The USSF Election, Can We Talk Realistically?

What I'm feeling making this post

Many readers (if I have enough readers to be considers "many") are aware that next month the U.S. Soccer Federation will be electing a new President to replace the outgoing Sunil Gulati.  Familiar names such as Eric Wynalda, Hope Solo, and Kyle Martino and less familiar names such as Kathy Carter, Carlos Cordiero, and Michael Winograd have thrown their names into the ring for the position.  The voters in the election are representatives from each state association, each professional organization, and the commissioners of the Youth and Adult councils.  I'm not going to get into details of who these various people are other than to point out the general fanbase is not directly represented and this is essentially an internal election (and that's not meant as a criticism).  I'm also not going to directly endorse a candidate (not that my endorsement is in anyway meaningful but I want to clarify this post is not in direct support of anyone).  In fact I wasn't even going to discuss this election here but I reached a breaking point tonight (thus the image to start this post).

What I do want to talk about is the level of unbelievably misinformed discussion going on in the fanbase about this election.  There's a large segment of fans, on both sides, that have decided this is where the various pro/rel, schedule, and gender equity battles will be won or loss, with no understanding of how the President will be elected and what power they actually have.  For example, the NY Cosmos (a theoretically professional organization who has been the loudest voice in pushing for pro/rel and other changes) tweeted this today.  They immediately deleted it but not before it was screen capped:

Seriously?  Are you f-ing kidding me?  Quoting Martin Luther King to advance a debate on the structure of soccer leagues?  Get you're priorities in order Cosmos!

This is just the worst example (because it came from a professional organization and not a random fan) of some of the discussion you see on social media about these issues.  Clearly many of these "fans" don't actually understand how little power the USSF President has.  I have news for them.  Any USSF President (and largely its Wynalda and Martino pushing major changes) who comes to the MLS Board of Directors with an ultimatum about pro/rel or changing the schedule is (rightfully) going to get laughed out of the room.  They will not have the power to dictate the change to the leagues, at best they can make a recommendation to the USSF board that MLS (and presumably, USL) have their licensing revoked which would make the leagues rogue and unrecognized by FIFA.  Of course that board includes representatives from those leagues, not to mention many other people, most of whom will need more reasoning than the platitudes being thrown out by these candidates in order to gain "grass roots" support, in order to support forcing such a radical change and the idea will go nowhere.

All that said, that doesn't mean the "status quo" side of this debate has clean hands either.  Changes do need to happen.  I mean, the men missed the World Cup for the first time in 32 years and the women are losing the general lead they had over most of the rest of the world, to say nothing of the youth teams results over the last few years.  We need some significant changes, but those changes aren't "change the schedule" or "add pro/rel", things largely outside the USSF's purview.  The changes are "in house" at the USSF, changing how they run their teams, how they do outreach to youth players, how they spend their money, etc.  Going out their as the candidate supported by Don Garber (even if officially that hasn't been stated) isn't a sustainable platform either.

If fans really want the sport to grow in this country we owe it to ourselves to look for options in the middle, because they're the only thing that will work.  Taking up positions at the extreme edges and driving the candidates there means we're either going to get the status quo, or a USSF President that has no ability to work with the professional leagues.  Both will be failures on some level.

And now to clarify my own positions:

1. Pro/rel won't be workable and won't be instituted in any time frame anyone can reasonably project (~20 years).  Beyond that the sporting landscape is too unknown to make a projection meaningful.

2. Anyone who wants to consider a fall-spring schedule is welcome to go sit out at the Dick for 2 hours tonight.  Assuming you don't die of frostbite you can tell us how you plan to sell tickets to fans to do that.  If the solution is "a winter break" any winter break that would avoid the problem would essentially encompass the same time frame as our current winter break, so you wouldn't actually be making any schedule changes.

3. The USSF Presidents first task, whomever they are, should be to hire a TD/GM position for all the national teams and give them the job of improving the on-field results of all the teams.  The President should be responsible for all off-field/business decisions.

