Hoppy Christmas Everyone!

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The Tuesday XI: Home For the Holidays Edition

By "The Other 87 Minutes" / Senior Unemployed English Major Correspondents


Our week of seasonal celebrations continues here at The Other 87 with a special Tuesday XI featuring a cast of characters straight out of a typical holiday gathering. Naturally, we’ve lined them up in a 4-3-2-1, the Christmas Tree formation.

GK – Grandpa – Tries to stay out of the way (and more or less immobile until he’s absolutely needed.

LB – Your Significant Other– Does an admirable job each time out feeling her way through an unfamiliar role on a new team.

CB – Dad – Our older captain. Knows by now it’s necessary for him to jump into action and when to stay out of the way.

CB – Aloof Cousin – Only shows up because you're his only living relatives for three states in any direction. Does his job with a minimum of fuss, whether it be making tidy small talk or helping with the dishes.

RB – Youngest Child – Ahh, the weak link. Whether it’s a small cousin, young niece or nephew or even a baby sibling, you can’t kick the kid out of the game, but his or her presence can slow the game down when the ball’s in that zone. Best to tuck the little one over near the sideline where she doesn’t get plunked in the head with any stray shots.

LCM – Super Mom – The hardest working person of the holiday does the similar dirty work in the center of our midfield.

CM – You – The holidays can’t start without you, can they? Just as you’re the most important component of your family gatherings, you’re at the center of the action here, scoring goals and creating chances one minute and playing defense next.

RCM – Old Family Friend – An only child; when he heard there was a game he came right over.

LAM – Perfect Older Sibling – Gets to play the star role further forward, because it turns out he’s still better than you at everything.

RAM – Drunk Uncle – Crazy, unpredictable, dangerous. Alternates between barely paying attention the game and wreaking havoc on the field.

CF – The Family Dog – The ultimate scavenger, both under the table and in front of goal, The holidays are his time to shine, as more people, more booze, and possibly more small children mean more opportunities for him to pounce and put mistakes away.

About "The Other 87 Minutes"

What is this new site we're exposing you too? We'll let them explain:

The Other 87 seeks to provide something that’s not instant analysis or eve of matchday previews. Think of us as the good bits of your favorite soccer coverage: the profiles that examine what makes a certain player tick, the historical background that sheds some light on how the sport has evolved to the present day, the silly features that are more than just tacking names on a list, but considering and explaining why each one deserves to be there.

O87 wants to be a home for soccer writing that makes you think, but that also treats the game as just that, a game. The greatest game, the one we obsess over and fixate on, to the point where we can’t read that gas costs 3.43 a gallon without thinking of Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning team. But a game nonetheless.

“When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball three minutes on average. The best players – the Zidanes, Ronaldinhos, Gerrards – will have the ball maybe four minutes. Lesser players – defenders – probably two minutes. So, the most important thing is: what do you do those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball…. That is what determines whether you’re a good player or not.” –Johann Cruyff

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FBM's Holiday Gift Guide

In the midst of the holiday season and American soccer's off-season now is the time to reload your fandom with these ten FBM must-haves.


And don't worry... there's still time to get all of these great things!


Hell... you can just buy these for you as well. Treat yo self!



1) Bumpy Pitch Gear

Want some of the hippest soccer/lifestyle gear for the holidays? From tees to hoodies and a few raglands BP has you covered when you're off the field. Some of the softest shirts we've ever had rub against our nipples.

Original brand shirts from BP, some retro shirts honoring American soccer's past, and easily the best $30 you'll spend. Get some.



2) "Distant Corners: American Soccer's History of Missed Opportunities and Lost Causes"


David Wangerin is back with another examination of American soccer's long and complicated history. Wangerin is the author of the fantastic "Soccer in Football World (also a great read to pick up).

A great read to brush up your defenses of the sport in this country against those who say it has no place here.


3) "The Very Best of Pitch Invasion Writing"


The website "Pitch Invasion" has always been a great source for quality soccer writing and now some of their best work is in all-in-one edition. Read pieces from PI editor Tom Dunmore and others like Peter Wilt, Brian Phillips, Richard Whittall and many more.

Digital version for $5.99 or get some paper cuts with the in-your-hand version for $11.99.


4) Season Tickets to Your Local, American Soccer Team


Don't kid yourself... you're not going to get your money's worth from that gym membership you promised to follow through with for that New Year's resolution.What a better way to ring in the new year than with committing yourself to supporting local, live, American soccer?

