Moves and Grooves

The newsletter takes on a slightly different look this week, thanks to a bit of a time crunch at the Soccer Eagle home office.

Why is there a time crunch, you are surely asking? Because Morning Kickaround, the thrice-weekly webshow I'm doing on YouTube with Rob Kerr is going on the road for its first-ever live event.

Pretty damned excited about this.

We'll be there on the ground in Albuquerque to spotlight the sights and sounds of one of American soccer's most unique events. Meow Wolf Night at Isotopes Park is like a soccer tailgate/costume party/cultural celebration in one, with fans showing up not just to support their local soccer club, but to show off what makes New Mexico special.

As I've mentioned on Bluesky, I also see this trip as a chance to do a proof-of-concept for possible future on-location shows. There's obviously a fairly significant investment needed, but I think the idea of a traveling show that pops up in various special American soccer places sounds amazing. While the match day show with the stadium backdrop and VIP interviews will be the main event, we'll also be able capture the scene before the game and get a sense of the vibe in a growing soccer city. Now imagine that for places like Portland (Maine), Chattanooga, Louisville, Detroit, Lancaster, etc.

There's a lot happening in the USL levels that deserves some love. It would be killer to be a part of providing some of it.

If you're going to be in Albuquerque, be sure to reach out. If you're not, please help us spread the word about the live show so we maybe we can do more of these down the road.

Morning Kickaround YouTube channel members will get some exclusive behind-the-scenes content, so sign up for a couple bucks a month if you want in on that.

In a normal week I would probably throw a couple of thousand words at you on the story of the day in American soccer, which is definitely the villainy of Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, but I don't think I could do it justice in the time allotted. Just know that I'm on the "Luis Suarez should never play another game in MLS" side of the argument.

The "apology" he issued on Thursday is a stellar example of the non-apology apology. No where in it did Suarez address Gene Ramirez, the Seattle security chief, or Obed Vargas, the Sounders midfielder he accosted that led to the whole mess.

It certainly heaps more pressure on MLS that in the NFL's first game of the new season officials immediately ejected Cowboys defensive tackle Jalen Carter for spitting at Eagles quarterback Dak Prescott. I don't think the two incidents are all that similar, but that won't stop the people from making a connection.

Sergio Busquets and Maxmiliano Falcón shouldn't see the field for awhile, either.

Inter Miami had already assumed the role of MLS's villain team before the fight in Seattle, but the events at Lumen Field elevated the bad guy vibes considerably. Before Sunday, the evil was more of a ridiculous, cartoony type. With the hitting and spitting, Messi & co. morphed into something much tougher to treat with sense of jocularity. This league needs villains. Villains make things more interesting. But when the villainy gets too serious things get a lot less fun.

Some other random things that I liked and/or am thinking about.

• I liked the most recent episode of The Best Soccer Show. We tried to make starting XIs for the USMNT game against Korea Republic, but the best part of the show was Jared trying to guess lower division soccer clubs from their badges.

• As for thing I didn't make that I liked or found interesting, if you haven't read Henry Bushnell's piece on Matt Crocker's quixotic quest to understand the youth soccer landscape in America (and somehow influence how it works), it's definitely worth your time. Crocker's realizations fit nicely into my (admittedly downbeat) view that the future success of American soccer will happen in spite of top down efforts, not because of them.
• Graham Ruthven opines that Major League Soccer should be working to be more creative with distributing its broadcasts, maybe going so far as to copy the Bundesliga's new partnership with soccer YouTube rage-baiter Mark Goldbridge.
• The Alyssa Thompson sale to Chelsea has lit the NWSL world on fire. I'm not going to pretend to be the one you should be listening to on this story, but on the face it does seem like Angel City got fleeced and the NWSL has a problem when it comes to club spending. MLS knows it sits outside of the world's elite men's league and can't compete with the top competitions for the best players. That means the budget rules, meant to ensure parity and prevent clubs from overspending, work within its specific context. The NWSL, on the other hand, sees itself as the world's best women's soccer league. It's really hard to hold onto that title if clubs can't spend what it takes to keep a player like Thompson.