4. That new position should look at Germany's plan that brought them back from their low point ~15 years ago.  It involved getting a group of all the stakeholders together from the Federation, the leagues, etc. and setting goals that all could agree to work towards.  The USSF needs some sore of coordination like that.

Still Stunned

24 hours later and I'm still stunned at what happened in World Cup Qualifying last night.  I had no thought that the 4th, 5th, and 6th placed teams would all win.  I figured the absolute worst case was that we'd stumble and either Panama or Honduras would pull a major upset and we'd have to beat the Aussies for our trip too Russia.  More likely I figured we'd play a boring draw and just squeak into the 3rd spot.

There's a lot of hot takes out there right now about who to blame and what the U.S. should do next.  Personally, I think the players take the majority of the blame for only playing a complete game about 3 times in the 10 game hex.  Last night, especially in the first half, we looked like a team that assumed we were going to Russia and didn't have to make an effort.  Outside of Pulisic and maybe Yedlin I don't think anyone on that field deserves to continue as a Nats member, and that includes Howard.

As for what we do from here, I don't know.  There is no easy answer.  Pundits have talked about what Germany did after their failures in 1998 and 2000 and I think the general idea is the right one.  The USSF, MLS, the USL (I'd say the NASL but they're going to be out of business in a few months) and the USSDA need to get together, figure out what the long-term plan is, and all commit to that plan.  That will require some give and take from all parties, and most likely new leadership at the USSF, but its time to examine everything in the U.S. soccer sphere, from the Nats to the Rapids Academy.

Next June/July is going to be very different for American fans.  For the first time in most of our lifetimes, or at least in the part of our lifetimes when we've been soccer fans, the Yanks won't be at the World Cup.  I'm going to be watching the UEFA playoffs next month to see if either of my ancestral sides, Ireland and Sweden, get through to Russia.  If they're both eliminated I'm not sure who I'll back next year, maybe Colombia.

World cup Qualifying Wrap-Up

A quick recap on World Cup qualifying before moving back to club action.  After a lethargic first half in Commerce City on Thursday the U.S. put together 3 consecutive great halves to claim 4 points and all but assure themselves of a trip to Russia.

It was the Pulisic show in the second half on Thursday as he scored twice in leading the U.S. to a 2-0 victory against T&T.  That's now 3 straight wins for the Nats in DSG Park and they're 6-0-0 when I see them in person (3 of those were friendlies).

Last night Michael Bradley scored a goal we'll be watching 30 years from now.  Intercepting a poor Mexican pass at midifeld he took a touch, looked up, and from 40 yards chipped the keeper for a 1-0 lead for the U.S. in the 6th minute.  The Americans could only hold the lead for 17 minutes though (which still almost doubled their total time leading at the Azteca) as a Yanks attack turned into an El Tri counter.  Run DMB, still starting at the ripe age of 35, did the right thing and turned his man into the center of the field where 3 center backs should have been waiting for him but instead ll 3 felt Chicharito was the greater danger and Mexico leveled at 1-0.  That would turn out to be Mexico's only shot on goal in the game.  This was the least dangerous Mexico has ever been at the Azteca against the U.S.

With the 4 points the Yanks are currently in 3rd place in the Hex, though should Panama beat Honduras tomorrow night (likely) they'll pass the U.S.  Regardless the Red, White, and Blue are in good shape for Russia, with a moderately tough home game against Costa Rica in September and the 3 games they should be expected to win in Honduras, Panama at home, and finishing in Trindad.  That shouldn't trouble the Nats at all and it should be clear sailing to Russia next year.

Sun Clasico Tomorrow

4 years ago we had Costa Rica and the Snow Clasico.  Tomorrow night we'll have Trinidad & Tobago and apparently the Sun Clasico with temps in the mid 80s at kickoff.

