American Soccer Trivia

The beginning of MLS

March 6, 2009 by jamieclary

With MLS’s 14th season upon us, fans could easily forget how the league got off the ground. Here’s a test.
Who was the first player to sign a contract with Major League Soccer?
He proved to the U.S. television audience how rough soccer can be when he took a bone-shattering elbow to the skull during the match between the United States and Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. On television 32 million people saw Tab Ramos convulsing on the ground. His notoriety—from that game, his play with the U.S. National Team, and his roots in New Jersey—made Ramos the perfect poster boy for the league when executives announced him as the first to sign with MLS.
What brand was the first official sponsor of Major League Soccer?
St. Louis had a long beer history and a long soccer history. The Municipal Amateur Soccer League operated for 44 years and the Catholic Youth Council has run its own league for kids and adults since 1956. The city had its own professional soccer leagues from 1891 through 1938 and again from1947 through 1953. During much of that time, teams and leagues enjoyed the support of beer companies such as Anheuser Busch, Fallstaff, Griesedieck, and Carling. Anheuser-Busch was the big dog, though. It partnered with the St. Louis Stars of the NASL and sponsored the World Cups of 1986, 1990, and 1994. When MLS went looking for corporate partners, Anheuser-Busch paid for Budweiser to be the league’s official beer.
What was the original name of MLS’s San Jose team?
The team was called The Clash for four seasons. It then became the Earthquakes, using the name of the NASL team that had made the Bay Area home years earlier.
What was the original name of MLS’s Kansas City team?
The team started operating under the name The Wiz, and met some, we’ll call it legal throat-clearing, from the folks who run the music stores Nothing Beats the Wiz. After using the name for one season, the team announced a change for the 1997 season, going with Wizards.
How many MLS teams had no owners when the league began in 1996?
When Major League Soccer opened in 1996 with ten teams, the structure for ownership was that each team would be 51 percent held by the league and 49 percent held by an owner-operator. Seven of the 10 teams had owner-operators working in partnership with the league. Three teams were entirely owned by the league and operated by the league. They were Tampa Bay, Dallas, and San Jose.
What spectacular play during the 1994 World Cup caught billionaire Phil Anschutz’s attention and encouraged his investment in Major League Soccer?
It was the most seen near-goal of the tournament: Marcelo Balboa’s bicycle kick during the U.S. match against Columbia. Video of Balboa’s miss made many local news broadcasts and became a repeated highlight on national news broadcasts, showing casual observers and soccer detractors that ultimate soccer-specific effort. Phil Anschutz saw it as well, encouraging him to research the status of professional soccer and eventually to invest in MLS by buying into five teams. Ivan Gazidis, MLS deputy commissioner, explained the connection best in the Rocky Mountain News in 2003: “We might not have a league without Marcelo Balboa.”
Who scored the first goal in Major League Soccer history?
Hosting D.C. United, the San Jose Clash nursed a scoreless tie late into the second half on April 6, 1996. MLS executives were sweating the idea that the league’s first game would validate the criticism that soccer did not offer enough excitement for American fans. With two minutes left Eric Wynalda knocked one in to give San Jose a 1-0 victory. The goal was later voted the goal of the year for MLS.
How many consecutive games did the L.A. Galaxy win to start its 1996 schedule?
The Galaxy played its first game ever on April 13, 1996. More than 69,000 people attended the Galaxy’s 2-1 win over the MetroStars. Los Angeles won two more games by the same, slim score and then beat D.C. United 3-1. Against San Jose the Galaxy won 2-1, followed by a 2-0 victory over Kansas City. Three straight one-goal victories drew even more attention as L.A. finished its ninth game with a 9-0 record. The Galaxy beat the MetroStars 4-0 for the 10th victory and then had to use a shootout for the 11th. By a 3-1 score L.A. beat Colorado at home on June 23 and then traveled to Denver to meet Colorado a week later. There and then, in the Galaxy’s 13th game, the steak ended with a 2-1 loss. The 12 straight victories is still an MLS record.
Of the 22 players from the U.S. Men’s National Team that played in the 1994 World Cup, how many later joined MLS?
Of the 22, all but two later joined Major League Soccer. Fernando Clavijo, retired from playing immediately after the 1994 World Cup and spent some time coaching in MLS. Hugo Perez, retired after playing professionally in El Salvador.
Of the men who played in the outdoor North American Soccer League, how many also played in Major League Soccer?
Only two players linked the two together. Hugo Sanchez played for the San Diego Sockers in 1979 and 1980 before heading to Spain, Mexico, and Austria. He came back to the U.S. and played for Dallas during the 1996 MLS season. Roy Wegerle played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1984 and the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 1998. His other MLS teams were Colorado and D.C. Frank Klopas came close to playing outdoor soccer in both leagues. Going backward in time, he played in MLS for the Chicago Fire in 1999 and 1998. Previously he played for Kansas City, also in MLS, and in indoor leagues before MLS had begun. One of those earlier campaigns was the NASL’s indoor league of 1984-1985. Klopas had signed with the Chicago Sting, expecting to play in the NASL’s outdoor season, but a broken leg kept him sidelined until the indoor season started up. When the outdoor season came around again, the NASL had folded.
What percentage of MLS games ended in ties during the league’s first season?
Out of concern for the notion the Americans don’t appreciate games absent a winner, Major League Soccer initially required that teams duke it out until a team could duke no longer. There were no ties. For the league’s first four years, games often ended in shoot-outs involving five players from each team taking one-on-ones. Soccer purists, often the most annoying people in the stands, paid young kids to hold up signs demanding, “ban the shootout”. Such displays encouraged MLS to change its rules and let ties stand beginning with the fifth season.

