October 18th, 2008 - Mascot Anyone?

Earlier this week I began to think about mascots. More specifically mascots and soccer. The majority of professional sports teams have these creepy oversized emblems, who's sole purpose is to annoy fans with stupid cheers and weird antics.



The West Virginia Power Pack (above), from Minor League Baseball is exactly why I cringe every time a mascot comes around (http://xrl.us/oucf6).

I think they're strange and unnecessary elements of the games. My roommate Sam agrees.


"They freak me out! They can see through their mouths!" Besides the fact that they apparently "eat people", they're seemingly synonymous with sports.





The NBA, MLB and even the NHL have them. So why doesn't soccer?


The massive amounts of fans make their own fun without the need of any unnatural looking creatures. These soccer fans entertain themselves with flags, drums and non-stop chants. There's never a dull moment, so there's no need for a mascot to pump up the crowd.


Can you imagine a red speckled dinosaur dancing around on the sidelines of an AC Milan game? I daresay they would get no attention from both the fans and the camera.

October 16th, 2008 - Cristiano Ronaldo

Third player review - Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best current players on the field. He has won both the Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. The Manchester United wing is the star of his team and a huge leader on offense.

Ronaldo is also slowly becoming just as famous outside the pitch. During his trip to Los Angeles in July, he was immediately swarmed by paparazzi. Every move was continuously catalogued and scrutinized. Since then Ronaldo's new found celebrity has only grown. He has even been compared to David Beckham, who has become almost more famous off the field than on it. So will Ronaldo follow suit?

His coach doesn't seem to think so and neither do I. Ronaldo is to smart to let it all the fame go to his head. He has always been known on the field as a superstar. Why should it go to his head now?

October 13th, 2008 - America's new pasttime?

Everyone knows that the popularity of soccer in the U.S. is nothing compared to football, basketball, baseball, and even hockey. I don't expect soccer to become as celebrated as some of these sports, however I do think that with some improvements, it could really catch on in the States. Here is my list of "things-to-do" to make soccer more popular in the U.S.:

First thing - Make it more entertaining
To do this the MLS has to pump more talent into the league. Getting players from overseas, like Figo and Del Piero would draw a lot more fans to the game. Take David Beckham for example. It took the LA Galaxy $250 million dollars to get him over here, but it lead to an increase in fan base for both the MLS and LA. With these players comes respectability, which in my opinion the MLS doesn't have. Sure they've turned out players like Donovan and Beasley, who have got their start in the U.S., but it's still nothing compared to the European leagues. These players will bring an excitement to the game that has never been seen in U.S. soccer.

Second thing - $$$
In order to keep luring players to the MLS, the teams are going to need more money. It’s that cut and dry. Football, basketball and baseball backers constantly plug more money into their teams. I think that MLS needs some sugar daddy’s go really get the ball rolling. Especially with today’s economy, I know that this will not be an easy task, however it’s necessary for soccer’s popularity to improve. People like to be entertained when they come to a game. This includes an atmosphere that includes more bells and whistles. And they aren’t cheap.

Third thing - Building up the teams
The European and South American leagues have lower level clubs that allow players to move up through the ranks and improve their skills. The U.S. doesn't have this...until now? The Official site of U.S. Soccer reports that the Development Academy is adding more 12 more clubs to the U.S. soccer scene to allow more players the opportunity to develop their skills. The Academy started in 2007 with 72 teams nationwide. The organization is not only adding more clubs, but also more scouts. This is a HUGE boost for the popularity of soccer in the U.S. The Academy is similar to European set-ups because it casts a wider net to catch more potential players and coaches. Players don't have to rely as much on their accomplishments in small club and school teams, which only lasts a few years. Now they can join a younger club and work their way up to a higher skill and age level.
For more information about the Development Academy click here.

Fourth thing - More mainstream media attention
I’m not expecting this to change anytime soon, however I do think that if mainstream media, like ESPN, would cover more soccer the popularity would increase. I know that they do play soccer, but it’s usually at really weird times during the day when no one is going to watch it. If they played a few more MLS, international and Euro league games, people would get more interested. Maybe the media could even replay some famous games, like the World Cup finals or the U.S. women winning the World Cup. That’s what ESPN classic is for.

October 10th, 2008 - Kaka

Second player review - Kaka

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known by his nickname Kaka, is one of the best players to ever come out of Brazil. He came onto the club scene in 2001 and moved from São Paulo to AC Milan. He still plays on AC Milan, as well as on the Brizilian National team.

