WEBVTT 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:15.259 It's time for Scuttlebutt Ultras. Quick takes 00:00:15.259 --> 00:00:17.899 from our Patreon Ultras, sharing their soundest 00:00:17.899 --> 00:00:21.480 thoughts straight from the heart. Your voice, 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:38.179 your moment. Hello and welcome to a, what do 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:41.359 we want to call it, a mini -sode? A breaking 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:50.299 news episode of Sounders Middlebutt? Hey, how's 00:00:50.299 --> 00:00:51.780 it going? I'm your host, Cameron Collins, with 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:54.159 my co -host here, Alex Diaz. What's up, Alex? 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:00.560 How you doing? I'm doing pretty good. Just wondering 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:03.299 how we went from having one goal yesterday to 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:05.819 having three today. That's the news we got to 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:10.299 start with, right? It's right off the bat. Stephen 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:13.140 Fry signs a two -year deal with the Sounders. 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:18.159 Looked into it a little bit to try and figure 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:24.739 out his contract, but the people I spoke to who 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:28.480 usually would be in the know don't know. So we 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:30.540 can say that we'll get that information and we'll 00:01:30.540 --> 00:01:32.659 talk about that because I think... That number 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:35.579 changes the perception of this deal. But also, 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:38.459 we signed another dude, right? We took on his 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:44.760 contract from the Whitecaps. Yeah. Max Anker. 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:46.780 Yeah. I mean, what a great name for a goalie, 00:01:46.780 --> 00:01:50.040 right? Like, Anker on the defense right there. 00:01:50.180 --> 00:02:00.620 Yeah. Yeah, young, 21. He was pretty cheap. Rumors, 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:02.780 whispers are saying $111K. I think we could probably 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:04.859 look at it. We basically pick up his contract. 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:08.879 So whatever he was getting paid by the Whitecaps 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.879 is what we'll pay him. And that's how the end 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.000 of the season waivers go, which we must have 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.199 really liked him because he could have been a 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:19.460 free agent immediately afterwards. Like if we 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:22.580 didn't pick him up and no one else did, anyone 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:25.379 who doesn't get picked up in end of season waivers 00:02:25.379 --> 00:02:29.550 who hasn't had their option picked up. or who's 00:02:29.550 --> 00:02:31.430 cut by their team, immediately becomes a free 00:02:31.430 --> 00:02:33.889 agent. Except for he may not have been old enough 00:02:33.889 --> 00:02:36.310 to be a free agent. That was one thing we were 00:02:36.310 --> 00:02:38.629 talking about off mic, just because he doesn't 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:44.490 have enough service time. Yeah, no, he's barely 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:49.909 probably 21. He's a 2004. I think great. Let's 00:02:49.909 --> 00:02:52.530 start talking about him. Great signing. Seems 00:02:52.530 --> 00:02:56.509 like he was Youth Player of the Year. I don't 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:58.680 know in what context, though. He only played 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:00.580 nine games in the Canadian Premier League last 00:03:00.580 --> 00:03:03.199 year, but he did play for Vancouver Whitecaps 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:06.099 too. I assume they're in the MLS next pro, aren't 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:11.919 they? Maybe they're not. Yeah, in the MLS. Yeah, 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:16.180 MLS next to... And then he went over to Pacific 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:22.939 FC in the CPO, where he won Young Player of the 00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:25.120 Year. Yeah, nine games. It's kind of wild. He 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:27.740 must have been... quite significant for them. 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:32.979 But yeah, I mean, seems like a pretty great signing 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.879 and probably a player that you want starting 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:44.879 most games in Tacoma, right? Oh, here it is. 00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:47.340 He won the team's young player of the year. Whitecaps 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:51.560 young player of the year. Oh, for Pacific. For 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:55.490 Pacific FC. That's pretty great, though. I mean, 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:59.349 if that means he came in and had an impact. And 00:03:59.349 --> 00:04:02.610 we've seen some good, a little bit older, but 00:04:02.610 --> 00:04:06.669 Osaze came from, D -Row, baby D -Row came from 00:04:06.669 --> 00:04:08.490 a Canadian Premier League team when he signed 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:13.550 with us. Yeah, so I think they're kind of saying, 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:15.210 you know what, let's try this pipeline again. 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:19.110 He'll probably play on Tacoma more than likely, 00:04:19.250 --> 00:04:24.009 get him some minutes. But it's great that we 00:04:24.009 --> 00:04:26.709 signed Fry. That we brought him back because 00:04:26.709 --> 00:04:28.730 now he gets to mentor two goalies. We don't know 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:34.350 the numbers, but I got to say, you know, it's 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:35.790 interesting. You see some of the fans online 00:04:35.790 --> 00:04:41.449 a little upset about it. But for me, it's like, 00:04:41.509 --> 00:04:44.250 why would you not want a player who could start 00:04:44.250 --> 00:04:46.189 for half the teams in the league as your backup? 00:04:49.910 --> 00:04:54.370 Yeah, let alone the captain of our team. Yeah, 00:04:54.389 --> 00:05:00.009 I think that we see Fry week in, week out, and 00:05:00.009 --> 00:05:03.209 we know that if we didn't have Andrew Thomas, 00:05:03.470 --> 00:05:06.970 Fry would be our starter going into next season. 00:05:08.589 --> 00:05:13.029 But that just goes to show how good Thomas has 00:05:13.029 --> 00:05:18.170 been, and he's been consistently getting better 00:05:18.170 --> 00:05:22.750 and better. I'm curious about... The deal, though, 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:28.329 because I mean, there's some people, Dan, who 00:05:28.329 --> 00:05:32.730 don't have a lot of faith in the front office 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:35.550 right now and think they will make bad deals. 00:05:36.790 --> 00:05:39.269 And this is not I mean, this is not Dan. Dan 00:05:39.269 --> 00:05:44.829 likes this deal. Right. But to me. It all depends 00:05:44.829 --> 00:05:48.410 on what they how much they're paying him and 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:51.899 what did they promise him? If they said you're 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:55.160 the definite starter, I'm against the deal. If 00:05:55.160 --> 00:06:00.899 it's for more than a backup goalie or a 4A goalie, 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.379 like someone who in baseball using 4A, like someone 00:06:04.379 --> 00:06:07.500 who's too good for AAA, but is kind of the low 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:13.360 man on the totem pole on the MLB roster, I'm 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.000 for that too. I mean, you're not paying Andy 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.550 Thomas that much. Andrew's not getting paid that 00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:20.990 much. So you can, you can splurge a little bit, 00:06:21.029 --> 00:06:25.110 but it frees up a ton of cap space. Not, you 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:28.790 know, Fry's contract was huge before. So to me, 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:32.129 it's kind of what's that number at. And I mean, 00:06:32.149 --> 00:06:35.230 