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Bubba’s Tennessee Soccer Trivia

February 8, 2009 by jamieclary

Soccer in General

Who often competed with Pele as the most recognizable person on the planet during the 1970s?

We know Pele for playing in New York, the media center of North America and a global hub of commerce. We tend to forget that he also is the only player to have won the World Cup as a player three times, two of those on European soil. And we can’t forget that he first had a career on a South American team that toured the world. He was so popular that during a 1967 war among Nigerians, fighting stopped in order for men of both factions to watch him play. When Pele moved to New York to restart his career, Muhammad Ali was defending boxing’s heavyweight championship. Ali fought in Europe during the 1960s, in Japan in 1972, Indonesia in 1973, Africa in 1974, and Malaysia and the Philippines in 1975. Tony Banks, a former minister of sports in England, said that Pele had achieved the fame of Ali, the most famous person in the world. Umbro’s Peter Draper said Pele lacked Ali’s arrogance but measured up with Ali in overall status. Author Harry Harris wrote that Pele’s fame was still growing as he was becoming “more influential, more popular, more famous, and more legendary” even though his best playing days were behind him.

What union sued Major League Soccer on behalf of the league’s players?

Acting on behalf of the players of Major League Soccer, the National Football League Players Association filed suit against Major League Soccer in February 1997, accusing MLS of violating anti-trust laws. MLS teams competed on the field but deferred to the league when it came to compensating players. There were no bidding wars between teams for players. The NFL players wanted that centralized pay structure outlawed, fearing that the NFL could go the same way since the NFL’s revenue sharing plan was just a hair away. Nevertheless, the players lost the suit, allowing the league to continue negotiating pay as one structure, not several competing teams.

Who is the youngest player ever to play in a game for the U.S. Women’s National Team?

Two years before enrolling in college and at the age of 15, Mia Hamm played her first game for the United States Women’s National Team. She scored goals, handed out assists, and kept earning spots on the team that repeatedly won the biggest titles of women’s soccer. At the age of 19, she was the youngest member of the 91ers, the group of women who won the 1991 Women’s World Cup. She started five of six games in the tournament and scored two goals.

During the 1970s, ABC television developed a competition that pitted athletes of several sports against each other. What was the name of that competition?

