It's time for Scuttlebutt Ultras. Quick takes
from our Patreon Ultras, sharing their soundest
thoughts straight from the heart. Your voice,
your moment. Starting the show off right, Alex,
with a beer pop. Or is it margarita? Is that
what you have? Cut water mango margarita. It
is tequila. Oh, it is real tequila. Put water
down to enough so that they can put it in a can
and sell it. It's a 12 .5 % alcohol volume. Oh,
shit. Oh, wow. Ultra's edition of Sounders Scuttlebutt.
We are coming to you live immediately after.
The Sounders loss at Miami with Messi. It is
me, Cameron Collins. I am here with both Alex
Diaz and Dan. Dan, I feel weird calling you Dan
the Bastard when we're using our last names,
but do you just want to still be Dan the Bastard?
What are they going to do, fire me? Yeah, Dan
the kind of nice guy. I don't know if you saw
what I put in my name for this session, but it's
now Reverend Dan the Bastard. Oh, Reverend. Did
you get your reverendship? Well, I got my reverendship
forever ago, but I got the certificate in the
afternoon today because I'm doing a wedding.
Oh, nice. So I now have the official certificate,
and I'm good to go. Washington State, you don't
need the certificate. The people just have to
believe that you are an officiant, and that's
all that matters, even if you weren't. Hey, get
that certificate. Is it Life Church of Universal
Life? Yeah, here, let me pull it up. Well, let's
see which one I got. It was, yeah, Universal
Life Church. Yeah, I went to a party at the owner's
house not that long ago. It's that bright lit
up house over I -5, right on Capitol Hill. Well,
they're on I -5 and they still charge me. I had
it rushed to me. I didn't realize they still
charge me $30 for shipping. So I guess I could
have just had you get it from them. You got it.
You look legit. I'm also a reverend through them.
I have officiated two weddings, which is why
my official title are tighter. My official title
is Reverend Dr. Cameron J. Collins Esquire. So
the reverend goes first. Yeah. I mean, I put
it, I'm sure you could do it the other way, but
you know, all the greats do it. Reverend doctor.
Cause you're a reverend. I think it is. That
should be your new Twitter handle, Reverend Legal
Minded Punk. Maybe that way it won't get taken
down. They'll think you're part of them. Still
gone. Still gone. You want to use my email to
get a Twitter set back up? I'm not going to get
on Twitter. I feel like I've been screaming into
the void because I don't have anyone to complain
about the Sounders with. or whatever's going
on in the world without Twitter anymore. I posted
something on Facebook and a bunch of people that
I've known since I was like college age and decided
to post on there and disagree with me. And I
think one guy from law school even unfriended
me, even though nothing I said was that inflammatory.
I just commented on that. Even if you die an
unfair and horrendous death, it doesn't mean
that you're a good person because you could have
been shitty in life. Did you see the Reverend?
I mean, I'm not a super religious guy, but his
quote that he said that how you die does not
get to redefine how you live. Reverend to Reverend,
I thought that was a good quote. I mean, I think
there could be an exception, like if you died
saving children from a fire. I mean, it might
undo some of the badness, but in general, I agree.
What if your last word was racist? Does that
change anything? What if your final words catapulted
the Sounders to a win? What did the Reverend
say about losing or dying on the soccer field?
That was scary. We talked about it in the last
episode when Nicholas and I were on. We did have
the Louisville Racing player. Yes. The seizure
on the field and have to be carted off, and thankfully
she's okay. They finished the game tonight. We
at least had one win in Seattle. It was behind
closed doors, so there was no fans in the stadium.
They just played the second half, and Seattle
scored. Jess Bischlach scored in the 90th minute
for the win. Well, I guess I should have watched
that instead. Oh, no. Mariners 10 -5, bottom
of the eighth. Yeah, Mariners are winning. Cal
Raleigh has two home runs. He is now tied for
the all -time record for home runs for the Mariners
and has passed Mickey Mantle for the most by
a switch hitter. So I think they're safe. Unfortunately,
Houston's also winning. So we are in playoff
watch, which leads me to my first question for
all of you, both of you. The last time the Mariners
made the playoffs, the Sounders didn't. The only
time the Mariners made the playoffs when the
Sounders existed. The Sounders didn't. If the
Mariners are on this playoff push, are you afraid
the Sounders aren't going to make the playoffs
this year? No, because I don't watch the Mariners
and I'm not a Mariners fan. So there you go.
Now you brought me into the fold and I can break
the curse. Good. I like that. We can have both
teams in the playoff. That'd be great. Mariners
currently sit in first place. Well, I guess they're
a half game up, but they'll be back to one game
ahead in first place, I believe, or at least
tied, depending on what happens. Pretty rare
for this late in the season. Thankfully, you
were not an Astros fan. Did you grow up with
any baseball? No, I grew up as an Astros fan,
yeah. Oh, you did? What year was it? Was it 05?
04, 05, they had the World Series against the
White Sox, I want to say. Yeah, when they had
those awesome black and gold uniforms. Yeah,
that's pretty much the last time I've watched
baseball for entertainment. Craig Biggio. Yeah,
the Triple Bs, right? Ken Caminetti. Yeah, it
was. That was a fun team. It was. But now they're
multiple teams. So what are you going to do?
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, Mariners winning. We
might get some wins, but unfortunately we did
not get a win. in Miami as the Sounders traveled
to Miami, lost 3 -1, late goal from the Sounders
to make it look closer than I think it actually
was. Although we did have some hope there for
a few minutes. And if we had put in easy goals,
you could have said we were going to tie it.
But to me, it's not an unexpected loss, and here's
why. I predicted 2 -2, but I thought Pedro was
going to be there. As soon as Pedro wasn't going
to be there, he wasn't even in the 18, I said,
oh, we're losing 4 -1. So I was still wrong,
but it was close. What does it mean to you two?
Do you think that Pedro wasn't present? Well,
can I give a disclaimer first? Yeah. Yeah, just,
you know, everything I say from this point out,
real fast, the Sounders are a good team. They're
going to win more games this year. They're more
than likely have already got a playoff spot.
But now that's out of the way, I'm going to get
drunk and I'm going to cope. This was a terrible
game. And Pedro going on the trip and then not
being in the lineup, even on the bench, it's
DEFCON 5. That is, I don't know, maybe Brian
saw the pitch and was like, no, I'm not going
to put you on this pitch because it was a disaster.
But he went ahead and played Morris. And so,
you know, yeah, that worries me. uh, not having
Pedro. If we don't have Pedro, then I, I, I think
that, uh, we got a little league's cup trophy
this year and that's it. Yeah. Nick, Nick is
going to yell at me for saying this, a team without
Pedro, especially a team with frying gold to
me, uh, is going to lose five of the final six
games and not make the playoffs. RSL needs to
go on a tear to also have that happen, but that's
going to make me want to drink. Oh, straight
whiskey. Cheers, boys. Yeah. Alex, what about
you? Leader of the Free Pedro movement. At first,
I think we should talk about the conditions of
the field. Yeah, go ahead. Because, you know,
we had all this discord. Oh, is Messi going to
play on turf? This and whatnot. But their field
was way worse condition than ours was. I think
that those guys much rather play on a turf field
than to play on that grass field. It looked like
it was like a horse ranch. But, man, it's just,
I thought this game was going to be much closer.
But then again, when I saw that Pedro wasn't
even on the bench, I went ahead and changed my
score prediction to a 3 -1 loss. And, yeah, I
think Pedro. Even though he doesn't have the
stats to back it up, I think he is probably our
most influential DP. And I just don't know if
his tendonitis is that bad or if Brian's just
trying to save him for the playoffs. But I think
if you don't let him get any run of games to
the playoffs, he's going to come into the playoffs
rusty. Yeah, he has shown a need for a little
bit of a run in here and there, too. I mean,
maybe you think he's hurt tendonitis, right?
So it's an injury that's not going to get better.
It's going to be an issue to manage the rest
of the season. And if that's the case, you...
I mean, I think I wouldn't have a problem with
him not starting as long as he had been on the
bench, right? But the fact that he wasn't even
on the bench after traveling is what worries
me a little bit about it. I'm hoping you're right.
And we started this podcast just like the Schmetzer
interview just went up. So we didn't see the
whole thing. I'd be curious if someone asked
him about that. I would hope they did. So we'll
definitely know more about that once we can watch
that interview in full. But it does worry me.