you were saying like, you're fine with it being 00:06:35.230 --> 00:06:40.670 an open competition. Yeah. I mean, if you want 00:06:40.670 --> 00:06:43.189 to make it an open competition, you know, that's 00:06:43.189 --> 00:06:46.779 fine. Let the, you know, best keeper win. personally 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:50.500 i want thomas absolutely and i and i think i 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:55.100 think for me it is that thomas's upside is so 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:58.620 much higher right now that even if thomas is 00:06:58.620 --> 00:07:02.060 a little bit less in certain areas he's more 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:05.740 in other areas and that tiny bit of drop off 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:09.019 i think is okay because throughout the season 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:12.699 he's going to develop better whereas unfortunately 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:17.759 and i know this as a uh older gentlemen fries 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.459 just going to continue to go downhill and it's 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:22.699 that's nothing it's stuff that's just what happens 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.959 to your body when you get old my knees are not 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:30.160 i'm if if i had lost well i did lose a bunch 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.180 of weight in my 20s if i lost weight again in 00:07:32.180 --> 00:07:36.399 my 30s uh and was playing soccer every week i 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:38.319 would be much more skilled than i am now trying 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:44.810 to play in my 40s No, yeah, and I think we come 00:07:44.810 --> 00:07:47.389 to find out that Father Time has been undefeated. 00:07:48.930 --> 00:07:52.889 And it happens to, you know, the best of them. 00:07:52.910 --> 00:07:57.949 They all tend to slow down. And there's going 00:07:57.949 --> 00:08:01.230 to be a drop off in their level. And it can even 00:08:01.230 --> 00:08:04.069 be like a split second in their decision making. 00:08:04.589 --> 00:08:06.829 Maybe that's what he lost. He lost his decision 00:08:06.829 --> 00:08:10.079 making and his... I think that's fair. I mean, 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:14.560 we saw it a few times this year. And to be fair 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:18.779 to Stefan, some of it was when he came back from 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:22.620 injury and we put him right back in there. And 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:26.959 I asked Jackson Feltz and he said, you should 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.019 ask Craig. And then the few times I've ran into 00:08:30.019 --> 00:08:31.959 Craig, he's been with people. So I didn't want 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:36.490 to bug him. Like I just said, hi. A family, I 00:08:36.490 --> 00:08:41.370 assume it was his, but the last game, the home 00:08:41.370 --> 00:08:43.529 game, Minnesota game in the playoffs when I ran 00:08:43.529 --> 00:08:47.769 into him. But I wonder why they don't, like, 00:08:47.809 --> 00:08:49.509 couldn't he have just gone and played like two 00:08:49.509 --> 00:08:51.330 or three games at Tacoma to get back up to full 00:08:51.330 --> 00:08:53.929 speed? And then maybe our perception's a little 00:08:53.929 --> 00:08:55.350 different because he doesn't make those mistakes 00:08:55.350 --> 00:08:59.110 that he made at the beginning of coming back 00:08:59.110 --> 00:09:01.830 from injury when he got knocked out, essentially. 00:09:04.060 --> 00:09:06.539 Yeah, but I think even then there were still 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:11.480 concerns throughout the season. That doesn't 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:16.639 make him not a club legend. He, of all players 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:19.860 that I've gotten a chance to know a little bit, 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:24.120 and I obviously know Steve Zacchewani the best. 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.519 I've spent more time with him than anyone else. 00:09:27.179 --> 00:09:32.480 But I was on the COVID relief committee with 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:36.700 Steph. I spent a lot of time talking to him at 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:41.440 the logo when we changed our logo and released 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:49.159 that, all that stuff. I had a chance to talk 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:51.700 to him there for a while. He's always been open 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:54.539 and honest. He would even be like, yeah, this 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:56.059 was when he was signing his deal before. Yeah, 00:09:56.139 --> 00:09:59.779 we're really far apart. I don't know if it's 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:05.419 going to get done. It'll come down to, did the 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:08.299 Sounders pay a premium to stay him? Or did he 00:10:08.299 --> 00:10:10.279 give us a little bit of a hometown discount? 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:14.139 Because he doesn't want to leave here. He built 00:10:14.139 --> 00:10:18.679 his house here. He could easily become... I don't 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.600 know him as a leader. I've never spent time with 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:25.259 him in that context. But I don't know if he's 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:27.419 a good coach. But I could easily see him coming 00:10:27.419 --> 00:10:30.080 in under Tommy Dutra and coaching if he wanted 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:36.929 to. Yeah, no, I think maybe they found some middle 00:10:36.929 --> 00:10:40.269 ground between, you know, the promises made in 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:41.990 the hometown. I'm sure they met somewhere in 00:10:41.990 --> 00:10:45.450 the middle because we heard some whispers of 00:10:45.450 --> 00:10:50.629 a number. And those were just people with conjecture, 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:56.690 right? There was no. Yeah, it's like the whispers 00:10:56.690 --> 00:11:00.429 of the Rashford transfer. That was so funny asking 00:11:00.429 --> 00:11:04.169 Adrian. I didn't. I think Nicholas might have, 00:11:04.250 --> 00:11:09.990 or Muffin Top Model, perhaps. Tim did, but specifically 00:11:09.990 --> 00:11:16.470 asked Adrian about that in a meeting once. Oh, 00:11:16.470 --> 00:11:21.669 yeah. I'm sure you guys had a good chuckle. No, 00:11:21.769 --> 00:11:26.230 I just, I mean, you know, Steph's great. He's 00:11:26.230 --> 00:11:30.529 done so much for the club. But it's like all 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:32.789 the great clubs, they know when to move on from 00:11:32.789 --> 00:11:36.509 their legends. And at the end of the day, you 00:11:36.509 --> 00:11:39.409 have to... No player is bigger than the club. 00:11:39.769 --> 00:11:41.470 I mean, we're finding that out with Mo Salah 00:11:41.470 --> 00:11:43.129 right now. And at the end of the day, you have... 00:11:43.129 --> 00:11:47.649 Yeah, with Mo Salah. Or, you know, might as well 00:11:47.649 --> 00:11:48.970 just get into it with the whole Rotterdam thing. 00:11:48.970 --> 00:11:51.870 That's an interesting... And we don't know a 00:11:51.870 --> 00:11:57.950 lot of the backstory on this. I've... only spent 00:11:57.950 --> 00:12:01.370 a limited amount of time with him uh we're we're 00:12:01.370 --> 00:12:06.110 talking 20 30 minutes total but in that time 00:12:06.110 --> 00:12:13.429 he seems like a really stand -up dude yeah that's 00:12:13.429 --> 00:12:15.490 kind of the same one of the nicest guys i've 00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:17.070 ever met on the sound not that the other people 00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:21.950 aren't nice but he is true like uh you know he 00:12:21.950 --> 00:12:25.500 came and he asked uh you know i I don't think 00:12:25.500 --> 00:12:26.960 the players necessarily know the difference between 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:28.960 all the supporter groups. But he came and asked 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:32.059 about former ECS Tom Biro, former president, 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:39.000 who had been in an automobile incident who was 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:40.799 in the hospital. And he asked how he was doing 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:45.639 and asked me about that. And it was cool seeing 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:48.220 Tom at the final home game of the season in the 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:54.679 playoffs. For him to even be aware of what's 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:56.539 going on in that context, even if he doesn't 00:12:56.539 --> 00:12:58.659 know the difference between the supporter groups, 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:07.080 is super cool. So I'm curious, A, how much he's 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:08.799 involved versus the agent, because some players 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.799 are very hands -off and have nothing to do with 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:14.139 it. Say, this is my preference, but go do your 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:18.860 job. Then also, what the Sounders are offering 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:20.559 versus what he's being offered somewhere else. 00:13:21.070 --> 00:13:22.970 Because if they're offering him backup money 00:13:22.970 --> 00:13:26.289 where he can get starting money somewhere else, 00:13:26.409 --> 00:13:29.809 you've got to let him go as a Sounders. And it 00:13:29.809 --> 00:13:33.029 makes sense for him, okay, I'll leave. Plus, 00:13:33.090 --> 00:13:35.570 I mean, he's been gone before, right? He went 00:13:35.570 --> 00:13:39.610 away to college. He went away to play for Toronto. 