The network began its “Superstars” competition in 1973, matching up Americans from several sports to determine which of them was the best overall athlete. Keep in mind that this was during the big-three era of team sports, when participating in anything else—say soccer—could earn a person the label as being not tough enough or good enough in baseball, football, and basketball. Soccer was not “a real sport” in the minds of some. And it was the sport of communist nations. During 1974, the second year of “Superstars”, soccer player Kyle Rote Jr. took first place. Competing against Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson, Jim Palmer, O.J. Simpson, John Havlicek, Franco Harris, Stan Smith, and other top athletes, Rote showed the nation that soccer players were athletes, not just big-three rejects. In trying to repeat the feat in 1975, he finished third, but placed first again in 1976 and in 1977.

What professional team did Kyle Rote Jr.’s Father play for during most of his career?

It was not a soccer team. The older Rote was an All-American half-back (the American football type of half-back) from Southern Methodist University. Kyle Rote Sr. was the first overall draft pick of the National Football League—chosen by the New York Giants—in 1951. He went on to play 11 seasons in the league, making appearances in four pro-bowls.

Who is the only person to have played on teams that won championships of the Women’s United Soccer Association, Division I NCAA, Olympics and World Cup? In all Mia Hamm won two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, four NCAA Division I championships, and a WUSA title.

Located close to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, what state holds the United States Soccer Hall of Fame?

The staff of the hall of fame says that the question they hear the most is “Why is it located in Oneonta, New York?” Oneonta State University and Hartwick College, both located in Oneonta, have had quality soccer programs for a long time, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Cooperstown, is just a short trip away. The baseball hall of fame had long shown the impact a tourist destination could have when, in 1977, Hartwick won the NCAA Division I national soccer championship. Wondering where Hartwick’s name would be enshrined for its accomplishment, Oneonta residents asked, “Where is the National Soccer Hall of Fame?” Oneonta Mayor James Lettis appointed Parks and Recreation Director Albert Colone, to find the answer. He found that the national soccer hall of fame was a storage room in Philadelphia. A task force including John D. Biggs, Bill Atchinson, and Jim Ross found that the Philadelphia Old-timers Association had established a hall of fame in 1950. Working together, the two groups established a physical location at Oneonta State University in 1979 and gained recognition by the United States Soccer Federation in 1983.

Among all the players to have played in the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Soccer, who is the youngest to win a league championship?

Just as the 2003 Major League Soccer season ended, the league signed Freddy Adu to start playing for D.C. United in 2004. During half-time of MLS Cup ‘03, Adu made an appearance on national television and said that he hoped to be playing in the next championship game. He did. In the 65th minute of MLS Cup 2004, Adu, at 15 years old, went in as a substitute for D.C. United. United won the game 3-2.

What video game system helped fund the New York Cosmos in the 1970s?

The company behind The Exorcist, The Swarm, MAD Magazine, Asylum records, and Atari video games was Warner Communications, also the owner of the New York Cosmos. Atari games were big-time sellers. As the middle 80s crept in, however, Warner Communications suffered greatly as competitors entered the video game market. The company reigned in the checkbook and sold 60 percent of the team to Giorgio Chinaglia and a group of investors. It was downhill from there.

Stealing a little terminology from American football, what was the hyped-up name of the championship game of the North American Soccer League?

At first it was simply the NASL Championship Game. In 1975, though, league executives dusted off the title that had applied to the college championship for soccer before the NCAA created the post-season tournament. NASL’s championship became known as the Soccer Bowl.

The United States Soccer Federation crowns a champion among all men’s teams each year, called the U.S. Open Cup Tournament. Its trophy is named after which late NFL owner and long-time friend of Bud Adams?

The tournament has been around since 1914, almost as long as Lamar Hunt has been investing in professional soccer in the U.S. Likely nobody has spent so much money on soccer in the United States. Hunt, better known as the owner of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs (and the man who coined the term Super Bowl), owned the NASL’s Dallas Tornado, which was the league’s longest operating franchise in one city, lasting from 1967 until 1981. When Major League Soccer began its organizational phase, Hunt was there again, becoming the lead investor in teams in Columbus and Kansas City. He later bought into MLS’s team in Dallas and led the effort to build a soccer specific stadium for the Columbus Crew and F.C. Dallas. For all that effort, USSF put Hunt’s name on the trophy awarded to the winner of the U.S. Open Cup.

