We Got This

Just a friendly reminder to all the English fans out there that a little less than one year ago, the US beat the best team in the world. Saturday is gonna be like my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one.

Adidas’ World Cup commercial

Star Wars™ Cantina 2010 / adidas Originals from Dominic Prevost on Vimeo.

I love soccer. I love Star Wars (well, at least the original trilogy). And I’ve invested so much money into adidas products, I should have a spot on the board of directors by now. So, on paper, this should have been the perfect ad. There’s even a cameo by Noel Gallagher, for cryin’ out loud. It’s like they tapped directly into my brain. But for some reason, the whole thing just kind of falls flat.

Maybe Snoop Dogg ruined it for me. Maybe soccer players and musicians are 100% the wrong people to ask to act in front of a green screen (I mean, Daft Punk have no lines, and they still look uncomfortable). Or maybe a mashup of so many of my favorite things could never live up to my expectations. Nike’s Write the Future ad works because it sticks to soccer. This adidas ad just feels like the creative team tried to cram a whole mess of crap into the pot, and it became a big steaming plate of WTF?

I can just imagine the meeting. “We got access to the cantina scene! The fucking cantina scene! Lucas never lets anybody mess with his stuff (other than himself, of course). What else we got? How about cameos from a California rapper and two English rock stars whose biggest hits were in the early 90’s! And, let’s get Daft Punk! They sort of look like they’re Star Wars characters. And Beckham’s injured, he’s not going to the World Cup, maybe we can throw him in there! And then let’s sprinkle a few more random people in the background and badly edit the scene to make sure this thing isn’t 8 minutes long. Perfect!” Ultimately, what does any of this mish-mash have to do with the World Cup? In the end, it just turns out to be a whole lot of wasted potential. Sorry, adidas. FAIL.

Nike’s Soccer Ads

I may not always agree with everything Nike does as a company, but there's no denying they have a long history of amazing soccer ads. From the very beginning of my love for televised soccer, Nike has been producing great little mini films that reflect a lot of care, style, intelligence, and knowledge of the game, and this latest, “Write the Future” is no exception. Anybody who’s ever played a competitive match has had dreams of glory or fear of goathood flash though their head, but Nike takes this one to another level. After watching this, I’m really fired up for the start of the World Cup.

Here’s a few more classics from previous Nike campaigns:



Good vs. Evil is the first Nike ad I remember, and is also responsible for my love of Eric Cantona. The overall look may be a little dated, but that little "Au revoir" coupled with the collar flip could come off incredibly cheesy. Cantona makes it about as bad-ass as anyone would think possible.



The Brazilian squad with a little ”Jogo Bonito” in the airport. It’s funny to see some of these guys at their peak (Ronaldo) and some of them who dropped off the face of the earth soon after starring in this commercial (Denilson). Also, Cantona ges a cameo.



Guy Ritchie’s first person masterpiece puts you in the head of a lower division player whose free kick goal gets him a spot on Arsenal, superstardom, the Champions League and then eventually, the World Cup, all in 3 minutes. Genius.

Spring is coming

Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and Fulham got their first away win of the season.

They may no longer be Fulhamerica (Clint Dempsey’s the only Yank left on the roster), but I still like to follow the Cottagers. And Dempsey’s having a career year. No goals in this one, but he was involved in the buildup to all of them.

How do you say "unstoppable" en Espanol?

Ladies and gentlemen, Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina). If you don’t know his name yet, file it away for the World Cup in 2010. Watching him carve his way through opposing defenses is a thing of beauty.

Guerra Fria

Bring it, Mexicanos. Bring it.

Freddy Who?

The kid is back. Shivered my way through the USA’s 2-0 victory over Guatemala at the Dick last night, and since the US had already qualified for the final round, I got a chance to see head coach Bob Bradley turn the reins over to the youngsters. Boy, did they not disappoint. Jozy Altidore and Kenny Cooper got their long-awaited combination off on the right foot as Jozy set up Coop for the first goal, while Freddy Adu and Sascha Kljestan ran the midfield the way everyone hopes they will for years to come. Special bonus: getting to see Freddy notch his first goal for the senior national team on an exquisite free kick (at the 2:45 minute in the highlights video).