Whether its a Major League Soccer team, NASL, USL or otherwise there's probably some level of American soccer being played nearby. Tickets (and especially season tickets in a supporters section) are dirt cheap. So why not buy two and bring a newbie each game?!?!

5) Beer (duh)


If you're going to go to American soccer games this year better make sure you're well stocked with beer for newbies (and yourself, of course).

Ahh... yes. Beer. That's what makes us tick.

Right now we're loving: Victory Brewing Co.'s "Yakima Glory" Black Ale (Downington, PA), Deschutes Brewery "Jubelale" Winter Ale (Bend, OR), Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. "Celebration" IPA (Chico, CA), and Alaskan Brewing Co. "Smoked" Porter (Juneau, AK).


6) Umbro's "Come Away With the Pints" Shirt

Beer and soccer, we believe, are the sport's version of the culinary world's peanut butter and jelly and this shirt by Umbro symbolizes that.

Umbro's blurb:


"WELL, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'VE COME AWAY WITH THE POINTS AND WE'VE GOT TO BE PLEASED WITH THAT..." TURN AN OLD FOOTBALL CLICHE ON ITS HEAD WITH THE LATEST DESIGN FROM OUR 12 TEES OF CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION, WHICH OFFERS UP THE MUCH MORE REFRESHING 'COME AWAY WITH THE PINTS'. 

WITH A SUBTLY DETAILED DESIGN INSPIRED BY CLASSIC PUB TILES AND SIGNAGE, THIS BRILLIANT DESIGN WAS CREATED BY UMBRO'S OWN GRAPHICS TEAM, AND SCREEN PRINTED ONTO OUR BLACK COTTON TEE. GRAB ONE NOW FOR YOUR FORTHCOMING AWAY DAYS, AND MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR FELLOW FANS COME AWAY WITH THE P(O)INTS...

7) FBM Pint Shirt

There's nothing wrong with owning more than one beer and soccer shirt and if you absolutely must... please support the Free Beer Movement with our our "pint" shirt from Objectivo.

Plus, it might be the softest shirt you'll ever own. Just $28 here.

8) "Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story" on DVD

No American soccer games on the TeeVee right now so pop Jay DeMerit's biopic in the DVD player and celebrate a great bootstraps story of the USMNT's successful attempt to make it big in England.

Funded completely by donations from fans across the globe, the making of the movie is just as inspirational as the flick itself. Here's our interview with the producer from back in March when news of the movie broke (the first story about it anywhere!)

For $19.95 you can inspire the next generation of American soccer players with this movie.

9) American Outlaws Membership


All the cool kids are doing it. Join the largest supporters group for the U.S. National Team, the American Outlaws.

A $20 purchase (plus $4 for shipping) gets you a t-shirt, the signature bandanna, and discounts for U.S. Soccer tickets, Big Soccer Shop, Continental Airlines, rental cars, and hotels in game day cities.


10) Beer Bar Rags


As much as we hate to admit it... sometime we spill our beer. Usually after a goal is scored so that makes it more OK.

Clean up any beer-related messes with these cool beer-style "tea rags". They're artsy, too, hand-stamped with antique printing blocks.


$23.50 for four rags that say IPA, Pilsner...well... you all can read from the image here.



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Happy International IPA Day!

Our ALL-TIME favorite IPA, Bell's Brewery Two-Hearted
(Comstock, MI)

We talk a lot about the message on the Free Beer Movement website, "American soccer", but sometimes we forget that the medium is just as important to the cause. Today is one of several "beer holidays" celebrated in the United States called "International IPA Day".


What is IPA Day you ask?

International IPA Day is a grassroots movement to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide through social media. On Thursday August 4th, craft beer drinkers across the social sphere and across the globe will raise pints in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most iconic styles: the India Pale Ale. This celebrated style represents the pinnacle of brewing innovation with its broad spectrum of diverse brands, subcategories, and regional flavor variations – making it the perfect style to galvanize craft beer’s social voice.

Started by  two beer writers Ashley V Routson and Ryan A Ross this is the first annual celebration of the event.


What do you need to do?


1. Track down your favorite IPA’s, ones you’ve been meaning to try, and ones you’ve never heard of; share them with friends and share your thoughts with the world.


2. Feel free to Tweet pictures of your favorite IPAs to us on Twitter or post them on our Facebook page. 



3. OR just tell us your favorite IPA in the comments section below!


4. Most of all... enjoy in drinking some of your favorite beers with your favorite people AND if you have a change do it over soccer!


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