If it was like, oh, if we rest him on this short,
weird rest with three days, then maybe it's better,
and then he'll be good for the rest of the season,
given this little extra break. I think we have
to see what happens in Austin. If he doesn't
start, then I'm going to be very concerned. Because
if he doesn't start, and these must -win games,
these games are must -win. Because right now,
the way that LAFC has been playing after getting
Sun, like, if... We're not winning games. We're
not going to get a top four seed. And we're going
to have to go on the road in the playoffs. And
we've seen on the road we're not able to get
it done. That's, I think, a major thing that
we need to talk about today. And maybe we push
that conversation a little bit further down the
road in this episode. But, Dan, what do you think?
I mean, if you're Schmetzer and Pedro's hurt,
what do you do to try and elevate this team?
This is two games in a row we've seen without
Pedro. They just aren't – I don't know. They
aren't dynamic. Do the Sounders have enough money
after winning League's Cup and Club World Cup
to buy a time machine and go back and make a
summer transfer? Unfortunately not, but maybe
we could get a time machine and go back and change
some things. Make them do it? We're probably
going to have to raise the Patreon fees. Join
the Patreon. Maybe I'll put up a $10 ,000 level,
which is money towards the time machine. That's
a great idea. If you're going to go to Sober
Dan, go back to Austin. Get your starting lineup
on the field. Maybe even Morse is fit enough
to start. Rusnak's going to start. You get the
team back gelling. You remind them. You show
them the good game tape of what they did in the
Club World Cup and what they did in the League's
Cup. You put Fry, you know, let him give him
a coaching role from the bench and put Thomas
in goal. And you go out there and you win some
more games. Drunk Dan says that, you know, you.
You kind of let them have it a little bit as
far as coming out of this game. I just watched
a little bit of the press conference, and Brian
started saying that the effort was there. I kind
of disagree a little bit as far as it looked
like they walked on the field thinking that they
were the better team and had nothing left to
prove because they had already beat Miami. I
felt like that in some of their play a little
bit, especially through the midfield when the
ball was bouncing around. a little bit more cautious
to go get it. I also felt like Christian wasn't
his normal self. I'm not saying I'm doubting
Christian's fire. I think it's more clearly all
the matches he's played because he didn't get
a break for taking a total. The fatigue is starting
to set in. You're starting to see it with our
double pivots. The fatigue is starting to set
in. He got his pocket pick there once. What's
going on? Did it lead to the goal in that one?
Or was it the one that I missed? Yes, the one
that led to the goal. Okay, I think I missed
that one. I just knew that it was an early goal.
I just... I just... I don't... I think this whole...
Let's talk about the goalie controversy. I think
that this is making Stephen Fry's case worse.
It's... As far as being the starter, I believe
that you have to play the players that are in
form. No matter how much money they're making,
if they're the DP or not, you have to play the
players in form. And Thomas has been playing
great through League's Cup when he had a play
when Fry was out. And so he wins this League's
Cup. And what does he get? A spot back on the
bench. Like you just have you got to keep on
playing them until he plays himself out of the
job Like I understand fries the captain. He's
the veteran But at the same time he as a captain
has to have the self -awareness to understand.
You know what? I'm not playing at the top level
Thomas is playing a little bit better than me
What's what's gonna benefit the team more? Let's
let me put my ego aside and let me cheer him
off from the sidelines and let's go win another
MLS Cup We've seen on the second goal, his reaction
time. It's like when you're playing FIFA and
you have ping that's 100 and your goalie dies
after the fact the ball went in. I'm like, we've
seen it time and time again that his age is starting
to show. And that's not, I love Fry. You know,
he's a great goalie. He's going to go down as
one of the greats in MLS. But there comes a time
when you're just not able to be at the top level
anymore. Well, I still think that there's things
that Fry does better than Thomas. You know, I'm
playing a little bit of devil's advocate with
you. If Thomas started today, and it wouldn't
have because of the butterfly effect, but Thomas
started today and everything else went exactly
the same, he saves one of those three goals?
I think it's 2 -1. And I think with him on the
field, maybe if your goalie makes a save, that's
going to push the rest of the team. You know
what? Our keeper's keeping us in the game. Let's
go help him out and get another one in. Like
maybe Ozasi hits the right side of the post and
it goes in and it's 2 -2 or, you know, something
like that. Like, you know what? I'll give – Fry
made a great save late in the second half. The
one against Messi, that kick save, I'll give
him that. Like Fry made some saves today too,
but we have to look at the overall game. I have
a question for you all. And before I say it,
I'm going to say that Vancouver is up. 1 -0 against
the Forge in the Canadian Championship in leg
two. So they're after winning 2 -2 at the Forge.
I think they're in Hamilton. They're currently
up 1 -0 at BC Place, which will put them through
to the final if the score holds to hopefully
play against Vancouver. Are they just Vancouver
FC? The minor league team. That's my hope. I
might go up for that if it's Vancouver versus
Vancouver. That'd be super fun. And if they could
knock them off in the final. But if you are...
So we knew that Andy Thomas was going to start
all of the games in the League's Cup. He had
been told, this is your tournament. This is where
you're going to get to play. And so since that
was already set up, I think... that means it
was also set up the expectation was fry to play
the other matches when they came back if you're
the coach how do you bench your captain because
thomas played well in the tournament that you'd
already promised him i mean without giving fry
a chance to lose the job one i don't think it's
as simple as that because that's going off of
pre -league's cup right and so you had Two things
happened. One, you had Thomas get a severe injury,
right? I mean, he came back and maybe it wasn't
as severe as we thought, but I'm still going
to say that that was a... I'm sorry, Fry. Yeah,
Fry, you know, he took that shot to the head.
I think that changes the equation a little bit.
And some of what we're seeing can maybe be some
trepidation from that or, you know, but that
did happen. And then Thomas gave up how many
goals in the League's Cup? Two. No, I don't know
if they were his. Tijuana's was a great goal.
And the one in Santos was, you could call it
a defensive mistake, but they were both great
goals. And he had multiple outstanding saves.
And then there's the one thing that I think Thomas
does a lot better than Frye and as an extra weapon
is Thomas gets critiqued from his distribution.
Thomas also had a PK shootout save against Puebla.
And let's be real, Fry doesn't save PKs. No,
when he has last year in the playoffs, it was
because they missed it, not because he made the
save. But one of the things that Thomas does
that I think would have helped in this game is
after corners, Thomas tends to go a lot faster
than Fry. And we had some speed on the field.
Miami did not. And Miami, what, only had six
on their bench. And so they have an average age
of like 37. They're pretty short -handed. I would
have liked to have seen us making a run. Like
there was several corners that Georgie's streaking
down the field and he's, you know, Thomas hit
him with his arm and make Miami run back. I'd
have liked to have seen that a little bit more.
And, you know, that's just not Fry's game. Fry
doesn't do that. He slows it down. Very bright
semester. Let's slow down. Let's play out of
the back. Let's play smart. And especially whenever
you're already losing 2 -3 -0, you know, let's
throw Kostin to win and let's try to hit him
in the face. That's how you get. I'm an aggressive
person, so I like aggressive goalies. No, yeah,
and I mean, that's how we caught Miami in the
League's Cup. We got him off the counter. Georgie
won the penalty. It was off a quick transition
moment. And Georgie was on the field against
the same defenders. And it drove Brian nuts when
Thomas was going quick towards the end of the
game. So maybe Brian likes the way that Fry slows
the game down. But then again, there's a time
and a place when you need to slow the game down.
You slow the game down when you're ahead. When
you have a lead. Not when you're down two goals
in the last ten minutes. You gotta play with
some intensity and some urgency. It felt like
we had that urgency that led to the first goal,
and then they just ran out of gas or something
because they couldn't keep the urgency going.
Even after you subbed on Morris and Rusnak, it
just wasn't – yeah, it didn't feel like they
were pushing for goals. It felt like they were
just out there to get minutes to get healthy.
No, yeah. And that may have been the intent.
Yeah, I think there was a play in the 83rd minute
that Miami had the ball, and they just stood
there. And then you look at our team, and we're
just standing there too. We're almost content
with just how the scoreline was. But going back
to your point there in the 80th minute, there
was that great chance for a through ball. Who
was playing second striker? We had two up top.
Who was it? Danny and Morris. I mean Morris.
Yeah, so I believe it was Moose that was, you
know, Bruce could have hit Moose there and he
would have had a one -on -one opportunity with
the goalkeeper. Yeah, just stuff like that. I
feel like that there just wasn't a lot of urgency
to go out and take this game. How much of that
is fatigue? How much of that is we've already
beaten them and this game is... of all our remaining
games, is one of the more meaningless just because
it's against the Eastern Conference and it's
not against a team that we're fighting for a
playoff spot? And how much of it was we just
got outplayed? If it is your first that, you
know, it doesn't mean as much, we have some tired
legs, we just beat them, the mental stuff, I
think that played a role. And how concerning
is that moving forward that we might have? you
know, mentally shift the game. I mean, it's the
second straight game that it seems like we had
no fire. Yeah, it seems like that we felt like
we were the better team and had no reason to
prove it. Where ever since the Club World Cup,
we felt like we had, it felt like our players
were playing with something to prove. I think,
I think that Saturday's make or break for this
team. Like if this game doesn't light a fire
under their ass, then I don't know what will.
