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Why the Seattle Sounders NEED to beat the Portland Timbers - Ep. 124
1.3k Plays6 days ago
Noah brings in the Danny Musovski of Podcasting to cover for Ari as he is out on break to talk about the Seattle Sounders upcoming rivalry match with the Portland Timbers and Obed Vargas's 22 Under 22 ranking. Later in the show we ask if the Seattle Sounders can make an MLS Cup run, who should be inducted to the Eternal Sounders Circle of Legends and talk about FIFA's world cup ticketing nightmare.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Contact: lobbingscorchers@justoncemedia.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Setup
00:00:00
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be scorcher.
00:00:21
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers. Unfortunately, today, we're missing our number nine, our striker, the guy who puts in all the goals.
00:00:33
Speaker
You know, maybe he's even a 10. Maybe he's a 10. What is Ari Lillianwall is the question that I pose to the audience today. But Ari is gone. He's on injury reserve.
00:00:44
Speaker
ah He's not available. So I brought in the Danny Musavski. And that is Jeremiah Oshan. Jeremiah, how are you doing? How many gold contributions are we going to have today? That's the real question. 16.
00:01:01
Speaker
Well, that's good enough for me. I mean, I think i think if we're if we're talking numbers, you think compared to Danny Musavsky is not too bad as a backup. but ah I agree.
00:01:12
Speaker
Yeah, before we get into that, though, before we talk about a lot today, we've got a lot on our plate. We've got some Obed Vargas 22 under 22 talk. Going to dive a little bit into the Sounders injuries, how that's going to affect the playoffs.
00:01:26
Speaker
Talk about the playoffs and if the Sounders could potentially win MLS Cup. Is this still something we're believing? Talk about the Sounders circle of like eternal eternal Sounders circle of legends.
00:01:39
Speaker
Very confusing name, but we'll talk about that. There's three finalists for this year. And then Sounders Timbers and closing it out with a little FIFA slander, which honestly is always my favorite thing to do.
Obed Vargas's Rising Star
00:01:51
Speaker
Always welcome. we that, before we do that, we've got to promote. before we do that we've got to promote Sounder at Heart because Lobbing Scorchers is a part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. And if you want to become a member of the best independent soccer coverage ah anywhere in the entire world, you're going to want to sounderatheart.com slash LS.
00:02:12
Speaker
Scroll down to subscribe and support. We'll get 30 days completely free. And if you sign up through our link, you help support us and you help us support Jeremiah in buying his vacation home. He needs a vacation home, folks. He works too hard.
00:02:26
Speaker
ah So do that. Also subscribe, like the video. ah All of our audio-only versions of our live streams are also available for subscribers to sound at heart.
00:02:37
Speaker
And Ari normally does all this at the top, so I feel like I'm rambling. But shout out to our sponsors, Hacks and Ferments, Podium Menswear, Full Pull Lines, and My Data Removal. I think that's it. Follow us on Instagram. Okay.
00:02:50
Speaker
Perfect. Wow. I think I killed that intro, Jeremiah. Oh, you crushed it. Thank you. i Yeah, I'm really... um I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. I feel so lost without you, Ari. um But let's jump into...
00:03:05
Speaker
The thing that I'm most excited to talk about today, honestly, it's a man who many have said could go for as as large as $85 billion dollars on the transfer market. And that is Obed Vargas, right?
00:03:21
Speaker
First of all, he's away right now ah with the Mexico U-20s. Is that correct? 21s? 22s? U-20s. U-20s. They just finished. just played they just finished They just tied Spain okay Well, there we go. Obed Vargas start playing in front of undoubtedly ah a very large audience of scouts.
00:03:45
Speaker
And yeah, ah mainly scouts. There was probably not that many people in attendance other than families and scouts. But I think that is important. And the second most important thing is Major League Soccer's 22 under 22. It's...
00:03:59
Speaker
it's a ranking it's a list it's a tier list perhaps of the best young players under 22 years old in the league uh i do you know who who's won it in the past jesus ferrera i think had won it in the past is that correct or at least he was up there um i think he's won it before charlie davies has won it i think freddie montero actually won it uh deandre yedlin i believe won it it's a you know I would say the U20, the winner, it used to be 24 under 24, and they reduced it to 22 under 22.
