UF Field Trip: A Preview of USA-Argentina

We will be somewhere in there.

As you may know, some of us here at UF will be partaking in the festivities at the June 8th tilt between the USMNT and the Argentines at Giants Stadium. If you want a match preview in terms of rosters, look here for the Argentines and here for the Americans (assuming the roster is the same as for the Spain friendly). If, however, you are interested in our shenanigans, join me after the jump.
There are several things to keep in mind here: (1) The match is on a Sunday, but several of us have strategically taken off on Monday; and (2) With Hirshey in attendance, the afterparty is guaranteed to look like this:

We're hoping the Special One shows up

So, on to a few prop bets.

1:2 - Odds that Hirshey will be called a "sellout"

1:3 - Odds that Hirshey will be blamed for Will Leitch leaving Deadspin

Over/Under (11) - Number of times that Hirshey will hear "I have a great idea for a book"

Over/Under (OFF) - Number of times that Hirshey will hear "You're going to let me write a guest column on ESPN, right?"

Over/Under (3) - Number of UFers that will become drunk and obnoxious before, during, or after the match

Over/Under (3) - Number of UFers that will be drunk and obnoxious before, during and after the match

Over/Under (7) - Number of UFers and assorted hangers-on (of 30) who will be arrested

We'll be back (sometime) with a scintillating (and titillating!) wrap-up of the game some time next week (as soon as Lingering Bursitis recovers from his post-match hangover).

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Rooney Lies

Colleen McLoughlin better watch out. Wayne Rooney is a liar and has been caught with his pants down. No, it's not from his bachelor party. Rather, he was caught by the long arm of the law. David Moyes, his former manager at Everton, has successfully sued Rooney for libel.

The damn English libel laws don't allow athletes to wantonly print lies in their autobiographies, even though the laws allow them to "write" books when they can barely spell their own names.

Unfortunately, the dick stomper won't be out of pocket with this decision as his publisher, Harper Collins, is taking the heat.

HarperCollins have accepted the libel should have been quickly picked up by the lawyers employed to read the transcript before it was published.

They may now sue 5RB, the legal chambers of media law specialist QC, Desmond Browne, whose chambers did the proof-reading of the Rooney book, ghost-written by Hunter Davies as the first of a five-book deal.

I blame David Hirshey. And, would suggest that HC sue The Daily Mail for publishing the obvious piece libel to the right. We all know Rooney can't read.

[Photo: The Daily Mail]

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UF Goes to the Movies: Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos

We continue our somewhat sporadic series of movie reviews here at UF with the film "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos." As the title implies, this movie is about the history of the North American Soccer League as viewed through the prism of the league's most popular team, the New York Cosmos. As someone who went to numerous Cosmos games growing up in NYC, I thought that it was about time that I took a look at this cinematic masterpiece.







(Not pictured: a young NY Kid flipping off Bugs Bunny. Seriously, that fucker never gave me any of his stupid carrots)





The movie, narrated by Matt Dillon strangely enough, opens with footage of the American soccer scene in the 1970s, and we hear that "the Cosmos were the best and worst of soccer in the US." This is followed by Shep Messing (who looks distrubingly like David Hirshey) stating that "in the summer of '77, the Cosmos took over." At this point our man Hirshey makes his first (of many) appearance(s), where he discusses the 1950 World Cup in which the US shocked the world by defeating England.

The film then delves into the history of the North American Soccer League and the NY Cosmos. Steve Ross had created Warner Communications and Atari, and then expanded his empire by buying Atlantic Records. The Ertegun brothers, who had founded Atlantic Records, told Ross that one condition of the sale would be that he had to help them establish a soccer team. And thus, the idea of the Cosmos was born. The television broadcast of the World Cup final in 1966, in which England defeated Germany, motivated enough people to invest in the Cosmos that the idea became reality in 1971.

The team played their first game in Yankee Stadium, but eventually moved to Hofstra University on Long Island. Disillusioned with the progress of the team, and losing a significant amount of money, the ten original investors sold their shares to Warner Communications for $1 each. The players were also stuggling financially, which lead to Shep Messing posing fully nude in VIVA magazine. Although Cosmos management was initially furious, they realized that the pictorial brought attention to the team. It was also the first sign of the "rock star" status that the players would take on.

In 1974, the team moved to Downey Stadium on Randall Island, and were faced with a pitch that was made up of dirt and rocks in large patches. They went 6-14 that year, although this result was due more to the lack of talent rather than the state of the pitch. This caused management, and Ross in particular, to start looking for big-name players, and at the time no one was bigger than Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele. At this point in the film, almost everyone associated with the early history of the Cosmos gets on camera and claims to be the one whose idea it was to go after Pele, so it remains unclear where the idea came from. What is clear is that Real Madrid and Juventus were also interested in acquiring Pele's services, but he was intrigued by the prospect of bringing soccer to the US on a grand scale (obviously this would never happen today - if Real Madrid, Juventus, and the LA Galaxy were all interested in bringing Ryan Giggs to their team, it's pretty clear that the Galaxy would be the last option; they get Beckham precisely because Real didn't want him anymore).

