World Soccer XXX: We Have Men Too!

[Spartanforlife4]

Cincy has an MLS team, Cleveland doesn't.

Guess the map does line up with who has a franchise. Isn't exactly hard these days with 28 teams, but was that a factor? They aren't even playing at the MLS stadiums for most of them. It doesn't need to be a repeat of '94 and selling soccer to markets for MLS, given they're rejecting applicants for expansion, but it is surprising they aren't going to a non-MLS market to try to prime the pump for at least one market.

Actually, the city I'm most surprised got cut, and got cut in round 1, is Indy. There aren't many better stadium district set ups. International travel isn't the easiest, but neither is Cincy or Nashville.

[Jimjamesak]

Guess the map does line up with who has a franchise. Isn't exactly hard these days with 28 teams, but was that a factor? They aren't even playing at the MLS stadiums for most of them. It doesn't need to be a repeat of '94 and selling soccer to markets for MLS, given they're rejecting applicants for expansion, but it is surprising they aren't going to a non-MLS market to try to prime the pump for at least one market.

Actually, the city I'm most surprised got cut, and got cut in round 1, is Indy. There aren't many better stadium district set ups. International travel isn't the easiest, but neither is Cincy or Nashville.

With 29 teams (St. Louis starts next year) and a 30th on the way (likely Vegas) there really isn't a need to "prime the pump" anymore. Ultimately this is FIFA (not US Soccer or MLS) deciding the host cities and a city that already has a team and facilities is going to be more appealing than just a good city that doesn't.

[Jimjamesak]

Not a bad day for US Soccer on the club trophy front. James Sands wins the Scottish Cup with Rangers, Tyler Adams wins the DFB Pokal with RB Leipzig, and Lindsay Horan and Catarina Macario winning the Women's Champions League with Lyon.

[Spartanforlife4]

Turned on the Liga MX semifinal around the 85th minute. Tigres needed to win by three to make the final and at halftime they were down 4-0 in aggregate. At this point they had scored four in a row and were winning 4-1, tied on aggregate at 4. There were eight minutes of stoppage time. In the 95th an Atlas player gets taken down in the box, then it goes to VAR and gets reviewed. Penalty is awarded. Then the Tigres players surround the referee for about two minutes. then the goalie stalls for another two minutes and gets a yellow for delay of game. Atlas scores to make it 4-2. Tigres is pushing and while Atlas was making a run down the field on a counter a second ball went onto the pitch (which also happened like ten minutes before that, not sure why the ball boys are just throwing balls in) and the Tigres goalie kicked it at the ball in play which the Atlas player was going for, so the referee booked the goalie for a second yellow turned red. He tries to argue that he was just trying to kick it back to the ball boy who gave him the ball, but to no avail, obviously.

Then after the game a couple Tigres players surround the ref again and he gives a post-game yellow. Wild stuff.

[Jimjamesak]

Clint Dempsey thanks his family during his Hall of Fame induction speech.

I don't think I've ever seen Dempsey show that much emotion.

[Jimjamesak]

Turned on the Liga MX semifinal around the 85th minute. Tigres needed to win by three to make the final and at halftime they were down 4-0 in aggregate. At this point they had scored four in a row and were winning 4-1, tied on aggregate at 4. There were eight minutes of stoppage time. In the 95th an Atlas player gets taken down in the box, then it goes to VAR and gets reviewed. Penalty is awarded. Then the Tigres players surround the referee for about two minutes. then the goalie stalls for another two minutes and gets a yellow for delay of game. Atlas scores to make it 4-2. Tigres is pushing and while Atlas was making a run down the field on a counter a second ball went onto the pitch (which also happened like ten minutes before that, not sure why the ball boys are just throwing balls in) and the Tigres goalie kicked it at the ball in play which the Atlas player was going for, so the referee booked the goalie for a second yellow turned red. He tries to argue that he was just trying to kick it back to the ball boy who gave him the ball, but to no avail, obviously.

Then after the game a couple Tigres players surround the ref again and he gives a post-game yellow. Wild stuff.

I always kind of wonder what Europeans think of leagues in the Americas. Liga MX, Serie A in Brazil, the Primera Division in Argentina, even MLS can all get pretty wild like this (MLS After Dark is always a running joke on the FS1 broadcasts). Especially in the playoffs it always seems to be loosely organized chaos.

[Jimjamesak]

Also, Tigres actual name is Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon or UANL. Similarly Pumas is actually Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico or UNAM. They're club teams representing two of Mexico's major Universities, they're owned by the Universities (though Tigres has a partner owner in Cemex), their stadiums are on the University campus and their nicknames are actually the Universities mascots.. The only thing is their players are just players and not students at the university.

Basically, imagine if Michigan and Alabama had their teams in the NFL.

[SonofSouthie]

There will be no celebrating St. Totteringham's Day today.

[MissThundercat]

mookie, certainties in life:

Death, taxes, and Newcastle stinking up the joint.

[JF_Gophers]

Aston Villa doing their part against City, but Liverpool can't draw (currently 1-1). They need to win.

[SonofSouthie]

No quad for Liverpool.

[Spartanforlife4]

Also, Tigres actual name is Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon or UANL. Similarly Pumas is actually Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico or UNAM. They're club teams representing two of Mexico's major Universities, they're owned by the Universities (though Tigres has a partner owner in Cemex), their stadiums are on the University campus and their nicknames are actually the Universities mascots.. The only thing is their players are just players and not students at the university.

Basically, imagine if Michigan and Alabama had their teams in the NFL.

Go back to the early days of college football and there were shades of that being a possibility. Can't recall if it was always frowned upon or became so later on, but it wasn't out of the ordinary to have a few guys who weren't enrolled at the school playing on the team.

Didn't BYU do something like that with their soccer team? They were enrolled in the school and still amateurs, but they were playing in one of the lower leagues of the US pyramid instead of the NCAA.

[mookie1995]

mookie, certainties in life:

Death, taxes, and Newcastle stinking up the joint.

Pretty good 2022 all these considered for the toon. First time in a while that mookie is looking forward to the fall :~)

[Russell Jaslow]

Go back to the early days of college football and there were shades of that being a possibility. Can't recall if it was always frowned upon or became so later on, but it wasn't out of the ordinary to have a few guys who weren't enrolled at the school playing on the team.

There were stories of coaches going to the local bar and pulling guys out to fill out the roster on game day. Mind you, this was in the very, very early days of college football. And it wouldn't surprise me if it happened with other sports as well.

[LynahFan]

There were stories of coaches going to the local bar and pulling guys out to fill out the roster on game day. Mind you, this was in the very, very early days of college football. And it wouldn't surprise me if it happened with other sports as well.

It's even codified, with a wink and a nod, in the term "Boilermakers," when Purdue was (incorrectly) accused of utilizing burly factory workers on their football teams.