00:04:36
Speaker
But I think the number one spot has a pretty good record of success. So it's you know um
00:04:46
Speaker
it's ah it's not an insignificant. It like it doesn't mean a lot, but it's usually a pretty good barometer of quality. Yeah, and so the votes are being cast as we speak.
00:04:57
Speaker
Some of the media members have shared their ballots. I believe Ari voted number one for Obed Vargas, which of course he did. Friggin' Homer. Like, come on yes come on. He's rigging this election, which we're we're okay with. I'm okay with rigging the election for
Sounders' Roster Challenges and Playoff Preparations
00:05:11
Speaker
Obed Vargas.
00:05:11
Speaker
But ah Tom Bogert, famously Tommy Scoops, a friend of the show, he also had Obed Vargas at number one. I think Matt Doyle probably has Obed Vargas at number one.
00:05:22
Speaker
He did. Yes. I don't know who else. I mean, those are the only ones, those three I've seen. And I think Obed is, you know, oh I'm looking at last year's list. Obed was seven last year.
00:05:34
Speaker
i thought that was a little low. It was lower than I think a lot of people expected him to be the winner or the winner. Yeah. The winner. was Diego Gomez from Miami, and he ended up getting sold for a ton of money.
00:05:45
Speaker
ah Number two is Diego Luna. He's obviously gone on to have a pretty good year. Jack McGlynn was number three. Brian Gutierrez was number four. ah You know, we I don't need to recite the whole list, but these are all like pretty good players.
00:05:59
Speaker
Yeah, so I guess that i what I wanted to bring up with this conversation was Ari has been bringing up that Obed Vargas this year specifically, he's evolving, he's changing, he's turning into a different type of player and animal.
00:06:15
Speaker
And i I personally think that if you are going to point the finger at anyone in this league who deserves to win a title of the best player under 22 in the league,
00:06:28
Speaker
Undoubtedly, it would be Obed Vargas. And so it is going to be interesting to see what the national pundits think. And I think, like I've said, gauging by the types of voices that have voted so far and sharing what they voted, it seems very likely that Obed is going to win ah that first place spot.
00:06:49
Speaker
And then I guess with that, my question with that is, does that add to his pedigree at all? um And do we expect that to even move the needle? in the slightest.
00:07:01
Speaker
Maybe in the slightest. I mean, it's getting so it would get some attention to them. I don't know that scouts, the people that are actually writing checks, care about the and MLS 22 under 22. I think it's really more of a marketing exercise. It's SpawnCon. Let's be honest. this is a is That's really what the main point of this is is, that MLS can go into the marketplace and say, hey, we have this list coming out. You should sponsor it.
00:07:26
Speaker
I don't want to totally diminish it. There's a lot of people that put work into it and everything, but that's you know, that's kind of the root of what this is. It's a piece of content that they can sell. ah That said, you know, I'm looking at now at the list of the incomplete list of everyone who's won this thing. And it's good.
00:07:41
Speaker
You know, like I think the the record of success from these teams is high. i Once you get into 2013,
00:07:50
Speaker
2010, Freddie Montero, great. i think that you know I think that speaks to the state of MLS. But then Breck Shea and Darren Maddox were 11 and 12. Not as good. But then you go Darlington Nagby, DeAndre Yedlin, Fabian Castillo, Kyle Lahren, Miguel Almiron, Alfonso Davies, Diego Rossi,
00:08:07
Speaker
Brandon Areson, Ricardo Pepe, Jesus Ferreira, Alan Velasco. He did get sold for like $10 million dollars last year, so whatever. And then Diego Gomez. That's a really good hit rate.
00:08:20
Speaker
Almost all of these players were eventually sold for a lot of money. And I think that's really me that that probably tells you something about... what kind of a price tag Obed has. Not necessarily because of this. It's more of a lagging indicator, I think.
00:08:35
Speaker
But it's it's it it's a good sign. I mean, I think that it's not just an award that a bunch of scrubs are winning. It's ah it's a legitimate thing that, you know, I'm sure he'll feel good about.
00:08:46
Speaker
I think it's also another indication, in my opinion, that they've got to get this contract done ah with him. And, i mean, if you win 22 under 22 and you still don't have a deal done, does that put any more pressure on the Sounders? or just how much more i don't think there's any more negotiating leverage that Obed Vargas could have at this point. like No, he has a lot of leverage right now. Yeah, it seems almost entirely...
