The Tuesday 10: Harkes on History, Part Deux

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

You didn’t think it’d be that simple, did you? That we’d be rid of him so easily, that the break would be so complete, that he wouldn’t return in a new, improved, ultimate form to wreak havoc once again, at least across the Washington D.C. metro area. This spring, John Harkes made good on the words of another famous Terminator, and he is indeed back, calling D.C.United games for Comcast along with Dave Johnson.

That’s good news for us, because it gives us a chance to revisit one of our favorite Tuesday Ten ideas. This is Harkes on History, Part Deux.

2,345 B.C.: Noah’s Ark launches

I don’t understand it, Dave. You’ve got limited space in the Ark, why do you go with two of everything? Two zebras, two lions, two giraffes...The key to success is versatility, Dave, and Noah just doesn’t have that. Sometimes late in the game it’s a good idea to bring on a Tyrannosaurus Rex, you know what I mean?

"These Spartans have a rock-hard backline, Dave."

480 B.C.: Battle of Thermopylae
I mean, you’re right, Dave, the Spartans have done well at keeping their shape. But at a certain point, you’ve got to throw caution to the wind and try to get some forward push. You can’t park the bus for two days and expect for an army as talented as the Persians not to break through.

1066 A.D.: Battle of Hastings.
Well Dave, you can’t take over a country by force without winning at least one battle, and to do that you've got to kill more than the other guy. If William keeps this performance up, someone's going to come up with a really great nickname for him.

1492 A.D.: Columbus lands in America.
Wow, what an achievement, Dave. The first man ever to set foot on this whole new continent. The leadership he displayed in getting his men here, and the diplomacy in dealing with this whole new population, I just can’t say enough about him. Where would MLS be without Christopher Columbus?

"I bet Jesus was more of a meat and potatoes guy, Dave."

1498 A.D.: Leonardo da Vinci finishes the Last Supper.
I don’t really agree with what da Vinci’s done here, Dave. Jesus Christ, one of the big names in all of history, is having his final meal with twelve of his closest friends here. Does Leo really think all they had there was some bread and some wine? He should paint some burgers in there. I’d bet they had burgers.

1588 A.D.: Defeat of the Spanish Armada.
It’s a tough loss to swallow, but they’ll be back, Dave. The Spanish are too resilient not to get over this one. Soon we’ll all be able to say that the sun never sets on the Spanish empire.

1777 A.D.: Drafting of the Articles of Confederation.
I’ve got to say, Dave, the Founders have outdone themselves here. They know the American people don’t want to live under a strong central authority, and they’ve drafted a magnificent document that’s going to allow the individuality of the states to shine through.

July 3, 1863: Battle of Gettysburg.
This is more like it from Lee, Dave. He must have seen the Battle of Thermopylae earlier this season. He knows he can’t hold up against the Union forever, so he’s taking the initiative and ordering General Pickett to counterattack down the center. A great strategic move.

"I believe he got the idea after flying a kite in a thunderstorm, Dave."

Oct. 22, 1879: First successful test of Edison’s electric light bulb.
I love this Dave. The light bulb is going to be huge. It’s a brilliant idea, just absolutely brilliant, you know, like a light bulb should be. This little light of Edison’s? I’m going to let it shine.

August 29, 1997: Skynet becomes self-aware.
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about, Dave. When I was playing, we didn’t need an artificial intelligence system in charge of our stealth bombers and nuclear arsenal. I’m sure they’ll just pull the plug on it and that will be that.

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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Snorting The Endline - Kei Kamara's Irish Jig

A long, long time ago we tried to start a soccer website; thought we were writers or something....

It was called "Snorting the Endline" named after Robbie Fowler's infamous goal celebration and one of our favorites of all-time. That site failed miserably. I mean who would want to read our ramblings!?!?!

The name, however, will live on in a new feature we're bringing to the Free Beer Movement. American soccer culture is just as much about what happens on the field and some of the greatest contributions to this culture are the creative celebrations that occur during the aftermath of scoring a goal. Some are premeditated while others are spur-of-the-moment.

We want to capture all of them in recognition of their contribution to American soccer culture. Welcome to "Snorting the Endline."