Like, is it going to take losing to Vancouver
at home? Losing to Portland at home, and then
you're going to just limp into the playoffs and
then get booted off in the first round? I mean,
if we lose to Austin, who would then jump to
one point behind us in the standings, LAFC presumably
would have passed us. Portland would have had
the opportunity to pass us. And so Colorado,
San Jose are the 8 -9 team. Yeah, Salt Lake has
a lot of work to do, but we also play them and
they have two games in hand or one game in hand
on us. So if they win the game in hand to get
up to 37, they're only, what, eight points behind
us and a win against us would knock that down
to five. And so if we lose to Vancouver and Austin,
they're right there, potentially, if they win
their games. And suddenly the Sounders are battling
for that eighth or ninth spot, which is crazy
to think because... Two weeks before we lost
to Minnesota, we had a chance to move up into
second, it felt like. And suddenly here we are
in fourth, about to be passed with the opportunity
to drop down to seventh or eighth. That just
shows you how competitive it is in the West.
Yeah. Life goes at you fast, huh? Yeah. I mean,
in all our games, left are against the West,
except for New York City FC. So we have games
against the third place team, the sixth place
team, the seventh place team. and the 10th place
team in the West. So basically all playoff teams,
plus Salt Lake, who's one points out of the playoffs
with two games in hand on both San Jose and Colorado.
So they could easily jump up there to be in that
eighth spot with Colorado, like right above them.
So, I mean, you've got three teams battling for
those last two spots. I hope it doesn't come
to that. I hope, you know, I hope that Nicholas
is right and this isn't a big deal, but. What
I've seen is a team that is lackluster on the
road, doesn't get up for road games, and was
also lackluster at home. And without Pedro, I
do worry that not only will we lose road games,
Vancouver just beat Philly, the team that is
leading the Shield race, 7 -0. Their new signing
had three goals. They were like all PKs, though.
Still. How did they get a new signing? Thomas
Muller. Oh. I thought the transfer window was
canceled this year. Oh, yeah. You didn't realize
that only for the Sounders was it canceled? Oh.
No, there was a cover fee, but we couldn't cover
it. Oh. That's kind of like the NBA hasn't existed
since 2008, right? The league just folded? Yeah,
no, it shut down. I figured the Sonic weren't
around anymore. Good job. No, the WNBA put them
out of business, huh? It makes sense to me. Storm
currently in the playoffs, unfortunately lost
game one against the Aces, but we'll see what
happens moving forward in that series. What?
All right. I don't want to feed into the negativity,
but there's been so much negative stuff in the
world going on. And I feel like the Sounders
were this ray of sunshine in what was already
a shit world. And all of a sudden they have decided
to no longer. Be that ray of sunshine. We'll
go with you, Dan. Where are you with the Sounders
right now? Do you have any excitement for these
upcoming games, or are you worried that they're
going to shit the bed? Dan is super excited.
They hold their keys to their future, and they
go out there and they play soccer like they did
in the League's Cup and before. We're going to
be just fine, and we're going to have a whole
playoff game to watch. Okay, now go drink some
beer and then respond. Now, the bastard in me
thinks that they've already won something. They've
set out to accomplish it. And we have who I think
is our best player to potentially be injured.
We don't know what's going on with him. And I'm
not super excited to watch a team that doesn't
have Pedro on it. Leader of the free Pedro movement.
I'm going to have to. That's a big. I'm going
to have to start with the free Thomas movement
now, too, because. Oh, boy. That was more controversial.
Oh, boy. I mean. I guess the new FIFA game is
coming out. I'll manage the Sounders there, and
we'll win the MLS Cup right away. Free transfer
for some great players. No, I think that this
team will find a way to turn it around. And,
you know, we just got done with the game, and
our emotions are raw. And we're all trying to
cope in the ways that we are. You know, Dan got
his drink. I got my drink. You took your shot
of whiskey and you got your donuts. I hope that
this team proves me wrong because I think given
just the way that we're playing, we're going
to end up between four, five, and six. But if
we keep playing the way that we did today and
last Saturday, we're going to end up on seven
or eight, maybe nine. Imagine missing the playoff
on decision day. Yeah. Five is likely at LA.
If we were to be sixth, it would be at probably
Vancouver. But they have two games in hand on
Minnesota, so they could easily jump up into
first. So it would be either Vancouver or Minnesota
or potentially San Diego because they're also
close. So it would be one of those top three.
So I guess we avoid Portland, which was my fear.
But that seems like a big feat having to beat
a Vancouver, Minnesota, or San Diego more than
it does to beat an Austin. or colorado or san
jose no because either way we're gonna have we're
gonna have to play them at home in the second
round that's true it's just a matter of which
one do you get the home game first or second
but you still get a home game after that it becomes
uh i would want to see i want to see how our
game against vancouver pans out before i make
a decision of who i don't want to play because
we beat san diego and you know we played minnesota
well like i'm sure Minnesota is probably the
scariest team to play in the playoffs. Just because
they'll just bunker down and we haven't been
able to beat the bunker. So until we're able
to beat a bunker, then I don't want to play a
bunker. Because if we play a bunker, I'm going
to put the mortgage on the other team. We're
having trouble scoring against teams that aren't
bunkering down. So what happens when they do?
We just don't score. No, we're going to need
a PK or a handball or something. Which that's
what we've seen in games we have won against
them. Like FC Dallas where we got the PK late
in game. Yeah. I'm not super afraid of playing
any team in MLS at Lumenfield. I have a lot of
faith in Brian. I have a lot of faith in the
squad. And I think in a win or go home game at
Lumenfield against anyone, they're the odds on
favor. I mean, because it was just two weeks
ago that they had Miami crashing out with the
same, some of the same players. And I don't.
Not saying that we're guaranteed to win, but
I like our odds. On the road, I'm a little bit
more cautious. I wouldn't wonder if we play my
Minnesota again at home in the playoffs if we
don't see Brian doing something like he did against
LAFC and changing up the formation or changing
up the tactics. That's what he did to get us
through past LAFC after, what, losing three times
that year to him? in pretty bad fashion too.
Give me some games at home. That's really why
this is so worrying. Every drop point we have
is less of a chance of playing at home. We could
be looking at one game at home because it's still
the best three for the first round. It's not
home and away anymore. They keep switching it.
It's home and away. back at the top seed if necessary.
I think it goes straight to PKs. So it's not
aggregate, it's each one counts as one. I like
the aggregated. They're in 8th place, so who
knows if they make the playoffs. They have so
many games in hand that they are going to make
the playoffs. They're fighting for the shield,
even though they're that far down. But I think
the East is much more. How did they get so many
games in hand and we didn't? I feel like we've
probably played pretty similar. What, they had
one more Club World Cup game than us? They had
Champions League go, too. Oh, that's right. I
forgot that we got bounced early. Yeah, but they
got bounced, too, by Vancouver. And then Vancouver
got bounced by Cruz Azul. Then we bounced them.
So technically we're the champions of CONCACAF.
So two games ago, the Sounders were the number
one team in CONCACAF and 81st team in the world.
Does this team still inspire you to believe that
they're number one in CONCACAF and 81st in the
world? Don't answer that. Don't answer that.
Let's take a break. And when we get back, you
can answer it. We'll be right back. Hey everybody,
this is one of your hosts, Cameron Collins. Now,
I know we said this time was time for a break,
but really, it's a time for me to talk to you
about our corporate overlords. And our corporate
overlords are us. That's right. We would love
it if you would head on over to patreon .com
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You can subscribe for as little as $1 .74. Now,
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for you Patreons, at least initially. Now, there
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Well, we have bills to pay. And we need to make
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So head on over to Patreon, go to Sounders Scuttlebutt
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it. That's Sounders Scuttlebutt Podcast over
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-M. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
And we're back. Yeah. Listen to our corporate
overlords, which I don't know what, what the
ads they put in there for us, but the other one
is me. So join our Patreon. It's only like a
dollar. Yeah. It's little, it's as little as
much as you want to pay. Give us that $10 ,000
level so that we can get that time machine. Pay
for our new nine. There you go. Yeah. That might
be easier than having it be that we get a time
machine and because then we still have to invent
it. But the Sounders were named number one team
in CONCACAF, I think 81st in the world. And then
we've seen them lose a couple games in a row
here. Well, I guess they didn't lose to LA. It
felt like a loss because they're the worst team
in the league and they blew points late. That's
funny that if we think about it, though, they
still have only lost two games out of their last
17. Is the sky falling? Is this, I mean, we've
spent the first 30 minutes of the show talking
about how worried we are about them falling out
of the top four, but is this ship easily correctable?