Kaka shows his amazing skill for the game time and time again, constantly coming up big for his team. By playing the attacking midfielder position he is a very strong threat on offense. His play complients his other teammates up top by steping up and scoring goals when he needs to, but fading into the background and playing the supporting roll as well.

Even though he's 27-years-old, I see him playing for a much longer time. He's in good shape and a hardworker, which will enable him to stay on top of his game. Soccer audiences will be seeing him for a very long time.

October 9th, 2008 - The David of the World Cup?

There are a lot of teams that are always expected to compete in the World Cup. Italy, Brazil, France, and Germany. These are usually the some of these favorites. But what about the smaller countries? The ones that overlooked by the untrained eye? Countries like...Cyprus.

The country of only 754,064 people is much different than these other counties not only in size and population, but also in the fact that their national team has never been to a World Cup. They've been attempting to qualify since 1962, however not until this year have their chances been so high. At least their head coach Angelos Anastasiadis thinks so.

Although they loss their first qualifying match to Italy 2-1, they made a very strong showing. The fans and players are optimistic even after the loss, comforted by the fact that earlier this year, the Anorthosis Club team became the first team from Cyprus to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.

Cyprus played exceptionally well earlier this year in their push to make UEFA Euro 2008, winning four matches and coming to a draw against Germany (Germany later when on to play in the final). These games may be a glimmer of what is to come later in the World Cup qualifying matches against Georgia and Republic of Ireland. Cyprus really needs to win these two upcoming games in order to make it. They need to look past their recent injuries and unsuccessful World Cup history and focus at the task at hand.

October 7th, 2008 - Moving to the MLS?

Over the years well known European and South American players have come to the MLS after their careers have gone south. The most notable of these players is David Beckham whose fame and fortune has both grown extensively. It's only a matter of time before more famous Europeans follow his lead. Here are some players that I think will move over to the MLS in the upcoming years:

Luis Figo (35 yrs.)
Figo was one of Italy's most talented and famous players. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and has played on the national team numerous times. Although Figo is still one of Italy's biggest names, all stars fade with time. Figo is currently playing with Inter Milan as of June 2008, however he only has a one year contract with them. I think that after this season is done there is a strong possibility he's going to the MLS. He isn't playing at as high a level as he once was and I think he'd still be a very strong contender in the US.

Alessandro Del Piero (33 yrs.)
Del Piero fought hard to make the 2008 Italian National team, but the hard work seems like it was all for nothing. The striker has been left off the Italian squad for the next two upcoming international games. With his growing age and faltering fatigue Del Piero is a prime candidate for the MLS. He has a lot of experience playing the game and I think that he would be a real leader on one of the the teams in the US. His career in Italy is on a downslope, so if he wants to keep playing he needs to look for different outlets for his famous talent.

Joe Cole (26 yrs.) Since Cole was a teen he has played for professional soccer teams in England. He knows the sport as good or better than many of his collegues, however he has not always been able to deliver the best results. Over the years he has bounced between being an outstanding and hardworking leader of his team and being a lazy benchwarmer. Although Cole has really picked up his game in recent months, I think his career would really benifit from going overseas. He is a known player, so the recognition would earn him a starting spot and some decent cash. If he keeps up the hard work we've seen recently he can really shine in the MLS.

October 2nd, 2008 - Joe Cole

Second player review - Joe Cole

Like many other soccer players, Joe Cole was discovered at an early age. He was the product of the West Ham United youth soccer program and quickly rose to West Ham’s first team. His style is similar to that of Ronaldinho, incorporating flashy aggressive moves into his game.

While on West Ham’s first team he also made eight appearances for the English under-21 national team. Even though he had a strong offensive game, Cole struggled at getting back on defense. Because of this, he frequently came in off the bench.

Cole eventually moved even farther up the West Ham and English national team ladder, becoming the captain of the West Ham Club 2003 and a substitute on the National team. The midfielder continued to struggle to make the starting team against other players, failing to work as hard as them.

After moving to Chelsea he figured out that he really had to buckle down in order to put himself back in the starting line up. He has been making big plays ever sense.

His aggressive offensive and defensive play really keeps his opponents on their toes, always making them wonder what he will do next. In recent games Cole has become a real leader on England, along with his teammate Rooney. He has also stepped up as the go to guy to pick England’s team up when it’s down, whether it means scoring goals or making excellent attacking strikes.

Cole has really come into his element in the past couple years and he can only go up from here. As he becomes more comfortable with his new role on the team he will have more of a presence on the field. In the future I see him as a formidable force to be reckoned with, however only if he stays fit and on the top of his offensive and defensive game.