Two downsides. One, the sparse crowd. Yeah, it was cold and a meaningless game, but that was a pretty weak showing. I’d be shocked if Denver gets another game any time soon. And two, this video is the official US Soccer highlights video. Um, hi. You guys are US Soccer. This is a US Soccer match. Yet you couldn’t come up with anything better to post than this clip that looks like it was recorded on an overdubbed VHS tape from 1986? Lame.

And I'm All Like, "WTF, Becks?"

Sometimes, things can be awesome even when they make absolutely no sense.

Fantastic

I just started watching the second season of I’m On Setanta Sports, a brilliant puppet show starring Jose Mourinho that reminds me a lot of Genesis’ video for “Land of Confusion” back in the late 80’s. Honestly, you’re only going to find this funny if you’ve followed English football in the past 5 years, but Rooney and Sven leave me laughing hysterically every time.

Classic

I just got back from a week in Ocean City, MD, and as much I enjoyed the week of napping on the sand, I was glad to make it home for last night’s MLS match between New York and LA. It turned out to be the kind of game that MLS’s head honchos had to be drooling over when they signed David Beckham: more than 66,000 showed up at Giants Stadium and were treated to nine total goals in a 5-4 New York victory (conveniently in a game between the teams from the two biggest TV markets in the nation). Beckham played the entire game and set up three of LA’s four goals, but LA continued their streak of generosity, bringing in the fans at someone else’s stadium, but then graciously allowing the home team to win. New York took full advantage, using the opportunity to show off their own offensive star power, getting a pair of goals each from Juan Pablo Angel (a less-heralded import than Becks who’s been making a big impact on the field this year) and Jozy Altidore (the latest US wünderkind who turned heads at the recent Under-20 World Cup), as well as a world-class strike from Clint Mathis. As a DC fan, I would have been happy to see these two teams grind each other down to a painful and exhausting tie, but as an MLS fan, this was a fantastic game to watch. Check out highlights here.

Stargazing

46,ooo+ fans showed up at RFK tonight to see some dude named David Beckham finally start earning his paycheck. Shrugging off the distraction of the rays of golden light and choirs of angels that instantly appeared once Beckham and The World’s Most Expensive Ankle touched the pitch, Luciano Emilio managed to score his 11th goal in his last 10 games, and DC United played a solid match to earn the win. Good times.

Coming into this game, United was averaging 17,720 fans a game. So if 5,000 or even (dare we dream) 10,000 of those extra 29,000 fans from tonight decide they liked what they saw and come back for more DC games, this whole Becks experiment may actually be worth something after all.

Best moment of the night: DC’s very vocal and tuneful supporters group the Screaming Eagles had this message for Beckham. Given the amount of prominent display that it got on ESPN2’s cameras tonight, whoever came up with that banner should never have to pay for their own drink in DC again. Hi-larious.

Odds and Ends

1. There’s a trailer up for the new Wes Anderson movie, and not a moment too soon. I think I’ve had my fill of sequels and car commercials masquerading as movies based on toy commercials masquerading as cartoons. More original and quirky, please.

2. I’ve currently got major nerd love for The Venture Bros. DVDs. The show is part of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup, and intelligently spoofs old shows like Johnny Quest and the Hardy Boys while working in as many geektastic sci-fi and fantasy references as possible. It’s also got a great retro visual look that I love. Entertainment Weekly recently gave the show some love in their EW 100 issue. Definitely worth checking out.

3. David Beckham finally made his debut in a Los Angeles Galaxy uniform. No confirmation on whether he actually walked on water after the game. I feel no need to add to what’s already been written, but hopefully now the focus can go back to the soccer. There were some great MLS games this weekend that were completely overshadowed by ESPN’s over-the-top Becksturbation.

Hey Now, You’re An All-Star

Sweet Jesus, did I really just quote Smash Mouth? Someone please shoot me now.

So, exciting evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, where I attended the MLS All-Star Game. The All-Stars took on Celtic FC of Scotland and won 2-0 on goals by Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Toja, or as I like to refer to them, the Two Juans (say it out loud, it’s funnier). The game itself was fairly lackluster. What was more exciting for me was that I was granted my first-ever media credentials, which let me watch the game from the press box (view: very nice; food: so-so; swag: rockin’) and meet some soccer media types and even a celeb or two. Over the course of the night, I chatted with Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, Allen Hopkins of ESPN, Charles Boehm (who covers DC United for MLSNet.com), and Carlos Machado of Fox Soccer Channel, listened in on an Alexi Lalas interview from 2 feet away, shook hands with Bob Bradley, had a man who I’m 99% sure was Garth Brooks accidentally end up in a photo I was taking, and was within 50 yards of David “Jesus Reincarnated” Beckham!!! (I grant him the coveted three exclamation points due to the insane amount of teenage squealing that followed him wherever he went. Seriously, the only comparison is those early Beatles trips to the U.S.)

