Saturday, October 08, 2005

Adu's Goal

He still has a long way to go in his development before he's a worthy starter on the US National Team (I saw "worthy" because he may get a cap at some point simply for marketing reasons) but when you see flashes of brilliance like his goal the other night, it makes your heart flutter. It's easy to forget that he's only 16 years old and playing against grown men.

You can watch his goal against Real Salt Lake here.

Also on a soccer note, the US plays another World Cup qualifying match this weekend. It's against Costa Rica (in CR). The US has already qualified but the match means a lot to the Ticos who are still fighting with Guatemala and Trinidad & Tobago for the final berths.

Du Nord has a good round-up of all the weekend's qualifying action.

One last soccer note: here is a great example of why soccer is a blast to watch in the US. Christian Gomez is one of the leading goal scorers for DC United. However, for last week's match against the Metros in NJ, Gomez was suspended due to a red card in his previous match. Well, what do you think Gomez did with his week off? Nope. Gomez packed up his family and drove up to NJ for the game, sat with the other DC fans and bang a drum to root his teammates on. Being a Metros fan, I wasn't happy that DC crushed us 4-1 but I give huge props to Gomez for being so loyal to his teammates and fans. In an era of pro athletes looking down on the fans that put thme up on pedestals, soccer is chock-full of players like Gomez who just love the sport and its fans.

5 comments:

Jim said...

That was an absolutely amazing goal.

I have to admit that I haven't been the best MLS fan this year. I can't get Direct Kick (I have Bright House digital cable and they don't carry it here in Indy) and the Fire haven't been on FSC/ESPN2 enough for my taste. And damned if they're not on FSC tonight at the same time that the US is on ESPN2. F'ing MLS. I wish they'd stop this nonsense of playing during international match days. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Unknown said...

That goal is sick! Props to Gomez for stepping up like that. Maybe all DC players aren't evil.

My MLS fandom has dropped off sharply since college football kicked up 6 weeks ago. I don't think I've watched a single MLS game in that time eventhough I have Direct Kick! I also have ESPN Gameplan for football, so that's been winning out.

I don't feel bad about it though since the west has long been won and we were pretty sure most people had the east wrapped up too.

I'm just waiting on the playoffs...

-jace said...

An amazing goal. I fall into the poor MLS fan these days, too. I haven't been to a game since May, don't have Direct Kick, because it's not available here, and usually miss the ESPN2 game as I'm either at work or out drinking. Plus, the Wiz decided to nose-dive, and we don't know for sure that the team will be there next year. Siiiiiiiiigh.

Flatlander said...

It's interesting to hear all of you guys mention that your viewership has slipped this year. Mine has too and like you guys, it is partially related to the fact that I can't get Direct Kick.

The Saturday 4pm time slot doesn't work for me because we don't want the TV on during the day with the kids. So, that leaves me with just the Fox Soccer Channel match of the week. If that match isn't compelling, I'll go a while without seeing any matches.

Plus, it's another painful year for the Metros.

Flatlander said...

Good point, g. I also wonder if that move left some of the defenders ball watching because they left a lot of open space after he made that move. I do that in hoops every once in a while. If someone makes a great pass or move, I'll find myself admiring the play rather than reacting defensively to it.