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Sporting KC made easy work of the New England Revolution, winning 3-0, but it was the second goal of the match that celebrated in the St. Patrick's Day spirit by Kei Kamara.

Kamara is no stranger to silliness and his rebound goal off his own shot proved to be the perfect opportunity to dance away the Irish holiday.

Kamara slid to the turf, but then popped up and ran to the signboards in front of the "Caudron" supporters section where forward C.J. Sapong joined him. Two "Irish" hats were tossed from the crowd and the pair danced a little jig.

Surprisingly, no cards were issued by the ref!

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VIDEO - The upside of those silly sideline coaches' interviews

American sports TV producers think fans love to hear coaches talk about what's going right and what's going wrong. And while there's nothing objectionable about these types of interviews, they usually result in empty cliches and lack any real insight into a coach's or team's mindset.

In most sports these interviews take place as the football or basketball coach is heading into the locker room or return from it on either side of halftime, but since soccer's action is continuous and there's a need to air commercials and halftime highlights and plugs the sideline interview takes place in-game.

Usually they're just as mundane as their other sporting counterparts, but this time Portland Timbers' head coach John Spencer provided the small upside when Darlington Nagbe picked up the equalizer against FC Dallas last night's 1-1 game in the middle of one of these in-game chit chats

Loads of euphoria.

American soccer is pretty cool.

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Your American Soccer Weekend (March 17-18)

Get your American soccer fix this weekend! All the satellite, online, local, and national TV listings so you can spread the free beer love.

SATURDAY
Home	Away	Time (CT)	TV
		1pm	TSN/Comcast (CHI) /MLS Live
		4pm	Direct Kick/Comcast (SJ)/Fox Sports Houston Plus / Multimedios (HOU)/ MLS LIVE
		7:30pm	Direck Kick/ MSMO (KC)/Comcast Sportsnet Plus (NE)/ MLS LIVE
		7:30pm	Direct Kick/ Fox Sports SW (Dallas)/ ROOT Sports (Portland)/ MLS LIVE
		9pm	Direct Kick/ KTVX-ABC 4 (SLC)/ MSG Plus (NY)/ MLS Live
		9pm	Direct Kick/ KONG (Seattle)/ Sports Net One (Toronto)/ MLS LIVE
		9:30pm	Direct Kick/ KDOC (LA)/ Sports Net Pacific (Van.)/ MLS LIVE
SUNDAY
Home	Away	Time (CT)	TV
		3pm	NBC Sports Network
		6pm	Galavision/ KDOC (LA)

FBM Public Service Announcement - Don't Drink Green Beer

Don't make a mistake by going with Green.

Tomorrow you're going to wake up and really want a beer. Not that it's all the different than any other day for most of us, but for some terrible reason you're going to feel compelled to throw out common sense and really want  a green beer.


Resist the urge. Please.

Hopefully, you, dear reader, spend the other 364 (or in the case of this year, 365) days of the rest embracing the deliciousness, creativity, and authenticity of craft beer. If you don't, and you spend most of your days drinking macro-brews, you're not the worst person in the world (come on... that's Hitler) then well you can't be helped.

But if you do love your quality craft beer then, please don't be mesmerized by the siren song (or peer pressure) by the marketing gimmick of a "St. Patrick's Day" green beer. You don't like Irish folk dance (maybe you do..) and you might even turn the dial away after hearing U2 for the millionth time tomorrow so why would a little food coloring make a Miller Lite of Budweiser any more tolerable?

Save yourself. Save your friends. Save some strangers. Avoid the urge to drink green beer. Unless of course you've got a craft brewer that makes an authentic green brew (Freetail Brewing Company in San Antonio makes a Spirulina Wit, a naturally green beer).

Find an Irish Stout, a Irish Red, a Guinness in a pinch. If truly lost... drink a bunch of whiskey.

Or try a truly "green beer" in Sierra Nevada. The sixth-largest brewery in the nation is completely self-sustaining and has won California's premier environmental award for businesses five-years running. Even when "craft beer" is hard to find in bars... Sierra Nevada usually can be.

This St. Patty's Day... be crafty like a leprechaun.


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DrinkWear - Beer Rags? FBM's 2012 MLS Western Conference Kit Preview

By Nick Sindt / Senior Shirt Correspondent

With the MLS season about to dawn, we at the Free Beer Movement thought we’d sit down and evaluate this season’s offerings for those who are unabashed kit-nerds like us.  Hey it’s part of the US Soccer culture, right?

