Clint Dempsey, US Soccer Superhero in flight. (from his Facebook page)
I admit it. I’ve been busy. Between parenting 2 kids, beginning the restoration of our “new” 125 year old house (you can read about that at the Hatton House blog here), and trying to steal time to write and paint, I’ve been running around. So as the rest of AO Des Moines bailed one by one from our US vs Italy watch party at Victor’s Sports Bar, I prepared to bail also and maybe watch from home. I really wasn’t in the mood to watch a game in a bar that was empty, save me and the kids. What’s the point?
Imagine my surprise when I picked them up from school and my nine year old asked if we were going directly to the bar for the game. Wait…you WANT to go to the bar? Yeah, of course Mom. Look at that…my children are supporters, die hard, official supporters. We all talk about the proverbs that our kids will keep us young and be our legacy, but the truth is, this is the first moment when I realized the real truth behind all those trite little sayings. Here are my children, excited about going to watch a game at a bar, in the middle of the afternoon with just me. Fantastic.
Now, I could pretend that this fairy tale ends with my kids being riveted to the game and asking insightful questions about the gelling of the Klinsmann era team, and how Dempsey and Altidore are exceeding our expectations as they make the transition from good players to history-making great players. I might feign that they were frustrated by our back line and apprehensive about what happens to our defense if , G-d forbid, Tim Howard ever ceases to be available at the top of his game. Wouldn’t it be great if they sat there discussing the cautionary tale of Giuseppe Rossi, and how you should never underestimate the potential for growth in this US Soccer?
But they didn’t. They were kids. They snacked on their food, pretended to play video games (no, you can’t have any quarters, the game’s on!), asked me how long until it was over, and generally behaved like the 4-1/2 and 9 year olds that they are.
But then, at the end of the game, when I was too excited that we might finally beat Italy, and friendly or not, beat them at home. I couldn’t even sit down, and didn’t really care that my roller coaster of play-by-play squeaks and squeals must have sounded insane to the handful of people at Victor’s not for the soccer game. But my children noticed, and came close and watched. I told them that we’d never beaten Italy before, and told them about the times I’ve watched us play Italy, and that this was a really amazing moment for us in the soccer world. We stood there, through all four minutes of extra time, me standing with them clutching me from their perch standing on chairs, until finally the game ended with the US victorious and we could shout and create havoc in our little corner of the bar. I think, when I look back over my encyclopedia of US Soccer experiences, I will remember that moment. My kids and I, practically alone in a bar, watching the US beat Italy for the first time ever.
When we got home last night, and my husband asked the kids about their day over dinner, my daughter proudly told the story about watching that soccer game, and I could tell that she got it, even if George Vecsey couldn’t. It was an epic win for the US. And my kids made sure I didn’t miss it, and for that, I’m so thankful.
Let me preface by saying that I did NOT want to come to Slovenia. There was a rumor that the US would play Germany on this date, and I was all about going to Germany: I have friends there, I speak the language, and I love watching Germany play almost as much as I enjoy watching the US. So when Slovenia was announce, I was pretty upset. I almost decided against making the trip entirely: I don’t speak Slovenian, I’d only heard of the country because they were in our group in the 2010 World Cup, and who knew how they felt about that experience. But after grumbling for a few days, and realizing that I could still see my German family friends after Slovenia, I decided to continue with my dream trip of Eurotour 2011 planning.
I arrived at 2 AM on game day, and felt lucky to find a pizza stand open who called a taxi to my hotel for me. I checked in and slept until 15 minutes before breakfast closed. I spent the mid day checking out the city of Ljubljana with two other American fans, and headed to the stadium bar around 3:30. Our first stop in the stadium neighborhood was to pick up tickets. I’ve been to enough games to know that if you haven’t seen a bunch of Americans walking around, we’re probably going to be a small crowd at the game, but I had no idea how small our contingent was until we got the the visitors ticket booth. I walked up, and as I was fishing my passport out of my back pocket to show ID to pick up will call, I said “Hi, my name’s Tanya.” And before I could get my passport out, she handed me an envelope with my name on it. When you can get tickets with a first name and no ID, it’s going to be a VERY small crowd.
