USWNT Roll, MLS Awards, a USOC Replay, and more: Thursday Freedom Kicks
Tomorrow is Halloween. For folks from New Jersey and New York that means tonight is Mischief Night, a night where there was a lot of discussion of elaborate pranks but few were actually played. As I have moved around a bit and talked with friends and coworkers from around the country I’ve run into two separate reactions from people. The first is blank stares as people wonder if I’ve lost my mind. Other’s have described the night of October 30th similarly but had a different name for it. Its become a bit of an interesting thing for me to learn about where people are from. But, on to today’s news.
USWNT routs New Zealand to close out October window (ESPN)
The USWNT didn’t score in the first minute like in the previous two matches of this window, but overall they put together a comprehensive performance start to finish. The starting lineup was the youngest ever fielded by the USWNT.
MLS Awards: U.S. Men’s Defender Tristan Blackmon Gets Key Honor; Who’ll Win MVP? (Fox Sports)
Blackmon wins Defender of the Year. Nick Haaglund wins Comeback Player of the year. His season ended early last year with a broken fibula. Earlier this year he suffered two broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He still managed to play 17 games this year. He is one tough dude.
MLS released its updated salary list for the year. Christian Benteke makes an appearance for D.C United at 11. He made just short of $5 million this year. Miami has three players in the top 10 (Messi, Busquets, and Alba).
U.S. Soccer reports 37% revenue jump to $236.7m for 2025 year end (Inside World Football)
US Soccer seems to be in a good place going into next year’s World Cup. This year was the highest revenue year for the organization in nearly a decade as several new sponsors have come on board.
FIFA & DAZN Team To Relaunch Global Soccer Streamer (Deadline)
My immediate reaction to this was a somewhat cynical “Yay another streaming service.”. It will supposedly be free when it launches next year, but I’m not all that familiar with DAZN as a platform. I am unsure if this will be great or simply Flo Sports (FIFA’s Version).
Skinner says mental health of managers ‘a huge concern’ (BBC Sport)
Sometimes it is easy to forget managers are people too and deal with a lot from the pressure of their jobs, the media, their players, social media, and life in general. For managers in women’s football, they have to tackle all of this with less available resources than their counterparts.
Saudi Arabia’s World Cup ‘Sky Stadium’ is stunning, fake (Pro Soccer Wire)
You may have seen images recently of a stadium sitting at the top of a building that kind of looks like Avengers Tower. Like a lot of things circulating these days, the images are just AI creations of what the stadium could look like. While the images are fake, the stadium is real an will be constructed for when Saudi Arabia hosts the 2034. Its planned as part of a whole city that is being constructed from scratch. Its definitely worth checking out the official concept images. They are something.
You may remember from previous Freedom Kicks, there was some controversy in US Open Cup qualifying in the match between Sharktopus FC and Bellevue Athletic. Sharktopus lost and but appealed as the match’s referee had recently played for Bellveue’s 2nd team. A replay was ordered. That match occurred the other day with Sharktopus emerging victorious 5-0. Lost in the noise of all of this, Sharktopus FC is apparently led by a former reality TV “star”. I’m not sure this story could not get any more interesting.
But wait there’s more…..
Sharktopus’s next opponent is Ballard FC, a team that features several former MLSers on their roster. Ballard is captained by former D.C. United winger Lamar Neagle.
That’s what I have. What did I miss? Have a safe and happy Mischief Night and Halloween.
Sharktopus FC might be the worst sports team name I’ve ever heard…
But you have heard of them …..
But *CityName* FC is right there
Hard disagree. You can find the name bizarre or distasteful, but I legitimately think these regional clubs should go bananas in this vein. It helps create a sense of ownership for the fanbase, and if the local soccer scene in the US becomes known for off-the-wall identities, that’s better than having a bland or nonexistent scene.
I’m not a huge follower of baseball, but I feel the same way about those teams. Most MLB team names: Bland, boring, unoriginal. Minor league teams: Kooky, exciting, unique, memorable. The non-traditional names are what make you stand out. Its really the only reason we’re even talking about Sharktopus FC at all. If they’re just called something like “Seattle Area Amateur Football Club,” the story above doesn’t even get traction because its just another game.
I played for Suburbs FC.
Show some love, Commentariat.
Since Lamar Neagle is mentioned and I got bored at work since I’m sitting on my hands in a holding pattern because of the shut down (still getting paid as my contract is paid up through July). In 3,267′ (3267/90=36.3)in 56 appearances across all competitions in the 2016 and 2017 seasons he had 11 goals (.30 goals/90 min), 6 assists (~.17 assists/90 min), and 6 yellow cards.
He was a fine player for us, but kind of seemed to never want to be here. We had a couple of guys that were pretty decent for us for two years in that era (usually really good the first year, and a lot less good the second). Patrick Nyarko, Lloyd Sam, Alvaro Saborio, Davy Arnaud, Marcelo Sarvas.
I’m not sure his heart ever left Seattle. That being said, I enjoyed watching him play. I found that group really easy to root for.
I’ve thought about this in terms of some potential player acquisitions. Like, would it be good for us to try and get Paul Rothrock? Or does he have such a special connection to Seattle that he’s going to perform better there than he would for any other team? Or perhaps more to the point, is there enough other talent there in Seattle that he can shine with what he has to do, and if he came here he might be required to take on a bigger role, which might not suit him?
If anyone is interested the USA Men’s Eagles take on Scotland Saturday at 1:40 PM with the game streamed on Paramount+ and Peacock. Its the first of 3 test matches in the November international window.
Thank you Will! I’ll try to get that on the screen with Bayern vs Leverkussen party at O’Sullivans. (Do come peeps)