Can we get back on course? Is Pedro healthy?
I guess that's the question. Is he playing at
least 45? No. If we got to keep saying hashtag
free Pedro before every game, that we're not
going to be in a good position. Like, I think
he, like I said earlier, he's our most influential
DP. He's not, he doesn't have the stats like
a, like a Rusnak does, but he, he plays more
than Jordan. And I think that he probably makes
the less out of the three of them. He probably
makes the least amount of money, but he's the
most influential on the field. Like you can tell
when he's on the field and you can tell when
he's not on the field. When Jordan was out, we
had, you know, Danny stepped up, D -Roll stepped
up. When Rusnak got out, Jesus stepped in and
filled that role beautifully. But when Pedro's
out, oh boy, you miss Pedro. Now, why don't we
have someone like the Mariners have Dom Camzone,
who Dom Camzone just went four for four today.
Sorry, five for five. He was four for four before
his last bat. He went five for five with four
runs, four RBIs. Three home runs, including a
two -run home run in the top of the ninth so
that the Mariners won 12 -5. I'm so shocked I
can't even speak. Where is our Dom Canzone to
step in and fill the place of Pedro? I feel like
Georgie was trying to be that today and maybe
wasn't that far off. What did you see from Georgie?
We had Paul Rothrock. He was out at halftime.
No. I'm just kidding. No, I think Georgie was
trying his best. But towards the end, it almost
felt like he was trying to do too much. And they
were double teaming him on that side. But I think
he was trying to force it a little bit too much
towards the end. When he cut in and had that
shot that just didn't even hit the target. But
I think Georgie, for starting the game, he looked
good. Because I was on the train that Georgie
can't get it done as a starter. But, you know,
he proved me wrong today. I'll give him his props.
I'm going to disagree with you. I think today
just showed yet again that George is not a starter.
And to go back to your baseball reference, he's
a closer. He's somebody that you're going to
bring on late in the game and get you some points.
I think whatever he's doing, his bent against.
Fresh legs, it's not as effective as whenever
he's doing it against tired legs. And that's
– I didn't see much today that changes my opinion
on it. I mean, he was effective at times. But
it was when they were tired. He was effective
at times. It was at the end when they were tired
and he was running past them over and over again.
I will say that if Kent's healthy, I start Kent
over Georgie. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But who are you
going to put up there? But Kent's not healthy.
Well, I think in an ideal world, if Pedro's off
the field, you have Rothrock on the left, you
have Jesus on the – well, in Brian's ideal world,
you have Rothrock on the left, Jesus on the right,
and Rusnak there in the middle. And so still
allowing Georgia to come on in the end. But,
you know, we're not quite there yet. Fitness
level for Rusnak, probably by this weekend we
will be. That's what I would like to see. I want
to come back to this question of Rusnak and Jesus
because it's something we've been discussing
off podcast for a while. And I tried to bring
up with Nick and he kind of didn't even really
address it directly. So before we do that, though,
we did get, since it was such short notice, we
did get only one scuttlebutt mailbag question
from good old muffin top model, Tim Hamilton,
said, why? Were we so hell -bent on unforced
errors tonight? Sure, we won 3 -0. They can't
take the trophy away, but they punched us in
the mouth and spit on us after the game and then
continued punching us once we got to Miami. LA
Galaxy was a thing, and the Miami part, douche,
is a thing. However, will this team turn it around?
And we already talked about the turn it around,
but I kind of want to talk about... This didn't
feel like a continuation of that last game to
me, more than maybe if you're saying, yeah, we'd
already beat them, so we didn't have anything
to prove. But short rest, flying about as far
away from Seattle as you can get, probably pretty
humid there. And also, it's like I had friends
in a band that one day opened for Run DMC in
front of 12 ,000 people, and the next day played
in front of six people. the next town over. It
feels like that. It feels like we went from completely
sold -out, crazy stadium to now we're just playing
a nothing game with nothing on the line. No,
yeah, that's a good point. And, I mean, you saw
at halftime, the camera panned to Obed and Messi
having a nice, what looked like a nice chat.
I'm like, there was no bad blood. There was what
happened in the final. was left in the final.
And yeah, it's a game. Tempers flare in a final.
It's a big game. So I mean... And Suarez wasn't
on the field. So I think that if he had been
on the field, maybe it plays out a little differently.
But I think without him there, it doesn't...
It's not... The inflammatory person isn't there.
But Busquets was there and he's punched Obed
at the end of the game. I think Obed won that
one though. I think, yeah, Obed said. No, but
I mean... To be fair, the stadium looked empty
in my opinion. There was a lot of open seats.
For their prices on a Tuesday night against a
team that just kicked their ass when they also
lost their last game too, I'm not going to blame
those fans for not driving from Miami up to Fort
Lauderdale against rush hour traffic to attend
a game. And, I mean, if you really want to sit
down and look at the two games and dissect it,
we technically hold the aggregate over them,
7 -6. So, technically, we're still up. Yeah,
I'll take that. Like, I'll take that. I mean,
if we end at 3 -3, alright, then we'll have a
PK shootout and we'll win that one. If Thomas
is in goal. But, I mean... I think it just kind
of... Go ahead, Alex. No, go ahead. thinking
of what I'm going to say now. Yeah, I think it
just kind of goes to show that the fans made
a bigger deal about the postgame than Miami or
Seattle did. But, yeah, for me, though, I have
my own biases, and Miami represents a lot in
the world that I dislike, the idea that you can
just buy your way to a championship and that
they deserve to win and we should worship them
because they're rich. That doesn't really get
me going. So I would have loved to have seen
us smash them again. But for how to turn it around
in the long run, I think we're okay. We're still
the same talented team. And as much as my eyes
and heart tell me that Pedro not being out there
hurts us, there's also a part of me that just
can't believe that one player can make that much
of a difference. This isn't... The old Sounders
where Dempsey goes down and we're screwed, right?
This isn't a team that's built around single
players. This is a team that's built on the next
man stepping up and doing his job. And there's
got to be a way to find some dynamic way to do
something. And you saw Brian at the end of that
game try something new. Two forwards up top.
Unfortunately, because we don't play that way,
they were both trying to take up the same space.
The same problem we had when they put Morrison
at dinner on up there. Was that two seasons ago
now? Rui Diaz. And Rui Diaz as well, yeah, when
they did it with him too. So you see that problem,
but I think that kind of problem is fixable.
That kind of problem is something that you just
practice and will fix over time if that's something
you're going to do. The question is, where are
you going to take away that player if you're
putting two up top? Are you taking away someone
from the midfield? like a center attacking mid
and playing with two up? Or are you taking away
a center defensive mid and not having the two
pivots back there? Obviously, that's what I would
choose to do. But I know, Alex, you've said,
no, that's like the key to our game. So that's
one that you wouldn't touch. I think, well, first
of all, I want to tackle the first part of the
question. I think what it is, too, is we're still
trying to knock off some rust after having five
days off. Like these guys took those five days
off and they went straight vacation mode, you
know, I think Jesus went back home to Texas Amr,
I think I seen him with Pedro down at the beach
probably and I don't know maybe in Colombia or
somewhere around So these guys are you know,
there's there's still some rest I seen you more
miss some passes that he normally doesn't miss
Like we were misplacing a lot of passes today.
We were misplacing a lot of passes on Saturday
That's they're gonna shake that off And I think
by Saturday, we're going to see a different team
that's playing a little bit better. And to answer
your question, I think based off what we've seen
Brian do, by taking off Pedro around the 60th
minute, you take off Pedro and you put in another
striker. Because we've seen him take off Pedro
against Miami. And, you know, high close games,
you've seen him take it out when he starts. So
I think that's where I'll go. I'll take out Pedro
or I'll take out... I mean, who do you shift?