Kickoff is at 5:50pm on FOX Sports 1, with the pregame being broadcast live from inside the stadium.  Both the official U.S. Soccer events and the American Outlaws tailgate will start at 2.  The official events will be in the VIP East lot,, across the main drive from the normal C38 tailgate lot.  The Outlaws tailgate will be further East in Lot D and there's some overlap between the AO Denver and the C38 tailgate crew so you should have a good idea what to expect.

There's also a pop-up U.S. Soccer store on the 16th St. Mall at 16th & California that will be open until 8pm tonight and from 9am to kickoff tomorrow.  US Soccer will also have gear for sale both at their pre-game events in the parking lot and of course in the stadium.  The website shows red and navy hats and scarves made specifically for this game, I bought the navy scarf yesterday at the 16th St. Mall store (which didn't have the red scarf).  There will also be a ton of non-game specific gear.

Tim Howard has been named the starter in net so Rapids fans will have one of their own to root for.  Mikeil Williams is on the T&T team but I doubt many Rapids fans will give him more than cursory applause if he plays tomorrow.  This is a game the US should win and I expect they will.  The Yanks are clearly better than the Soca Warriors and being at home should make this somewhat easy (as easy as any World Cup Qualifier gets).

Epic Night In Commerce City

View of the NW corner from 108 right at the end of half

We'll get to the Rapids debacle in LA tomorrow.  First lets look at Friday night's epic World Cup Qualifier.  Yeah, as a game it stunk.  After the first 20 minutes or so it was 22 guys against the elements, not two teams.  Who cares though, that doesn't detract from one of the more memorable games I've ever attended.

The evening started with a great tailgate put on for the American Outlaws by the Centennial 38 tailgate crew.  I'd say a rough estimate is that we went through over 1500 hot dogs for close to 2000 people.  I helped the grillers out as much as possible once I arrived, so I didn't see much of the tailgate, but it was a great job by everyone to pull it off.  Denver has set the bar high for pre-game entertainment going forward.  About midway through the tailgate, the snow started.

After shutting down the tailgate and helping to clean up Hibbie and I headed over to the Dick, where I ran into the one negative moment of the evening.  Smartly, KSE opened every gate for the game (during most Rapids games they only use about half the gates) but at least at the two gates immediately next to the Cantina their staffing left something to be desired.  The gate just West of the Cantina had no readers for Flash Seat tickets, and when I got to the one just East of the Cantina the guy with the reader had left but would be back "momentarily".  WTF?  It only amounted to a few minute delay but I really have to wonder what KSE is thinking, not fully staffing every gate.

Once I got in I realized we were headed to a record attendance (actually we missed it by 306 as FIFA doesn't allow standing-room only tickets for World Cup Qualifiers like the Rapids do for 4th of July games.  Still broke 19K though.) so I decided to just get to my seat and not worry about doing any shopping or buying any concessions for this one.  I had eaten enough at the tailgate and the free scarf had the game listed on it so I had my souvenir of the game.  The first 20 minutes or so the U.S. controlled play and Clint finished off a deflected shot to get the Yanks the important early goal.  Between the 20 and 30 minute mark the weather became the dominant force in the game but the game was still playable.  The U.S. did a good job keeping possession and protecting the lead.

At halftime apparently the party moved to the men's bathroom in the south end as everybody crammed in there for warmth and continued the singing and chanting.  I stayed at my seat to enjoy the unusual weather as it kicked up a couple of notches.  By the end of the half, as you can see above, it was really coming down.  The second half was just about survival as there was no way for either team to play as a team.  In the 55th minute the game was paused.  ESPN's announcers said it was because the officials were calling the game, but post-games reports suggest that the Center Referee just wanted to give the grounds crew time to clear the lines.  In a vacuum the game should have been called, nobody was really able to play in that storm and while it was safe to play and the game could go on, there wasn't much of an actual game going on.  Life doesn't exist in a vacuum though, and while the ref isn't supposed to take schedules into consideration I'm sure he knew that the storm was supposed to last through Saturday (and it did) and both teams had to fly to Central America for games on Tuesday, so stopping the game and getting replayed was a bigger headache than just continuing to play.  Late in the match Costa Rica managed to equalize, but it was correctly called offside.  That woke the U.S. up a bit and they realized there was still something on the line.  They finished the job and grabbed the crucial 3 points.

