Welcome back to The Soccer Eagle, an American soccer production. This place is about dumping out the contents of my soccer-addled brain in case there's someone out there who might appreciate them. We stay soccer and make no apologies about it.

But. This week, the soccer is taking a back seat. Yeah, I know what I said.

There are plenty of things I could tap for a topic this week. There are MLS things, USL things, amateur soccer things, even "holy shit that's insane" things. American soccer is a series of cherry bombs going off inside a shipping container sailing on a ship in Category 5 hurricane.

It's been a tough week for thinking about soccer outside of my broadcasting obligations (Morning Kickaround, The Best Soccer Show, WTF on SiriusXM FC). The government's flooding of Minnesota with immigration agents and the subsequent horrors those agents are inflicting on the people of the region feel a little more important than the game I've devoted my working life to.

They detained a five-year-old after they used him as bait to arrest his father. My son, la fuerza de la naturaleza llamado Thiago, turns five today. It's hard not to be heartbroken over the story of Liam Flores.

At some point I want to take on the issue of the political situation and the World Cup amid rising noise that a boycott of the tournament is at least an idea in the heads of people in charge of football associations in Europe. It's a tricky subject for us Americans who are desperate for the World Cup to boost our sport here.

Yes, I know some deal was reportedly struck to avoid conflict over Greenland, but I don't know how anyone can trust it will hold until summer. I think we're staring down several dicey months of uncertainty over the ultimate success of the 2026 North American World Cup. This is not a shadow that will recede quickly.

For now I want to encourage you to support the people Minnesota in their ongoing struggle to defend their communities. The general strike happening today is a remarkable achievement of collective action. If you want to know more about what's happening in Minnesota and how the people of the Twin Cities and beyond are responding the threat to their friends and neighbors, MPR News is a great resource.

My connections to Minnesota are few, but I do have friends in soccer there: Wes Burdine, Bruce McGuire, Jeff Rueter, to name a few. My thoughts are with them. Wes in particularly has been incredible active keeping people outside of Minnesota informed about what's happening both across the area and in his part of St. Paul, where his bar, Black Hart, is a hub of resistance.

I'll close by pointing you in the direction of Wes's Substack, his Bluesky account, and the links he's posted that list organizations you can donate to if you want to help Minnesotans push back.

Thanks for reading.