Um, you should probably read this, especially if you have any interest in US Soccer or Major League Soccer. Basically, former USMNT player and Fox Soccer analyst Eric Wynalda gets all out of character and speaks his mind and pulls his punches at the recent NSCAA Convention in a lecture cleverly titled “Why Not US.” Go ahead. Don’t be embarrassed. As you’ll soon see, he isn’t.
“We’re invading. I’ve weighed the pros and cons and there is no perfect answer. We have to send a signal to our enemies – and they do exist – that their conduct will not be tolerated and that there will be retaliation. That signal has to be sent. We also have to make our best attempt to influence who ends up filling the power vacuum once we succeed in removing the threat. And we will succeed. There will be casualties on both sides, even if we attempt to minimize the damage, but that is a small price to pay when our national security is at stake. And no, this has nothing to do with oil or any other type of natural resource.”
- some fictional president
Some might say that Barack Obama’s job as President of the United States is to run the country effectively, not to tell you the truth. Sometimes effectively running a country and straight-shooting work well in tandem, but that isn’t always the case. That’s not an Obama thing; it’s a president thing. And as much as our leaders’ unwillingness to be straight-forward all the time pains significant portions of the public, leaders often need to employ the slight of hand to effectively and efficiently lead in a world of competing interests. Of course, this isn’t the only model of leadership, but history tells us that it sure is a popular one. Continue Reading »
Is there a such thing as too much information? Do we need to know everything? Just as it is now hard to fathom how anyone did anything in the pre-cell phone era (e.g., meeting up), it’s also hard to imagine what it was like when all we had was the live sporting event, followed by a couple of newspaper articles and well-manicured, mustached sports anchors blabbering on and on in TV voice about the day’s events. Who, what, when, where, why. It was an era that, at least now, seems serene, boringly practical, and relatively un-Jersey Shore. Continue Reading »
Who doesn’t spend time pondering how MLS should feel? I’m thinking that it should be something like this. A bit of soulful swag. And what a classy mic. Continue Reading »
About week ago, we learned that Bob Bradley, the U.S. coach since 2006, was being unceremoniously retired from his position by USSF President Sunil Gulati. Apparently lots of people on Facebook “liked” that. The fact that Bradley was being fired was expertly hidden by the Federation. No one had the scoop. But the shock didn’t last long. Soon thereafter, speculation was rife about who would be the next leader of a men’s national team that has been growing in popularity and profile over the last few cycles.
Enter the guy who everyone thought would be the guy. Jurgen Klinsmann. He’s German. Continue Reading »
Football for Change is a feature in which Nutmeg Radio highlights work being done by organizations across the globe using soccer to promote development.