00:09:15
Speaker
down to what the Sounders are willing to offer, which if you do put them on a U22 spot, it is ah this very specific number at its max. ah So I guess we maybe maybe we dive into that if there are any updates. If you have any, I haven't heard anything.
00:09:31
Speaker
we talked a little bit about this on no sorry at this last Friday Nico Moreno, who your listeners obviously know quite well. Famous from center. Our kickoff or so loving score. Yeah. Yeah. yeah He, he, he said that it seemed like there was some real interest in, in Obed at both PSV and, ah and Bruges in, in Belgium.
00:09:59
Speaker
and, It's hard to know what where the negotiations are are between the Sounders and Obed. Obed himself has said that he feels like something's going to get done.
00:10:10
Speaker
i don't know. Maybe that's what you that's on the record. So I don't know how much you should read into that. He's not going to sit there and flame the Sounders and say, like, screw you guys. I'm going to ride this thing out.
00:10:21
Speaker
But I do think it... If he doesn't sign ah a new contract you know early on in the offseason, I think the Sounders essentially have to go in to sell him immediately mode.
00:10:33
Speaker
And I don't know if that's necessarily in his best interest. I also think that it it does benefit him to sign a new contract because then that sets a floor at his wherever he's he's going. So if he signs a million-dollar contract, which is basically the the ceiling of what you can make as U-22 contract,
00:10:53
Speaker
you know that's that sets a decent foundation for him to you know make salary demands. Right now he's on $180,000 or something like that. So it's you you know that that doesn't really do a lot for his negotiating position at ah teams other than hoping there's ah sort of a bidding war for him as ah as a free. So I do think it's in everyone's best interest if he signs a new contract and it gives the sounders a little bit more leverage in terms of going out into the marketplace and finding the best deal they can for him.
00:11:20
Speaker
as a ah As opposed to just sort of finding the first deal, the the first decent offer that they get. So, you know, hopefully this thing gets worked out and, you know, fingers crossed.
00:11:31
Speaker
I mean, it's it's a tough situation. Like i I understand from an agent's perspective being like, oh, well, you want to go to Europe like you could just walk away.
00:11:41
Speaker
You could just be on a free. You could just go to whatever. And I'll tell you what, a lot of bigger clubs are going to take a chance on a free transfer rather than spending $10 million, $9 million, whatever it comes down to actual fee.
00:11:56
Speaker
And then, yeah, like, do you want to go play in Liga Mequis? Because i think that's probably where you're going to end up if you don't sign this long-term deal or a new deal or some sort of deal where the Sounders do kind of control your destiny. But I i mean, I feel for Obed Vargas in this situation, too, as as being like, how do you even navigate that ah as a kid, basically?
00:12:21
Speaker
ah that's That's the difficult perils of soccer. But... it does It is quite impressive to see his growth in the last three years and to like where he is now. and i mean we've I think me and me and Ari have been talking about it and you've been talking about it for a very long time about just how insane this kid is going to be.
00:12:41
Speaker
and yeah to to potentially win 22 under 22 to potentially be moving to europe or wherever for a multi-million dollar transfer fee that's that's incredible uh and uh the price is going up folks the price is going up he's also going to win uh the u20 world cup why not and uh that's that the u.s is doing pretty good as well in the u20 world cup i saw they won like
00:13:07
Speaker
8-1 or something? 9-1, I believe. Yeah. And Reed did not play in that game, which I think was mainly a result... i would assume that he'll start in the and the next one. Yeah.
00:13:21
Speaker
Let's hope. Please. Yeah. Play Reed. playobed Play Obed, play Reed. Price is going up. That is my Obed Vargas discourse to start off the show. But I, like...
00:13:33
Speaker
it's got He's got to win it, right? like if If anyone else wins it, does that feel like an upset to you? Yeah, I mean, it kind of does. it it you know i i don't have the the candidates off the top of my head. Well, let's let's look at... you know ah Why not? ari wrote Ari wrote about this. I may as well look at his at his who he's got on his list.
00:13:54
Speaker
Alex Freeman is a is a right back with Orlando City. He's got him basically number two. I feel like there's a pretty big gap between Obed and him in terms of... his you know he's He's just done it for so long. I think that's really the thing that stands out with Obed.
00:14:10
Speaker
ah Idan Toklamati, he's the Charlotte FC guy who just sort of recently really jumped onto the scene. He's been on the team for a while, but only recently has really started to produce. So that would be so it'd be a little ah a little bit of a surprise.
