Imagine working for a place that would actually spend the money on an off-the-wall effort like this. Who knows if Puma got anything extra out of the people showing up to their viewing party, but I love the idea…especially the yellow cards as promotions. Such a non-threatening, fun way to engage with people on the street.

I remember how excited I was when AC Milan signed Ronaldinho. He wasn’t really playing all that well when they picked him up, but if the performance of most of the aging stars in the Milan camp over the years provided any hint you had to assume he’d find his form again. After watching him his highlights from this past weekend, I must say it looks like he’s back! He’s always been capable of a few highlight reel moves, but he’s finally playing highlight reel games now.

The one good thing about the NFL season coming to a close is the ability to focus on the other teams that I love following!

What a game…what an experience.

I’ve been a Milan fan since I was in high school, but that was back when the only coverage you could get was the rare game on satellite or the coverage in Soccer America magazine. The thought of seeing them in-person would’ve seemed so surreal in the early nineties. It still blows my mind to think that on Friday, we got to watch two of the best clubs in the world play each other…in my hometown!

I was fortunate enough to see Milan play Chelsea a few years ago when the first attempt at the World Football Challenge came through and went bankrupt. The game took place in Philly and was just as exciting as the game on Friday, but the main difference between both experiences was the crowd. Friday’s crowd was a complete sellout of over 71,000 fans…a far cry from the 30-some thousand people that attended the game a few years back. Blame it on the heightened exposure, or the influx of soccer-knowledgeable immigrants, but selling out a NFL stadium is simply an awesome accomplishment for the game in The States.

Usually when I’m in M&T Bank Stadium, I’m surrounded by insane, belligerent NFL fans, so the vibe was so cool Friday. Even though most of the fans there were pulling for one team or the other, the majority of the fans could only cheer the excellent exhibition put on by the two clubs. It wasn’t violent, and people cheered every good touch.

Ronaldinho and Milan put on a hell of a show, only to be outdone by the Blues in a 2-1 loss that exposed some of Milan’s big weaknesses – namely, their lack of a true world-class striker and poor options at goalkeeper. I felt that Milan spent way too much time trying to force the ball over the top of Chelsea’s strong defense, and their lack of fitness and practice was clearly evident, with mistimed runs and poor communication underlining their performance.

Chelsea, on the other hand, looked really strong. Not much to criticize there. Looks like Ancelloti took over for a very good side…I wish him the best of luck.

One of my favorite moments was when Oguchi Onyewu stepped on the field for Milan in the 66th minute. He’s always been a favorite of mine on the US National Team despite his sometimes suspect defending, so to see him playing for Milan is simply awesome. He received an huge bi-partisan ovation all game whenever he did something good. I hope that helps give him the confidence needed to propel him into the starting lineup. He played pretty well, too, considering the fact that he’s only had a couple of practices with the team. Luckily, Leonardo knows 5 languages – English being one of them – so Gooch can communicate with his new coach. I’m excited to see how it pans out.

Forza Milan!!!

The following article really annoyed me, so I thought I’d direct a blog entry at Randy Levine…that he’d never know existed…

You’re so amazing. I mean, you get to go to work every day for one of the wealthiest sports organizations in the world…in one of the largest markets in the world. You have no salary cap to restrict your pathetic spending on your overrated, under-performing, Yankees. You’ve got that shiny new stadium that caters to your elite bandwagon fans, and you’ve won more championships than any team in baseball, but you sir, are an ass. Thank you for giving me just one more reason to dislike your franchise. First, there’s the Jeffrey Maier incident…now there’s you.

I find it amusing that a remark by MLS Commissioner, Don Garber, which discusses how a reeling economy can even leave seats empty as Yankees Stadium, would incite such a comeback as, “We draw more people in a year than his entire league does in a year. If he ever gets Major League Soccer into the same time zone as the Yankees, we might take him seriously.”