Who scored the final penalty kick to win the 1999 Women’s World Cup? She then ripped off her jersey.

Previously Brandi Chastain posed for Nike in an ad with her back bare. Then came a photo of a well-placed soccer ball in front of her full nakedness for Gear Magazine. It ran just prior to the start of the tournament. Ripping off her shirt was nothing when she converted the PK.

In international soccer competition, who has scored the most goals?

There are so many reasons that Mia Hamm was the most recognized female athlete in the world. For three different decades she was leading the team that was winning the world’s highest women’s team competitions while she appeared on Nike commercials and magazine covers and overwhelmed people with charm, modesty, and good looks. However, there’s a number that gives credence to all that attention: 158. Hamm did not score until her 17th game with the U.S. Women’s National Team, but when she retired in 2004, she had scored 158. It’s a record that likely will stand for some time among women. The next active player is Kristine Lilly, a former teammate of Hamm, with 117 goals at the end of 2006. The next three places are occupied by retired players.

Which U.S. presidential election featured the first use of the term soccer mom?

The term was introduced in 1982 in a periodical in Ludlow, Massachusetts, and appeared only sporadically until the 1996 election, Clinton’s second term. Alex Castellanos, a Republican consultant, told the Wall Street Journal, “The working soccer mom is the swing vote of this election.” Excerpt from The First American Soccer Trivia Book by Jamie Clary; Copyright 2007 FreeFalling Graffiti

What caused the United States Olympic Soccer Team to miss the 1980 games?

The United States Olympic Team earned a spot in the Olympics by going 4-1-1 against Costa Rica, Bermuda and Suriname. It was only the second time since 1956 that the U.S. had qualified for the tournament. However, President Jimmy Carter’s decision to boycott the games kept the team home.

What gift did Captain Julie Foudy bring to the White House after she led her team to the 1999 Women’s World Cup title?

President Bill Clinton was still getting over the scandal of Monica Lewinsky and impeachment when he figuratively and literally embraced the women’s national team. He and his family appeared at games, commented about the team’s on-going success, and invited them to the White House after the tournament. Once in the White House, Foudy, handed a cigar to a teammate and said, “The president wanted me to give you this.” For further explanation of cigars in the Clinton White House, readers need to refer to a book other than this one.

One of the original Major Indoor Soccer League teams was the Cincinnati Kids. Who was its famous co-owner?

Playing the first-ever MISL game on December 22, 1978, the Kids drew over 10,000 people to Riverfront Coliseum for their game against the New York Arrows. Pete Rose, former component of the Big Red Machine and partial owner of the Kids, ceremonially kicked out the first ball.

Who of these people did not play soccer growing up: Shaquille O’Neil, Cal Ripken Jr., Chelsea Clinton, or Terry Bradshaw?

Shaq talked about soccer on a talk show once, saying he had to quit playing because he ended up kicking other kids. Ripken played for Aberdeen High School in Maryland, and Clinton played in Arkansas and D.C. Bradshaw was so loud that no team would have him.

Which lasted longer, Andrew Shue’s career with Major League Soccer or his acting stint in as Billy Campbell in “Melrose Place”?

Who cares? Well, it was a big deal for soccer in this country once upon a time, specifically in 1996. “Melrose Place” had begun airing weekly in 1992 with Andrew Shue playing Billy Campbell. When Major League Soccer was taking shape, Shue expressed interest in playing for the Los Angeles team. He had been an all-conference player at Dartmouth, where he had graduated in 1989. MLS execs and Galaxy staff saw the opportunity to assist their marketing efforts with a Hollywood celebrity while the coaching staff claimed that Shue’s evaluation would be based solely on his soccer ability. He made the team and brought some exposure to the new-born league with appearances that included a guest spot on Late Show with David Letterman. During the season he played in five games for a total of 96 minutes, assisted on one goal, watched his team give up a 2-0 lead in MLS Cup ‘96, and was slapped four or five times by clothing-challenged actresses on the series’ set. Shue did not return to the team for 1997 but continued on the show through the 199^th episode and into 1998.