We headed to the All Star Bar, and on the way, found the Slovenia Supporters selling scarves which I had to buy, and fell in love with when I saw the top read “Majhna in ponosna – little and proud.” How could I not fall in love with Slovenia? I talked with the guy selling them, who turned out to be a leader of the supporters for Slovenia. We had a good time chatting, and as I was leaving, he gave me a really nice Slovenian flag. All I can say is “you had me at “majhna in ponosna.”
We had five Americans at the All Star Bar, and several Slovenians that looked confused to find us there. The stadiums in Europe are all alcohol free (yeah…take a moment to let that sink in, AO nation) and it was unbelievably cold and damp, so I quickly switched from cold beer to Kuhalo Vino, a hot spiced wine that was going down real easy. We compared notes on travel, and came up with my favorite phrase of the night. When people speaking foreign languages without the listener understanding, the listener just nods and says, “What you say is very interesting.” It was a well used phrase for the night.
We headed to the stadium, wondering if our section would even fill a row. Would they have riot gear cops around a single row? If 7000 Slovenians got pissed, exactly what were we going to do about it? When we got to our seats, we were about 2/3 the way up the lower deck, almost in the corner.I was happy to see several serious looking riot geared up police behind our section. We got the AO Des Moines banner hung in our corner, and then went down to the front row of where the US boys were warming up. We were SO close to the field, it was really great. The intimacy of a women’s game, but with the men’s team. It reminded me of the old days, when you could run into players anywhere, before anyone knew about soccer in the US. We realized that it was minutes before the walk out, and no one had kicked us out yet. I ran up to the old seats and grabbed our stuff, updating the only other Americans (a couple from Austria) that we were permanently relocating and they were welcome to join us.
I’ve never been prouder to belt out our national anthem than I was at that game. It was so patriotic to be there, with my four new friends, cheering on our boys. And when we scored, what seemed like immediately, it took a moment to realize that, although the stadium was pin-drop silent, we had scored! We went nuts, and there was the deafening roar of five people cheering. It was completely unreal and fantastic all at once. The field was veiled in fog, so thick that we couldn’t see the far side benches from our front row vantage point. It was an amazing night, on an amazing field, with a great host. The Slovenians got some chants going, and they had a great coordinated fan group in the end zone. Their supporters got call and respond chants going with the other fans in the stadium, and created a great atmosphere. They were great sports being down or tied, and were great sports shaking hands with us post game leaving the stadium and back at the bar.
Of course I’m glad that the US is playing better, and happy that the Klinsman plan seems to be coming together (I told you all to stop worrying). I was glad to catch Boca’s 100th cap… I remember when he was a new guy on the team… they grow up so fast! But there’s something really special about going to the “rare” games. I like being part of the tiny little group of supporters, cheering against all odds. I love all US Soccer matches, but I will always have a special (WARM, finally) place in my heart for Slovenia.
Filed under: International Soccer, Supporter Culture, Uncategorized, US Soccer | Tags: Friendly, Paris, USMNT
My trip in Paris has been really lovely, but I’m typically pretty incognito as an American in Europe. Most Europeans assume that all Americans have long hair, and I speak enough French and plenty of German, which is not typical, so I was surprised to see how my interaction with Parisians took a nose dive once I was in my USA gear for the game. Then after the game, on the Metro back to my hotel, still face-painted and decked out, but in good spirits, the drunk French boys were a little ridiculous.
Four of us Americans stopped for food next to the stadium to let the Metro traffic die down, and around the stadium, the French were pretty nice. People shook hands, took photos with us, it was relatively friendly. Jason, a supporter from New York, and I took the Metro most of the way home together. When I left him, I had a transfer and one stop til I was back at my stop, “La Fouche” (my new favorite word to say in French). I beat the gate closed for the second time (is there anything as exhilarating as making the last train with only minutes to spare?) But then I was trapped on the platform, waiting for the last train, with a bunch of drunk French kids who hadn’t bothered to go to the game, but felt they knew enough to be obnoxious with me.
Here’s a lesson kids, even in a foreign language, it’s tough to out insult me. So here’s my guide for dealing with drunken, obnoxious French fans:
1, Be friendly. I think it was Jason that initially said “When we travel, we let the away team have one goal, to be a good guest.” Most people laughed and shook our hands. But a few were determined to changed my mind back to the belief that French people are really just a bunch of d bags.
