OT: for the soccer folks, 1994 recollected

Submitted by ty@thelionsinwinter on

Hey, all.  Never posted here before, but often comment on the front-page stuff.  Of all the places I frequent on these grand wide Interwebs, MGoBlog is the richest, smartest, most soccer-wise community by a mile.  For those of you who haven't seen me around, or didn't know, I write a Lions blog--and today, posted there about my trip to 1994's Italy-Nigeria quarterfinal.  I then tied it back to the Nats' 2010 run, and the aching feel of familiarity it had with Lions fandom.  If you're so inclined, you can check it out here:

http://www.thelionsinwinter.com/2010/06/time-wonderfully-wasted-detroit-lions.html

I have braced myself for the surely-coming negbang onslaught.

Peace

Ty

mds315

June 28th, 2010 at 11:54 AM ^

Wow, what a well written and concise article.  I may now be so inclined as to check out your website for future updates.  As a lifelong Lions fan, I often find myself built up and then disappointed.  For instance, I went 16-0 in Madden 10 last year.  Surely that meant a super bowl victory for the real life Lions was in the cards, right?  Wrong. 

Hopefully we SUHn have a winning record, and become the BEST around.

mds315

June 28th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^

Oh no thanks necassary.  As somone who appreciates things of beauty (like my camero), you should bask in the glory of your stellar work.

Ohh yes, I remeber good Ol Chuck.  Him, Roy, and Joey were unstopple.  Off course, Madden does not take into account drug abuse, whihc is proabably a good thing since it would corrupt our youth,

MGoShoe

June 28th, 2010 at 12:49 PM ^

...thanks for sharing it here.  People decry the level of play in the MLS, but if you're a soccer fan and you live in an MLS town, you have a built in avenue for any amount of inclination to follow a professional club team.  In an MLS town the games are locally broadcast on the regional sports channel, the games are relatively inexpensive and not hard to come by, and in several cities the supporter clubs do a great job of creating a passionate game day environment. 

My guess is that the lack of an MLS franchise in Detroit is a major factor in the lack of interest in general from many on this site.  Yes, there will always be the soccer haters, but there are tons of sports fans who are willing to get behind a local team if the product is available and decent.  Whatever is said about MLS, having a team in your area allows you to get behind a team because of local rooting interest. 

Ultimately, for the casual fan that's probably more satisfying than choosing an EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga, or Serie A side. 

Here's hoping that Detroit lands a franchise in the next MLS expansion round. 

ty@thelionsinwinter

June 28th, 2010 at 3:31 PM ^

What's the nearest MLS franchise, the Chicago Fire?  Yeah, can't see myself just becoming a huge Fire fan based purely on geography.

This is kind of the problem: any USMNT player good enough to elevate the play of the squad is going to be too good for the MLS.  Outside of Donovan, following any of these guys between World/Confed Cups is going to require following their Euro league and side . . . or alternatively, picking a random league and side, which as you say isn't appealing either.

Sigh.

Oh, and thanks!

Peace

Ty