00:14:25
Speaker
Owethu Makanya, I don't mean honestly, i don't know anything about this guy. Eastcoaster. Right, exactly. Luca Bambino is the, I believe, a left back at at San Diego, and he's been pretty good.
00:14:37
Speaker
I feel like Obed is sort of heads and shit. Like, it's is almost like, an ah to me, an obvious thing. Like, I don't even think it would it would. Yes, it would be a huge upset, I think, looking at this, you know, at this top five.
00:14:48
Speaker
Obed seems like clear and, you know, easily the the number one. Yeah, I can't imagine anyone else winning it. And frankly, if they if they do, I'm storming the headquarters of Major League Soccer for the Body Armor U22 under 22 presented by Target and Adidas.
00:15:06
Speaker
i will be I will be taking to the streets, okay, to to protest. Do they really have three sponsors on this thing? I don't know. I think last year there were two. oh my God.
00:15:17
Speaker
Let's see. let's i'm sure that it's I'm sure that there's a there's a lot of sponsors. ah on the yeah I don't know. It was Body Armor for a while. It's Body Armor last year.
Sounders vs Timbers Rivalry
00:15:29
Speaker
so There we go. Okay. Presented by Body Armor Sports Drink. So it's the 2222 presented by Body Armor Sports Drink.
00:15:35
Speaker
Apologies ah to Major League Soccer for not... including your ah correct naming preference in there. But let's move on from the Body Armor presented by Body Armor 2020, 2020, whatever. Body Armor wants to come on and and sponsor our read, then we can... but We would love... I love coconut water hydration beverages. that's And I've always said that.
00:16:01
Speaker
Uh, official coconut water of the center. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, you know, speaking of people who maybe should drank some more coconut water, let's talk about the two center back injuries for the Seattle Sounders this past weekend.
00:16:17
Speaker
Uh, we had two players go out in mere minutes apart from each other. I wasn't even in the press box. I wasn't in the press box for like 15 minutes and two players went out.
00:16:28
Speaker
They scored a goal. I was just like, I don't even know what's going on, Jeremiah. It was, it was insane. My low key this year, not MVP, but like really, really elevated their level has been Alex Roldan. I have loved what I've seen from Alex Roldan this season.
00:16:47
Speaker
I'm a huge fan of his play and what he brings to this team. And I've been evangelizing him like the entire year. It really does suck ah that he picked up an injury, but what sucks even more is Yamar also potentially picked up an injury.
00:17:04
Speaker
What do we know about these injuries? I know that maybe Alex isn't as isn't as bad as we thought, or maybe it was Yamar's, but why don't you give us a little insight into those two?
00:17:15
Speaker
Yeah, so Alex ah apparently did he kind of twisted his hip awkwardly, and so he was ah he's questionable for this week, but it sounds like it's not a muscle injury. So they're not worried about him missing more than just this week. That's, that's good news. All things considered.
00:17:32
Speaker
ah He was not training today, but you know, he was outside. So he's doing stuff. That's, that's a good sign. Yay. More. I suppose it depends on your perspective on this. He's going to be out four weeks. That likely puts him in line to return for the playoffs, which would start in about four weeks.
00:17:49
Speaker
So, you know, that's not great news. It's not disastrous news in that it wasn't a horrible tear. It was more of a strain is what we were told, but yeah, this is, it's, that's his second injury this year.
00:18:02
Speaker
This is his third injury since last year. So that's a growing concern. I'd say they're all similar types of injuries. This one was a hamstring injury and that's not, you know, I think he had done his quad before. So maybe it's,
00:18:16
Speaker
I guess maybe that's good. news I don't know. i don't know if that's good or bad news, but it's it's not great. It's not great. ah The good news, I suppose, is that Kim Kihee is has been pretty good. he went He didn't he didn't necessarily look great against the Vancouver Whitecaps, but he has been pretty good overall.
00:18:34
Speaker
And the other one is ah Kalani Kosarienzi has been, I'd say, mostly good. He was, again, not great against the Whitecaps, but Kosarienzi, I think, matches up well against the Timbers, and so that's it you know that's the game he plays.