Now, most of those names I listed won’t mean much to non-soccer fans, but as a wise friend of mine said earlier, they’re stars to me, and it meant a lot to me that the ones I talked to were so friendly and very cool about me wandering around the press box looking a bit awed and starstruck. Plus, these guys will all be great to know down the line someday when I become art director of the breakout American soccer magazine.

Working-Class Hero

It’s been a good week for my soccer teams. The US Men romped their way through the Gold Cup group stage, looking better and better through each of the three matches they played to set up today’s quarterfinal against Panama. The Yanks have scored seven goals so far through six different players, and the US defense has yet to allow one. In their last match against El Salvador, they didn’t even give up a single shot on goal. Dominant, but against some of the smaller countries in the Gold Cup, not entirely unexpected.

On the other hand, what was unexpected was DC United defeating the New York Red Bulls last Sunday behind a hat trick from midfielder Ben Olsen. Benny entered the league back in 1998 as a speedy winger/forward and serious offensive threat, although more often than not his speed and youthful energy resulted in him running around like a chicken with his head cut off. But a couple of serious ankle injuries forced him to change his game. Since his return, Olsen reestablished himself as a hard-nosed defensive midfielder. He may be slower than in his youth (who isn’t?), but he learned to read the game much better, and by the ripe old age of 28 had become a veteran leader for United. He’s also become a fan favorite (and a personal one of mine—I proudly have his jersey hanging alongside my Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna replicas) for his passion and his tough tackles, but nobody expects much in the way of goal-scoring from Benny. Happily, this surprising offensive outburst put the spotlight squarely on Olsen, as he was honored with both MLS Player of the Week and Goal of the Week for his third strike, an absolute blinder of a half-volley from 25 yards (scroll down to Goal of the Week and chose Week 10). It’s nice to see a blue-collar guy like Ben on the receiving end of a lovefest like the one he’s gotten this week, because his role on the field is often a thankless one. Many writers have been quick with praise, but the one that sums it all up best for me is this thoughtful and heartfelt post from Dan Loney. As DC’s Screaming Eagles supporters group likes to sing, we love you Benny, oh yes we do.

UPDATE: Despite no goals from Ben, DC won again last night, defeating the Chicago Fire 3-1 to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games.

The Week in Review

Since the daily post thing just isn’t happening anymore, I’m going to shoot for a regular wrap-up of all my entertainment for the previous week. Here it is:
I Am Legend, Richard Matheson. The best “vampire plague brings about the end of the world” novel ever written, not to mention an inspiration for some of the biggest names in horror —including Stephen King. I wanted to revisit this book before the upcoming movie with Will Smith sullies its good name.
Fountains of Wayne, Traffic and Weather. A somewhat disappointing fourth album from one of my favorite bands. The whole album feels like a retread of the lamest songs from their previous albums. Uninspired, and nowhere near as catchy as their last disc.
Kings of Leon, Because of the Times. On the other hand, this album is a big leap forward for these southern rockers. Clearly, their recent stints opening for bands like U2 and the Rolling Stones has brought them some new maturity, and it shows here in a rich and well-crafted third effort.
DC United at Colorado Rapids. The bad: My dad and I stood in the sub-freezing temps and blowing snow to watch United lose. The good: 16,000+ other people showed up too, and went home happy (if slightly frostbitten) after seeing the hometown team open their spanking new stadium in style. Despite its horrible name, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is a fantastic venue, and I’m looking forward to going back. The Rapids looked good, and I’ll have no problem supporting them when they’re not playing DC.
HBO’s Sunday lineup: The Sopranos and Entourage. Completely justifying the extra $8 a month on my cable bill.

Shove Thy Neighbor

U.S. v. Mexico. ESPN2, 9pm Eastern. No love lost between these two squads, as the first real test of Bob Bradley’s tenure as coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team takes place in Glendale, AZ tonight. Mexico also has a new coach in Hugo Sanchez, and he’s called in all their stars in an effort to turn around the recent trend in this series, as the U.S. are 7-2-1 in the last 10 meetings.

