This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

“FC Barcelona could have blown out the Red Bulls?”
“If the game meant something, it would have been closer.”
“FCB is the puppet master. The Red Bulls are being toyed with. Look at the score. It is a blowout!”

Such is the standard argument for the FCB American tour. Other than standard, it is also fruitless, other than to exhibit the tired lives of those who fight this fight. I will not encourage it. What I will do is try to let images tell the story. Call it my scrap book for the weekend. Fall is approaching; kids head back to school. This is what I did on my summer vacation. A vacation is supposed to refresh. Today, I feel like a newborn, introduced to a world that is brand new. What I saw on Saturday, I have never seen before. For the last two nights, my last thought was a hope that I would see it again.

Before I Lay me down to sleep I pray…

An American stadium packed 80,000 strong for an exhibition soccer game (3,500 showed up for practice on Friday). Maybe in 1994 I witnessed such fandom, but as I grew-up, it seems soccer has too. My ears popped when Ronaldinho walked onto the field (and every time he touched the ball in the first half). I’ve seen the Braves win the World Series, World Cup matches, walk-off home runs at Yankee Stadium, Muhammad Ali light the Olympic Torch, and Nigerian soccer win a gold medal. Nothing matches the sound that still reverberates in my head from Giants Stadium – from a glorified practice. The wave, the silly wave, was impressive that night. It ran in both directions almost the entire game. There is no comparison that does the noise, the crowd, the flashbulbs any justice. Metaphors are meaningless. Everybody in that stadium knew this was something they may not ever see again. They made the most of it.

A little flick-on used more than a dozen times, a penalty kick right in front of me, 360 in the 47th minute, and the dancing. Oh the dancing. It appeared more Elaine Bennis than Ballerina as Ronaldihno dribbled, bounced, jumped, twisted, and turned his way through the defense. It was almost as if he hovered, just above ground, just out of reach from the swiping legs and the raised elbows of an always converging Red Bull defense. Maybe it was because he was heading home. Maybe it was because he was in New York. Maybe he was feeling better after a few games. Either way, the fans were the lucky ones, as the boy king played nearly the entire game. The last ten minutes of the Houston game turned into 90 minutes for ticket holders in New York, (errr), I mean New Jersey.

During half-time, I took my obligatory walk through the bowels of the stadium. Walking past locker rooms and supply closets (living in New York, this is my wilderness, my quiet place that feels as if no one has ever been there), I had one thought in the gloomy basement under the stands: could it get any better in the second half? Answer: yes. Lionel Messi. He may not have the foot skills of his Brazilian teammate, but the Argentinean has a speed and focus that is unmatched. The game ratcheted to a higher level when he entered the game. Streaking down the sideline, he seemed unstoppable, working the right flank at will and sending in unmitigated service. “Messi! Messi! Messi!” The chants came early in the first half, before Lionel even stepped on the field. Maybe because his two-syllable name lends so well to chanting, but Messi’s name over took that of Ronaldihno in the crowd’s song. Only when Ronaldihno came off for a sub in the 80th minute or so did his name echo off the rafters – and even so, it was hard to choreograph all those syllables inside the throats of 80,000. The eleven-player side of FCB, however, had no problems. Except for a couple chances, and great shot, MLS was the straight man to the hilarity of FCB, the final punch line coming with Messi setting it up for Ronaldihno, just as if it were written that way, sliding into the net with the ball.

I need this in my life. Just like our American players, I need to spend some time in Europe.

For more photos from the day, check out the TIAS Flickr page.