00:18:50
Speaker
I think we'd be okay with that. Yeah, no, I agree. And i am i'm definitely more concerned on the center back setup. I have not, frankly, been a fan of Kim Kihee this year. like i think he's had moments in flashes where he's absolutely come in and been a very serviceable and good center back. But I just think in large swaths,
00:19:14
Speaker
He gets cut out a lot. um And he... I mean, it's undeniable that Yamar is one of the best centerbacks in the league. So it is hard when you do lose that and, you know, you kind of fall down the depth chart. And Kim Keejee, he just doesn't give you that. That's just the truth.
00:19:27
Speaker
ah And Jackson, you know, here and there has had off games. Uh... and it it I don't know. with With all of the defensive lapses and errors, it does seem like kind of a challenge, especially as you're going into the playoffs, where it's going to be gritty, man. It's going to be... a like We saw kind of the only way that they were able to...
00:19:52
Speaker
win against Vancouver was go into offense sicko mode. Like they just, turn they would turn it on a whole nother level for 20 minutes and decided, yeah, we're actually going to be the greatest team to ever touch grass, ping around a bunch of passes, look insane and ah score some really beautiful goals.
00:20:11
Speaker
It does help that Jordan Morris is coming back. He's looking more and more fit every game. i don't think his first few games have been amazing, but his passing is just insanely great. ah His vision is still there. Like you clearly see what he has.
00:20:24
Speaker
And then even behind him, you have Danny Mussovsky who can, you know, do things here and there for error whatever. So I'm super promised about the attack, but in a way i feel so conflicted with these injuries now because it's a flip flop of last year.
00:20:41
Speaker
I felt so confident about the defense going into the playoffs. And now I feel super confident about the offense, but not necessarily the defense. Yeah, I would agree that that is kind of an ironic twist to this season. is you know One of the things that last year a lot of people were expressing frustration with, especially early on, was all these 0-0, 1-1 kind of boring ties.
00:21:04
Speaker
and And there was a kind of common refrain of, man, I would take a like one of the the silly things you would hear me on that is people would say I'd take a 3-2 loss over a 0-0 tie.
00:21:15
Speaker
I always questioned the sanity of folks that would say that. But there were a lot more saying takes of saying, you know, I'd take a 2-2 tie over a 0-0 tie. I think most of us would. probably all things being equal. That is really being put to the test. Five times this year, the Sounders have tied a game where they've scored at least two goals.
00:21:34
Speaker
ah That's more than they had in similar situations the last two years combined where they had four games like that. So it's they're scoring a lot more, but defensively, they are undeniably just not as...
00:21:47
Speaker
as sharp as they were last year. And what's funny is that they're expect. I know you're, you're a big stack guy. huge stack i Yeah. Yeah. Their expected goals against is actually right on par.
00:21:59
Speaker
You know, it's a little higher than it was last year, but they're sort of like the underlying numbers say the defense has been pretty good this year, but this is one of those things where sometimes the underlying numbers miss,
00:22:12
Speaker
ah ah don't always get, get it right. Exactly. Right. And I think a good example of that was, you know, the Brian white breakaway in this game where by XG, it's a good chance, but not necessarily a great chance.
00:22:25
Speaker
But I think anytime you put Brian white in that position, you sort of expect it to be a goal. And so even though the XG isn't super high on that one, it it feels worse than that. And they've given up a lot of chances, a lot like that. You know, the Diego Rubio game,
00:22:42
Speaker
Rubio, ru no, Diego Rubio. Yeah. ah In the Austin game was very similar where he basically just went one on one with the goalkeeper. And I swear that it feels like they've given up a lot more chances like that this year than they gave up last year. So even if the XG is not quite as, you know, its it doesn't jump out as a huge problem.
00:23:03
Speaker
it just feels like teams are getting better chances. No, I mean, I think undoubtedly the eye test is giving you what feels like mistakes. You know, I think you can take, regardless of if I believe in these ridiculous ah fake numbers or not, what it does tell you is that,
00:23:21
Speaker
They're making errors on on shots and goals and chances that they weren't before. And right there's something to that. Is it the formation change?
00:23:34
Speaker
Is it ah personnel? Is it all of that? is like That's honestly even harder to figure out because it is a very similar personnel setup. So right is it the personnel? Yeah.
00:23:46
Speaker
I don't think so. Like I've seen Jackson Reagan play amazing. I've seen Yammer play amazing. I've seen them both play bad, but I saw that last season too. um Is it the formation change? Yeah, but also that formation change is giving you the opportunity to watch soccer that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out.