The U.S. roster is mostly comprised of domestic players, with just four European-based players (including Clint Dempsey, above) crossing the pond for this one. Should be interesting, as the crowd figures to be about 75% Mexican fans. How will the young U.S. roster hold up in a hostile environment? Sadly, I predict they will struggle. Mexico, with a lot more to play for, is due for a win. 2-1, bad guys.

UPDATE: I am happy to say the U.S. proved me wrong and continued its domination on home soil with yet another 2-0 win. Landon Donovan continues to play the thorn in the Mexican side, assisting on the first goal and scoring the second to ice the match.

The Golden Child

I haven't posted anything about soccer in quite a while, but Monday brought the surprising news that DC United had traded starlet Freddy Adu to Real Salt Lake. Freddy was packaged with backup goalkeeper Nick Rimando in exchange for RSL's backup 'keeper Jay Nolly (who's younger and has a much lower salary than Rimando), a major player allocation, and future considerations. When my dad first emailed me the link, I thought it was a joke, but after more consideration, this seems to be a pretty good trade for almost everyone. United unloads a high-profile but somewhat temperamental teenager who hasn't always had the strongest relationship with his coach, and who also seems very likely to move to a team in Europe this summer once he turns 18 (FIFA rules prevent players from playing for teams outside their home country before their 18th birthday). They also move a goalie whose salary was much too high to be a backup and could be starting on several other teams in the league. In exchange, they receive a lot of cap space, the ability to sign several high-profile players they've been scouting before the season begins (rather than in the middle of the year, which would have been the case had they held onto Freddy and he left for Europe), and still receive a good portion of the transfer fee if Freddy does end up being sold to a Euro team.

For Freddy, he gets reunited with his Under-17 coach, John Ellinger (now coaching RSL), and gets the chance to play his preferred position in central midfield. At DC, he was stuck behind reigning MVP Christian Gomez, who DC just re-signed to an extended contract. In Salt Lake, he has the chance to be the Man.

The only party who has the chance to lose out on this deal is Real Salt Lake. Right now, they're going to enjoy the bump in publicity (and likely, ticket sales) as Freddy's presence should attract a lot more casual fans and their pre-teen children. But if Freddy does jump ship and head to Europe in the August transfer window, RSL takes a big credibility hit and is left holding the bag on this trade.

This trade actually got some play outside of the traditionally soccer media, most notably on Sportscenter and even rated a mention during halftime of Monday Night Football. There's been plenty of coverage in newspapers and on the internet, and I've included a variety of links below. Prepare yourself for a whole bunch of bad puns on "Adu/Adieu".
DC United/MLS Press Release
United Trades Adu, Washington Post
It's A Win-Win for Adu and United, Washington Post
DC Deals Teenage Star Adu to RSL, Salt Lake Tribune
Adu's Arrival Leads to Lineup Questions, Salt Lake Tribune
Furor Over Freddy Might Not Last Long, Salt Lake Tribune
Much Adu About Nothing (oh, how original), Sunday Herald
Adu Bids DC United adieu, traded to Salt Lake, ESPN/AP
Adu Starts Over in Real Salt Lake, ESPN
Adu Still Hampered by Unrealistic Expectations, ESPN
DC United Reap Rich Haul from Adu Trade, ESPN
"Best Place for Me", SI.com/AP
Five on Freddy, SI.com

And in other soccer news, after a long and fruitless pursuit of Juergen Klinsmann came to naught, US Soccer announced that Bob Bradley, former coach of the Chicago Fire, NY/NJ Metrostars, and Chivas USA and former US National team assistant, has been named interim head coach of the National Team. An odd move, and one that has been much-debated by soccer pundits since Bradley is perceived by many to be a chip off the block of Bruce Arena, the coach US Soccer just fired. I think Bradley may turn out to be a better choice than most people seem to think, but only time will tell. Here's a few links on that as well.
Official US Soccer Press Release
Bradley Named US National Team Coach, ESPN/AP
Gulati Right Not to Rush the Decision, ESPN
Search for a New Coach Far from Over, ESPN
Bombshell of a Day, SI.com

The Convert

More post-World Cup media love for soccer: my dad sent this column to me a few weeks ago, and I forgot to post it until now. The good thing is, Dave here is only latest member of a fairly large group of people I've come into contact with since the World Cup ended who seem to be willing to give the 21st century version of pro soccer a try. The trick now for MLS is not only to bring these new fans in, but to keep them coming back. Of course, tickets to a DC United game would be the easiest answer. Getting to see the class of the league in action would guarantee all these newcomers would become fans for life. Hey, it worked for me.

