Classic has done a lot of city-based ESPN programming (San Diego, Philadelphia, etc.). Let's go national! If you had 12 hours to fill on ESPN Classic with 12 hours of American soccer, what would you fill it with? A start: Noon-1: 1989 USA Men at Trinidad (you need only some highlights since lots of the game was excised to throw in commercials) 1-2:30 p.m.: 1991 WWC USA Women vs. Norway (ditto) 2:30-4 p.m.: ABC Wide World of Sports: Pele's final match (also interrupted by loads of commercials) 4-6 p.m.: 1994 WC USA vs. Colombia 6-8 p.m.: 1999 WWC USA vs. China 8-10 p.m.: 2002 WC USA vs. Portugal 10 p.m.-Midnight: 2002 WC USA vs. Mexico
US vs. England-1950 WC US vs. Colombia-1994 WC US vs. Brazil-1998 Gold Cup US vs. Jamaica-2001 WCQ US vs. Portugal-2002 WC US vs. Mexico-2002 WC I'm not sure a tape exists of the 1950 England match, if it doesn't I'd replace it with an MLS match (either the inaugural game between San Jose and DC or the first MLS Cup).
Yeah, I'd make it the first MLS Cup....that first ever game stunk. and the 1989 WCQ vs T&T better be there. THE TRUE "SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD"
True. Such are the rules of the game: you need to fill 12 hours. I forgot about the 1998 Brazil match. Damn.
1995 USA Cup - USA 4, Mexico 0 1995 Copa America - USA 3, Argentina 0 1999 Confed Cup - USA 2, Germany 0
How could you forget these gems?? Oct 07 79 W 3-1 Bermuda Hamilton, Bermuda Feb 11 79 L 1-4 Soviet Union San Francisco, CA, USA May 28 59 L 1-8 England Los Angeles, CA, USA May 27 67 L 0-1 Bermuda Chicago, IL, USA Apr 02 85 L 0-2 Canada Vancouver, Canada Jun 08 87 L 1-3 Egypt Seoul, South Korea May 23 87 L 0-2 Canada St. John, Canada
How about: US - Mexico 1999 - The Rose Bowl - Gold Cup Final I believe. 1-2. Frankie Hejduk scored and Meola ended up with a busted lip US - England. 1993. 3-1. Alexi Lalas scores in that game. He goes nuts after scoring. US-Mexico. Columbus. Enough Said
I don't think any of us want to see the US and Mexico game in 99. It was a frustrating match. Also, it was the US Cup, not the Gold Cup.
US v. Portugal June 2002 US v. Mexico June 2002 US v. Brazil Feb. 1998 US v. Jamaica Oct. 2001 US v. England 1950 US v. Colombia 1994 I must say that this is a great thread.
First off, screw the women. About 6 country's play women's soccer at a competitive level so being the best of one of them isn't that big a deal. They get no time on this special. Secondly, while I'd love to show NASL and MLS stuff, there are too many important national team games to show and if we only have 12 hours, we don't have time for the league stuff. Third, I narrowed it down to eight games. Others can pick which six to show. US 1, T&T 0 - 1989 Without that game, we're not having this discussion. US 0, Italy 1 -1990 Even though we lost, we almost pulled off the tie, which would have been one of the biggest WC results ever, plus it shows how far we've come. US 2, England 0 -1993 I was at that game - my first "cap" - and after we won, it was the first time I believed we could make some noise at future internatinal competitions. US 2, Colombia 1 -1994 We shocked the world and gained some credibility and legitamized our hosting of the WC. US 3, Argentina 0 - 1995 Proved 1994 wasn't a fluke and the win is even bigger given where it was played and the competition it was in. That, and the total dominance. US-1, Brazil 0 -1998 We beat the world champs. Plus, this upset puts into context how badly we flopped at WC 98 US 3, Portugal 2 - 2002 Traffic is stopped all over Europe! US 2, Mexico 0 - 2002 Quarterfinals, baby! And over our most-hated rivals, to boot. I'd also consider the friendly against Germany in 99 (3-0), the win over Germany in the 99 Confederations Cup (2-0), the loss to Germany in last year's quarterfinal and the loss to Iran in the 98 World Cup, as, as painful as it was, it shows where we were and how far we've come.
And who can forget the 8th game of the summit series in 1972 in Lenin Central Stadium in Moscow?Paul Henderson scoring his 3rd game winning goal against the soviets to give Canada a 4-3-1 series win. Now THAT was exciting !!!!! Oops, sorry, got carried away !
I'd make it a special on the road to 2002. For starters, I'd show highlights from the 1999 Confederations Cup, and then show the US 2-0 Germany game in its entirety. Next, I'd move on to the 1999 US Cup and show the US 1-2 Mexico final. It was a frustrating game, but it was a dynamic, well-played match. It also would provide some great foreshadowing... On to the World Cup Qualifiers, where we begin with an intense scene in the 2000 encounter between Guatemala and the US in muggy Matzetenango. Ruiz mugs the entire US defense en route to a US 1-1 Guatemala score. Next we go to the Hex, and the first game in Columbus produces a US 2-0 Mexico classic that marks the entry of two key personalities to US Soccer - Clint Mathis and Josh Wolff. The youth movement begins. With qualification complete, the US recaptures the Gold Cup crown for the first time in over a decade with a US 2-0 Costa Rica game that featured a dynamic, youthful US team starring Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley taking it to an opponent that previously had caused the US fits. The US attack was simply unstoppable this game, as Donovan had his way with the Ticos and the US was too confident to keep up with. Finally, I show the US traveling to Catania, Italy to play a full-strength Italian side on their home turf. The game doesn't end in favor of the Yanks, but the US 0-1 Italy scoreline does not accurately portray the domination of the Yanks over Italy in this game. When the Italian fans began cheering for the US, and when Italy's coach was forced to substitute 4 players at half time, the US had quietly announced they'd arrived. There are so many great games - so many great memories that I had to leave out. Our win in Honduras and Mathis' free kick goal. Our win vs Korea in the Gold Cup. The US' destruction of Germany. US beating Argentina @ RFK on JMM's beautiful strike off of Stewart's back heel... I could go on, but the six games I listed document perfectly the highlights of the US in the run-up to WC02.
Can we get a moderator in here to block the IP address of this Canadian troll? Seriously, I'd like to see the 1-0 loss to Germany in the Quarterfinals in there as I honestly believe it might have been the best match we played at the 2002 WC. Watching a team down 1-0 trying desperately to bust the door down in an elimination scenario is one of the things that can get non-soccer fans interested in the sport as it can be breathtaking at times. Sanneh's header into the side netting in the 88th minute probably caused at least 100 heart attacks across Germany. Kahn looked like he'd just survived a war.
It´s interesting that nobody remembered the 2nd round match against Brazil in WC 94. Even though you lost it (0-1), your team put up a fight to the eventually world champions and the match is considered in Brazil the toughest of that World Cup. You shouldn't be ashamed of it. Or is it because it was on 4th of July?
All the games in my sig. plus that wonderful 4-0 rout of Mexico in a RFK friendly, the breakout game for Claudio Reyna, who scored two and set up another, IIRC. and the 2-0 over Mexico in Columbus. and why not Pele in the NASL. And some of those classic Tampa Bay Rowdies-Cosmos playoff showdowns before 70K + in Giants Stadium (MLS eat your heart out)
Confused. Are they proposed because they are actually on videotape somewhere, or are you being sardonic?