00:24:01
Speaker
and so Yeah, I mean, I think the the undeniably the Sounders have been a lot more fun this year. And yes that's been and we've seen that consistently even in this post-Leagues Cup ah slump where they aren't getting the results that we want, but they are looking more dangerous. they are you know they They maybe aren't as clinical as we'd like them to be, but they have been creating chances and and they've scored in every game. It's not like they've been getting you know beat up. they They got six goals in these four games, which isn't like a... You're not going to...
00:24:31
Speaker
celebrate with with that kind of thing, but that's also not ah That's a perfectly acceptable goal total from any four-game stretch, especially when two of them are on the road and three of them are against playoff teams. so Well, in that Austin game, you easily could have had more goals. i mean, there's been in the last, if I look at the last three weeks, like absolutely, I think what Paul Rothrock said about the hangover, that's always true.
00:24:54
Speaker
I always expected that. we i mean, but that's like, if you if you look at what happens after people win midseason trophies, it's predictable. You know, it catches up to with you at some point. That's just the reality of it.
00:25:09
Speaker
But it's not like they have looked bad, necessarily. They've made lapses, but they've had so many opportunities stopped by the type of play where I like to reference it as, like, you got to just tip your hat. Like, that's soccer.
00:25:23
Speaker
Like, Brad Stuber having... the most out of his mind game of all time. What are you going to do about that? Nothing like that might happen in the playoffs and that might just be the end of it.
00:25:34
Speaker
That's, that's what's great about the playoffs, but that, that result or that game, it was disappointing that they couldn't win, but I wasn't disappointed in the performance necessarily.
00:25:46
Speaker
And I would say, you know, along those same lines, you know, the chance that Georgie Manugu gets at the end of that game where a ball, Kalani Kosarianzi floats a ball into the box, uh,
00:25:57
Speaker
it doesn't get played by the goalkeeper and it falls right to Georgie and he just lashes it into the net. And this is a ah quote actually from but or something Brian Schmetzer said is like, you know a few weeks ago that ricochets off the defender's knee and it hits the top of the net.
00:26:11
Speaker
And you, you just say, what, what a great chance.
Sounders' Playoff Prospects
00:26:14
Speaker
And in this one, it hits him like square in the knee and it bounces out. And then Christian rolled on, hits a great volley off the rebound.
00:26:22
Speaker
It deflects off of another defender and somehow, uh, Takeoka gets his hand on it and, and you go, Oh, well, I guess this is how it goes sometimes. ah And this is, you know, this is the weirdness that the Sounders, I think if they get out of the game with a three, two win of George G Manungu converts this golden opportunity. If you're going to give him that chance 10 times, he's probably going score at seven.
00:26:44
Speaker
and and you don't get it and you you kind of shrug your shoulders and it's it's a tough one, but you you kind of move on. And ultimately, i don't know, it's frustrating that they didn't get that win from a emotional perspective.
00:26:57
Speaker
but from a practical, you know, uh, standings perspective, they probably aren't going to finish fourth no matter what, like their chance to finish fourth. Really. You got to go at least back to the galaxy game.
00:27:09
Speaker
And when they didn't get those three points, that sort of made it tough for them to get back into that four spot, because at that point they lost control of their own destiny. And that's kind of going to be the way it goes.
00:27:20
Speaker
Uh, but they, if they win this game, they've, almost secured fifth place at that point. And that's, you know, probably the best you can do. Even, you know, even with that, even if they had won that game the other last week,
00:27:34
Speaker
Yeah, and like it sucks like not getting home field advantage. I don't know. I don't really know how to feel about it. It's it's one of those things where I'm not going to sit here and dwell on something that's like, yeah, you know what?
00:27:46
Speaker
There is a world in which they don't win League's Cup and they ah are going to play this game in Miami and Miami had won it and like...
00:27:58
Speaker
they're hungover and the Sounders get points out of it and then they say take it to the Galaxy and get points out of it and they you know they they get on this run and they keep going. That's a reality that that could exist, but it's just I just think it's not worth worrying so much about And I said it on the last show.
00:28:16
Speaker
ah And, you know, i don't... At this point, like, the playoffs are awesome to me, and I'm excited, and I would love for the Sounders to win MLS Cup. But I don't know how much I care.
00:28:28
Speaker
It's kind of just like a go out there and show really well and try and win it. But, like, I don't think i'm goingnna be too distraught if this group ends the season with one trophy.