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:41.429 But still, there's something about playing in 00:13:41.429 --> 00:13:43.110 your hometown where sometimes it feels good to 00:13:43.110 --> 00:13:49.970 kind of take off. No, yeah. And I just think 00:13:49.970 --> 00:13:52.559 that... He's what? Yeah, he was a late bloomer. 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:57.700 25, 26. He's a late bloomer, so if he's going 00:13:57.700 --> 00:14:02.179 to go get his payday, his big money move, this 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:05.539 is the time to do it because you don't know if 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:09.460 he's going to have – if next season he's going 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:12.559 to have better numbers or worse numbers. He can 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:17.480 make enough money with this contract to set himself 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.360 up for the rest of his life if he has a good 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:25.549 money manager. Yeah, and I think that sometimes 00:14:25.549 --> 00:14:31.269 we struggle with, you know, I'm sure a lot of 00:14:31.269 --> 00:14:33.070 fans have Rothrock as their favorite. We both 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:35.110 have Rothrock jerseys. You know, it's tough. 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:41.230 Yeah, we both have Rothrock jerseys. But I understand 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:46.149 that there comes a time, like, that sometimes 00:14:46.149 --> 00:14:49.090 the players have to leave. You know, like I grew 00:14:49.090 --> 00:14:52.090 up as a Barca fan. I grew up watching Messi, 00:14:52.269 --> 00:14:57.090 you know. Messi was a, you know, Barcelona player 00:14:57.090 --> 00:15:00.450 through and through. And it was sad to see him 00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:03.549 leave the club. But that's just how it is sometimes. 00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:08.929 And there's things that just happen. And at the 00:15:08.929 --> 00:15:14.929 end of the day, this is a business. And that's 00:15:14.929 --> 00:15:17.919 why I'm able, like. you know, it's like, okay, 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:21.919 it sucks that we might lose Rothrock, but if 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:23.500 someone else is going to pay more and he's going 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.759 to play more and be a starter somewhere else, 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:28.220 then it could not even be about money. It could 00:15:28.220 --> 00:15:30.559 be about playing time because he's not, he's 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:33.779 not going to get a free pass to start here. He's 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:35.919 not, I mean, you won't get it anywhere, but he's 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:39.200 far enough down the pecking order with a healthy 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.539 Pedro who won't be back at the beginning of the 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:45.409 season, but still. And then Jesus Ferreira. We 00:15:45.409 --> 00:15:48.529 know Russ Knack can play on the wing. You know, 00:15:48.570 --> 00:15:53.190 he's fighting for minutes with Georgie. And then 00:15:53.190 --> 00:15:54.929 Areola's back too. And Areola's going to be back. 00:15:56.590 --> 00:16:00.129 And Areola was starting over him. I think the 00:16:00.129 --> 00:16:05.690 Sounders probably make it to the MLS Cup if Areola's 00:16:05.690 --> 00:16:12.750 on the team. Is that with Healthy Pedro or without 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:17.009 Healthy Pedro? With Healthy Pedro. Because I 00:16:17.009 --> 00:16:19.549 don't think we get past Banks Hoover. Yeah, but 00:16:19.549 --> 00:16:24.789 we at least advance. Yeah, I mean, the one thing 00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:29.549 is, you know, I was talking to Edgar from NAG, 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:32.070 News Across the Galaxy, the LA Galaxy podcast. 00:16:32.190 --> 00:16:33.549 And he said, here's the thing about the Sounders 00:16:33.549 --> 00:16:36.009 is even without like a quote unquote superstar. 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:39.090 there's still this gritty team that when Brian 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:40.750 Schmetzer is the coach, you can't count them 00:16:40.750 --> 00:16:45.649 out in any game ever. And so I get that that's 00:16:45.649 --> 00:16:48.669 our identity, but we don't have a Thomas Mueller. 00:16:48.750 --> 00:16:51.830 We don't have a Dennis Belonga. We don't have 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:57.429 a son like Pedro could be that, but he wasn't 00:16:57.429 --> 00:17:00.649 there for the playoffs. Ferreira could be that, 00:17:00.690 --> 00:17:02.950 but he hasn't continued to develop at that rate. 00:17:05.390 --> 00:17:08.049 I kind of feel like he's going to have the same 00:17:08.049 --> 00:17:10.990 kind of trajectory as Pedro. You know, first 00:17:10.990 --> 00:17:13.809 season, you know, oh, he's a bust. And in the 00:17:13.809 --> 00:17:17.990 second season, he just, you know, he starts getting 00:17:17.990 --> 00:17:21.750 goals and assists. And let's just hope he doesn't. 00:17:21.750 --> 00:17:23.329 I mean, if the Sounders go out and sign a number 00:17:23.329 --> 00:17:27.329 nine, that puts Rothrock even further down the 00:17:27.329 --> 00:17:28.769 pecking order with Jordan going to the wing. 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:36.359 Yeah. And maybe with some of the moves they made 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:40.839 this offseason so far. And maybe they go back 00:17:40.839 --> 00:17:43.900 to a 3 -5 -2. Yeah, could. But we also don't 00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:47.359 have two strikers. I mean, we let Misoski go, 00:17:47.420 --> 00:17:49.900 didn't we? I mean, we have... Oh, we got him 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:51.039 back. We brought him back. We brought him back. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:59.160 I'm sure they're shopping him around. But I mean, 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:04.490 what he was... He was producing for cheap, I 00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:07.690 think. This year, compared to... He had similar 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:12.009 numbers to Sam Surridge, which I like Sam Surridge. 00:18:13.109 --> 00:18:17.470 I like his style of play. Tall, physical, almost 00:18:17.470 --> 00:18:20.670 like a fox in the box, a poacher. Which is kind 00:18:20.670 --> 00:18:22.390 of like the striker that I think that we need. 00:18:24.430 --> 00:18:28.529 Their purpose is not to be helping the build 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:31.950 -out. We have players that can do the... Yeah, 00:18:31.950 --> 00:18:34.390 that can help in the build out. You have Rusnak 00:18:34.390 --> 00:18:36.990 that can carry the ball and pass the ball. You 00:18:36.990 --> 00:18:39.170 have Asus that does the same thing. And then 00:18:39.170 --> 00:18:42.930 you have Pedro that can dribble and break lines 00:18:42.930 --> 00:18:48.490 with his dribbling. Well, all we need from our 00:18:48.490 --> 00:18:51.569 nine is, you know, go stand on the edge of the 00:18:51.569 --> 00:18:54.049 box. When a cross goes in, go and header it in. 00:18:54.210 --> 00:18:56.420 Yeah, I think that's all you got to do. There's 00:18:56.420 --> 00:18:58.559 two different players that can do that, though. 