How do you shift? Are you getting rid of a center
attacking mid then and moving someone over to
the left or right? I mean, if you take off Pedro,
you almost want to play with... The way that
they play in possessions, they have three in
the back. So Alex is always going to float to
help out in the midfield. So you can almost have
Alex play towards on that right side, and you
can have Jesus and Rusnak occupy the middle and
the left half space. And then you have Moose
as the point forward, or you have D -Row, because
I think D -Row plays the position differently
than Danny. And then you have Morris be almost
that runner. You have the striker be the hold
-up player and is able to play that pass in behind
so Morris can run into it and then have a...
opportunity on goal kind of like the way that
i hate to say this but the way that suarez plays
as a nine you know we've seen him how he's able
to play you know the person underneath through
we saw him do that to messy when he missed that
big chance like a striker like that i think would
be very very beneficiary when we have a two striker
setup i mean when we have someone like morris
yeah yeah suarez is a jerk but you you he wouldn't
still be playing if he also weren't one of the
spend so much time as one of the best players
in the world, right? This guy is an amazing soccer
player. He's going to go down as one of his generation's
best strikers. Yeah. Apart from how he is off
the field, that's another issue to discuss. But
him as a soccer player, he's going to go down
as one of the greats. I think he's good enough
at his position. He got that Michael Jackson
treatment where you just kind of ignore the bad
things and keep bringing them around. No, I mean,
he did get punished. not to the extent some of
us would like. Right, but teams are still signing
him because the upside is bigger than the downside.
Yeah, and he's towards the twilight of his career.
His knees are going to give out anytime soon.
He takes like three pills a day before a game,
and then he shoots up his knees right before
a game. Yeah, and that's got to be taking a huge
toll on his body. Yeah, and I think more so what
we saw at the end of the game was frustration
because he knows that he's almost done. Like,
that was probably his only opportunity to win
a trophy in Miami. Yeah. Because we saw what
happened last year. They couldn't get it done
against Atlanta, the number eight seed. And they
were, what, the number one seed? Yep. So, like,
just seeding and the MLS playoffs, like, just
throw it out the window. Like, once it's playoffs,
like, you're going to see a lot of upsets. And
that's why. Yeah, I want the Sounders to have
home playoffs games because I know our fan base
will show up. But we can also get it done on
the road. We did it last year. This team feels
different on the road this year, though. I feel
like for a few years, though, we were not playing
as well at home. And I don't have the numbers
to back this up, but there was a while there
where it felt like our home... Not that our home
field advantage was gone, but it wasn't the same.
And this year, they've turned it into a fortress
of sorts in a way that... I mean, we're not losing
at home, right? We don't have a single loss at
home, do we? I think we might have one. One?
Yeah. But I might be wrong. We dropped points
to Charlotte. We dropped points to LA. But that
might – Minnesota was a loss. Oh, yeah. No, that
was a draw. It was a draw? It felt like a – Yeah,
I think we dropped points for that game. No,
I think it was 3 -2 Minnesota. Oh, yeah. Maybe
it was. But either way, we're not losing at home,
right? All of our losses are largely – on the
road. And so it shows that, I mean, and we're
not counting club world cup, obviously they were
playing like the best teams in the world. Yeah.
An anomaly, right? Like it's not a, it's not
a factor here, but, uh, okay, here I'll pop up.
Uh, I got, I got it up right now. So I can tell
you, uh, what ended up happening in that, in
that game. But this is a team that Minnesota
one, three to two. Yep. Three to two, August
16th. Yep. Um, June 1st. Yeah, I think I was
at that game, so I was very disappointed. Yeah,
the August one was the one at Minnesota. That's
right. It was the match where they came back
and just made it look like... I don't know. We
scored, and then they scored, and then they scored.
Made it 3 -1, and then we had the home goal at
the end. Yeah, so we only have one loss this
season at home. Yeah. So all of our other losses
are on the road. Right. So I think that that's
one of the reasons why I think home is a fortress
for us, and that's why that home field advantage
is so big. I mean, we've lost seven on the road.
We've only lost one at home. And when you've
got the best fan base in the country cheering
you on, your level is going to be at a higher
level. Man, and shout out to all of you that
sit in ECS. You have been bringing the heat lately,
just so much energy, which I think isn't always
reflected in the rest of the stadium, but it's
been impressive. I can't do it. It hurts my ears
too much with that drum after getting punched
in the head and having my eardrum explode. I
have to wear, like, earplugs when I'm down there,
so it's tough. But that's a medical reason. Plus,
I can't stand 90 minutes. Come on. No, and, well,
I mean, you get a little break. Yeah, that's
true. No, I think I was a little disappointed,
you know, and as our fan base, we didn't show
up for LA Galaxy. I thought we would have a similar
energy. That we did for the league's cup final.
And we didn't. So I was a little, I was, I think
it's hard for me to, to complain about it. I
wasn't, I was thinking about it like a normal
MLS game is you're not, it's not a cup final.
They aren't going to show up like that, but,
but ECS, I mean, with the display and just being
a Hispanic heritage week, like there really was
some cool stuff that, that went on and it felt
like, it felt like a community rather than just
a bunch of people rooting for a team. No, yeah,
I give, you know, ECS had a beautiful Tfue, and,
you know, they had cards passed out in Spanish
and English, so people know their rights. I know
you're derechos. Derechos, yeah, it's great.
Like, ECS is a great community, and I urge you
that if you want to come out to a game, you know,
be an ECS. Yeah, I mean, join LFC. Yeah, join
one of the supporter sections. It's a great community.
We're a great fan base. Come out and watch a
great team play at home. If we're away, I don't
know what to tell you. Just get a case of beer,
whatever you want. If you want to drink or you
want to do other activities to get you through
the game, whatever it takes. Don't get yourself
banned like Jerry did at Minnesota. Oh, he got
himself banned? Yeah, for drumming the drum.
These people gone soft, man. The game's gone.
Yeah, yeah. They wouldn't have made it through
the 80s. And I bet you those fans probably thought
it was a Vikings game. No, Minnesota has good
fans. I will say that. I know quite a few. I've
regularly appeared on a Loons podcast. They're
good people. They just don't like us since they've
only beat us. In fact, I know people there that
say Seattle is the loons daddy. So yeah, it's,
we own them. That's why that loss there was so
big for them because it's not something that
they've been able to do. So, I mean, yeah, to
talk about the loons, I want to know what we
can do to get our own fake star on our logo too.
I would, I would rock three stars now. Like,
what do we got? Do we got to change the logo
again? Yeah. Another rebrand. It's, uh, Oh, I'm,
I was going to say something about next year's
Jersey. I can't say that I signed an NDA. Uh,
no, it wasn't specific. It was a league thing,
but, uh, I'm just really excited for what's,
what's to come. It's not, nothing you said is
related to it. It's just, it put this thought
in my head where I was just like, Oh. No, because
– so when I first got back into watching MLS
and following the Sounders, I noticed – Wait,
are those the same thing? I mean, because you
do have a Portland Timbers jersey. So did you
get into MLS as a Timbers fan and then start
rooting for the Sounders? My friend bought it
for me because it was on sale. Okay. That jersey
is going to get burned when we win an MLS Cup.
It's either I burn it when we get an MLS Cup
or when we get 50 people on the Patreon. No,
bring it up for the Portland match. that cedar
will be at coming all the way up from california
to spend time with you and then burn it if we
win i mean i would that only if dan goes oh yeah
you guys oh we gotta have everybody there we
gotta have everybody there because it's gonna
be a patreon exclusive episode it's gonna be
video dan you want to be there for portland match
anyways if you haven't experienced the rivalry
oh yeah i went last year actually um So as it
comes out, I'm cheap. And last year, the Portland
tickets were like 70 bucks to get in for the
ECS. And I complained about it on social media.
And somebody that was able to get the employee
discount was able to hook me up with some better
priced tickets. And so that was outstanding.
So I did get to go Portland last year. And that
was a lot of fun. So yeah. Yeah. I plan on going
this year too. I just got to buy the tickets.
Yeah. Shout out Cedar. I know we just decided
we were going to. do this episode without you
being involved because you're at work. And so
now you're having to listen to the, we're just
like, we're going to record. Sorry, Cedar. We're
going to have, well, no, we've got to record
another day so we can be a part of it. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. We were all, we were all upset and
had to, had to talk about it. Yeah. I feel like
this has been a, a more cathartic episode than
it has been an angry episode, right? Like it
could have gone on. Yes. No, come, come, come
listen and have some therapy. I think, I think
the criticism is fair. Like, you know, we were
a team that wants to win championships. We have
to hold the team at a high standard. So like
when we have results like this, like we have
to, you know, be, we can be still support the
boys, but we got to start asking questions. Yeah.
