The years of my life where I was really into music were certainly very fruitful (I’m convinced my music collection helped me land my wife), but like most things I got into it largely because I was around people who were really into it. My roommate Jason was especially influential, and he and I shared a music palate that overlapped a fair amount. We both enjoyed being able to share something new with the other, and we quickly turned into the Internet Seekers from Losing My Edge, telling each other about each great new hit from some obscure band that had only put four songs out. This race to the edge of new releases meant that we would amass a thousand songs, but barely know anything about them. This particular song would always be conjured from the dusty corners of my library while I was doing something else, and four tracks later I’d wonder what that pleasant song was and have to go hunt for it. This occurrence would repeat every two years.
The song popped into my head again this weekend, navigating our way back from a wedding and reception that kept me from watching the normal amount of soccer. The wedding experience was worth it due to:
- descending through a gully in a Passat
- finding out the Infant Overlord really likes swimming pools
- and having to wait for a donkey quartet to get out of the road as we were leaving.
The song jives nicely with Texas backroads at night, though the song’s title does lead me to wonder how many weekends away from my usual soccer consumption habits I am allowed before watching just two games is the new normal. Of course, too many weekends like this could dampen my enthusiasm for early Sundays in front of the television, as I watched Sporting and Spurs lose by a combined 6-1.
Tottenham are very much a work in progress this season, and I was not that optimistic heading into the match against Liverpool, hoping mostly to avoid a repeat of last season’s sack-inducing result. I like Pochettino, and I think he will eventually make Spurs very competitive, but Liverpool were always going to be a much tougher ask than QPR. A second season under Brendan Rogers’ philosophy versus Harry Redknapp’s shoddily built three man backline? That was always going to be a huge step up for Spurs, and frankly I came away more impressed with the mobility and space created by Liverpool’s front three more than anything else. Attacking Pool’s center back pairing was the way to go, but that would have called for a rethink on philosophy by Pochettino, and I’d rather build continuity than change styles in an attempt to get three points.
Sporting’s game on Friday night was more depressing instead of expected, largely due to the fact that they managed to briefly restore hope by conjuring an equalizer before collapsing again, giving up two set piece goals to the Houston Dynamo. Bringing in Kevin Ellis for Igor Juliao seemed to help the backline a bit, but there are clearly problems in the center of midfield, and we have to hope that Jorge Claros quickly steps up to fill the shoes left by Uri Rosell and Roger Espinoza.
The other issue that came up over the weekend was diving. For me, it is part of the game, so I’m not a huge fan on retroactive punishment for all instances of verified exaggeration. I would however, like players to get better at the cheating. So I’d like to see the governing bodies appoint a panel of people with varied background to judge. Let’s get a former soccer referee, an admitted cheater from the legion of former players who fancied a tumble, an ice skating judge and a respected doctor of kinesiology. Let them review the incidents where exaggeration may have occurred, score each incident, and ban the low scorer every week. Publish the scores on a website, and you’d have a goldmine.
The US soccer rankings for this week are relatively unchanged. DC United split their games against Sporting and Los Angeles, so they didn’t jump as far as I hoped they would, while SKC’s drop was totally deserved. Vancouver also seems to be a little higher than they should be, and I’m expecting them to miss out on the playoffs to Portland. I do wonder if Dallas’ run-in schedule will hurt them enough to let Vancouver sneak in, but that would require a second collapse from Dallas. I rather like the number of USL and NASL teams in the top 18, though my new secret hope is that Minnesota sneaks into the top five or so. They seem to be a likable bunch and have a good thing going in Minneapolis. I hope soccer there isn’t ruined by MLS, who should be be more respectful of the existing environment than they have been in other expansion locations.
Libero or Death 
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