Men of the Match (and possibly women as well) were clearly the grounds crew.  They were out there at every stoppage, and even at times when the play was in the other half of the field (something Costa Rica is using to file a pointless protest) keeping the lines clear and the field playable.  The team rewarded them with a perfect memento, a signed snow shovel:

DeMarcus Beasley was probably the player of the match, while Clint Dempsey stepped up as captain.  Even if Landon Donovan returns, this is Clint's team now.

USA - Costa Rica

Denver USSF artwork by Shaw Nielsen

Well its finally here, possibly the biggest home game the U.S. National Team will play this cycle and its here in Denver.  Tomorrow night, USA-Costa Rica, 8pm, Dick's Sporting Goods Park.  Anything less than 3 points tomorrow night and the U.S.'s qualifying path to Brazil 2014 gets significantly steeper.  3 points and everybody gets to take a breath and go into the Azteca Tuesday night with no real pressure.

Prior to the game the American Outlaws and Centennial 38 will co-host what some are legitimately suggesting might be the largest tailgate in U.S. Soccer history.  For example, here's Grillmaster Perry's fridge last night.  Turns out a standard size fridge can hold 1700 hot dogs!

That doesn't include the two full pigs that are being roasted as well, not to mention the 13(?) kegs that are being dropped off.  700 people are going in by bus with an expected total of somewhere around 2000.  Official start time is 3pm, but setup will begin between 12-1 if you want to help.  Tailgate ends at 7 to give everyone plenty of time to clean up this massive tailgate and get into the stadium before the 8pm kickoff.  U.S. Soccer has claim-jumped our normal tailgate location for their $50/head tailgate featuring celebrity Denver chefs, so we've moved around the corner to the South end of Lot F.

Remember, parking is $20 for this one!

Is The USSF High?

Next month the U.S Women's National Team will play Australia at the Dick as part of their gold medal celebration tour.  That's a great friendly for the Rapids to line up.  I'm not that interested in women's soccer so I'm not planning on going but I know a lot of Rapids fans are excited about the game, and given the season we've had, the Front Office doing something to get fans excited is a good thing.

Yesterday Rapids Season Ticket holders got their pre-sale information to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public.  I was interested it what it would cost me if I did want to go so I went to the link ant took a look.  A ticket in Class VI's Section 108 will run me $58!  Then they're adding a $10.75 service fee. Oh and parking is another $10, $20 if you park in the VIP parking where I normally park with a Class VI tailgate pass for Rapids games.

So to sit in my normal seat and park in my normal spot this game would cost me $88.75. W.T.F.?!?!?!?!

To be clear, the USSF sets the pricing for this game, not the Rapids.  The only Rapids involvement is providing the contact information for season ticket holders to the USSF.

My normal Rapids season ticket costs me $21 a game, no service charge, and parking is free.  My ticket to the Swansea friendly cost me $28 and parking was free as a season ticket holder (I can't remember if there was a service charge but if there was it was only a couple of bucks).

How does the USSF justify charging 4 times as much as a regular MLS game and 3 times as much as an EPL friendly?  I think the U.S. women are great, but the level of soccer pales in comparison to those other options.  The women's National Team players themselves would admit that if asked.  They would get shelled by the Rapids in a straight up game, even as bad as we are this season.

I understand that the reality of this "goal medal celebration tour" is really a money-making tour for the USSF but there's making money and then there's highway robbery.  When the game is played and there's less than 50% of the house in attendance the USSF shouldn't take it as an indicator that the Denver market is a bad market for soccer, it should be an indicator that the USSF needs to lower their prices!