And I think, I think if this had been a one -off,
if we had just, if we had beat LA galaxy or at
least played better against LA galaxy, I'll put
it that way. To me, this would not be as big
of a deal. It's one loss on the road on short,
short week across the country. Like. Teams don't
always show up for these games. That's just how
it is. They're human beings. No, and I think
LA Galaxy at home felt like a loss. This is a
loss. And like, we just, you know, some of us
have PTSD from 2022. And we just want to make
sure it's not going to happen again. Like, I
feel like that's fair to, you know, question
the team. Like, we don't have the same access
as some of the media people do. So this is where
we come to ask those questions. This is where
the normal humans come, and we come in. Talk
about it. I will say I wish, and in the offseason
we'll get him on the podcast hopefully, but I
wish you could have some of the conversations
I get to have with the general manager and with
Craig and with Garth before them because they
say things. When you hear their vision, it doesn't
feel as bad. because you believe in what he's
doing with what he's given. You believe that
he's going above and beyond. No. And I, and I
will give you that because there was that one
time where Craig talked to us before the match.
And like, you know what? Like I was, I was, I
think I was a little too harsh on Craig. And
I was like, you know what? After hearing him
talk, you know, answer questions that, you know,
normal people like me, normal fans, like, you
know, talking about, Oh, why aren't we signing
players? What if, why not this? Why not that?
And, like, you know, he gave what felt like was
very honest answers. And, like, he painted his
vision for the team. And, like, he said back
then, as he did now, he wanted a player to come
that would help the Saunders now. He wanted a
player that would help the Saunders now and not
a player that's going to be for the future. And
that's why we didn't see no summer transfer signing.
Like, you know what, maybe we can critique that
all we want. But he stood on what he said early
in the season all the way through. Yep. They're
not going to bring in somebody to try and get
into 18. They want someone pushing for first
team minutes. Yeah, and he said if we want to
sign a 9, that's going to be developmental. We
have D -Row. That's going to be cheaper on the
contracts. That allows us to get more players
in other positions in order for us to have the
depth that we have. Speaking of, that's going
to bring us right back to the conversation we
were having after the LA Galaxy match over text
when my talk to text in my car was... being funny
and saying the wrong acronyms and stuff. Now
we've seen twice Albert come on and sub for Jesus.
And it felt in both instances. And let's put
the caveat in that Albert's coming back from
injury and we love Albert. Albert is one of my
favorite players and I've told him as much. So
this is not a critique of Albert again. It's
because he's, he's not a hundred percent, but
we've felt less dangerous when he comes on at
center attacking mid than, and Jesus moves to
the right. Now that could be Jesus is a better
center attacking mid than a right midfielder.
I don't believe that Brian believes that because
he's praised him on the right and it continued
to put him on the right for a long time. Dan,
where do you, what do you do in this situation
where, I mean, cause I know we talked about it
and I said, I do think Albert is better than
Jesus at both positions, but maybe the drop off
is left. Less if they switch them and put Albert
on the right and Jesus at center attacking mid
with the current roster. So not talking about
bringing in another player for next season. Let's
talk about this season. How are you dealing with
those two plus Rothrock? What are you doing?
Well, they. They said, Craig said, whenever they
brought Jesus in, they actually talked about
the game that Dallas had against Miami where
Jesus played on the right and how good he was
there. And I think that was indication from the
beginning. They saw him in our system playing
on the right. I think that's true. I like Jesus
at camp, and let me tell you why. I think that
there are times when Rusnak slows the game down
playing at the 10 more than it needs to be slowed
down. I think there are some opportunities to
move the ball forward, and Rusnak is your steady
Eddie. He's a steady player. He is maybe a little
bit of a cautious player. He's not going to lose
the ball, and he's going to do all the basic
things that you need him to do. I don't think
you always see enough of just that magic. I think
Jesus has a little bit more magic there at the
10 than Rusnak does. I'm not super in love with
the fact of using the right winger as a second
center attack and midfielder in our attack. You
know, I think that whenever you have the ability
to drive a little bit more forward there with
that right winger instead of dropping back into
that pocket and trying to occupy some of the
same space that the 8 or the 10 are occupying,
I think that that kind of muddied things up.
And I think that's where we run into some of
our problems with those low blocks and whenever
teams are falling back. So to answer your question,
I really like Jesus at the 10, and I think that's
his future on this team. So do you put this season,
are you putting... Albert off the bench then,
or are you putting him on the right and having
Rothrock sit? I mean, I think they're both good.
This is the thing is, when we're healthy, there's
some tough decision that Brian Schmetzer needs
to make. Yeah, there is. Do you want some time
to think about your decision? Yeah, let him think
about it, because I want to hear what Alex has
to say real quick. Okay, go ahead. Oh, I got
a hot take. Rusnak off the bench, you start Jesus.
and you play Rothrock out the right wing, or
if you're going to play Rusnak and Jesus together.
And I understand where you're coming from about
them occupying the same inside space, but that
opens up the channel for either Alex or Kalani
to run up the wing and put crosses in. And we
see that happen when Jesus has opened up, found
Alex, and he put that ball in to set up D -Row
on probably one of the easiest goals that he's
ever going to score in a final. Yeah. And I just
think that they play two different styles of
the game. Rusnak is more of the slow, methodical,
possession -based, you know, Brian Smetzer ball.
And Jesus is a little more direct. Like, he's
willing to, you know, put that ball in behind.
He makes those runs. And I feel like what Jesus
offers as a 10 as far as his ability to press.
We seen them press and lead to the defenders
making a bad pass or you know Just playing the
ball out of bounds and that puts us in a position
on the opponent's half To start possessing the
ball there, you know, you want to do the whole
overload thing But we start we start we have
the throw in in the opponent's half, which is
always which is always good So I just think his
shoes offers a little bit more different things
to where Rusnak offers I like Jesus' set piece
deliberately a little bit better than Rusnek.
Even though today, you know, he had some corners
that I didn't really like. We've still seen Jesus
get the ball up and be more dangerous off corners
far more often than we've seen. It beats the
first post. Right. And, you know, we had goals,
and I believe in every group stage match. Off
corners from his who's taking the corners. Yeah.
So I just, you know, like I'm not Brian Smetzer,
so I don't know what he's going to do. But what
I would do is I'm playing. I play Danny up top
because, you know, he's having a great season.
You have Jordan off the bench until he starts
going on a tear. Then you have Pedro, Jesus,
Rothrock, Obed, Christian, Nuhu. Reagan, Yamar,
Alex, and then N 'Golo Thomas. I mean, here's
the thing. That's the lineup starting the playoffs.
If we start it tomorrow, that's the lineup. This
team, assuming Pedro can come back and play,
this team has an embarrassment of riches. And
what are you doing with those riches, Dan, now
that you've heard what Alex has to say? I'm playing
Pedro on the left. I'm playing Jesus at the camp.
I'm playing Morris at the nine. And then I'm
playing whoever had the best damn week in practice
on the right. You just made me think, though.
Maybe I'm playing Morris on the right. I'm not
going to argue against Morris on the right. We've
seen what Morris can do on the wing. He had an
assist. Yeah. Even though he was at the nine.
That's why when they were Morris, I thought Morris
scored that goal. I was like, Morris, the number
nine. Then I'm like, oh, no, he was playing on
the wing where he scored all his goals last year.
You know, that could cook. I'm not as high with
Moose. I mean, I still think that Moose is a
backup striker in this league. I think that he's
gotten to some really good positions a lot. And
I think that there's a lot of meat that he's
left on the bone. You know, I think some of the
positions that he's got into this league, he
could be in the race for the golden boot. And,
you know, it's a testament to the work that he's
put in and everything he's done. But the supporting
cast that we have to get balls into the box for
a good striker is... That could be a huge game
changer in the way that this team is going forward
with somebody that is a dead -eye dick there
at the night. He is a solid, good MLS striker.
But yeah, he's not a superstar. He's not Raul
Ruiz Diaz. Raul Ruiz Diaz sinks most of those
shots one -on -one that he's not getting in.
But here's the thing. Do you sit your striker
that's in form? See, I play the in -form striker.
I agree, but also... Until Jordan gets three
or four goals. Yeah. If he scores one goal until
playoffs start, then I start Jordan. But he needs
to prove to me and he needs to prove to the team
that he's able to put the ball in the net. Because
we see Jordan miss one -on -ones too. True. If
you want to be hard on Moose for missing those
one -on -ones, you got to be hard on Jordan.
Last year, Jordan figured it out, though. Jordan
started missing a lot less of those. It was like
someone told him, be selfish, and it made a difference.
Because he often wouldn't even take that shot
in the past. Yeah, they would look for the extra
pass. And there's sometimes where it's like,
just shoot the ball. It's okay to be selfish.
When you're inside the box, it's life or death.
