was an adjustment and that he had a bad game in his first home game for the Quakes partly because of it.

Another guy called to ask about Manny's early career in the A League playing for his dad and how that compared to MLS- Manny, Brian McBride, and Manny's best friend Tony Sanneh all played on that team (didn't know he and Sanneh were that close).

Rick ended it by asking how healthy Manny was heading into the season, in contrast to last year.

Manny was well-spoken and got along well with Rick Barry. It was even more shocking that KNBR was supposed to have Landon on this afternoon with Ralph & Tom- didn't hear that one.

Can you imagine-two soccer players on Bay Area sports talk on the same day?

There's hope yet.

 

Great publicity. Man its a good sign when a player of Lagos' caliber - quality but by no means a star and certainly not a household name - gets long, live airtime interviews.

Anyone hear Donovan?

 

Didn't hear Landon's interview, but a caller (originally from the British Isles by the sound) about an hour later chimed in to criticize the young man for not going to Europe because the level of play in MLS is so inferior.

While Tolbert defended Landon's decision from the standpoint of strengthening the league for the future, the caller's attitude shows just how far the league has to go to bring around world soccer fans.

 

I heard the Landon interview. It was a good interview, but there was no real news - just good exposure for MLS on a show that pretty much never has any mention of soccer.

(Unfortunately, because of this, neither "the Razor" nor "Mr. T" knew to ask LD about his abs. )

 

Rick Barry has always given good coverage to Soccer & the Quakes.

Ralph is another matter - I recall him & Tom dissing Waldo a number of years back. Ralph commenting that he would be more interested if there were more goals scored.

Sounds like we ought to send e-mails to KNBR thanking them for the coverage and agitating to get the Quakes games on the radio.

 

I heard Landon on KNBR John London Show two days ago. They were pretty respectable in their questions and appeared to be having a good time interviewing him. Chris Townsend had some good things to say about Spartan Stadium and playing soccer there (ex-SJ State baseball player). However, he has been know in the past to trash soccer...

The John London Show has been putting together a "10" list of women. The asked Landon who he would include: "Anna". They asked whether he met her, and he said no, but he heard she was a witch.

Slow, but sure soccer is getting more press in the Bay Area...

 

A number of years back, Ralph and Tom also had a hilarious weekly segment with then Clash coach Brian Quinn.

Ralph embodies the pretentious "worldly" Eurocentric pseudo-intellectual liberal, who claims to be open-minded but is really totally close-minded. He spent some time in the UK, had a good time at a few matches, and now is convinced that soccer in America will never be as good. And the reasons he gives for that are lame: "the crowds just aren't as into it," "it seems like more was happening in those games," "it's the atmosphere," etc. If he was so smart, he'd realize that soccer in America is just different (such as baseball in Japan, the Caribbean and America are different, experience-wise).

Who cares about bringing around world soccer fans? We need to bring around American fans, and some superior British caller isn't going to influence many opinions. I wish I would've listened yesterday. I'd have called just to say "Poppycock!" But it's great the Quakes are getting such exposure on KNBR right before the home opener. The past couple years, I've had to call the week of the opener to remind them MLS season was approaching...