Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thursday Backpasses: What's this?

Two words that immediately send my head into song. Oh, and there's something over there -->

Arsenal invite 15 year old Montenegrin to trial. Sounds exactly right [Sky Sports]
New Jersey reporter rips on Becks [100 Percent Soccer]
Sepp Blatter falls. You'll watch and laugh [World Cup Blog]

Iker Casillas has a hot new squeeze [ONTD_FB]
How Seattle Sounders attendance would stack up around the world [The Offside]

Finally:
An honest look at the state of growing soccer in America [TIAS]

10 comments:

jjf3 said...

Me likey...

Yes, I'm buying it, you extortionate bastards! :)

So what's the expected look for the Foul-Up? Are we all showing up in our favorite team shirts, or are other factors involved?

EbullientFatalist said...

The article on TIAS is well-written, analytical, completely on-point. We can't become a good footballing nation if we maintain the fantasy of a good youth setup. Our youth setup is purely cosmetic.

BackBergtt said...

The worst glory hole ever?

Teeknuts said...

Nah, that one doesn't make you eat bears. This one, on the other hand...

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/062005/loc_20050620008.shtml

BackBergtt said...

Sir, we have quite the different concept of what is meant by a glory hole in which you eat bears.

EbullientFatalist said...

Eating bears? Andrew Sullivan is intrigued.

machine gooner funk said...

the article on TIAS is so good it stings reading it. his points ring so true it's kinda embarrassing that we use football as something to keep our kids busy and it's true most of the coaches in youth football have no idea as to how to play it let alone coach it (god bless them for giving up their time to coach the kids) but we need to do better at identifying talent and cultivating it. sadly though we're a country thats too fickle and trendy. So unless a sport is established like baseball, basketball, college football, and the nfl other sports are ignored. we need more kids kicking a ball against a wall or playing keepy up the way we'll see a young kid dribble a basketball everywhere he goes.

Goat said...

A large part of the problem, which the TIAS writer alludes to, is that kids don't watch enough high quality soccer (or even MLS). Growing up and playing at a relatively high level, I almost never saw soccer except during the World Cup. I'm convinced that I would have been a much better player, regardless of the level of coaching I received, if I would have watched even a fraction of the soccer that I watch now. Doing so would also provide incentive to kids to improve their game and stick with it (which I didn't have) just by showing them that there's a goal they can aspire to.

Anonymous said...

Is than a UF t-shirt I spy behind the keyhole?

Sarah said...

That Sepp Blatter video is gold.