fans
October, a month that brings my birthday, my wedding anniversary (1 of 2...don't ask) and the start of my favorite (northern hemisphere) season is always busy for your pal Jason. This year, we turned it up to 11. At the beginning of the month, literally on the
prorel
There was news out of Mexico last week, covered smartly by Felipe Cardenas of The Athletic, that Mexican futbol is this close to closing the door on promotion and relegation permanently. Here's the plan in graphic form courtesy of Jon Arnold on Bluesky: It seems the owners of
MLS
Leave it to me to add a bunch of new subscribers to this newsletter—a thing I created as an outlet for the extra flotsam of soccer thoughts floating around in my Star Wars garbage level excuse for a brain—and then go quiet for a month. Anyway, a special
USMNT
Full disclosure: My brain is not 100% fit. That's mostly because I was up until 1 AM hosting the postgame show for the USMNT debacle against Belgium on SiriusXM FC with Eric Wynalda on Monday night. As you can imagine (if you didn't listen), the phone
These things can all be true (and are, in my estimation): 1. Folarin Balogun's red card was an extremely harsh adjudgement of a relatively normal challenge and should have never been given, particularly because referee Raphael Claus used slow-motion and freeze-frame incorrectly (or, maybe better, outside
world cup
Day 19 at the World Cup delivered a few takeaways we will carry with us into the 12 remaining matches set for the first-ever Round of 32 and beyond into the Round of 16, quarterfinals, and so on: * Soccer is a game of fine margins that often comes down
world cup
One of the things that has hit me hardest about this World Cup is just how much of it there is. I know that sounds like an obvious thing to say 66 games into the tournament (there are six group stage games left to be played as of this writing)
Flying high since 2008
Last night in Los Angeles, the USMNT conceded in the final moments of it's final group stage game via a hectic Turkish push for a winner that included plenty of bad defending and Christian Pulisic getting nutmegged. What was going to be an encouraging 2-2 draw suddenly
I don't like Memo Ochoa, but I respect him. I don't like Mexico (the national team) but me alegra que la gente haya tenido ese momento con su héroe, San Memo. I'm not even a little bit jealous.
We stand on the precipice. Just ahead is the edge, from which we will tumble, tumble, tumble, into the unknowable depths of a well so dark and impenetrable our minds cannot begin to comprehend what lies there. Yet, this uncertainly does not cow us. It thrills us. We are the
The streak is over. After 10 consecutive days of spilling my thoughts on the oversized World Cup unfolding before us here in North America, I finally missed a day. Life outside of soccer chose to impose itself and I was unable to carve out the time I need to organize
The USMNT's victory over Paraguay in the opening game of the World Cup felt like historic moment in annals of the program. Stomping a South American nation (despite what the negative nellies out there are bleating, any South American qualifier for the World Cup is, by definition, pretty,
IT'S GAME DAY Welcome to Day 9 at the World Cup. Here's where I am, just to give you a sense of my emotional state on match day for the United States: Moments ago I scrapped 600 words on Mexico's win in Guadalajara and
I live in a soccer bubble. Even if I wanted to pretend otherwise, my work and my life create circumstances that might make living any other way exceedingly difficult. To be clear, living this way a choice and I'm happy to make it. After eighteen-ish years of
The brightest stars command—and take command of—the biggest stages. When it comes game that inflames the passions of billions around the world, there is no bigger stage than the World Cup. Superstars can thrive in the top leagues of Europe and capture the most coveted prices in club
World Cup Day 5 delivered a quartet of draws, each of which was fascinating in isolation. Collectively, the four mean that groups G and H are a wide open affairs going into Matchday 2; with one of the presumptive challengers for the World Cup trophy in Group H and Group
I'm not sure I believe there's a good answer for "How many teams is the right number of teams for the World Cup finals" if the question is about inclusion and competition and not about the logistical problem of holding more than 100 games.
Saturday. The first day of the 2026 World Cup that delivered three games in a single day—unless you live west of the Mississippi—in which case it was four. Australia v. Turkiye kicking off at midnight eastern, an hour after the end of the Haiti v. Scotland game in
I'm twelve hours on from USA 4, Paraguay 1 and while some of it might be lack of sleep or too much caffeine, my buzz is strong. The soccer team I have cared more about than any other in the history of my soccer experience—and the very