Take a shot. Especially if you have a good shot
at goal. Even if you don't. Jordan, good look
on goal is what I meant. Well, Jordan beat LAFC
last year playing as a striker with a striker
move with hold -up play and then as a target
nine, taking the ball in front of the goal, beating
the quarterback, the center back, and then slotting
it in with a great shot. I think he could do
it again. I'm not as opposed to Jordan at the
nine overall team building. You know, if we're
talking about the bigger picture and team building,
I feel like that this team or the DPs that we
have between Jordan and Ruth snack, one of them
could stand to be upgraded. Yep. Pick, pick,
pick the one that you think that you pick the
position. You think you could upgrade the best
and go for that. We can afford. That's another
thing. Yeah. Well, Yeah, that goes back to the
whole Craig and the honor conversation. Maybe
not, because if Jesus, and I don't know the numbers,
if Jesus doesn't do enough to become a DP based
on triggering it through his contract, they could
move on, couldn't they, after the season from
Rusnak, if they chose to? What is it, a two plus
one? Yes. Yes, yes to both. I think Jesus, to
hit his escalators, it's a two -year, not a one
-year. So the escalators, from what I understand,
aren't built in after the first year. The escalators
are built in after the second year at the same
time that Rusnak. They did it so that they can
roll Jesus into the DP position after Rusnak
is gone and then continue on. But Morris, with
aging too, maybe that's the spot that you're
looking at for future roster building. bringing
in that nine. And that's, you know, I think that's
also what we're looking like with a U22. If you
hit on a U22 for two years and then Morris moves
on and then you elevate him to that DP position,
because it seems like that they've really hit
on building from within for their DPs. And that
may be what they're going with. I mean, you look
at how many people are local, whether they came
from the Seattle soccer system, the Northwest
soccer system, or they just went to college here,
like the Roldan brothers. There is so much local
talent on this team, and our owner, and I think
I agree with him, believes that if you're local,
you play just a little bit harder because you're
not just playing for the team, you're playing
for the city because you feel it. They're not
playing for the money, they're playing for the
badge. Yeah, yeah. There's multiple ways to be
excited about a roster, and one is bringing in
the big names. The other one is watching your
hometown heroes. do what they did two weeks ago
and beat the shit out of Miami. So to me, that
is just as exciting. I've had a past history
of calling for a lot of big -name DPs to come
in, and I think I was a little bit wrong, and
I've really enjoyed the way overall that this
roster has been built and the players we have.
I love them to death. We have one of the easiest
teams in the world to root for across any sport.
Find me another team that is as easy to root
for as a hometown team, then. And I also just
think if Areola hadn't got hurt, this team could
be even better. I mean, you're pushing for those
top two in the West. But, you know, he is putting
in the work. Yeah. Because I see his Instagram.
He is putting in the work that I think he's going
to be under revenge season next year. So that
just means, are we going to move off Kent? I
think so. I think so for the money. The amount
of money, unless he's willing to come back for
less, which is possible considering... We might
move on from JP. Yeah, we talked about this a
little bit in different formats, but potentially
there's money opening up from JP, potentially
from Fry. We're going to have to figure out what
to do with Nuhu. But you're also going to see
raises for Rothrock, for Kalani, for some of
the other players who just will have to make
more money because they're getting starting minutes.
So they have to – I mean, they're making nothing.
No, yeah. What are the odds we lose Rothrock?
I don't think you can do that after what he's
done. I don't think he wants to leave. Yeah.
I mean, this is his team he grew up rooting for.
It is a business, and maybe I think – Depending
the head you have on your shoulders, you could
feel offended if you don't think they're valuing
you right because you put your whole life into
them. So I think that generally can happen. I
don't think that's Rothrock's mentality though.
I don't know him, obviously, but I've spent 10
minutes talking to him maybe, which just my impression
on that 10 minutes is that he's a genuinely caring,
good person who... right now, is not concerned
about money. He's concerned about winning. As
long as the Sounders are providing an opportunity
to win and treating him fairly, I don't think
there's any chance he leaves. I was going to
mention this earlier, but I don't want to cut
you guys off. When he scored the third goal to
put that icing on the cake in the final, the
first thing he did was kiss the badge. D -Ro
didn't kiss the badge. Alex didn't kiss the badge.
rothrock kissed the badge and i think that speaks
more to his character of how much he loves the
sounders and how much he loves the city of seattle
like we have to remember is that he didn't start
off here he started off in i believe toronto
and things didn't pan out there and sounders
you know took a shot on him yeah and and he's
a kid that grew up in the city he went to lakeside
like he he is local he's grateful and there's
grateful for the sounders there's something taking
a chance on him there's something to be said
for people that grew up in this city, because
there's not a lot of us left. Most people are
from the suburbs or somewhere completely different.
Not even from the Seattle area. They're from
Houston or Yakima. They're not from Seattle.
I drive up to see Rothrock. But I'm just saying,
I grew up in the city and there's a level of
pride in that where I've never lived outside
of the city except for when I moved away for
college. I've always lived in the city limits
and I'm a Seattle kid. And I realized that is
a completely, that's a privilege I've had. I
would not have been able to have that opportunity
if I had been born 10 years later, if my dad
didn't have a great job when you only needed
one job to buy a house, like all that kind of
stuff. And I didn't have, you know, the education
that I was able to have afforded to me, like
all of that stuff. That's why I'm able to live
here. But there's still a level of pride that.
My friends used to have a drinking game that
every time, like my California friends, when
I would talk about Seattle, they would have to
take a shot every time I said Seattle. And so
I would get people wasted because I didn't know
they were playing this game. And so I would just
Seattle this, Seattle that, blah, blah, blah.
And so there's a love for this city and you see
it through players that grew up here. You see
it. I mean, Reagan's the same story, right? Grew
up here, went away to Michigan, went and played
for what, Chicago? And then... They cut him when
they sent him down to Chicago too so they can
try to come home and make the team here. And
he did it through the minor league system, but
he came back. These are local kids that grew
up watching the Sounders. Yeah, and he played
for Seattle United, a local club team. Yeah.
There's talent in the Pacific Northwest. We are
a soccer hotbed. And we always have been. It's
because growing up in the city, you didn't play
football. You played soccer, basketball, and
baseball. Those were the three yearly sports.
Little League football was for kids in the suburbs.
No, yeah. And I told some of my friends, it's
like Seattle is like my home away from home.
Yeah. Like I love the city of Seattle. And we
love you too, both of you. I mean, that's the
thing is people who are actually from Seattle,
we joke a lot with people from the suburbs, but
ultimately we're proud of our city and we want
you to come enjoy it. The more the merrier. Just
don't make our housing go higher. That's why
I always go home. I don't make enough money for
your house to go higher. Yeah, right. I'm not
as far south as I can get without being in the
city. So let's keep me where I am. And again,
I want to tie this back. And I think this is
great. If you guys aren't on the Discord, take
the time. Join the Discord. be a part of this
family because you know these guys these guys
are like my brothers these guys you guys are
like family to me yeah totally i agree like you
know when you know things happen around the world
like we always find a way to come together and
support each other family is chosen it's not
uh and we are chosen family sometimes you have
to deal with parents or in -laws or siblings
that uh or aunts uncles yeah that are completely
But you can choose your family, and we've all
chosen each other. I'm going to have, when I
have my family, there's going to be an Uncle
Chorizo that has no relation to me, but that's
their uncle. That's my best friend, and he's
going to be like family. He's family. We have
no relation to each other, but you guys are family
to me. Speaking of family. this has really turned
around my vision on the season. Like I came into
this being like, the season's done. We're going
to lose five of the last six games. We're not
even going to make the playoffs. RSL is going
to go on a run. We're going to get that 10th
spot. This is it. And now I'm like, no, this
team is only going to lose one more game for
the rest of the season. And that's against Vancouver.
We're finishing fourth. Yeah. We're finishing
fourth. All right. We got to, we got to bring
you in just a little bit, just a little bit.
Question, is this our drunken I love you guys
sign off? I think it is. I think we can still
go on for another hour. Yeah, but then I can't
get the episode up tonight. That is some good
whiskey though. Put it on the Patreon first.
Patreon exclusive. It's supposed to be, but you
know what? The problem is I don't know how to
do that because I don't have access to posts
on our Patreon anymore because it sends notices
to Aaron's phone because of all the... 2FA issues
going on in the world. Oh, yeah. All right, Aaron,
you got to get back on. Check your phone. Take
it off D &D. He just has to give me access so
that I can run the Patreon as well. I don't know
enough about Patreon to do it, but I'm sure I
can. I think he just has to make me an administrator
or something. But yeah, I'll get this episode
up tonight so everyone can listen to it fresh
and come away happy, realizing... Why are we
even talking about losing at Austin? They're
going to go down there, have some good barbecue,
hang out with... Jesus's family. Yeah, Jesus's
family. I was going to say... Areola's family.