2. When the comeback is “Yeah, but you still lost.” My next comeback was “You didn’t even go to the game, and I had a great night there. It was a good game.” Which they’re supposed to see as, dude, it’s just a friendly, lighten up.
3. But some didn’t, and to those, you must start speaking English very quickly, although still with a nice tone “Look, you won by one point in a friendly, big effin deal. I’m an American, you think I’ve never been to a loss before, get over yourself.” You can rattle on here as long as you want, but as you walk away, slow down your English a little and say “Hey, in the 2010 Coupe du Monde (World Cup in French…and you must use French just there), where were you guys in the 2nd round? (You can hold up 2 fingers, just to make sure they get it). Granted, I didn’t have a huge sample set, but that wiped the smile off 100% of drunk French boy faces. Except the one guy, who was particularly amused watching me fend off one particularly drunk fan. As the drunk fan stumbled away with his sad face on, I caught him smirking, and asked if he spoke English. He said yes, and we just smiled and laughed about the whole “drunk guy getting hauled off by his girlfriend” scene. All in all, it was a great night in Paris.
One more day here, then it’s the night train to Florence for 2 days there. I speak zero Italian. Should be interesting….
Filed under: International Soccer, Supporter Culture, US Soccer | Tags: Friendly, Paris, USMNT
It’s been a busy summer at our house. I closed my store, moved our house, and it was generally chaos around every corner. So I took some time off from this blog, (except for that stadium policy thing…that needed to be said.) but I’ve decided to make a comeback in style.
I’m in Paris for the USMNT friendly vs France, and then headed to Slovenia for that game. These are my first two away friendlies, and I’m very excited to be here…too excited…plus the jet lag is not helping my sleep situation. All I can say so far is every French person I’ve talked to is surprised that Americans are here, (and 1500 strong, according to US Soccer). My favorite response so far to the why are you here answer: “But you’re a woman.” I thought of making a joke that I was aware of that, but let it slide because it was delivered with such a great French accent. French accents make just about everything sound better. Have a French person say “Kentucky”. It’s almost sophisticated.
But I digress. Paris has been great today, although there seems to be a low level of game promotion going on. If you’re here in Paris with me, please join me at the American Outlaws meetup before the game. Details can be found here: http://www.theamericanoutlaws.com/events/us-vs-france-111111
See you all tomorrow, or later today Europe time!
Filed under: Family Fun, International Soccer, US Soccer | Tags: Klinsman, Mexico, USMNT
I’m way behind on this blog. Sorry. I have lots to say about the Women’s World Cup and so much more, but I’ve been busy closing my store and traveling with my kids, this summer kinda got away from me.
So let me say this: KLLLLIIINNNSMMMAAAANNN! Oh how I’ve waited for this day. I love German soccer, and started my love of US Soccer through a series of US vs Germany games. I wanted to have Jürgen Klinsman as our coach for years. I was hoping he’d be picked in the last hiring round, and I’ve definitely wanted us to hire him since 2010. And there is a bit of me pinching myself, not believing my dream has finally come true.
As luck would have it, I get to go to his coaching debut with my kids, thanks to winning the Golazo Scavenger Hunt at the American Outlaws Rally! My daughter is now 8-3/4, old enough to be pissed when I don’t take her to games. My son is 4, funny and charming enough that I want to bring him just to see what he’ll do.
So here we go! I feel like it’s the night before my 1st date with the dreamy senior I’ve been wanting to date since freshman year, and I’m super nervous that he’ll show up and not be the catch I thought he was. I really think Klinsy’s dateable material….and somehow, I will find a way to get some sleep tonight. But for now, it’s just Mexico and kids and Klinsman….oh my!
It’s not like we were sleeping in the first half. It’s not like we weren’t playing with all kinds of heart. But US Soccer faced nothing but frustration in Game 2 of the Gold Cup Round Robin after beating Canada in Game 1 on Tuesday. After a junk goal and a 36′ penalty kick left the US down 2-0 to Panama, the team looked visibly shaken. We didn’t receive any favors from the referee, who seems to have never heard the term “home field advantage”.