What actor appeared in Rocky, First Blood, and a 1981 movie about soccer?

The movie was directed by John Huston, filmed in Hungary, and based on a real-life series of games played during the war. In the United States it was released in 1981 with the title Victory. In Europe it was known as Escape to Victory. It starred Pele, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael Caine. In terms of Stallone’s career, the movie hit theaters between Rocky II and Rocky III, (the movie in which Rocky first earned the title and the movie in which he loses and then regains the title against Mr. T’s character, Clubber Lang). One of Stallone’s most memorable lines was “This frigging game is wrecking my life.”

Robert Duvall starred in the 2005 movie with Will Ferrell about soccer. What was the movie’s name?

Kicking and Screaming. Previously, though, Duvall worked with Michael Keaton in another soccer-themed movie A Shot at Glory.

What brand of shoe did Pele wear while playing for the Cosmos?

This is almost humorous to think that the greatest player to play soccer in the U. S. wore a brand on his feet that nobody under 30 remembers. Nevertheless, in 1976 when Pele scored the 1250th goal of his career, he was handed a gold shoe complete with the Pony logo.

What company owned the New England Tea Men of the NASL?

The name makes sense for two reasons: there’s the tea revolt of centuries gone by and the fact that Lipton Tea actually owned the team. The name made less sense when the team moved from Boston to Jacksonville, Florida, for the 1981 season.

Between Bristol and Memphis

A state that shares the city of Bristol with Tennessee, is where the first known mention of soccer was played in the United States. Which state?

Henry Spelman was an immigrant from England who came to the New World, more specifically the Virginia colony. He lived with other immigrants and with the Powhatan Indians, chronicling his life in a journal that was published in 1872. In the book, titled Relation of Virginia, Spelman wrote of a football game and making “gooles”.

Cindy Parlow, who played for the United States Women’s National Team for several years, is from Memphis. What was her nickname during the 1999 women’s World Cup?

Parlow graduated from high school in three years and scored more goals in the history of University of North Carolina women’s soccer than anybody else. As part of the Women’s U.S. National Team, she became known as Elvis.

During the 1996 Olympic soccer tournament, the United States men opened their schedule against Argentina in Birmingham. Which stadium hosted the match?

The game was played in Birmingham, Alabama’s Legion Field, which has a sign inside: Football Capitol of the South. For decades the stadium hosted University of Alabama football and the fabled match-ups between Alabama and Auburn. When the U.S. soccer team started the game against Argentina, 83,183 fans were inside and were awarded quickly—in 36 seconds. Claudio Reyna celebrated his 23rd birthday by pounding in a volley off a deflection from 10 yards. The stadium now has an additional sign outside: Site of 1996 Olympic Soccer.

Of the first 24 Women’s NCAA Division I soccer championships (1982-2005), which state that borders Tennessee boasts most of those titles?

The UNC Tar Heels are the undisputed leaders of women’s college soccer. Its alumni list is a who’s who of international stars. Altogether the North Carolina college won 18 of the first 24 Division I titles, including nine straight from 1986 through 1994. All of them have been under the coaching of Anson Dorrance.

Kyle Rote, Jr. was the first American-born scoring champion of the NASL and the person labeled by Sports Illustrated in August 1973 as the “Great American Hope” for soccer. Prior to those accolades he played college soccer at a noticeable school between Nashville and Chattanooga. Which one?

