And so Year 2 Begins: A Look Back at Year 1

Soc-cer? It was that one simple, trite phrase from the unwashed masses at Deadspin that caused us to leap into action and form the genius that you all know and love today. With literally every instance of Hirshey's "Closer" column the oh-so-hilarious footy naysayers would come out of the woodwork with their well-thought comment (seriously, searching for "Soc-cer?" on Deadspin would yield 1,279,321 hits). And finally, we had enough. A plea went out in the comments - "Who is interested in starting a soccer blog?" and the response was immediate from the hard-core gentlemen (sic) who formed this site (RIP Badly-Drawn Boykins - we still love ya, buddy!).


We've grown quite a bit since our first post on December 23rd, 2007 - we picked up some stragglers, diversifying the crew beyond Gooners and Scousers. We conducted several interviews, attended media events, and became live-blogging experts (well, some of us, at least). All told, it's been a fantastic year, and we guarantee that we will be even better in Year 2.

But for now, as we look back on Year 1, it's time for us to pat ourselves on the back as individuals. Although I haven't been as busy as I would have liked over here, I still had 89 posts from which to choose my 5 favorites. And the nominees are:


(1) "Who Are: Tottenham Hotspur?" - With only my 3rd post I decided to mark my territory as any Arsenal supporter would - by pissing on Tottenham.

(2) "A Blog Divided: The Arsenal v. Liverpool Treble" - One of the first "group efforts" on the site where I solicited opinions from everyone on the upcoming matches (2 Champions League and 1 EPL) between the clubs supported by the majority of UFers. I think we all remember how things turned out.

(3) "Euro 2008 Liveblog: Germany v. Spain" - Liveblogging the Euro 2008 final was quite a treat, as the match ended 1-0 for Spain on a brilliant strike from Nando and we got 50 comments. Plus, our coverage of the entire tournament absolutely crushed Deadspin after our advances to provide coverage for them were dismissed. (But we still love you, Will!)

(4) "Silence, Bande de Cretins!" - Dealing with things near and dear to my heart (Les Bleus and La Marseillaise), I think I had just the right touch of seriousness along with a good self-deprecating joke at the end.

(5) "We Don't Want to Rule the World, We Just Want to Piss Off the Brits" - The discussion of UEFA's proposal for a "super-sports administrator" gets the nod purely because the ever-cranky Georger loved the use of the Ming the Merciless picture. And also because Platini, whom I grew up admiring, really is a douche.


So there it is - my 5 favorite posts from that scamp The NY Kid. Overall, I think the most fulfilling part of this experience for me has been providing my Ligue 1 coverage (and making a Bordeaux fan of jjf3) while not having to deal with (too many) French surrender jokes, despite the prevalence of Brits in the house. In truth, we rip each other because we all have a great respect for what we each bring to the table, and I think the site is better for it.

A great big thank you to all of our readers and commenters - we couldn't have done it without you. And Happy Holidays, you crazy kids!


To Year 2, and beyond!