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:02.059 It can be a little guy like Raul or like Danny. 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:09.160 He didn't score all the goals, but Danny was 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:11.859 in all the right positions like Raul always was. 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.160 But Raul put those goals in, whereas Danny, you 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:15.839 know, like in the playoff game at Minnesota, 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000 misses the header. So I think you have that player. 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:25.640 Or you could sign a big center forward. like 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:28.799 what Osaze is trying to be, but bring in a proven 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:31.799 one, and someone who's big in the box and you 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:33.980 can cross it to and will head it in. That kind 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:37.039 of player. Someone who can embody those defenders 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:39.779 a little bit. I personally would like to see 00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:43.079 both. I mean, do two strikers at the top, have 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:48.500 one little guy and one big guy. I mean, we've 00:19:48.500 --> 00:19:50.900 seen... When we put, you know, two strikers, 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:52.660 it worked. Like, against Minnesota, we had two 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:53.160 strikers. Yeah, it was very interesting, though, 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:54.619 because they weren't central. And then we were 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:58.099 able to... Like, when he's on the wing... Yeah, 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:00.500 but then again, if you have two strikers... And 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:03.700 then Jordan's on the wing. The thing is, like, 00:20:03.819 --> 00:20:08.559 the way that I, like... If I have a two striker 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:12.720 set up, I would want them to be, like, interchangeable 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:15.119 in positions. Yeah. Because if they're both narrow... 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:18.119 And we saw that the one time they tried to do 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:23.759 it with Jordan and... Who was it that he played 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:29.660 maybe a dinner on? It was either Deaver or Moose, 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:31.720 but it was the first time they tried it. But 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.940 even they did it for a few games in previous 00:20:34.940 --> 00:20:42.450 seasons. And same problem. So... Yeah, because 00:20:42.450 --> 00:20:44.130 you almost want to have them play off each other. 00:20:44.130 --> 00:20:46.190 Like Dempsey and Oba did. I know that's before 00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:48.230 your time, but if you could go back and watch 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:50.789 some of those highlights, there was not a more 00:20:50.789 --> 00:20:54.730 fun offense to watch. I mean, the Cruz Azul game 00:20:54.730 --> 00:20:58.750 this year was pretty fantastic, but as a whole 00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:00.829 throughout the season, there was not a more fun 00:21:00.829 --> 00:21:06.990 offense to watch than the 2015 Sounders. Yeah. 00:21:07.650 --> 00:21:12.529 Yeah, it was fun, but... But yeah, that was before 00:21:12.529 --> 00:21:15.470 my time. I think you're right, though. We need 00:21:15.470 --> 00:21:19.450 a piece to do that. Or Ozaze can develop it. 00:21:19.930 --> 00:21:23.950 Which, look, Jordan can still be in. If Ozaze 00:21:23.950 --> 00:21:27.410 develops, but that's going to take time. Maybe 00:21:27.410 --> 00:21:29.369 two, three years down the road, but Jordan is 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:30.990 probably not going to be here. If he is here 00:21:30.990 --> 00:21:33.170 as a DP, then we have a problem. Yeah, unless 00:21:33.170 --> 00:21:37.849 he... I mean, the weird thing about him is he 00:21:37.849 --> 00:21:43.309 had no left foot. and you don't develop a left 00:21:43.309 --> 00:21:46.390 foot late in life as a soccer player. And then 00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:51.609 suddenly, last year, he develops a left foot. 00:21:52.390 --> 00:21:54.690 And it's like, what in the world is happening 00:21:54.690 --> 00:21:59.269 right now? I think he always had it. He just 00:21:59.269 --> 00:22:02.250 didn't want to use it. I think he wanted to. 00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:04.490 But that was always a big knock in his scouting 00:22:04.490 --> 00:22:06.730 report. That was something that you would hear 00:22:06.730 --> 00:22:11.420 from soccer. Talking to people in front offices, 00:22:11.579 --> 00:22:14.940 talking to team presidents and general managers 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:17.359 around the league. That's what they've said to 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:20.480 me before. And I've been lucky enough to spend 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.680 some time with some just based on the Sounders, 00:22:23.700 --> 00:22:26.579 obviously, but based on some stuff I've done 00:22:26.579 --> 00:22:32.539 with other teams as well through Sounders. And 00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:35.119 yeah, I mean, it was a knock on him. And it was 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:39.200 the same knock on... That he only had one foot 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:43.299 for Jovan Jones as well. Which was interesting 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:46.240 because we tried to bring him back as a TAM player, 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:51.420 him and Fry. And the league said no. Would not 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:57.099 let us make them TAM players. No, they were less 00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:58.539 considered DPs. They didn't think they should 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:02.019 get paid that much. So they rejected TAM. So 00:23:02.019 --> 00:23:03.940 we wanted to sign them to bigger contracts and 00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:07.559 then pay them down below the minimum. I mean, 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:12.680 below the maximum. And the league was like, no, 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:14.380 you can't spend that much on those players. Yeah, 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:17.759 it's ridiculous. It probably worked in our favor. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:20.440 And that's also maybe that's a game. I don't 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:23.339 I don't I can't say I know that, but maybe you 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:25.599 know the league's going to reject it. So you 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.720 tell the players that and then you're like, well, 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:33.220 we can't do it. So I got to pay you less. Yeah. 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:36.539 But I mean, yeah, maybe. Yeah. I mean, that's 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:38.200 the thing is I'll be interested to see what he 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:40.500 signs for. And we, unless it becomes public, 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:44.200 we may not know that until the, the MLS PA releases 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:47.859 the salaries partway through the season. But 00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:52.180 yeah, it's, it'll be an interesting number and, 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:54.240 and what he's promised from Bruce arena. And 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:58.380 as much as I don't like Bruce arena and I don't 00:23:58.380 --> 00:24:00.339 know him personally, obviously I only know him 00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:02.720 as. as seeing him on TV and the head coach. And 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:06.460 I didn't love him as a USA coach, even though 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:08.819 he coached, no, was it him or Rob, Bob Bradley? 00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:10.619 That was the coach when we were number four in 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:19.420 the world, either way. It he's like probably 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:21.759 the biggest name in us soccer history as a coach. 