Someone will have to explain to me how it’s not a conflict of interest to have a Mexican referee officiate for the US when the US and Mexico are expected to be the top two teams in the tournament. There were more questionable calls in this game than should be allowed by law, but (gritting my teeth) you have to play with the referee you’re assigned. The US came back and scored in the 2nd half in the 67th minute on a pretty header from Goodson to make it 2-1 in favor of Panama. I really needed to take some blood pressure medicine (does beer count for lowering blood pressure?) for how many times the US had amazing chances to score. Coulda shoulda woulda penalty kicks, Dempsey wide open in front of the goal while Donovan takes the tougher shot instead, Wondolowski misses a goal that would have been easier to score….the end result was a long night of frustration for US Soccer fans and players, and Panama ending up on top of the group.
Next up: Guadeloupe in Kansas City on Tuesday. Better luck, better officiating then I hope.
Filed under: Family Fun, International Soccer, Supporter Culture, Uncategorized, US Soccer
The American Outlaws Des Moines flag arrived today and it is so super awesome amazing cool I can’t even believe it! I thought I’d share photo before this one makes it’s debut in Detroit and KC. The kids are pretty stoked about it, as you can see!
We still need 2 things: money and a name, and that’s where you come in!
1. Please send money!!
Tanya fronted the money for this out of her house fund, and she’d really like to replenish that fund ASAP. So please send what you can (memo it AO Flag)! How?
*Dwolla us! Go to Dwolla.com, send money to 812-460-2944 or tweet money to @TanyaKeith
*Paypal us! Paypal to TKeith71 (at) yahoo (dot) com
*Do it up old school: Get a check or cash to Tanya Keith c/o Simply for Giggles 510 East Locust #120, Des Moines IA 50309
Pass it on! Please share this project with your friends!
2. Help us name it! The two other flags running around US Soccer fans are named Big Ass Flag and Baby Ass flag. Since I would prefer not to have my children telling their friends about anything “ass”, we want this one to have a PG name. We also want the name to be about the Midwest (in a positive way, not referring to our fly over status, thank you anyway Prairie!) We were talking about naming it the Midwest Menace, as a nod to our local team, the Des Moines Menace. What do you all think?
Thanks for your help with this project, and we can’t wait to see you all with it in Detroit and KC. (I’ll bring it to Boston if someone wants to pay my plane ticket, but I won’t hold my breath!!)
I’m on my way home from the first American Outlaws Rally, and want to share my experience of the AORally, but honestly, I’m overwhelmed. I’m still processing how great this experience was for me.
As a long time US Soccer junkie, and I’m a big fan ot what American Outlaws have accomplished is such a short time.I felt I had to be a part of this rally to see what they have planned for the future and to bring my experience to help build the organization.
I got so much more out of this rally than I expected. I got a ride to and from LA from my AO brothers in the LA chapter. I’m riding with a great group of guys, and I am getting and extra 10 hours of talking AO (and a side trip to the Hoover Dam!)
I learned about Little Feet’s new programs, Free Beer Movement, and more. I got to talk to Alexi Lalas, who delivered a love letter to the fans that was about his perpective of the growing soccer culture in the US for all the years I’ve been a supporter. I saw previews of One Goal’s video, and got to talk to Grant Wahl about his work and FIFA President campaign.
But most of all, I feel this trip rekindled my passion for growing the fan culture in this country, in particular through the American Outlaws. It was so exciting, as an entrepreneur, to recognize the huge opportunity that sits in front of AO right now. The fan swell that my family have tried to develop since 1993 is finally happening, and it is quite incredible to be a part of it.
And I’ll tell you more about that, but after I’ve slept a few hours. Until then, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, American Outlaws. We love you, we love you, we love you….
Filed under: International Soccer, US Soccer, Womens Soccer | Tags: US Soccer, USMNT, USWNT, Women's Soccer, Women's World Cup, WPS
Twitter: the fastest way to get me from sleeping to blogging at 2 AM. @FromaLeftWing responded to Sport’s Illustrated writer Grant Wahl‘s tweet about @NoahEDavis‘ article “Can Women’s Soccer Survive in America?” (which by the way, was published by @Awl). Davis writes a decent article comparing the 1999 Chastain sports bra flash moment and this year’s Donovan miracle last minute goal and the impact those moments had on US Soccer for the men’s and women’s games. He talks about how the 1999 women’s team was a standout team, and that while the men’s game has improved over the years in between those moments, the women’s game hasn’t, and that’s why the women’s game is faltering in the US.