(I will do my damndest to refrain from lambasting the ALL ADIDAS ALL THE TIME motif in MLS.  In truth that contract is great for the league, and thus the American game in general, but I’ve been drinking whilst composing this so I make no promises.)

To rate all of the kits (new and last year’s offerings that will be kept due to the two-year agreement between MLS and adidas) I will be making suggestions on what type of beer to toast each kit and its sponsor with:

Lowest of the Low = Macro-Brewers who produce flavored beers to be represented by Bud Light Lime.  You’re on thin ice; one step away from being toasted with two 40oz-ers of Zima.  Heretofore referred to as Bud Light Lime.

Below Average = Macro Brews like Miller Lite and Bud Light.  You have your place and time, and I appreciate everything you did for me in college, but really it’s time to add some depth, nuance (Lime is not a nuance), and maturity to yourself just like I purport to have done.  Heretofore referred to as Miller Lite.

Average = Macro-Micro Brews like Same Adams, Leinenkugels, etc.  You’re pretty widely distributed because you’re easy on most palates but restaurants still up-charge you as if you’re a Micro-brew simply because you’re not Miller or Bud.  Heretofore referred to as Sam Adams.

Above Average = Micro/Craft Breweries.  Pick your favorite local small-time brewer’s year-round offerings and toast the kit designers for a job well done with your go-to grown-up beer.  Heretofore referred to as New Glarus Moon Man.

Best of the Best = Seasonal Micro/Craft Brews that you wait all year long for and are willing to shell out the extra scratch for.  It’s so good it’s worth it, so raise a glass with your best can/bottle/glass of suds because even if it’s not your team this is a classy shirt and deserves its due.  Heretofore referred to as Surly Abrasive.

Read Nick's reviews of the Eastern Conference teams' jerseys.



LA Galaxy

Home

The new home shirt for 2012 is quite simply a class act: a) the sash is not a design element anyone else in MLS uses, b) the detailing within the sash makes this pretty badass to wear off the field (let’s be honest you won’t see it on the TV feed or from the stands), and c) the shade of blue is not Crayola “Blue” nor is it Crayola “Navy” which adds to the depth of the shirt.  Let’s be honest, did you expect anything less for the team that has David Beckham, Landon Donovan, and 8 or 9 other DPs if they so desired?

Kit = Surly Abrasive

Sponsor = Miller Lite – Not a huge fan of ‘Herbalife’ spelled out, the logo would be better from the design side of things but the sponsor name spelled out likely works better with the sash…

Away

As an away shirt, it acts as an ok compliment to the home one.  On its own the only thing saving it is the different shade of blue, otherwise this is pretty tame.

Kit = Miller Lite

Sponsor = Miller Lite – Given the plainness of this template a more design-esque sponsor could definitely help this shirt out.

Third

Like all shirt manufacturers, adidas has a boring template to slap some colors on when necessary, and this is one of those times.  As boring as the template is the hubris behind the black and metallic gold totally redeem it for me.

Kit = New Glarus Moon Man

Sponsor = Miller Lite – Same thoughts as the away shirt.

Portland Timbers

Home

Bravo adidas.  The inaugural shirt for the Portland Timbers was beyond well done.  Two-tone coloring on the body of the shirt and white sleeves are above and beyond most MLS shirts, throw in the chevron detailing in between the two different greens and this shirt just hits a whole new level.

Kit = Surly Abrasive

Sponsor = New Glarus Moon Man – Maybe I’m a touch biased by how nice the rest of the shirt is, but the sponsor’s name being large doesn’t bother me.  It could be due to the font, possibly the good beer I had earlier tonight.

Away

If the home shirt is on a different level from the rest of MLS, this one will force the Poet Laureate to create some new adjectives to describe it.  Keeping many of the same design elements from the home shirt – two-toned body, white sleeves, and awesome detail separating the two shades of red (thorns this time) – adidas wins again with the ‘Rose City’ inspired away shirt.  My only complaint is that I’d have to shell out an extra $40 to get the Rose City logo on the right chest of the shirt as adidas’s “replica” shirts don’t have them.