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:27.720 There's no bigger name. It's him. Obviously now 00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:33.269 Burrhalter. But it's him and it's Ziggy. Yeah. 00:24:33.430 --> 00:24:36.029 And Ziggy never coached the national team, but 00:24:36.029 --> 00:24:38.890 he won at every level. He won multiple MLS Cups. 00:24:40.029 --> 00:24:43.849 I think he won two in Columbus. He won the national 00:24:43.849 --> 00:24:47.769 champions at UCLA. He worked with the U .S. youth 00:24:47.769 --> 00:24:55.990 system, like royalty in the soccer world. So 00:24:55.990 --> 00:24:58.170 there's something we said we learned from Bruce 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:02.140 Arena. Isn't there another one? Is it King, King, 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:05.859 Julian? Um, Klinsman. Yeah. I mean, he, but he 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:09.119 was not, yeah, he was a USA coach, but he's, 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:10.859 you know, he was a German soccer player who, 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.619 who was kind of Hollywood and came and coached 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:16.779 the USA. I wish they had made the GM position 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:20.960 at us soccer then, because he was amazing at 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:22.920 bringing players in. I didn't love his tactics 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:26.059 on the field. So whoever Eddie Stewart or whoever 00:25:26.059 --> 00:25:28.720 became the GM, they should have made Klinsman 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:32.680 the GM. as a promotion, had him manage the entire 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:35.460 team, but then have a different person do the 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:39.940 day -to -day tactics. Because he brought in players 00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:41.500 from other countries, which is not something 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:43.240 we do anymore. And maybe it's because we're a 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:45.680 better team. But he was able to get all those 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:49.279 young German players whose dads were from military 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:54.000 bases, U .S. military bases. And we missed out 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.920 on them. I mean, who was it? Is it De Rossi? 00:25:58.399 --> 00:26:00.759 forward for Italy, he was starting for Italy 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:05.240 for a while, was born in New Jersey. Like, how 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:08.640 did we not get a World Cup starting player who 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:10.519 was born in New Jersey and let him go play for 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:13.180 Italy? They never even invited him to a USA camp. 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:19.400 Yeah. There's also, I think, a Serbian or Croatian 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:20.900 player, a similar thing, who was a defender. 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:24.400 Same thing. It's like, they did such a poor job 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:27.019 back then, and that was the one thing I really... 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:31.950 Yeah. with recruitment yeah i think the federation's 00:26:31.950 --> 00:26:34.210 just was not yeah and i still question it is 00:26:34.210 --> 00:26:37.190 now kind of where it's at they're doing a lot 00:26:37.190 --> 00:26:40.190 better around making the sport more accessible 00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:43.029 but if we truly want to compete on the world 00:26:43.029 --> 00:26:45.549 stage we have to make it much more accessible 00:26:45.549 --> 00:26:48.230 and i still think they're focused on raising 00:26:48.230 --> 00:26:50.549 money because they're a non -profit and then 00:26:50.549 --> 00:26:52.210 using that money where i think they need to do 00:26:52.210 --> 00:26:54.630 more for the game uh making it cheaper everywhere 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:00.700 It's so crazy how expensive it is to play club 00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:03.019 soccer, which is the only way you're going to 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:05.900 get seen. I mean, both your brothers play MLS 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:12.079 Next. Yeah, both of them play MLS Next. And if 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:18.000 we weren't blessed and lucky enough to have people 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:22.029 that sponsor, help cover the cost. I think just 00:27:22.029 --> 00:27:24.529 to register for one season for MLS Next was over 00:27:24.529 --> 00:27:27.029 $2 ,000. And that doesn't include travel fees. 00:27:27.150 --> 00:27:28.549 And your one brother was playing in Seattle, 00:27:28.609 --> 00:27:32.950 right? So he had to drive for hours. Yeah, so 00:27:32.950 --> 00:27:35.869 he plays in Seattle. We got to drive. You know, 00:27:35.910 --> 00:27:37.950 luckily the coach is like, you know what? Since 00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:40.210 you're from Yakima, you know, just practice there. 00:27:40.630 --> 00:27:44.650 And you just come down for the games. But even 00:27:44.650 --> 00:27:47.829 like right now he's in Arizona. Nice. In a tournament. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:50.119 Although they're all, I mean, we talked about 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:51.440 this the other day, how everything's getting 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:54.359 messed up with the birthday shift, where now 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:57.559 you have to play with your age, and they changed 00:27:57.559 --> 00:28:00.819 the date. So players that are up a level are 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:02.140 going to have to move down a level. It's just 00:28:02.140 --> 00:28:07.180 kind of crazy. Yeah, it's going to be interesting 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:10.720 what ends up happening as far as what they decide 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:14.259 to do for them. Maybe they will put them both 00:28:14.259 --> 00:28:18.640 in Akuma. I did see a... I know a player who 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:22.420 played in a youth system who was always the best 00:28:22.420 --> 00:28:24.759 player. And then once he got put with older kids, 00:28:24.859 --> 00:28:28.279 struggled because you were no longer the best 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:29.960 player in the team. It reminded me of going to 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:33.059 law school and always having been the smartest 00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:34.859 kid. And suddenly everyone in the room is the 00:28:34.859 --> 00:28:40.700 smartest kid. And you're like, fuck. Yeah. No, 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:43.880 yeah. And I just, I mean. The way that I see 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:46.299 the whole club's youth soccer system right now 00:28:46.299 --> 00:28:50.859 is that it's all pay to play. And you're missing 00:28:50.859 --> 00:28:56.559 out on a huge landscape of talented players because 00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:00.259 they just can't afford it. It's like we can be 00:29:00.259 --> 00:29:03.000 the same as if you go to Brazil and you walk 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.880 the streets, you got a bunch of kids playing 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:09.200 soccer that are talented. They're doing tricks 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:15.640 that... It is changing though. Dave Zirin wrote 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:24.579 a book called, was it The Devil in Brazil? And 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:28.259 it was about the 2014 Olympics and the World 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:31.660 Cup and how they were using neoliberal policies 00:29:31.660 --> 00:29:36.180 to tear down the favelas and build fancier stuff. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:42.170 And along with that, there was a move to no longer 00:29:42.170 --> 00:29:45.529 have Brazil's dance with the devil, the Olympics 00:29:45.529 --> 00:29:47.670 and the fight for democracy. So Dave, Dave's 00:29:47.670 --> 00:29:53.470 iron there's no longer open space for kids to 00:29:53.470 --> 00:29:56.329 just go play. And I think that's something that 00:29:56.329 --> 00:29:58.509 sounders like that's why they're building what 00:29:58.509 --> 00:30:01.930 52 fields around the state by the world cup. 00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:07.769 I, yeah, I think we have one, two, three, four. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:12.440 I can think of four off the top of my head of 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:14.859 the fields that we have, but most of them are 00:30:14.859 --> 00:30:17.799 on school properties and sometimes their fences 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:20.960 are locked. So like they're building the, you're 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:24.660 going in the right direction. We have all these 00:30:24.660 --> 00:30:26.640 fields, you know, and the West side, you guys 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:30.980 have these beautiful turf fields, but you can't 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:33.660 access them because if they're either locked 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:37.180 and you know, some, you might run into the wrong 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:40.259 person. And they're going to report you and say 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:42.839 you're trespassing. When all you're trying to 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:45.279 do is just kick a ball around with your buddies 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:47.599 or work on some of your skills. That's the nice 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:50.799 thing about the ones that are at schools that 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.299 are public in Seattle is they're run by the Seattle 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:58.099 Parks and Rec. So, I mean, you're supposed to 00:30:58.099 --> 00:31:01.599 book it. But if no one shows up and the field's 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:03.039 open, you can just go play. So that's what we 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:05.440 do in public sometimes because we don't, for 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:07.910 these few months in December, we don't. or like 00:31:07.910 --> 00:31:10.309 end of November, beginning throughout December, 00:31:10.349 --> 00:31:12.410 we don't have our main field that we usually 00:31:12.410 --> 00:31:16.190 play at. So we move around a little bit. Yeah. 00:31:17.349 --> 00:31:21.569 No. Yeah. And it's like, I, I, sometimes I go 00:31:21.569 --> 00:31:24.690 in, you know, play pickup soccer in this, we 00:31:24.690 --> 00:31:27.190 found this Facebook group where we go play, you 00:31:27.190 --> 00:31:30.869 know, some of the public parks just, you know, 00:31:30.869 --> 00:31:34.910 throw down some mini goals. I did that experience. 00:31:35.150 --> 00:31:36.950 I set up a practice where we just went out. It 00:31:36.950 --> 00:31:38.269 was harder on my knees, though, because I've 00:31:38.269 --> 00:31:41.230 been playing on turf. And I need knee surgery 00:31:41.230 --> 00:31:45.309 on both knees, technically. But insurance won't 00:31:45.309 --> 00:31:46.630 pay for it, thanks to the American healthcare 00:31:46.630 --> 00:31:50.650 system. Because I'm not old enough. Because they 00:31:50.650 --> 00:31:53.309 don't want to pay for it twice, right? So I have 00:31:53.309 --> 00:31:56.089 to wait until I'm in my 60s, which is a long 00:31:56.089 --> 00:32:01.309 ways away. So it's wild. But I am going to get... 00:32:01.470 --> 00:32:06.609 a different um procedure done some some prp injections 00:32:06.609 --> 00:32:11.150 to help but i might miss the first week or two 00:32:11.150 --> 00:32:15.589 of public because of it but i think it'll make 00:32:15.589 --> 00:32:20.009 a big difference long term so uh yeah i we did 00:32:20.009 --> 00:32:22.470 that though we just set up a green lake set up 00:32:22.470 --> 00:32:26.670 uh i brought goals but then we uh put those down 00:32:26.670 --> 00:32:29.299 and Just were able to play right there. And we 00:32:29.299 --> 00:32:31.000 had our little area and there was other kids 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:34.339 in other areas and it was cool. That's something 00:32:34.339 --> 00:32:36.559 that's always been key in a lot of these countries. 00:32:36.599 --> 00:32:40.099 And sadly, Brazil privatized so much of that 00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:44.680 space. And we see it in the whole thing where 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:46.539 they, I don't know if you remember this story 00:32:46.539 --> 00:32:49.119 in San Francisco, some tech company created an 00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:51.940 app for reserving the field, but like it wasn't. 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.640 it was kind of messed up because then they just 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:58.099 came in like, we have the field, but like the 00:32:58.099 --> 00:32:59.599 local kids who would come there every day and 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:01.420 play were just being kicked out. And they were 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:03.220 like, what the hell? Like, we don't know about 00:33:03.220 --> 00:33:07.940 this. This is our field. So we saw, I guess a 00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:09.779 lot of that's happened in Brazil. So that may 00:33:09.779 --> 00:33:11.200 be why they're not as good as they used to be. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:17.119 Yeah. They, they, they lost their, their magic. 00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:21.740 I feel like they also went away from their yoga 00:33:21.740 --> 00:33:25.160 bonito, what they're known for. To me, they don't 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:27.599 have the same style no more because it feels 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:31.839 like all... The thing is that you have the South 00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:35.440 American flair and then they make the move to 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:40.339 the big European clubs where some of the systems 00:33:40.339 --> 00:33:43.000 are focused on tactics, almost systematic robotic 00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:46.660 play. So they lose that. I think a lot of the 00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:49.019 star players, through the time where they were 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:50.819 still amazing and winning World Cups or losing 00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:54.500 to France in the final, They did have a lot of 00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:56.880 players in Italy, and those players played well. 00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:59.460 So I wonder if there was something about the 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:01.839 way they played in Italy at the time that was 00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:07.119 conducive to their style versus now where, I 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:09.860 mean, Neymar's old now, right? But I guess he's 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:11.719 back in Brazil finally. But didn't he spend a 00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:16.820 couple years in Saudi Arabia? Yeah, he went to 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:18.719 Saudi, but he didn't really play much. He was 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:21.480 just collecting paycheck. And what's so crazy 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:25.409 is that He went back to his youth academy club. 00:34:25.929 --> 00:34:31.570 He was playing on a torn... At Santos. So he 00:34:31.570 --> 00:34:35.730 was playing on a torn meniscus. And he did that 00:34:35.730 --> 00:34:37.590 to save his club from not getting relegated. 00:34:39.170 --> 00:34:42.050 That's probably why I saw a video earlier this 00:34:42.050 --> 00:34:45.389 week of someone offering him a knee. And he was 00:34:45.389 --> 00:34:50.760 like, do you have two? Yeah. It was like if Pedro 00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:53.159 has me for my hamstrings, he can have mine. Yeah, 00:34:53.159 --> 00:34:55.079 he can have mine. But, yeah, I mean, to bring 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:58.780 it full circle, there is a pay -to -play issue 00:34:58.780 --> 00:35:00.079 in the United States, and I think it's getting 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:02.199 a little better, but it needs to get a lot better 00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:08.440 if the USA is going to compete. Yeah, and, you 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:10.840 know, we're going to find out how good we really 00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:14.039 are this summer. Which right now it looks like 00:35:14.039 --> 00:35:16.659 we're pretty good. I mean, I think we're probably 00:35:16.659 --> 00:35:20.559 a top. 10 team in the world, if we're playing 00:35:20.559 --> 00:35:24.599 like we are, maybe top 8, but I don't know. They 00:35:24.599 --> 00:35:30.940 have to play perfectly to get that far. Yeah, 00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:34.480 I think we can make a quarterfinals if we play 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:37.420 our cards right. We should have made a semifinals 00:35:37.420 --> 00:35:44.280 against Germany. Back in 06? Back in 02. No. 