Under the Rainbow

Well, here's a sight that I didn't see much of in Indy. I took this photo from the roof of my building about an hour ago. My lens didn't go wide enough to get the whole thing, but it was a pretty amazing sight. I could see pretty much the entire rainbow from up there, and my camera definitely doesn't do it justice.

But as I've quickly discovered, rainbows are just one of the many differences between Indy and Denver. Despite still being busy at work (and spending a lot of free time working on my redesign plans), I'm finally beginning to feel settled in out here, and I'm starting to notice a quality of life change. A lot of the nagging health issues I was dealing with in Indy have disappeared, which is probably due to a lot of things: eating better, sleeping better, exercising more, enjoying my job again, and better weather. With the exception of an atypical two-day rainstorm, it's been sunny every day since I moved here. There are thunderstorms that roll through (like the one that caused the rainbow), but they hardly ever last more than an hour. And except for the couple of days that it got over 100°, even the hot days are pleasant.

Another change is that I've hardly been watching any TV, mainly because I have lots of better stuff to do. I'm still exploring Denver, but I've also been able to read a ton of books, catch a few movies, go out for beers, and anything else that doesn't involve sitting on my couch vegetating. Today alone I walked around downtown for a little while, redesigned the restaurant section of the magazine, saw Clerks 2 (another disappointment from Kevin Smith, who apparently should have retired after Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), read a few chapters of the latest book on my pile, A Storm of Swords (Book 3 of George R. R. Martin's excellent Song of Ice and Fire series), and worked out. And on top of that, I did manage to squeeze in a little TV-viewing when I watched the MLS All-Stars upset Chelsea, champions of the English Premier League two years running who are basically All-Stars themselves, having the most expensive roster in the world (including 16 players who represented their countries at the World Cup). Anyone who didn't see the match won't read too much into the result, but contrary to the way exhibitions and All-Star games usually go, this match was hard-fought and a well-deserved victory for MLS. Chelsea is in their preseason, and it showed, but it wasn't like they were mailing it in. That much was obvious when John Terry, their captain and central defender, pushed up to play forward for the last 10 minutes of the game trying to score the equalizing goal. Doesn't sound much like a "training match" to me. It was a good game, and nice to see MLS earn a bit more international respect. Chicago's new Toyota Park looked great as well, especially with a sell-out crowd in the seats. Along with the game, MLS also made the exciting announcement that they've signed a new deal with ESPN and ABC. OK, obviously that's good that the league will continue to be on TV, but here's the kicker: For the past 11 years, MLS has basically been buying time from the networks to show their games. No more. For the first time, the money will be going the other direction, with ESPN paying rights fees to show MLS games. This is fantastic news for a league that has struggled to make money for its entire existence. With TV money flowing in and more teams owning their own stadiums (thus controlling all the revenue), the league is suddenly looking financially solid. And that can only help the product on the field. More money = better players. It's that simple.

SOUNDS
The Eraser, Thom Yorke
1, The Beatles

IMAGES
Clerks 2

WORDS
A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
A Clash of Kings, George R. R. Martin
A Storm of Swords, George R. R. Martin

A Work in Progress

New city + new job = a lot less time for blogging. I hope my three regular readers haven't missed me too much.

In between trying to adjust to a new system at work, balance a variety of new responsibilities, redesign a magazine, find my way around a new city, find a permanent place to live, and stay in touch with everyone back east, I have managed to read a few soccer articles. It's interesting that the tone of the American sports media has changed appreciably since the end of the World Cup. I think the TV numbers really woke some people in the industry up to the fact that there is a huge untapped market of viewers and readers out there, and that's been reflected in a very welcome and sometimes startling respect being given to all aspects of the game—international, European, and even MLS. A perfect example? SI.com discusses the announcers for the 2010 World Cup... nearly 4 years in advance! If that's not a sign of soccer's increased media footprint, I don't know what is.

SOUNDS
The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album, Sufjan Stevens
Powder Burns, The Twilight Singers
In Dreams, Roy Orbison

WORDS
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain
Bangkok Tattoo, John Burdett