Oooooh. Listen to that fiery insult from a man with no monetary limits. You want to impress me, you prototypically egomaniacal stump of a human? Go work for New York’s MLS franchise, and see how tough you talk when you’re not gifted the easiest job in the world. When you got the gig, I’m sure the conversation was something like this:

“Here Randy…all you have to do is show up, make sure enough jerseys are made this year for the rabid fans to scoop up without caring about anything other than that trendy NY logo plastered all over it. You can use this giant vault of money to buy every star player in the league, but if you don’t get your man, make sure you drive the prices so high, that the small market teams don’t have a shot – we want to make sure the competition is limited. Try to sell some of these overpriced seats in our brand new state-of-the-art stadium, but that should be easy in the land of the pretentious. Oh…and did we mention that since baseball is America’s sport, you’re going to get to feed off of the tradition of the game’s history to make your life easy, so don’t sweat the little stuff. Mm’kay…thanks!”

You’re like the meathead jock – gifted with the good looks and physical tools to land any woman and win prom king – wasting his energy picking on the bookworm for making him look stupid in math class. Your feeble attempt at making the MLS look bad with comments like, “Hey Don, worry about Beckham, not the Yankees. Even he wants out of your league”, leaves you looking like a classless jerk.

The MLS doesn’t pretend to be in the same world as the EPL or Serie A. Beckham wanting to go play for Milan is like Hideki Matsui wanting to play for the Yankees. Every player wants to play in the best league for one of the most-storied teams in the game. Milan has been around since 1899…Yankees since 1913. The championships between the teams are insane, too, but I’m sure when both of those sports/teams were in their infancy, they didn’t draw anywhere near the same numbers as today, so get some perspective. The MLS started in 1996…come back in 86 years and then you’ve got a valid argument.

Hop out of your little New York bubble…walk away from the tainted American past time…and put down the checkbook for a few years. Hop over to Europe…visit a place like St. James Park, where a team facing relegation is still selling out every game. Where fans cheer and pay attention to what’s happening in the worst of times and the best of times. Take notes, and realize that while the MLS currently isn’t anything for your pompous attitude to pay attention to, the game of soccer surely is. Go to a game in Toronto or Seattle…and you’ll see what power the MLS and the game of soccer can have. Those teams are making noise, and their crowds are bringing real passion. The MLS – with their soccer-specific stadiums that will eventually seat between 18,000-30,000 spectators, 15 teams, and only 210 total regular season games – may never compare to the Yankee’s 81-game regular season, 52,325 seat stadium, but I’m sure Don Garber is never going to make a comment about the attendance at PBA competitions to make himself feel better about his league’s shortcomings.

Get over yourself. Oh, and I’d like to ask…how did it feel to watch the Rays go to the Series last year on the back of their tiny payroll? Maybe you should be joining the hundreds of thousands in the unemployment lines if you’re getting shown up like that…

On Saturday, I made the trip to Columbus to see the Crew home opener against Toronto FC. Just like last year’s home opener, Toronto’s fans came out in strong numbers. This year, though, their singing sea of red that constantly tossed streamers, flares, and smoke bombs while waving flags was drown out by the Crew Union in the opposite corner of the stadium. Of course, that was because I was in the middle my own streamer-tossing, smoke bomb throwing, sing-along with the Crew supporters.

For the first time, I actually had the pleasure of feeling like I was at a sold out Crew game by sitting in the mix of Crew supporters in the Northeast corner of the stadium. It was a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t bring your littlest ones to that section. Some of the chants and songs are a little expletive-laced. Fun for me, not for kids. Regardless, the vibe was a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to the next game! If you’re going to a game, definitely sit with the Crew supporters. The songs are fun and the “we’re not worthy” greeting they give to last year’s MLS MVP, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, is funny…and well-deserved. He’s a beast.

As for the actual game…the Crew had a beautifully crafted first half that saw them go up 1-0. The were playing some wonderful soccer, with creative build-ups and passing. They really deserved to be up 2-0, but Toronto’s keeper came up huge on a shot from a failed clearance.

Schelotto puts the crew up 1-0 with a well-placed spot kick!

In the second half, the Crew slowed the game down, stopped attacking, subbed Schelotto, and paid the price when an 83rd-minute own goal from Padula snuck over the outstretched hands of Will Hesmer. Without their best attackers on the field, a goal was unlikely in the final 7-10 minutes. It was unfortunate, but that’s what the Crew gets for doing their best impression of your average Serie A team with a 1-0 advantage. It’s infuriating, but at least the season is young. Next time, DON’T STOP DOING WHAT WORKED ALL GAME!!!