Pele eventually signed a multi-part contract worth several million dollars (although it is unclear exactly how much) for playing, public relations/marketing, and music (really? Did Pele ever put out an album?). The Brazilian government wanted to force Pele to play one more year in Brazil, so they declared him a national treasure. Steve Ross, as head of Warner Communications, worked with Nelson Rockefeller, who was also the vice president of the United States, and he asked the latter to intervene. Rockefeller put Henry Kissinger on the case, and the situation was quickly resolved.

In preparation for Pele's first game, the Cosmos organization spray-painted the dirt patches on the pitch at Downing Stadium in order for the field to appear green and lush with grass. CBS broadcast the game, and Pele didn't disappoint by scoring two goals to tie the game 2-2. There were some, however, like prominent sportswriter Dick Young, who didn't believe that soccer was here to stay. In an attempt to discredit Pele, Young took him to Mets game in order to show him the "true American sport." Young was stunned when the Mets game had to be stopped as the crowd acknowledged Pele, forcing him onto the field in order to respond to their ovations.

The next season, the Cosmos moved back to Yankee Stadium and other foreign stars followed Pele to the NASL. Steve Ross went after even more stars, bringing Giorgio Chinaglia to the Cosmos. At this point, the film moves into a montage of people discussing the fact that Chinaglia is a complete asshole. Although he claims that this is due to the fact that he became the NASL's leading scorer and was quite close to Steve Ross, most people in the clips aruge that he was simply an epic douchebag. Obviously, friction developed between Pele and Chinaglia, as tends to happen when two superstars share the pitch.

The next season, 1977, the Cosmos finally moved into Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. This was Pele's final season, and Ross added even more international players. After losing 3 of their first 5 games and averaging only 20,000 fans, Ross brought Franz Beckenbauer to the Cosmos, which pissed off Chinaglia even further. The strain of the season eventually lead to the resignation of president Clive Toye and the firing of coach Gordon Bradley (who recently passed away). Chinaglia exerted some influence and convinced Ross to hire Eddie Frimani, who repaid the favor by using Chinaglia more often in matches. The Cosmos went on a winning streak, but then lost 5 in a row so Ross signed Carlos Alberto from Brazil.

At this point the Cosmos were taking off as a cultural phenomenon, with the players partying at Studio 54 after every game and generally living the good life. In the playoffs that year, the Cosmos sold out Giants Stadium (77,961) for their match against Fort Lauderdale. The Cosmos won the championship that year, leading ABC to negotiate to broadcast NASL games the following season. During that season, during which the NASL expanded to 24 teams, the Cosmos won 15 out of their first 17 games against much weaker competition. They went 24-6 overall but lost their first playoff game 9-2 against Minnesota. However, in the second leg the Cosmos beat Minnesota 4-0, resulting in the need for a shoot-out (apparently they didn't follow the European "away goals" scoring format). Carlos Alberto's chip shot resulted in the 2nd consecutive championship for the Cosmos.

The following season, Chinaglia exerted even more influence and began to take over team operations, alienating much of the management. Although the Cosmos reached the championship match once again, they lost this time, and ABC cancelled their contract due to poor ratings. In 1980, league attendance reached its peak, and the Cosmos won their 3rd title in 4 years. At this point the film delivers another montage of individuals blaming Chinaglia for the downfall of the Cosmos. In 1982, although the Cosmos won their 5th title, the rest of the league was crumbling. After the crash of Atari crippled Warner Communications, the Cosmos eventually folded in 1984 and the league disbanded.

Steve Ross continued to follow his passion for the game, and he was part of the movement to bring the 1986 World Cup to the US, eventually losing out to Mexico. Unfortunately, Ross passed away in 1992, just 2 years before his dream was realized and the World Cup came to the US, playing several significant and well-attended matches at Giants Stadium.

The film ends by noting that the legacy of the Cosmos is that they laid the seed for everyone who plays soccer in the United States today, from the AYSO the MLS teams. Overall, this was a really good movie in terms of providing a history lesson on the Cosmos, including how they impacted both pop culture in the NY of the 1970s as well as the culture of soccer in the US.

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American Pro Soccer: A History Lesson

We here at UF have had numerous discussions about the state (and fate) of soccer in America, mostly along the lines of whether or not it will ever evolve into fan-levels on par with the NFL or MLB. John Feinstein, writer at the Washinton Post (BOOOO!), jumps into the discussion with the idea that we need to understand the history of the sport in America if we are to move forward. Join me after the jump for a little bit about the NASL.


Feinstein starts off his discussion by mentioning that he "really want[s] to like soccer again", presumably in an effort to assure us that this won't be yet another ill-informed rant against the strange sport. Then he notes that "there are two ways people look at soccer: Either as the most wondrous sport ever created or the most boring." For the most part, this would appear to be true - all of us here can attest to that fact. We (i.e. those of us at UF) all have friends who cringe at the mere thought of watching a soccer match (yet will sit for 3.5 hours and watch a 1-0 baseball game), and we all have friends who are absolutely rabid footy fans (if you don't, you need new friends).