Perhaps the most overlooked story in American soccer is the one of Kyle Rote Jr. He excelled in football, baseball, and basketball as a youngster and started playing soccer when he was 16 to keep in shape. His football skills earned him high school All-American status and a scholarship to Oklahoma State University, where he enrolled in 1968. His plans were to follow his father through college and into the National Football League. Months into his college experience, Rote became disheartened with the training camp atmosphere of O.S.U. and was framed by teammates for stealing. He left O.S.U., transferring to the University of the South at Sewanee. He succeeded within the young Sewanee soccer program and got noticed by NASL scouts. The Dallas Tornado drafted him as its first pick in 1972 with the intention of working with a local player with potential. In 1973 he led the league in goal scoring and was named rookie of the year. He stayed with Dallas through 1978, then headed to the Houston Hurricane. He played for the U.S. National Team several times as well.

World Cup

How often is the World Cup played?

Since 1930 countries have put together teams of their best players for the World Cup every four years except for cancellations in 1942 and 1946. Unlike that first version in Uruguay, when every interested country was invited, now the tournament involves several months of qualifying to reach the World Cup.

At the 1950 World Cup, the U.S. staged one of the greatest upsets in soccer history by beating which nation?

England, the inventor of the game, was a favorite to win the tournament until it lost to the U.S. 1-0. Decades later a movie was made of that match called The Game of their Lives.

Where was the 1994 World Cup held?

By far soccer games were the most successful events at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, played in Los Angeles. In all, soccer competition brought in 1.5 million attendees, an average of 44,000 per game, leading FIFA to decide that the 1994 World Cup could be successful in the United States even though the country had no strong history of the game and no true professional league.

What football-related event had Americans glued to their televisions on the night that the 1994 World Cup began?

Minutes after Germany dropped Bolivia in the opening game of the 1994 World Cup and less than 24 hours before the American team took on Switzerland, O.J. Simpson led California police officers on his low-speed chase. Earlier in the day instead of broadcasting the opening ceremonies from Chicago, ESPN had reported that Simpson would be charged with two murders.

What misfortune befell Andres Escobar when he returned to Columbia after his team’s ignoble departure from the 1994 World Cup?

With an extremely unsettling political environment in his home country, Escobar and his teammates returned to Columbia while the tournament was still progressing in the U.S. There Escobar was murdered, supposedly as restitution for scoring on his own team.

After the 1994 World Cup, goalkeeper Tony Meola—a New Jersey native—wanted to change sports. What his non-soccer athletic pursuit?

Meola, with his New Jersey accent and spider-web jersey, got a lot of media exposure during the 1994 World Cup. Without a top-level professional soccer league in the United States at the time, though, he was thinking outside the box for his future. He wanted to be an NFL kicker. He actually signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets but ended up playing soccer for the Long Island Roughriders instead. When Major League Soccer got underway in 1996, Meola was with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.

After playing for the U.S. in the 1934 World Cup, what professional league did Buff Donelli coach in?

Donelli returned home from the 1934 World Cup and continued playing club soccer. He also coached college football teams and made his way to the top coaching job with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1942. He later coached with the NFL’s Cleveland Rams in 1944. After serving in World War II, Donelli coached Columbia University’s football team for 11 years.

World Cup Qualifying

When was the first time that the United States appeared in a World Cup?

The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930, and the United States was there. Of course the full story is that no qualifying was required. We got there because we signed up to join the other 12 teams. However, once there, the U.S. Men’s National Team showed its skill by beating Belgium 3-0 and Paraguay 3-0 before losing to Argentina.

The NCAA is split up into geographic-based conferences. What is the term used to split up soccer playing nations geographically?

The U.S. plays in CONCACAF, a confederation that includes North America, Central America and the Caribbean. CONCACAF is French for “we may need you to save us some day.”

What is the geometric nickname of the final round of World Cup qualifying that involves six teams from CONCACAF?

At this point the U.S. is playing against Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Each team plays the other teams at home and away. The top three teams after the hexagonal, automatically go to the 2010 World Cup. The fourth place team faces a team from South America as a play-in opportunity.

Of these six teams in the Hexagonal, which team has been to the World Cup the most times?

