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Why can’t the U.S. men win it all? Or at least more consistently?
Because we’re way behind. And we’re behind because we’ve long been devoted to “American” things. And we can’t agree on anything, and then we sue each other. (We surely lead the world in soccer lawyers by now.)
And until we face up to those realities, we’ll never make progress. We certainly won’t have any fun.
Listen to the intro. See the video. Read an excerpt. Read more about it.
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B.A.: Duke (philosophy, music) • The Chronicle
M.A.: Duke (liberal studies) • thesis
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duresport at gmail
Ranting Soccer Dad blog and podcast
- Harvard analysis shows deeply embedded misinformation on women's soccer payIt’s not their faults. Harvard Business Publishing has made available — for a fee — a pair of articles designed to serve as a basis for classroom discussion. They’re thoroughly researched by four people (“Professors Christine Exley and John Beshears and Research Associates Manuela Collis and Davis Heniford prepared this case”) with roughly 100 citations. … Continue reading Harvard analysis shows deeply embedded misinformation on women's soccer pay
- United Soccer Coaches convention preview: Tough choices for women's soccer fans and mediaThe world’s largest gathering of tracksuits will be in Baltimore this year, starting Jan. 15. The bad news for casual fans is that there’s no MLS draft to let people shout slogans at each other this year. The other bad news is that United Soccer Coaches still doesn’t have a cool acronym, with “USC” taken … Continue reading United Soccer Coaches convention preview: Tough choices for women's soccer fans and media
- An even deeper dive into U.S. Soccer financesI went into a rabbit hole and kept digging. On Dec. 4, The Guardian published my piece on U.S. Soccer and where the money is going. It was essentially a preview of a board meeting that had the potential to shed light on the federation’s five-year plan to spend its assets down to $50m but … Continue reading An even deeper dive into U.S. Soccer finances
- Podcast: The introduction to “Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup: A Historical and Cultural Reality Check”The podcast returns after a long absence with a brief autobiography to explain how I became a grumpy old man, I mean, how I arrived at the perspective I have. Then, 15 minutes into the podcast, I give a dramatic reading of the introductory chapter to the new book. Buy the book from your favorite … Continue reading Podcast: The introduction to “Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup: A Historical and Cultural Reality Check”
- Women’s soccer: How about equal spending in general, not just equal pay?Harvard Business Review had a piece on lessons to learn from the U.S. women’s soccer team’s “equal pay” push, which may be premature given that the lawsuit hasn’t proceeded yet (and, based solely on what’s going to end up presented in court, may not go well for the women). Here’s how I responded: I’ve covered … Continue reading Women’s soccer: How about equal spending in general, not just equal pay?
- English pay and what it means for U.S. men’s soccerIn yesterday’s Soccer America piece, I tried to give some perspective on the U.S. men’s soccer team’s collective bargaining negotiations (remember: they’re still playing under an expired deal) by taking a look at national team pay in other countries and other sports. I looked at several examples — English rugby (a considerable amount of money), … Continue reading English pay and what it means for U.S. men’s soccer
- English clubs in danger of collapsing early in the season — why?I can’t claim to be an expert on the “winding-up” of soccer clubs. In my experience, every time it’s imminent, something magic happens to stop it. Something feels different this time for two clubs, in part because of the timing. We’re just a couple of weeks into the season. Could we really see League One … Continue reading English clubs in danger of collapsing early in the season — why?
- Abolish the penalty kick?Ian Plenderleith raises the question at Soccer America: In the majority of cases … the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Minor fouls or unintentional handballs are punished with an almost certain goal opportunity (and even more so now under the dissembling new handball rule ‘clarification’). Replacing the penalty kick with an indirect free-kick would benefit … Continue reading Abolish the penalty kick?
- Equal-pay play: No friendly gap, narrowed Cup bonusesNow that the national team pay calculator is done (more or less), we can run some scenarios. Here’s one: Assumed results: Women win World Cup with 9 points in group stage, take Olympic bronze with 7 points in group stage. Men reach World Cup quarterfinals (7 points in group) one year and take 3 points … Continue reading Equal-pay play: No friendly gap, narrowed Cup bonuses
- Why do I question women’s soccer narratives?I’m aggravated when people denigrate soccer because it’s my favorite sport — and because such sentiments are often rooted in a form of xenophobia in which generations have been expected to be culturally assimilated through our devotion to American sports like football, basketball and baseball. I’m aggravated when people denigrate women’s sports because such sentiments … Continue reading Why do I question women’s soccer narratives?
