Good Soccer/Bad Soccer Vol. 4
Welcome back to Good Soccer/Bad Soccer, your weekly home for an extremely random collection of American soccer stories. This week's bag of soccer news runs the gamut, which is great because who doesn't love getting to use the word "gamut"?
A reminder: If you come across something good for Good Soccer/Bad Soccer, drop me a line via email or shoot me a message on the only social media platform that doesn't make me want to drive needles into my eyes, Bluesky.
And since we're here and I'm asking you for stuff, it seems like a reasonable moment to ask you to share this newsletter with a soccer friend. Word of mouth is the way of things these days and if you could lend me your mouth to grow the reach, that I would greatly appreciate it.
AWAY WE GO.
What Happens In Vegas Is Really Frickin' Weird
Your friendly neighborhood Soccer Eagle is a sucker for a soccer stadium rendering. As a veteran of the days in American soccer when the best we could do were cavernous NFL stadiums and minor league baseball venues, the mere hint of a plan to build a stadium specifically for the sport of soccer is enough to turn me into a melting face meme.
But with the advent of AI and a mixed-development construction boom, it has gotten a little tougher to separate pure fantasy from the type of stadium rendering that could turn into a real life venue. With that I mind, I present the absolutely bonkers $10 billion plan for a stadium district/mixed-use project in Las Vegas anchored by a 50,000-seat soccer venue.
As a connoisseur of such things, I have to admit some confusion over, well...everything attached to this plan. Starr Vegas Development, the entity behid the insanity, doesn't include any venue renderings (did I mention the proposal also includes a 25,000-seat NBA arena) on their website. The above image popped up on local news sites in Vegas and Front Office Sports dropped this on their Instagram page:
uncontrollable fits of laughter followed by further guffawing
Yeah, none of that is happening, even if the group behind the plan claims they've secured $6 billion of the proposed $10 billion price tag.
Does MLS want Las Vegas? Of course. If it happens, it's hard to imagine it looking like this.
BAD SOCCER
The Spirit's Coyote Give The Spirit The Spirit of the Coyote
The Soccer Eagle loves a good trick for rallying team spirit almost as much as he loves a soccer stadium rendering so this is a great week for the newsletter. From Roey Hader comes the inside story about the Washington Spirit's plastic coyote mascot, Jose the Coyote.
Roey Hadar
As a Spirit fan (the Soccer Eagle is based in the DMV), I shouldn't be suggesting ways for other clubs to have some fun with the Spirit's newfound love of a plastic canine, but there are roadrunner bits just waiting for some team to put together when Washington makes a visit.
GOOD SOCCER
Call Him John Thorr-Sting-Ton
From friend of the newsletter Charles Boehm comes this shot of LAFC general manager John Thorrington taking LAFC's 4-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday from a unique position.
Saludos to the Apple TV camera team for this tribute to the iconic Sting WWE meme, featuring LAFC president John Thorrington
— Charles Boehm ⚽️ (@cboehm.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 8:41 PM
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Is he a soccer super hero? Is he former WCW superstar Sting in soccer form? Is this badass or giving serious "anxious dad" energy? YOU DECIDE.
GOOD SOCCER
Italy Is A Baseball Country Anyway
The proud nation of Italy, a country with a deep and successful history in international soccer, will be missing from the 2026 World Cup in North America after failing to qualify for the finals for the third consecutive time.
The fallimento sparked a torrid debate in the country about how to fix the national team, with every figure from Italy's soccer history past and present tossing out their theories on how to return the Azzurri to its rightful place among the global elite.
What Italy apparently won't do to claim a spot in the World Cup field again is accept the proposal of an Italian-American envoy of Donald Trump's government that Italy replace Iran this summer. Paolo Zampolli, a guy who sicced ICE on his ex amidst a child custody battle, claims he introduced Trump to Melania, and is connected to some very shady Jeffry Epstein-adjacent people in the modeling world, suggested the country swap as a bid to repair Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni's relationship with Trump.
“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and [Fifa president Gianni] Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament. With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion,” the US special envoy Paolo Zampolli told the FT.
While the idea of replacing Iran at the World Cup has legs if only because there's a ridiculous war happening right now and it's hard to imagine things going on as normal in checks watch 49 days, until Iran makes an official decision about its participation, FIFA is unlikely to force a change.
To the credit of Italian football, Italy's sports minister, Andrea Abodi, shot down the idea without hesitation.
“Italy’s possible requalification for the 2026 World Cup, which US president Donald Trump’s envoy, Paolo Zampolli, has reportedly proposed to Fifa, is firstly not possible, and secondly not appropriate,” Abodi told Sky News. “I don’t know what comes first. Qualification is on the pitch.”
There was never a doubt of that, really, and it's incredible that Zampolli believed for even a second that Italian officials would be on board with a plan that would have made them the laughingstock of world football for generations to come. There's shame in failing qualify, but that's nothing compare to the ignominy of being given a spot in the finals without earning it. Unless you're a host nation...obviously. Ahem.
BAD SOCCER (Zampolli)
GOOD SOCCER (Italy)
Okay But 'Flywheel Rocket Fuel' Is A Great Band Name
Shoutout to John Muller on Bluesky for sharing this jaw-dropping bit of corporate speak nonsense from the chief business officer of the Colorado Rapids.
How to play another team in your league at home Other leagues: Be in the same league MLS: Send a delegation to league headquarters to present a pitch deck with fan acquisition figures and partnership considerations demonstrating that it will help you reinvest in your flywheel to create rocket fuel
— John Muller (@johnspacemuller.com) April 20, 2026 at 3:38 PM
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Way to dodge those allegations of being in it for everything but the game, MLS.
If you don't speak LinkedIn, here's the handy Kagi translation of what Haley Durmer told SBJ:
BAD SOCCER
From Rapids Rocket Fuel To Rapid Fire
A few more items of note:
Vermont Green's incredible environmental justice mission report.
GOOD SOCCER
The LA World Cup Fan Fest is charging extra for shade. Really.
LA WC fan festival: $10 to get in, $30 for shade
— Seth Vertelney (@svertelney.bsky.social) April 22, 2026 at 1:17 PM
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BAD SOCCER
Columbus got an NWSL expansion team. That's cool. The part about the ownership group taking over a public park that was slated for disability-friendly upgrades to build the new team's training facility is not.
Rachel Wenning
BAD SOCCER
That's it. That's GOOD SOCCER/BAD SOCCER for this week. Thanks for reading, and again, if you can, tell a friend.
I'll be back on YouTube tonight at 9 PM ET for the next episode of The Best Soccer Show, so come by. You can always get the podcast version of the show wherever you get podcasts.
TBSS also has a Patreon page where we post bonus content. Each week I'm doing an hour of freeform streaming/podcasting called "Office Hours". This week's hour is free, so have a listen. I get into my complicated feelings about governemnt handouts to wealth club owners and the problem of having club owners whose values don't align with ours.