Kit = Surly Abrasive

Sponsor = New Glarus Moon Man – Same commentary as the home shirt.

Third

The 2012 3^rd kit for Portland is something straight out of that 70s show.  Like the frosted mini-wheats commercials of yore, the adult in me appreciates the nod to the past, while the kid in me is somewhat confused about this radioactive, highly flammable material (I know it’s not old-school polyester.  I know you wouldn’t make players play in that kind of shirt).  All in all, not a bad effort, but without other teams following suit this feels a touch out of place in the league.  As a shirt to wear outside of MLS games or watch parties, it’s not horrible but takes a certain bit of style to pull off; who knows maybe everyone in Portland has that style.

Kit = Sam Adams

Sponsor = New Glarus Moon Man – Fitting for the era and the shirt.

FC Dallas

Home

Like the Rapids, the Dallas Burn went through a re-branding a few years ago to become FC Dallas Giant Steer Heads (‘There’s only two things in Texas…’ ).  Along with the name change was a switch from the sanitized MLS solid-colored shirt to become the first MLS team with hoops, a la Celtic and others.  Since that time adidas has shown some invention with Dallas’s hoops and while not everything is a home run, neutrals like me at least appreciate the effort.  The 2012 edition of the home shirt is an almost brilliant offering.  The small “border” striping for the thick hoops not only gives the shirt a touch of nuance, but it also furthers adidas’s three stripes everywhere-all-the-time motif.  The collar is a nice touch for the shirt that isn’t being used much elsewhere throughout MLS.  If I were to nit-pick the extra three stripes along the shoulders is a bit much of adidas’s branding on the shirt.

Kit = New Glarus Moon Man/Surly Abrasive

Sponsor = N/A – FC Dallas across the chest is a bit reminiscent of other US sports, especially high-school and college teams; when in doubt follow Atletico Madrid/San Jose’s lead and go without a shirt sponsor.

Away

Same template but with blue as the primary color and the detailed, smaller hoops are grey which is a nice alternate look – not radically different away colors but not as humdrum as other MLS away offerings where the home color becomes trim on a white shirt.  The collar is slightly different from the home shirt, and FC Dallas appears to be larger text across the chest.  Other than the text sizing looking weird (could just be the MLSGear.com website picture), this is a solid away effort.

Kit = New Glarus Moon Man

Sponsor = N/A – Same thoughts as the home shirt.

Chivas USA

Home

2012 sees CD Chivas USA get a new home shirt with a pretty standard vertical stripe shirt with a navy collar.  When a team has stripes or hoops as their tradition it’s tough to do anything that’s vastly different from years before; though adidas is definitely trying with the GrinGoats.  Though a pretty standard offering in terms of stripes, the collar is a nice addition and elevates this shirt up to the borderline between middle of the road and just above.

Kit = Sam Adams/New Glarus Moon Man

Sponsor = Corona I mean New Glarus Moon Man – I’m not a fan of Corona as a beer but I like to see beers sponsoring the league and the continued tie-ins with Mexico make it an interesting choice.

Away

On its own the away shirt is not bad, sublimated vertical stripes on a solid blue shirt.  However, as the away/compliment to the home shirt, this is a better-than-solid effort though a little too much white trim.

Kit = Sam Adams

Sponsor = New Glarus

Real Salt Lake

Home

Last year’s RSL kit wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t great either – just a shade below middle of the road.  This year’s effort continues adidas’s trend away from conformity and tosses the navy blue trim onto a single sleeve.  Not too shabby; though, would’ve been better if the adidas three stripes had also followed suit and gone to the single, navy sleeve. 

Kit = Sam Adams/New Glarus Moon Man

Sponsor = Miller Lite – From a looks perspective Xango doesn’t add much to the shirt.  From marketing their own name and brand perspective, I have googled this company a few times  because I’m intrigued about what they do or make.

Away

Same template as the home shirt but back to the boring white away idea.  The single sleeve spruces it up a touch and it’s definitely an improvement from last year’s 98%-white-with-a-few-splashes-of-color away shirt.

Kit = Miller Lite/Sam Adams

Sponsor = Miller Lite – Same thoughts as the home shirt.