At least we got some cool 2008 MLS Cup Champions scarves!

The final score? USA – 2, Mexico – 0, Mother Nature – 1 destroyed tailgating tent.

We (Meadows, Kromer, Rod, and myself) rolled to Columbus last night for the USA/Mexico CONCACAF World Cup Qualification opener, and it was AWESOME. It was the first time that I had ever been to a World Cup qualifier, and the first time that I got to watch the US take on its most bitter rival. Needless to say I was pumped.

The day started out like a nice early spring day, with temperatures in the 60’s, and some clear skies. Unfortunately, we knew the weather was supposed to be bad. It wasn’t until we got about 45 minutes outside of Columbus that the weather hit…and it hit harder than a Gooch slide tackle. Fortunately, we saw this in the distance, and our hopes were lifted:

The weather let up just before kickoff to the excitement of the sold out crowd (25,000+). I’ve been to a handful of Crew games, and this was by far the best atmosphere. It was really cool to see this game in a smaller stadium. The crowd was probably 50/50, but it was a relatively peaceful affair. I thought it was really cool to see a lot of Mexican fans wearing USA and Mexico gear (way more common than you’d think). It was also great to see the US fans come out in good numbers and be so vocal. I’m pretty sure I want to sit in the Sam’s Army section next time. Not only was the energy high, but no one in the stadium sat the entire game – something you hardly ever see at a Crew game.

You also don’t get obstructed by sombreros very often, either.

With the weather clearing up a bit, and the crowd in full swing, the game had to live up to the hype – and it did. The US probably played the best game I’ve watched in a really long time. Oguchi Onyewu was a monster in the back. While he had some potentially costly touches, he teamed up well with Carlos Bocanegra to anchor the back and dominate the Mexican attack. The US passed really well, albeit conservatively, and didn’t waste many chances. Tim Howard was challenged a few times, but met the challenge each time. He even took a careless hit from Rafael Márquez, that saw the Mexican captain immediately dismissed. With the exception of Sasha Kljestan, who was dreadful as he labored around the field, and Demarcus Beasley, who ran around aimlessly, the US played really well. Michael Bradley’s two goals were nice, with one being opportunistic, and the other being a dipping shot that gave Mexico’s keeper a tough time as it got under him. I was actually able to take some photos at the right time…

Shot…

Goal…

Anyway, I’m looking forward to going to another game. The US is clearly the dominant team in our region, and their improvement is really good to see. I think the future is going to be bright. If you get a chance to catch a game live – especially against Mexico – do it. It’s a blast.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to the Columbus Crew season opener versus Toronto FC. This was the third time that I’d made the trip to Columbus to see the Crew play, and it was by far the best experience.

Toronto brought an estimated 2,300 fans, which promptly filled the north end of Crew Stadium, and showed why they’re the best, and most devoted fans in the league (this is only Toronto’s second season in the league…amazing). They sang non-stop and really forced the Crew fans to get more involved in the game, and become more vocal than I had previously experienced. I’ve never seen a better vibe at an MLS game. If every game was like this one, you’d see soccer gain a much larger fan base. During the beginning of the game, a plane even flew over with a banner that said, “Toronto FC – Come on you Reds – RPB 2008″. You don’t even see that type of support for our beloved NFL and MLB teams.

Anyway, the game was pretty good. Unlike last season – when Ned Grabavoy stunk up the midfield with his slow pace, lazy effort, and awful touch, killing all creativity in the attack – the Crew came out with a purpose. The passing was much improved, and the effort was actually existent.

The Crew dominated for much of the game, scoring a beautiful goal in the first half, and putting the game away with a second later on. In between, though, Will Hesmer, the Crew’s goalie, had to save a penalty kick to keep Crew’s first half lead intact…which also deflated Toronto’s momentum going into the second half, and left little optimism for a comeback (if you’re a TFC fan).

When the game reached its conclusion, I had seen two nice goals, a penalty kick save, a header off of the crossbar, decent play, and I had experienced a great atmosphere for a soccer game.

Pre-game warm-ups

Toronto owning the north end of Crew Stadium

Midfield domination