You were going much darker. After hours. They're
going to go down on 6th Street and watch some
brawls with drunk sorority girls. That's the
whiskey talking. And it's going to be a good
time. Hopefully they check out the Spider House.
That's my favorite bar in Austin. Where is it?
Just right outside the campus. Okay. It's just
right outside of campus. Okay. Next time you
go, Google it. Great beer selection, outdoor
garden for you to drink in. It's less of a touristy
place and more of like just a college local hangout.
Like a dive bar? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. All right.
But they can go there after they get the three
points. Yeah. That's where they'll go celebrate.
If they don't get the three points, then they
got to get back on the bus. The last time I was
in Austin. No, they're getting the three points.
Nothing to worry about. Last time I was in Austin,
there was a New Orleans style brass band walking
around and playing. And it was fantastic. I love
Austin mainly for its food culture. My favorite
restaurant in the world is in Austin. It's a
dive bar that serves local beer and vegan food
called The Beer Plant. It's a little bit outside
of the main area. You got to drive out to it.
Uh, but it is fantastic. It has the best vegan
food I've ever had. Uh, and it's, it's kind of
like the same way that flat stick here serves
all Washington beer. It serves all like local
Texas beers. So it's super cool. Even as someone
who's, they have, they have booze too, which
is why I like it. Cause I'm not much of a beer
drinker, but, uh, it's, it's just this awesome,
it looks nicer than a dive bar, but it's a dive
bar vibe. Uh, it's all like wood and it just,
it feels great. And it's my, my favorite restaurant
in the entire world. And I haven't traveled extensively
outside of North America and Europe, but where
I have, I love it. So I definitely, if you're
going out for the game, try to get out there
to the beer plant or there's some amazing vegan
food trucks as well down there with burgers,
with huge burritos, amazing milkshakes. it's,
it's not Portland. It's not LA, but it's like
the next best thing to those in terms of vegan
food. So definitely if you're going, try that,
that the vegan fair, cause it's fantastic. Love
it. No. Are you wearing what, what kind of, is
that a Jersey or? Yeah, it's a, it's the goalie
Jersey from my public team last year that won
the championship. So is that a, that's some tequila
you're down in there, Dan? Yeah, we've moved
on to tequila. I'm out of beer. I moved on to
tequila. My neighbors were outside, so I didn't
want to smoke before we recorded. I got my whiskey.
You've got your tequila. Try Coke water. Two
of those and you'll be good. You won't remember
the game. Yeah, I was supposed to work on finalizing
my class that I start teaching next week. But
I think I've had enough whiskey now that I probably
shouldn't do that because it's going to be fun.
Otherwise, I'll wait till tomorrow. You know
what you should probably do after we get done
recording? Yeah. Go play Fortnite. Oh, yeah,
I can do that. I mean, I don't need it. No one's
going to listen to the episode tonight. I just
have to have it up before I go to bed. So that
sounds brilliant. If you want to join us in Fortnite.
I'm legal -minded punk on there just like I am
everywhere else, so go look for me. Let's have
Twitter. Yeah, because I'm not on Twitter. That's
going to be the running joke for them. You know
what, guys? The Sounders are going to win the
MLS Cup. If they do, you're hearing it now. I'm
getting the Sounders tattoo if they win MLS Cup
this year. And are you going to twerk live on
the show? No. I have some self -awareness that
I know that what's out there is out there forever.
And has been screenshotted? It can be recorded.
It's just on the internet forever. How long ago
was that screenshot you sent me earlier saying
that I rooted for Liverpool? I'm quite a bit
heavier in that photo. Was I frumpy that day
or was that like at the beginning of the season?
You want me to check? Yeah. I mean, I look about
50 pounds heavier than I am now, which is probably
why. It was July 24th. Okay, two months. Yeah,
I'm probably 20 pounds heavier then. It looks
more than that, though. No, I think it... Yeah,
you look much slimmer now, but I think you have...
Bigger beard. No, less hair now, but... I think
it's just the lighting. Yeah, I can change the
lighting in this room. I also have key lights
that I can turn on, but you know what? You don't
need to see me that well. This is an audio podcast.
And we have some... Exciting news, I think, with
the release of FC26. Oh, yeah. I thought you
were going to say with Mangione not being charged.
I don't know what that is. I mean, they dropped
two of the three state charges against him today.
So, yeah, that's okay. Let's not get into it.
I have no clue what you're talking about. EFC26
coming out. It's out, what, in three days for
people that... pre -ordered the fancy version
and the rest of us like a week later. Yeah. But
if you're like the working class, like me, you're
going to get it in a week or now. Yep. But I
mean, we'll probably try to do something for
the Patreon. For sure. You know, we'll do a soundest
career mode, how we would run the team. And,
you know, if you guys want to. Did you see the
picture I sent you? I think it was last night
of who won the Ballon d 'Or in my league. Oh,
yeah. Hashtag Free Pedro. That's right. He has
developed into one of the best players in the
world because I started him every game in the
Premier League. But you know what? I think you
play FIFA on beginner mode because you were beating
Real Madrid 4 -0. Oh, yeah. That one I was playing
on beginner mode because I don't actually play
those games. This will be an interesting conversation
for video game people. I treat... FIFA right
now because I don't want to play like a full
season of games because it's the new one comes
out in a week I'm treating it like it's um football
manager I just I I sim all the games uh I only
jump in usually if I'm losing or if I need to
score like that was the first game after I had
signed uh Mbappe Mbappe so I was like I want
to see what it's like to score a goal with him
so I was up three nothing I got into the game
and then immediately scored with Mbappe There's
a lot of people that play that way as far as
YouTube content creators and stuff like that.
I'm not playing every game going through a season
right now. I'm just going through and I'm actually
developing my own players. I'm waiting for the
new game to come out in a week. Now we just got
to get Dan into more video games. I think we
got him to get FIFA. You got 25, no? Yeah, I
played 25. I'll buy 26 in six months. Yeah, when
it's on sale. Is that I or D? Yeah. Yeah, this
is I or D. Hey, special guest. Welcome to the
show. Who's your favorite Seattle sounder? He
doesn't know. Pedro. Pedro? You like Pedro or
do you like Thomas, the goalkeeper? Oh, yeah.
She got... Open Cup last year. She got a picture
with Thomas. I have a friend that's madly in
love with him. Yeah, me too. I think that color
is why you want him to start. Yeah, absolutely.
Apart from his ability in the gold box. Sounders
are winning the MLS Cup, but it all starts this
weekend at Austin. We may record again before
then to get Cedar in, but if we don't, give me
your early predictions on what the score is going
to be at Austin, not knowing if Pedro's healthy
and all that kind of stuff. Three nil. To which
team? Green. Oh, I'm supposed to pick a team?
Yeah. The green team. That's what I was going
to say. Gosh. Light green or dark green? Green.
Yeah, 3 -0, you're Seattle Sounders, and Rothrock
is going to come back, redeem himself, and he's
going to get the first goal. Oh, wow. It's amazing
how much difference an hour makes. I think an
hour ago, you were ready to burn the whole team
down. No, that's tequila. No, I think that Don
Julio make you at Cofulio. Give me 2 -0, Sounders.
Give me more. to score and shut me up so he can
start. And then give me Rusnak to score a PK
to shut me up so he can start. Prove me wrong,
boys. Prove me wrong. And I'll say 2 -1 Sounders.
I think we've done it. MLS Cup, here we come.
Where can we find you? On the Discord. On the
Discord. Yeah, that's it. That's it. I mean,
I'm on Punk and everywhere that's not X. You
can find me on Instagram at Alex underscore Diaz
and then just insert area code. That's not, what's
the one in Seattle? 206. 206? Yeah, it's not
206. It's not 253. It's not 425. And it's not,
there's a new Seattle area code too. I don't
even know what it is. They're out of 206s now.
Yeah. So I'm on the, just enter the other area
code and then you'll find me. Yeah. Yeah. That's
not your email though. I kept trying to put that
in for your email. It doesn't work. And you can,
of course, find Cedar on the Discord as well.
Shout out to Cedar. We're sorry we betrayed you.
We are Judases. You can yell at us on text message.
All right, everybody. I'll see you soon. Yeah.
Later. Catch us. Want to say bye, Dan? He's already
saying hi with his eyes. Bye, Dan. Be sure to
subscribe to the show for new episodes following
every Sounders FC match. And don't forget to
share your feedback by rating and reviewing.
And you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook at BritVoxus. That's Brit Vox US. We'll
see you at Lumen and go Sounders. Alexa, who's
the best MLS team of all time? The Seattle Sounders
are both unequipped and they are arguably the
best MLS team of all time.