Third

Last year’s garish bright yellow 3^rd kit returns (I think) for the 2012 season.  It’s tough to form an opinion on this shirt…on the one hand that color is extremely loud and the shirt template is pretty basic.  On the other it’s a third kit and it’s supposed to be somewhat “different.” Regardless of your opinion, I think we can all agree that this shirt is definitely not part of the usual boring dreck that we see in MLS.

Kit = Sam Adams

Sponsor = Miller Lite – Same thoughts as the home shirt.

Vancouver Whitecaps

Home

Whitecaps FC’s inaugural home shirt is an interesting take on the horizontal stripes/hoops idea though I think adidas should’ve pushed the envelope a bit with the thickness of the stripes to make more of an impression.  With the current stripes these shirts appear (from afar) to be just a white shirt with a modicum of blue trim; it’s a step up from boring but not by much.

Kit = Sam Adams

Sponsor = Sam Adams – not sure who Bell is or what they do, but thankfully BMO isn’t sponsoring every team north of the border.

Away

One word describes this kit perfectly: Almost.  A quick glance and you think this is a typical solid blue shirt with some adidas stripes.  Upon closer inspection there is a nice sublimated pattern on the shirt that appears to be an interlocking of the club’s crest.  However, the sublimation hardly stands out against such a dark background.  Again, if the envelope had been pushed to create a little more contrast (think Olympique Marseille’s argyle away shirt from 2009 but less ostentatious) this could’ve been a great shirt.

Kit = Sam Adams/New Glarus Moon Man

Sponsor = Sam Adams

Colorado Rapids

Home

A couple of years ago the Rapids re-branded themselves with a new crest and a new color scheme.  The maroon and frosty blue are a breath of fresh air in a league that seemed, prior to the Western Corridor getting involved, hell-bent on only using Caryola’s 8 standard colors.  That being said, this home shirt (a hold-over from 2011) is a little too “clean” for my tastes; the only splash of the secondary color is on the crest.  Whereas the Crew home shirt has a collar and the black “pops” against the yellow, the white is a weak compliment if only utilized for the 3 stripes.  A splash more of the secondary color and this could have been a solid offering.

Kit = Miller Lite

Sponsor = N/A – Could one add to this shirt?  Possibly, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

Away

The same template as the home shirt (and again a hold-over from 2011), but with the club’s primary color adorning the shoulder portion of the shirt and a chevron down the backside.  While I can appreciate the touch of color to keep this from being a solid white shirt, it feels like a different direction could’ve been taken with this; possibly an Arsenal/West Ham/Aston Villa-like base with different-colored sleeves…especially considering the tenuous connection between the Rapids and Arsenal.  Overall, this shirt is on the same level as the home one, but just barely.

Kit = Miller Lite

Sponsor = N/A – Could one add to this shirt?  Possibly, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

San Jose Earthquakes

Home

Last year’s home shirt had the same template as RSL’s Third shirt but with more color variation, which was not too bad except for all of the white detailing standing out too much against the black.  This year’s shirt is much, much more basic.  Removing the white piping detail to have simply a black shirt with blue trim (aside from the white adidas striping on the shoulders) actually made San Jose’s shirts better.  Though, it’s still pretty plain.

Kit = Miller Lite

Sponsor = N/A – Could one add to this shirt?  Possibly, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

Away

Same template different color.  From a uniform perspective, this is a much improved effort on the basic white shirt from last season – you’ve figured out by now that I hate white away shirts for white away shirt’s sake.  However, the white shirt appears to be more wearable by the fan base than this effort.

Kit = Miller Lite

Sponsor = N/A – Could one add to this shirt?  Possibly, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

Seattle Sounders

Home

I have a gut feeling (not based on any research or discussions) that Seattle is attempting to be the front-runner in EVERYTHING for MLS, which is great for the club, the league, and the fans.  However, with their shirts for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, I get the feeling that they’ve jumped the shark a bit.  What are those silver things; backpack straps?  Is it supposed to be futuristic like a Delorean and hover boards?  Remove that weirdness and this is not a bad solid-color-with-trim shirt especially given Seattle’s color choices.

Kit = Miller Lite

Sponsor = Sam Adams

Away

Same template as the home, but I’m digging this charcoal-navy color combination.  Remove those backpack straps and this would be a very solid away shirt.

