The Ochocinco Experience (Or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy the Show")

Chad Ochocinco will never be the nation's favorite American football player. It just won't happen. His showmanship (or tomfoolery depending on who you ask) and his self-confidence (or ego-maniacal delusions) will always endear him to some and make him repulsive to others. Now, this is a European Football/ American Soccer (or Olde Worlde Sissy-ball depending on who you ask) blog and you could not be faulted for asking how much attention should be given to Ocho's workouts with Sporting Kansas City. After all, this is just an overpaid prima donna seeking attention during a work stoppage of the NFL. It's a publicity stunt. What good could possibly come from it?

The MLS has always struggled to carve out a spot for itself in the saturated American sports market. It pains me to say it, but the MLS ranks somewhere between professional eating and the WNBA (I won't say in which order the three leagues are to be ranked) in terms of attention garnered by the average American. Despite the number of kids playing soccer in the suburbs, the U.S. has yet to churn out a true soccer superstar. Yeah, yeah, Landon is respected across the world and Clint Dempsey has played well for Fulham. But while we have any number of elite-level athletes in the NFL and NBA born, raised, and trained here in the U.S. but our best soccer players are generally regarded as "above-average" at best abroad.

So what does all of this have to do with our man 85? Is this five-day experiment going to change the course of American soccer? Will the NFL lockout single-handedly create the vehicle of its own demise in the form of the MLS?

In a word: Hell no. (Numbers were never my strong suit.) However, The Ochocinco Project does bring attention to the MLS. Even better, Chad has been genuine in his gratitude and excitement to make the most of his opportunity. Rather than turning this whole event into a circus or NBC reality show, both Ochocinco and Sporting KC have treated the experiment with a true sense of professionalism. This professionalism has given legitimacy to the league.

It also means something to have a premier athlete actually wanting to have a chance to playing in the MLS. Yes, he is currently locked out of his real job. Yes, he has not been incredibly successful. This won't propel the MLS ahead of the MLB, NBA, or NFL. But you know what it might do? Expose a few more fans to the MLS, or even soccer in general. Maybe a few kids who would've given up on soccer early in their lives will stick with it. Wishful thinking? Absolutely! But take this experience for what it is, a rare publicity stunt worth getting behind.

Wait, he's doing what?

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco will undergo a four-day trial with Sporting Kansas City.


Best line: 

"Due to the NFL lockout, I'm excited to be able to follow my childhood dream of playing for a Major League Soccer team," Ochocinco said."

I know that MLS teams are doing all kinds of things (NSFW) to get attention, but this seems either really silly or really smart. Plus it looks like his number is available. 


Source: Avoiding The Drop blog

I'm nine months late on sharing this...

...but I really enjoy these World Cup beer designs: Cheers! for the 2010 World Cup. The USMNT beer even has a pleasent micro-brew feel about it.

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the MLS fantasy league. I've already awarded a beer to Patrick Barker for best team name: Clever 25 Character Name. Should be a good season, there will be other random prizes handed out as they develop (best trade of the segment? most injured players in one week?). I haven't read the rules yet, hopefully they aren't too different from EPL...

Fantasy football: where new fans are born

Do you like the idea of professional soccer in the US but just can't seem to commit to it?

Here is your chance: create a fantasy team on ESPN for the quickly approaching 2011 season. It's a great excuse to follow the sport, or at least learn a bit about the exciting players. Entries are due by March 15th (only 5 days!) and the top two finishers in the league will get prizes from me (likely a six pack of beer of the winners' choosing, but could also be something sweet like a gift card or a hammock).  It's free to play, I'm throwing in prizes so I have some people to compete with.

To enter:
1. Create or log in to your ESPN.com account
2. Create a team at the FC Manager game page. Have fun with the team name.
3. Join our group: Football and Ail    Password: baseball  (You can join other leagues too. For example I'm in the group "IDK Any MLS Players")
4. Update your team every week or so to try to win.

Hopefully by the end of the season we'll know a little more about soccer that's within driving distance.

Choosing an MLS team, or When David has no Goliath

I think it's pretty weird that I settled on an English soccer team before one in my own country. Maybe it's because Detroit doesn't have a team, or because I've never seen a single MLS game, even on TV. Or maybe, as Leander Schaerlaeckens points out, the format of our professional soccer league doesn't lend itself to rabid fandom. There isn't a Yankees to hate or Cubs to love for their losing-ness. None of the MLS teams make me want to create profane fan chants or hope that an obscure, bottom of the table team will take them down. For reasons that I don't entirely understand, I hated Manchester United even before I watched a single EPL game.

With almost every sport in the US, you can quickly identify the team or teams that draw the most emotional response: Yankees (and now Red Sox), Red Wings, Tiger Woods, Duke basketball, Notre Dame football, Lakers, and Cowboys (and sometimes Patriots, but mostly just Brady's hair).  Why is MLS the exception? The most damning statement I've heard against most teams is when a club picks up one player that a fan doesn't like.

Of course, it's possible that I've missed any animosity between MLS clubs because I'm not paying attention. It's difficult for me to view our soccer as much more than a minor league. It's where great soccer players go to retire and young players come to gain experience before being signed by English, Spanish or Italian teams. That isn't to say that there aren't some damn good players in the MLS. What I am saying is that people who were turned onto soccer by the World Cup last summer were probably disappointed by the dearth of familiar faces in our country's professional league (assuming they could watch it).

Oh, whatever. I'm enough of a nerd to look forward to putting together a spreadsheet similar to what I did for the Premier League before the start of the 2011 MLS season. I might not find my next Lions or Tigers or Irish (oh my!), but maybe I'll find a reason to buy a new scarf.