They used to dominate the confederation like UCLA dominated the PAC-10 in the 1960s and 1970s. Of the 17 tournaments, Mexico has been to 13 of them. The U.S. has been to eight.

In 1934 the qualifying was held in Rome just prior to the World Cup starting in Italy. Which neighbor did the U.S. beat to go through to the World Cup?

Buff Donelli scored four times in that match, leading the U.S. to a 4-2 victory and sending the Mexicans back across the Atlantic.

Of the six teams in this round of qualifying, the U.S. has beaten all of them away except one. Which one?

Mexico doesn’t lose at Azteca, its home stadium in Mexico City. The altitude, height and atmosphere have proven very difficult for every team. Only, Costa Rica has ever left a qualifying match in Mexico with a W. That was in 2001. In that same round of qualifying, the U.S., like the other four teams, failed to even score on Mexico on their home field.

In what Ohio city has the U.S. hosted Mexico for the hexagonal round for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups?

So if Mexico is going to keep taking us to Mexico City for games on their turf, what would be the U.S. equivalent? Ahhh, Columbus, Ohio, in winter. Yep. The United States Soccer Federation gave Mexico a dose of our own medicine by rolling out the welcome mat in February 2001 in front of Anglos who taunted opponents to keep their blood from freezing from the low 20s temperature. The result, 2-0. In 2005 we went back for the same result.

After the U.S. beat Mexico to qualify for the 1934 World Cup, how many decades nearly passed before the U.S. Men’s National Team beat Mexico again?

In hindsight, knowing that we would have to beat Mexico to get to future World Cups, perhaps the U.S. Men’s National team should have given in back in 1934. In World Cup qualifying and all other men’s national team matches that followed the 1934 game in Italy, Mexico managed to keep us winless until 1982, almost five decades later.

We Hate France

What unexpected event happened when the U.S. Men’s National Team played Olympic in Marseille, France, in 1978?

With the NASL often refusing to give up players for the U.S. National Team, the opportunities for the players to work out together were rare. In fact Ricky Davis was once fined by the St. Louis Steamers for missing a game in order to play a national team friendly against Columbia. Finally getting some cooperation from the players’ club teams, U.S. Men’s National Team Coach Walt Chyzowych took the team to Europe in mid-1978 to prepare for 1982 World Cup qualifying by playing any team that would host the U.S. men. There the U.S. won a game on European soil for the first time in 34 years. The problem with the victory was that it came against Olympic, a French club dedicating a new stadium by hosting the U.S. When the wrong team won, U.S. Soccer Federation President Gene Edwards had to apologize for ruining the celebration.

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World Cup Qualifying Trivia

February 3, 2009 by jamieclary

Qualifying Trivia

What country did the U.S. beat in the final match of qualifying to reach the 1990 World Cup?

T/T, to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1950.

How many straight World Cups has the U.S. reached?

Five: 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006

Why was the U.S. exempt from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup?

The U.S. was the host country

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World Cup Qualifier in Nashville

February 3, 2009 by jamieclary

LP Field hosted Galaxy exhibition match first in 2004. Then came a WNT friendly, followed by a 2006 WC send-off match vs. Morocco and then the Olympic qualifiers in 2008.

Attendance has never been solid. The women’s game was on July 3^rd. Morocco is not much of a draw, and the qualifiers were on Easter Weekend.

Why Nashville?

Three primary factors:

Weather: Decent weather in April; played the Olympic qualifiers in March here last year.

Fan demographics: T/T will not be a strong opponent, so throw out fan demographics. It’s not like the U.S. is playing Mexico in Houston, where the stadium would be filled with opposing fans. T/T does not have a huge following anywhere in the U.S., so USSF probably felt that it could host this match anywhere without concern for the opposing team’s fans taking over the stadium.

Venue: Modern stadium with great people to work with.

Four-hour drive from half the world.
Southwest flies into and out of Nashville 1,000 times per day.

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American Soccer Trivia

The beginning of MLS

Bubba’s Tennessee Soccer Trivia

World Cup Qualifying Trivia

World Cup Qualifier in Nashville

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