Feinstein's point is not that we should try to convert the non-believers, it's that we can lure in the casual observer by understanding more about the history of soccer in the US. Forget for a moment that Feinstein's description of the dichotomy in his initial thesis (i.e. rabid fans v. those bored to tears) precludes the very idea of a casual observer, and instead take a trip down memory lane. Feinstein does well to note that many of the North American Soccer League (NASL) teams spent quite a bit of money to bring in aging superstars such Pele, Chinaglia, Beckenbauer, and Cruyff in order to give the league some credibility. Covering the league as a young reporter (no word on whether he ever met Hirshey), he learned quite a bit about the sport of soccer and grew to love it. But somewhere along the way, they broke up.

The NASL really over-extended itself when it expanded from 12 teams to 24 teams in the span of two years, and MLS has worked hard to avoid the same mistakes. But Feinstein argues that "it still hasn't gotten to where the NASL was in its glory days. My sense as an outsider is that most soccer people now take the attitude that if you don't get their sport, it is your loss." Whether or not the first statement is true is somewhat debateable, but the second is almost certainly true. I know very few people who can understand why I will wake up at 7:30am on a Saturday morning (tomorrow) to watch an on-line feed of the Chelsea v. Manchester United match, particularly when I am an Arsenal fan. I also know that I have very little interest in trying to make them understand.

So, is soccer better off in America now than back in the late 1970s/early 1980s? I certainly hope so - we have far greater TV coverage (hey, ESPN even broadcasts MLS games on nights when there are hockey playoffs going on!), including soccer specific channels like FSC, GolTV (thanks for finally adding it, Comcast! Wankers.), and Setanta. We have soccer-specific stadia. We have more people playing the sport than ever before. We have more casual observers (including the random kit-wearing douchebag from Chicago with the Blanco jersey who couldn't even spell Cuauhtemoc, much less pronounce it (OK, that's a little unfair).

I think the reality is somewhat close to what Feinstein has stated, although I think that the picture is a little brighter than he thinks. For the most part, there are two camps of people - the rabid fans and those who think soccer sucks (you ignorant bastards). But I believe that the former group has grown exponentially since the days of the NASL. However, while the state of soccer in America may be bright, this does not necessarily mean that the state of American soccer is the same. People are interested in the international game, such as Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 (and particularly in the EPL; suck it Barclay's!), and MLS often suffers in comparison. However, if people truly took the time to watch MLS matches, I think they would be pleasantly surprised by what they saw (well, unless they were watching San Jose v. DC United).

Some people think that MLS should strive to more closely emulate the NASL in an effort to draw more interest, but I think that's probably a bad idea. What part, exactly, of a failed league should we be looking to implement? The wonderful kits? The use of Bugs Bunny as a mascot? (and fuck that useless twat - I went to numerous Cosmos games as kid, and that bastard never threw one of his stupid carrots to me)

No, I think that soccer in the US is just fine as it is. Those of us who love the sport: (1) appreciate MLS for what it is; (2) wake up at 5AM to watch World Cup matches in Korea; (3) rabidly follow the EPL (or Ligue 1, La Liga, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, or, God forbid, Serie A); and (4) most likely play it as often as possible. To those of you who don't love the sport, we won't try to force it down your throats. But stop with the "Soc-cer?" jokes, already. You're not funny, asshole.

HT: to John H. for turning me on (eww, gross) to the Feinstein story.

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David Moyes Gets Over £ 500,000 from David Hirshey's Employer

Big, exciting legal news from the U.K. (no, not really that exciting). HarperCollins, employer of our beloved Deadspin closer, settled a libel claim brought by David Moyes. The suit involved statements that Wayne Rooney a ghostwriter wrote about Rooney's transfer from Everton in the autobiography My Story So Far. (By the way, footballer autobiographies might be the worst genre of non-fiction ever created.)

As the Guardian explains:

In the book, published in the aftermath of the last World Cup, Rooney described the strained relationship with his former manager, and gave his account of the events leading up to his £ 27million transfer to United in August 2004. He claimed he had told Moyes he wanted to leave Everton after it emerged he had visited prostitutes, and that Moyes passed details of the conversation to the Liverpool Echo. Moyes reacted furiously to the allegations and instructed his lawyers to sue.

A trial was set to begin next month, smack dab in the middle of Manchester United's season. With the prospect of the Bulldog One having to travel to attend court Kobe Bryant-style, Rooney's publisher did the only noble thing it could: falling on its sword.

British libel law is a bit of a mess, as witnessed by the famous McLibel case, but it's hard to say that free speech was denied here. Moyes gets a public apology ("Sorry I said that you drove me out of the club when in fact I really just wanted a shit pile of money from Man U.") The settlement also includes around £ 100,000 plus Moyes' legal fees, which likely pushes the total bill over £ 500,000.

Unfortunately, Rooney's money is very safe. Instead, HarperCollins will be picking up the bill. I know that Hirshey is on the other side of the pond, and that this sum is a drop in the bucket for Mr. Rupert Murdoch's vast riches, but I'd like to think that this sum somehow comes out of Hirshey's lunch budget -- no more liquid lunches this month until David Moyes' legal bill has been paid off.

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