Kit = Miller Lite/Sam Adams

Sponsor = Sam Adams

Third

This shirt makes RSL’s Big Bird 3^rd shirt look tastefully fashionable.  I have no words in my to describe these colors, aside from “oh my god, my eyes, they’re bleeding.”  The collar and color panels help keep this template from being boring-ish with normal colors.  Seattle & adidas’s choices for the third shirt colors will ensure that this kit will at least be talked about.  Biggest question, will TV cameras be able to pick up the players against the bright green turf of Qwest Field.

Kit = Bud Light Lime

Sponsor = Sam Adams


Read Nick's reviews of the Eastern Conference teams' jerseys.

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DrinkWear - Bumpy Pitch "Tavern Tee"

Why spend you hard-earned money on green beer this St. Patrick's Day when you can have something waaay more epic and long-lasting. Bumpy Pitch, the California-based soccer lifestyle brand, has dropped another limited edition shirt for the upcoming "drinking holiday". But it's much more than that.

"One of the greatest things about the experience of owning a business is the experiences that you get to have along the way. Luckily for us, the Bumpy Pitch and The Original Winger is a crew of friends that is about much more than what we do as a company. We’ve all been friends for years and we all hold each other down in business and in life. We’re greater than the sum of our parts. 

To celebrate all that that night represented, and the journey, we proudly present the Bumpy Pitch Tavern tee. The inspiration is clearly taken from that St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s also inspired by the idea of celebrating life with your folks. It’s a hectic world we all have to deal with, and sometimes you just gotta stop and enjoy the moment. Speaking of that night, here is a very small slice of what went down…"

Inspired by the look of a pint of Guinness with their own BP twist this shirt is available for just a short time. Be the envy of all your drinking buddies and snag this one first and the call "dibs" on wearing it Saturday night.


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VIDEO - Highlights from MLS "First Kick"

Goooooooaaaaaals! Saaaaaaaaves! Taaaaaaackles! You get the idea. All the cool stuff from week one of Major League Soccer.
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The Tuesday XI: Erin Go Bragh Edition

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



Saturday is St. Patrick's Day (and the birthday of one A.W. Pickard, so if you see him buy him a green beer). In the spirit of the celebration, we've put together a 4-4-2 line-up of Irish writers, historical figures, and Bono. 

GK – Peter O’Toole – Our inspirational leader and captain, his presence is a steadying influence in times of crisis, and his voice can rally the troops when a goal is needed. Our squad members don’t come for money, they come for him.

LB – Wolfe Tone – I admit I’m not entirely sure how his history as an Irish revolutionary would make him a tremendous left back, but isn’t that a badass name?

You better believe he's the first name on the team sheet.

CB – Saint Patrick – Technically speaking, not every one of this team’s attacks start with him. But it sure can seem like it sometimes.

CB – Daniel O’Connell – The other rock at the center of Irish history; no one loves the team more than he does.

RB – Patrick Pearse – A natural defender of his home turf, he only runs into trouble when he pushes too hard for freedom in his role.

LM – W.B. Yeats – Once a center midfielder, but was moved out to the flanks after it turned out the center could not hold when the team relied on his tackling ability to stem the blood-dimmed tide of the opposition’s assault.

CM – Samuel Beckett – Sometimes criticized for his lack of forward passing and drive, but there’s no denying that he sees the game in a completely different way from other players.

Joyce is the only member of our midfield who doesn't have a Nobel Prize. That's quality.

CM – James Joyce – A maddening perfectionist on the pitch, but on his day it seems he can dictate the game down the last detail.

RM – George Bernard Shaw – Endlessly versatile – he won a Nobel Prize, an Oscar, and cofounded the London School of Economics for Pete’s sake – the man tracks back on defense one minute and goes bombing forward the next.

CF – Michael Flatley – And you thought Cristiano Ronaldo’s feet were fast. Dazzles in the attacking end with his rapid-fire combinations.

CF – Bono – May lack the urgency he once felt, but still has his moments where he can overpower and outperform any competition.

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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VIDEO - "Vince Lombardi on Clint Dempsey"

Starting your morning with this cool, fan-made video combining the powerful words of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi and the power play of legendary "football" Clint Dempsey.


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