The tweet spree that went back and forth about Wahl’s and mass media’s reporting of women’s soccer and WPS viability was just getting interesting when I realized I had more to say on the subject than 140 characters at a time. I was in the stadium, tackling the guy next to me, at both moments, and I as the representative old school US Soccer fan, here’s my response, Twitterverse, if you have the attention span for paragraphs.
Davis talks about the popularity of the 1999 USWNT, and calls out Mia Hamm as the Greatest Player of All Time, and quotes Scott French saying “There was a perception in 1999 and 2000 that women’s soccer was more popular than men’s soccer, but it was never true” when actually, it was true, for a moment in time. American sports fans like to win. And anyone who was with us in France in 1998 knows, it wasn’t the USMNT that was making it happen. Americans were fascinated by the USWNT that summer because they were winning, and they made it really exciting to watch. It was captivating, and you could see ordinary Americans really enjoying coming to soccer games. It wasn’t just the ultra fans, it was the soccer moms and their minivans. For that one summer, Women’s Soccer was more popular because the games were fun, we were winning, and it was better marketed.
Yes, marketed. And Davis proves it. Because Hamm may have had better marketing, but wasn’t the best player ever, Kristine Lilly was, is, and will always be (at least until my 8 year old daughter turns pro). Lilly has more goals, more caps, but not as successful marketing. But I’ll tell you this: I am a passionate soccer fan. My cat was named Mia, but my daughter’s middle name in Lilly. Marketing can’t buy that.
Davis is correct, the USMNT has shown dramatic, if not linear, improvement over the past decade, while the international women’s game has caught the US women. We knew this would happen, because you couldn’t help but sit in the stadiums in 1999 and watch USWNT dominate and think, in 10 years, the rest of the world will catch up with us and then we’ll see what women’s soccer is made of in the country. And here we are, competitive to a fault. Now Americans assume that USWNT will qualify for the World Cup, and we’re shocked when they don’t with ease.
I think the lack of this team’s popularity has more to do with a lack of marketing and a misdirection in the management of the WPS league. Hopefully the marketing will pick up with next summer’s Women’s World Cup (Nike? Wheaties? Who wants to be a hero?) but the WPS needs to take a serious look at where they’re putting their teams, because if they were thinking, they’d skip Dallas and LA and stick one right here in Des Moines.
Have you finished laughing yet? Ready to hear my point? Go get a drink of water….I’ll wait.
Here’s why: the East Coast and West Coast are full. They have NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL, and a million other things to do. Where’s the best attendance in the PDL? What’s that? Omigosh! It’s Des Moines?! I had no idea! Iowa also has a proud history of supporting women’s athletics, and (at least until a few years ago) it has the highest percentage of per capita youth soccer participation in the US. But most importantly, you’re not competing for sporting dollars against every other sports team in the country. Build WPS where it has the best chance to grow; and putting it on the coasts is like trying to grow your full sun flower garden under a rain forest canopy. Give these women a little sunlight and breathing room.
Finally, I’d like to respond to Davis’ snarky parting shot, where he ends with the sad little send off, reflecting, if there was another Brandi Chastain moment, “who would be watching?” The American Outlaws Des Moines chapter sent more members to watch the USWNT do or die qualifier in Chicago than we did to the USMNT game a few months prior, and the only female there was my daughter. American soccer ultra fans are ready to support the women’s team, probably not at the level of USMNT yet, but I think we should be prepared for an outpouring of support from those of us young fans who are now raising daughters. But do not mistake us for the mass media favorite “soccer mom.”
Do not DARE call me a soccer mom, because while I do parent a soccer player, I am a mother who is obsessed with soccer. I do not drive a minivan, and my daughter missed her last game of the season because we were in South Africa watching the World Cup. Do not expect to be successful marketing to the soccer moms, who lovingly support their children but could not explain the offside rule. Market to us, the families who love soccer, and want our daughters growing up with the same athletic dreams as their brothers. Market to the women who can tell you where they were when Chastain whipped off her jersey, and Donovan scored. I can tell you what it feels like to have you five month pregnant belly flip a full 360 when hit with the wall of sound created by a stadium full of Koreans chanting in unison, and what it feels like to have morning sickness at the PDL Referee fitness test, and I await the day when people mean me when they say “soccer mom.” I am not alone. There are women (and men) in this country that are watching US Women’s Soccer, as long as there’s someone savvy enough there to sell it to them.
Soccer....Family Style 