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:49.639 Yeah, 02. Germany commits a handball on the goal 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:51.820 line. The goal doesn't go in. Were you born yet? 00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:59.119 No, I was in the little ball. That was a wild. 00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:01.380 Little cells. Yeah, so that was when the USA 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:03.800 was at its best, and they should have been in 00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:06.320 the semifinals and got screwed out of it by the 00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:14.320 refs. Then in 06, played well, but red carded. 00:36:15.070 --> 00:36:17.969 Up a man on Italy and then we get a red card 00:36:17.969 --> 00:36:23.010 and screw it all up. Then was it 2014 when they're 00:36:23.010 --> 00:36:26.289 up on Ronaldo late and then he scores the game 00:36:26.289 --> 00:36:29.090 -tying goal? They're going to beat Portugal. 00:36:30.389 --> 00:36:36.250 It's rough, man. Right before they scored, he 00:36:36.250 --> 00:36:38.989 wasn't yet president, but later became president 00:36:38.989 --> 00:36:41.530 of Guerrilla FC, started chanting, I believe 00:36:41.530 --> 00:36:44.699 we will win, which is my most hated chant. because 00:36:44.699 --> 00:36:47.380 it's just like why don't we just be like maybe 00:36:47.380 --> 00:36:52.599 we can do good i i believe it i don't give a 00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:59.079 fuck what you believe just say we will win i 00:36:59.079 --> 00:37:01.639 i you know what but i like when you talk college 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:06.219 does it like in basketball i like it in a basketball 00:37:06.219 --> 00:37:08.559 yeah it's an american it started american football 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:11.280 champ that's where it originally started uh which 00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:13.929 is another reason i don't love it at soccer games, 00:37:14.090 --> 00:37:18.489 but I don't care about belief. Just go do it. 00:37:20.289 --> 00:37:24.750 I believe we will win. Blue! It's the same bullshit. 00:37:28.670 --> 00:37:33.550 Green. Well, it's like, okay, so what are we 00:37:33.550 --> 00:37:39.869 going to chant? Red, white, blue. Go Stars. No, 00:37:40.170 --> 00:37:43.570 it's... I mean, since we're on the topic of the 00:37:43.570 --> 00:37:48.409 U .S., I just, I mean, I like what Pochettino 00:37:48.409 --> 00:37:51.590 is doing. I feel like he's widened the player 00:37:51.590 --> 00:37:57.510 pool and he's really changed up the, you know, 00:37:57.530 --> 00:38:02.030 what was the core. And he's made our, you know, 00:38:02.070 --> 00:38:03.949 some of the superstars, you know, really, you 00:38:03.949 --> 00:38:07.429 know, try to earn their spot because the last 00:38:07.429 --> 00:38:09.530 thing we need is these superstars to feel entitled 00:38:09.530 --> 00:38:12.780 just because they're in Europe. That makes sense. 00:38:15.340 --> 00:38:19.159 And it's like, every country has their own style 00:38:19.159 --> 00:38:22.019 of play. What is the U .S.'s style of play? It's 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:26.519 having that gritty, hardworking, we're going 00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:32.480 to physical, keep the game tight, and get a scrappy 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:36.539 goal. That's what I think of when I think of 00:38:36.539 --> 00:38:37.460 the U .S. They have skill on a level they haven't 00:38:37.460 --> 00:38:40.969 had before, though, I will say. I feel like it's 00:38:40.969 --> 00:38:44.590 more, there's more skilled players. And we see 00:38:44.590 --> 00:38:46.230 that where they're playing around the world. 00:38:46.730 --> 00:38:50.590 You know, there's never been a Pulisic player. 00:38:50.849 --> 00:38:53.269 I mean, Dempsey was good, but Pulisic's ceiling 00:38:53.269 --> 00:38:59.690 is so much higher. Yeah, just the thing with 00:38:59.690 --> 00:39:03.730 him is that he just has to stay healthy and get 00:39:03.730 --> 00:39:05.510 hot at the right moment. Yeah, well, that's what 00:39:05.510 --> 00:39:10.050 Christian Roldan's for. That's why Coach loves 00:39:10.050 --> 00:39:12.929 him. Yeah. And Berhalter too. Berhalter is hot 00:39:12.929 --> 00:39:18.349 right now. Man, I still think of when I saw that 00:39:18.349 --> 00:39:20.090 free kick he scored, I just thought of the Tony 00:39:20.090 --> 00:39:23.989 Cruz free kick in the World Cup. It was almost 00:39:23.989 --> 00:39:28.789 the same. Speaking of World Cup, I think there's 00:39:28.789 --> 00:39:31.650 one more day where you can put in for your tonight 00:39:31.650 --> 00:39:37.530 and tomorrow. We're recording on Thursday. Oh, 00:39:37.590 --> 00:39:39.030 it's Friday today? Yeah, we're recording on a 00:39:39.030 --> 00:39:41.449 Friday where you can get your ticket requests 00:39:41.449 --> 00:39:45.170 in to buy tickets to the World Cup. Already 2 00:39:45.170 --> 00:39:49.389 million tickets sold. I think I'm going to go 00:39:49.389 --> 00:39:51.489 in and put in for a few Seattle matches and maybe 00:39:51.489 --> 00:39:56.570 a Vancouver match. We'll see. Yeah, I think I'm 00:39:56.570 --> 00:39:59.610 going to try to see if I can get into the USA 00:39:59.610 --> 00:40:01.409 versus Australia game. Although Australia is 00:40:01.409 --> 00:40:02.929 like, everyone thinks it's easy. We're going 00:40:02.929 --> 00:40:07.269 to come after them. No, I think our group is 00:40:07.269 --> 00:40:11.070 tough. And we've seen it before. The game is 00:40:11.070 --> 00:40:14.349 not played on paper. You know, it's 11 v. 11 00:40:14.349 --> 00:40:16.510 on the field. You know, you've got to suit up 00:40:16.510 --> 00:40:18.750 the boots and go put in the work and get the 00:40:18.750 --> 00:40:22.230 result. And I think that Poach is the kind of 00:40:22.230 --> 00:40:24.449 coach who will force that to happen. He's not 00:40:24.449 --> 00:40:31.289 going to let them just cruise, you know. Oh, 00:40:31.329 --> 00:40:33.010 yeah, we saw how he was answering some of the 00:40:33.010 --> 00:40:36.199 questions he got after the World Cup draw. And 00:40:36.199 --> 00:40:40.039 he's like, no, we got to work hard and be ready 00:40:40.039 --> 00:40:42.480 to beat these guys. We're not automatically going 00:40:42.480 --> 00:40:44.860 to win the group just based off what we saw in 00:40:44.860 --> 00:40:48.920 the draw. So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see 00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:52.679 what happens. But I'm excited to be able to go 00:40:52.679 --> 00:40:56.360 to at least one match. But who knows, maybe there 00:40:56.360 --> 00:41:02.780 will be more. Yeah, I'm just excited that I'll 00:41:02.780 --> 00:41:07.019 be able to experience a World Cup. at home with 00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:13.679 the top 16 team. It's going to be Haiti versus 00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:21.320 Cape Verde. They're both going through. Because 00:41:21.320 --> 00:41:24.840 I have a co -worker that's from Haiti, and he's 00:41:24.840 --> 00:41:27.179 all excited. I'd love to go to the Haiti -Brazil 00:41:27.179 --> 00:41:33.809 match in Philadelphia. It'd be so much fun. I 00:41:33.809 --> 00:41:35.650 think that would be... Oh, yeah. I think Brazil 00:41:35.650 --> 00:41:38.050 will win. They should win by a lot. On paper, 00:41:38.170 --> 00:41:39.929 they should win. But it doesn't mean it won't 00:41:39.929 --> 00:41:46.949 be fun. It can be... Who knows? Maybe Haiti... 00:41:46.949 --> 00:41:48.690 That's the kind of game, if I'm a fan, though, 00:41:48.789 --> 00:41:53.190 and I'm expecting to get blown out, unless we're 00:41:53.190 --> 00:41:55.570 going to win, I don't want it close because I 00:41:55.570 --> 00:41:57.750 just want to have fun. And the closer it is, 00:41:57.769 --> 00:42:00.170 the later in the game, the more upset I'm going 00:42:00.170 --> 00:42:03.199 to be when we lose. That's the Mariners panning 00:42:03.199 --> 00:42:12.760 me. Yeah. Yeah. Just lose right away. Be down 00:42:12.760 --> 00:42:14.880 two goals right away. Learn this party and enjoy 00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:20.900 it. That's why you pre -funk at FanFest. That's 00:42:20.900 --> 00:42:24.280 what I'll do. I'm going to show up to the game 00:42:24.280 --> 00:42:26.739 nice and... I think the USA -Australia match 00:42:26.739 --> 00:42:31.739 is at noon. Having fun already. Yeah. It's 8 00:42:31.739 --> 00:42:33.860 o 'clock somewhere. Or was it? It's 5 o 'clock 00:42:33.860 --> 00:42:36.000 somewhere. That's why they have mimosas. It's 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.300 fair. It's noon on a weekday. Not that that means 00:42:40.300 --> 00:42:43.320 anything to me as someone who makes my own schedule, 00:42:43.340 --> 00:42:45.639 and then when I do teach, I teach at night most 00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:49.840 of the time. No, and it's Friday. Friday is the 00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:53.619 first day of the weekend for me. Because, well, 00:42:53.679 --> 00:42:55.659 I mean, I work on Fridays, but by the time it's 00:42:55.659 --> 00:42:57.099 2 o 'clock and I'm home, it's already the weekend. 