A Free Beer Movement Must Read: What "The Shin Guardian" is Thankful For

Long time followers of this site knows that we have a very strong relationship with the brotherly writing duo of Mark and Matthew over at "The Shin Guardian". While the blog is young, their ascent to the top in the soccer blogging has been quick. In my humble opinion the news, views, insight, and, most importantly, the community that has developed over there has been an incredible addition to my soccer Internet world.

This precipitous rise for TSG has not gone unnoticed by the larger soccer blogging world as they were recently nominated in one of USSoccer.com's "best of..." awards (Full Disclosure: I voted for TSG in the "Best Soccer Blog" category and you should too!). Having been a reader, commenter, and fan of TSG from the earliest days of their site, this is something I take great pride in.

Along with another site, TSG is my first stop before and after any USMNT game. Their embrace and support of the Free Beer Movement has been uncompromising (in fact, they were the first to suggest Frankie Hejduk as our spokesperson). Their willingness to try and get into Major League Soccer and the quick growth I've already seen in their appreciation of our fledgling domestic game (and how it connected to the larger National Team equation) is encouraging.

Lest this turn too much into a "love" piece about TSG (something I'm totally fine with) I wanted to highlight their latest column that dropped right before this Thanksgiving holiday. It is titled "What I'm Thankful For" and it is a great piece that spells out coherently (even if the author doesn't think so!) what it means to be a American soccer fan (both in the USMNT sense and beyond) and what is fundamentally right about being one.

Go and read it now; it might be the best post I've read all year (except ours here, of course!). Enjoy it, embrace it, and add your two sense and become a part of their unbelievable community.

Link: The Shin Guardian's "What I'm Thankful For"

- Dan