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

One Guy. One Game. One Press Pass. Once in a lifetime.

Wanting for more US MNT? Yared wrote in about his experience at the recent U.S. – Brazil Friendly, and I’m happy to share his story as part of the Diary Project. Ya know, it could be you. Send in your stories and photos for the digital time capsule.

Yared with his first ever press pass is after the jump…
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Photo credit goes to TIAS reader Dennis. Not bad for something he quickly “scrounged up.” Very high on the cuteness quotient.

I STILL NEED YOUR HELP

CALLING ALL STORIES AND PHOTOS!!

Send me your best soccer photos and first-person stories about American soccer!

Please try to make all digital images at least 450 pixels wide.

Write about your unique soccer experiences to be included in this here virtual time capsule.

Here is one of my favorite past examples:

Brothers In Arms

GET WRITING! GET SHOOTING! YOURS COULD BE NEXT.

photo credit: Zaki Raheem. Taken 7/2006 in livingston, Guatemala

Harlem’s Soccer Savior - or at least one of them - Irv Smalls sent me the above photograph a few weeks ago, and it’s sat as my computer wallpaper ever since.

I’ve been wanting to use it here at TIAS, but have yet to find a tie-in. So today I made one:

CALLING ALL PHOTOS!! Send me your best soccer photos and once enough come in, I’ll throw ‘em up and let everybody vote on their favorite (I’ll come up with some sort of prize when it comes down to it).

All the big men’s tournaments are over for the year, so get out from in front of the Spanish channel and take some photos of the beautiful game!

We’ll call it the Photo Diary Project, a spin-off from our first Diary Project - where readers wrote their soccer experiences for me to place in this here virtual time capsule. By the way, that project is still open. Here is one of my favorite past examples:

Brothers In Arms

GET WRITING! GET SHOOTING! YOURS COULD BE NEXT.

see more photos from Dunmore and Section 8 Chicago on their Flickr page

Tom Dunmore of ‘If This is Football’, and now PitchInvasion.net, is a mind with opinions we all should listen to here in the blogosphere. He has written for TIAS in the past, bringing with him an educated knowledge of football from his homeland, England, and his fascination with soccer in this new land. That alone, makes his perspective a unique one.

He wrote me after I linked to a story of his to fill us in with some more ideas. Turns out long after he highlighted the Portland Timbers supporter’s group, the subject is spawning some introspection, enough so that he plans to focus ‘Pitch Invasion’ on supporter group culture). His theory on the sudden wash of attention on MLS from the British media stemming in part from the newfound aknowledgement of American supporter groups, is after the jump…
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The last 72 hours have been of the rollercoaster variety, which is to say, up and down on the good ship Bradley. So it is with great pleasure that I can present in place of the Barometer this week something that will hopefully deliver some perspective. James Weise from Kick This! chronicled the US MNT U20’s week in his town, Rochester, New York, and he made me stop and remember that soccer is about more than, well, i’ll let you figure it out. James’ reflections are after the jump…
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It’s back baby, it’s back. Even Dicky V and the N-C-double-blah-blah-blah can’t steal the excitement from my game. Spring has sprung and MLS soccer is only weeks away (and now with more German!). It’s time to take pause one last time and think about where we fit into the fandom.

Everyone approaches professional sports differently - from season tickets all the way over to television season passes - but in soccer there is a different proposition. Your fandom can affect the growth of the game, something that can’t be argued for the other American pro sports. So what are you going to do? One man has set a course, and we’re all going to get to witness him see it through.

Englishman in Chicago Thomas Dunmore begins his matriculation into our game, and he’s letting it unfold in front of TIAS readers as he examines his newfound commitment to MLS.

His first installment also marks the return of The Diary Project, which by the way is always open to your unique American soccer experiences. Send in your stories to see them in the bright backlighting of computers everywhere. Dunmore takes the stage after the jump.
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The new Glasgow Science Centre and Glasgow Tower viewed from the top of the Gilbert Scott Building, Glasgow University.

I’ve mentioned repeatedly how I’ve worked to include European viewpoints on American soccer, and more specifically how I’ve not been totally successful in that cause. I’ve long thought these outside-looking-in viewpoints could help give some perspective and context to the internal battle that I feel at times rages more often than not like some religious face-off, where opinions seldom if ever even stand a chance to change. All of which is why I’m happy to share with you an e-mail I received today from a stranger in Scotland. Peter’s thoughts on the state of our game are after the jump…
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Who the hell is he? Up there pontificating. I say it all the time; a part of my psyche not wanting to mature, or maybe I’m just keeping it real. Maybe you’re saying the same thing about me. It’s the way of the world: everybody thinks they know what’s best, what should go down under the lights of Friday night or whenever your favorite team takes the field. Every now and again, however, (read: always) it’s a good thing to simply listen. Even if you dislike what you hear, there is a lesson to be learned, perspective to be taken away and applied to your individual context. Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to that first enormous decision in most teenagers’ lives. It’s not what you’re thinking. No still means no, but with a little effort and salesmanship, they might come around. HEY – WAKE UP! We’re talking about soccer here, and if you want to make it, soccer is your forever lover.

You’re essentially deciding where your second home is going to be, although often times, it’s not you making the decision. At the very best, you are helping persuade that decision to fall your way. Yes, we’re still talking about soccer. Unless the one-night-stand of a pick-up game is going to fully satisfy you after graduation, you might want to begin figuring out how the system works and how you can make it work for you. Recruiting is not a perfect machine; it’s not even well oiled. It’s full of discrimination, quid pro quos, and nepotism. Just like in love, you need all the help you can get, but you want to make sure you are getting the advice from the right source. The Jim Rome’s aren’t looking out for you. It’s a scary world out there. A hitchhiker looking for a ride needs to know when, where, and how to position themselves in order to get that ride before someone else does. It’s a map I wish I had back in the day, and it’s a map I’m thrilled to share with you.

So who the hell is he? Well he is they, and they are a former Division 1 college player and the head coach of some of northern California’s best youth teams. After the jump, TIAS correspondent Jacy Weyer and coach Deejae Johnson have some advice reaped from decades of experience. So before you go do something brilliant like getting your favorite corporate logo tattoo’d on your ass, it’s time to listen - time to create your own brand.
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US WNT 2. Iceland 1. A narrow victory this weekend followed the drubbing handed to Chinese Taipai. One thing I love about international soccer is you never really know what’s going to happen. Especially in friendlies. Who plays, who sits, who cares? There’s plenty of factors, not the least of which is fan support, which at the Home Depot Center, didn’t seem to be a problem. Hannah Lee was kind enough to share her experience after the jump.
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It was down in Chinatown at my favorite field in the city, this little jail of a field that never ceases to be filled with games. It’s like going to heaven and knowing the doors will be open, as long as you don’t mind getting your ass kicked in heaven. Because the players on this pitch tend to know a thing or two about kicking that round ball around and they don’t mind showing it to you – make that shoving it down your throat – when you step onto the pitch. So, It was down in Chinatown at my favorite field in the city, when a group of kids were tying their shoes and getting ready to play. With a absence of tact, one of the kids said as he climbed to his feet, “ready crackers, these Mexicans are going to be beat our asses. We might have the authentic jerseys, but they have this game in their blood.” Said in jest, no doubt, and about people who clearly weren’t Mexican. Money can’t buy you love the cliché sends, and I think its safe to say it can’t buy you a national pastime either. Turn this artificial grass into parquet and this conversation might be different, but this is soccer, and the white kids with the EPL jerseys on were in the very least a little insecure about their skills.
Click HERE for the full story…