00:42:57.440 --> 00:43:01.380 But yeah, lots of breaking news. We just wanted 00:43:01.380 --> 00:43:03.079 to jump on and talk about it, even though we 00:43:03.079 --> 00:43:06.780 just put up a new episode yesterday. I figured 00:43:06.780 --> 00:43:09.380 we can't let time go without talking about Steph 00:43:09.380 --> 00:43:14.239 Fry coming back and all this stuff. No, we're 00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:18.940 going to find ways to keep these episodes coming 00:43:18.940 --> 00:43:21.820 and try to be more consistent. And I know Aaron's 00:43:21.820 --> 00:43:25.269 been very busy. Uh, we haven't had like a, the 00:43:25.269 --> 00:43:27.650 original host episode for quite some time, but 00:43:27.650 --> 00:43:29.230 we're looking at recording one sometime soon 00:43:29.230 --> 00:43:30.829 too. So there'll be more of those eventually 00:43:30.829 --> 00:43:36.530 as well. Yeah. So that way we can, uh, you guys 00:43:36.530 --> 00:43:38.750 can go over the, yeah, it's going to be really 00:43:38.750 --> 00:43:41.190 interesting because, uh, there's some prizes 00:43:41.190 --> 00:43:47.210 to give out. Yeah. I don't know. Uh, I know the 00:43:47.210 --> 00:43:49.949 prizes though. I know that there's no full team 00:43:49.949 --> 00:43:53.050 autographed Jersey prizes. from when Raul Ruiz 00:43:53.050 --> 00:43:57.690 Diaz and Nico was on the team. Yeah, Bruce Lee 00:43:57.690 --> 00:43:59.610 kit. I think it was a Bruce Lee kit. I mean, 00:43:59.650 --> 00:44:02.809 the fact that it's got Raul and Nico is such 00:44:02.809 --> 00:44:09.789 an amazing thing. I mean, Jordan Morris, Christian, 00:44:09.909 --> 00:44:15.469 all the guys are on there. Yeah, it's a great 00:44:15.469 --> 00:44:18.889 piece for someone to have, whoever took first. 00:44:18.989 --> 00:44:21.559 At the end of the day, they... Yeah. There's 00:44:21.559 --> 00:44:24.340 probably Roma. Six -year -old, won the whole 00:44:24.340 --> 00:44:29.780 thing. Only played a few weeks. Imagine that. 00:44:29.940 --> 00:44:34.460 I bet you Dan's near the top. There's some other 00:44:34.460 --> 00:44:35.940 people that are near the top. Dan had that huge 00:44:35.940 --> 00:44:38.099 run in midseason where he was winning every week. 00:44:40.119 --> 00:44:43.199 Yeah. Then he started picking us to win, though, 00:44:43.219 --> 00:44:47.000 too, when we started picking it up. He knew. 00:44:47.340 --> 00:44:50.889 Yeah. That'll be interesting because, yeah, we 00:44:50.889 --> 00:44:53.610 have to get that out and announce the winners 00:44:53.610 --> 00:44:56.389 now that the season's over and then probably 00:44:56.389 --> 00:44:58.809 start prepping for next year because before we 00:44:58.809 --> 00:45:04.469 know it, preseason is, well, usually it's February, 00:45:04.590 --> 00:45:07.650 like mid to late February, but maybe it starts 00:45:07.650 --> 00:45:09.449 sooner because of the World Cup break. I don't 00:45:09.449 --> 00:45:13.769 know. Well, we have to get ready for Champions 00:45:13.769 --> 00:45:18.539 League. I wonder where that game will be. Because 00:45:18.539 --> 00:45:21.079 we played beginning of March. Or March 12th, 00:45:21.079 --> 00:45:25.760 I think. Champions League. Yeah. We heard some 00:45:25.760 --> 00:45:31.460 whispers of T -Mobile, Spokane, Vancouver, down 00:45:31.460 --> 00:45:34.079 in our... I can't imagine they go to Vancouver 00:45:34.079 --> 00:45:39.719 just because it's a different country. We could 00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:41.719 give them two home games if you think about it 00:45:41.719 --> 00:45:43.260 because we play the winner of Vancouver. Yeah, 00:45:43.260 --> 00:45:47.900 they're never going to do that. So it's either 00:45:47.900 --> 00:45:53.219 Spokane or if they can figure something out with 00:45:53.219 --> 00:45:58.639 T -Mobile or down in Portland. It would be funny 00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:06.559 to play in Portland though. Imagine as a... Portland 00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:10.059 supporters that you have Vancouver and Seattle 00:46:10.059 --> 00:46:13.619 playing at your home stadium. Maybe I'll text 00:46:13.619 --> 00:46:15.239 Taylor Graham and tell him, please make that 00:46:15.239 --> 00:46:20.639 happen. Because then we can just chant songs 00:46:20.639 --> 00:46:23.679 about how important it is. This is going to Thunderbirds 00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:26.440 time. Anytime you're not playing Everett or Spokane, 00:46:26.619 --> 00:46:28.179 you're chanting about your hate for Portland. 00:46:28.969 --> 00:46:32.070 In the breakdown where they're, you know, Portland 00:46:32.070 --> 00:46:35.050 sucks. Portland sucks. Even if you're playing 00:46:35.050 --> 00:46:38.949 like Kelowna. You're chanting Portland sucks. 00:46:39.289 --> 00:46:44.750 Yeah. When did the season start for the Thunderbirds? 00:46:45.489 --> 00:46:47.730 Yeah, because they're playing right now. Kraken 00:46:47.730 --> 00:46:51.329 are playing. The Torrent are playing. They set 00:46:51.329 --> 00:46:53.929 the record for the largest women's hockey crowd 00:46:53.929 --> 00:46:59.949 in U .S. history at their opening game. 14 ,000 00:46:59.949 --> 00:47:03.869 or something like that. Yeah. Okay. That's pretty 00:47:03.869 --> 00:47:08.809 good. So do they still do roller derby? I haven't 00:47:08.809 --> 00:47:12.969 seen it as much, but I think it, cause they did 00:47:12.969 --> 00:47:15.809 it at key arena for a while. So I think once 00:47:15.809 --> 00:47:18.010 they had to move out of key arena and they moved 00:47:18.010 --> 00:47:20.650 to like, I think they moved down South towards 00:47:20.650 --> 00:47:25.329 white center. It just wasn't the same, right? 00:47:25.349 --> 00:47:27.969 Cause you're not playing in. the premier arena 00:47:27.969 --> 00:47:33.550 locally uh but yeah that was fun because i remember 00:47:33.550 --> 00:47:38.429 that i think there was like a league down here 00:47:38.429 --> 00:47:41.349 in yakima but that just kind of stopped too so 00:47:41.349 --> 00:47:43.250 i'm like well maybe instead of doing roller could 00:47:43.250 --> 00:47:45.849 be yeah red city roller girls was the local league 00:47:45.849 --> 00:47:50.269 in seattle they were fun i went to a few matches 00:47:50.269 --> 00:47:56.489 bouts i don't know races? I don't know. I just 00:47:56.489 --> 00:47:59.429 know they skate and hit each other. It was fun, 00:47:59.570 --> 00:48:05.070 but not as violent as it is in the movies. Or 00:48:05.070 --> 00:48:09.210 in the TV. They did some pretty funny TV episodes 00:48:09.210 --> 00:48:13.090 where I think it was on CSI where someone died 00:48:13.090 --> 00:48:15.369 at one of them and they had to figure out who 00:48:15.369 --> 00:48:19.969 the killer was. Silly. Well, I think it's time 00:48:19.969 --> 00:48:23.170 to get out of here. We'll definitely do more 00:48:23.170 --> 00:48:25.750 of these with breaking news and get them out 00:48:25.750 --> 00:48:29.849 as soon as possible. Yeah, hopefully. Next time 00:48:29.849 --> 00:48:31.630 we have a chat, we figure out what's going on 00:48:31.630 --> 00:48:33.969 with Obed. Maybe we'll get some news on him. 00:48:34.030 --> 00:48:36.909 For sure. Where can they find you? The Discord? 00:48:38.789 --> 00:48:41.530 Yeah, join the Patreon. Didn't play the ad. Short 00:48:41.530 --> 00:48:46.969 episode. But yeah, tune in. Hang out. Come over 00:48:46.969 --> 00:48:48.210 to the Discord. We have lots of good conversations. 00:48:51.280 --> 00:49:20.539 See everybody next time. You can follow the Sounders 00:49:20.539 --> 00:49:25.460 Scuttlebutt Podcast on Twitter at SSFCScuttlebutt. 00:49:25.460 --> 00:49:28.519 And for all inquiries, including questions for 00:49:28.519 --> 00:49:31.579 the gents or sponsorship opportunities, please 00:49:31.579 --> 00:49:35.579 email contact at scuttlebuttproductions .com. 00:49:35.760 --> 00:49:38.500 Be sure to subscribe to the show for new episodes 00:49:38.500 --> 00:49:41.539 following every Sounders FC match. And don't 00:49:41.539 --> 00:49:44.099 forget to share your feedback by rating and reviewing. 00:49:44.619 --> 00:49:47.059 And you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, 00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:51.719 and Facebook at BritVoxus. That's BritVoxUS. 00:49:52.239 --> 00:49:59.219 We'll see you at Lumen, and go Sounders! Alexa, 00:49:59.360 --> 00:50:03.480 who's the best MLS team of all time? The Seattle 00:50:03.480 --> 00:50:05.519 Sounders are both unequivocally and incredibly 00:50:05.519 --> 00:50:07.780 the best MLS team of all time.