00:28:41
Speaker
i definitely won't be too yeah I definitely won't be distraught if they don't win another trophy this season. and But i will say that this game against the Timbers...
00:28:54
Speaker
feel I wouldn't say it's a must win. It's definitely not a must win in any practical manner. yeah But if you want this to feel like a successful season, beating the Timbers at home and ending this unbelievably long streak of going winless against the Timbers at home and ending that...
00:29:14
Speaker
that's but You got to win this game to really make it feel like a satisfying season. If you win this game, I feel like the rest of the season is is almost gravy. I think you can argue it's a successful season, but successful and satisfying are not necessarily the same thing.
00:29:30
Speaker
Absolutely. And we will talk more about satisfyingly beating that timber ass right after these wonderful ads. We'll be right back.
00:29:41
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:32:45
Speaker
Welcome back to Lobbing Scorchers, ah the show with Jeremiah O'Shann and Noah Reif. It's always been that way. Don't believe anyone else who's ever said that. Jeremiah, what are we going to do to them if they skipped our ads?
00:32:58
Speaker
I believe there is, where we we are for sure able to track that. yeah And we will email you incessantly. We'll actually send you text messages and say, you are taking money out of our mouths and you now owe us ah these this amount of money. We'll actually prorate the amount of money that you would have gotten us yeah if you had listened to the ad like you were supposed to.
00:33:25
Speaker
And we will bill you for the ah for that for the difference. Yeah, and I'm going to send you a voice note of my stomach gurgling and crying out but like you're taking food out of my mouth.
00:33:37
Speaker
ah But let's talk about taking food out of the mouths of good people. The Portland Timbers are good at doing that. ah They have been able to...
00:33:49
Speaker
Basically be make every single Sounders Timbers games, their Superbowl, no matter what's going on in their season, they will find a way to embarrass the Sounders. They will find a way to come into Lumen field, punch them in the mouth and plant their flag and run around like they just won the world cup.
00:34:06
Speaker
Because in fact, that's kind of all that they're good at ah nowadays, but Jeremiah, Let's talk Sounders Timbers. You alluded to this feeling like a must-win game.
00:34:19
Speaker
I feel the same way. I feel the same way. Brian talked a little bit about in his presser after this Vancouver game that he was disappointed in the Cascadia Cup, and he kind of threw a little shade at us. He said, you know, I don't think anyone's, you know, I don't know why no one's bringing up that we lost Cascadia Cup.
00:34:36
Speaker
um And frankly, Brian, i'm going to be honest with you. I forgot about it. You're right. i forgot about it. ah It didn't cross my mind and it hasn't for a long time because frankly, the Sounders haven't even been in it a lot in the last few years.
00:34:54
Speaker
And that feels frustrating. So for me, they got to win this game? Maybe not on a table perspective, but you got to send a message. And there is a chance that the Sounders match up with the Timbers in the playoffs. Yeah.
00:35:08
Speaker
It is funny that the like the Cascadia Cup is sort of the secondary goal of the... It's like and a byproduct of doing well in the league in general, but also by... It's like if you if you go 2-0 against... If the Sounders were to go 2-0 against the Timbers and not win the Cascadia Cup, I don't know that very many Sounders fans would care.
00:35:31
Speaker
ah like The reality is that the Whitecaps are there to sort of... like keep one of those these two teams from claiming real bragging rights. But let's be honest. this The Sounders-Timbers part of this rivalry is the main event.
00:35:46
Speaker
It's the the main thing that I think Sounders care about. It's for sure the main thing that Timbers fans care about. And and getting finally beating the Timbers at home is really like, that's just a streak that has to end. It has to end. is This unbelievably long streak.
00:36:04
Speaker
I, I, I don't know what to say. It's, it really used to be such a like a a seat like a ah but an important part of the season it was like a selling point for sounders tickets like the tickets were almost the most
Legacy of the Sounders
00:36:20
Speaker
expensive against the timbers always like it was nationally covered and it was this huge event and you had copa 90 dropping documentaries you had lobbing scorchers dropping documentaries and now it kind of just feels like
00:36:36
Speaker
it's easier for us to kind of forget about it a little bit. Cause we're like, Oh, well we're off winning trophies and you're, you know, being shit. And it's like, cool. But also, I feel a little embarrassed at what's transpired in the last few years.
00:36:52
Speaker
It's a little embarrassing. ah The Sounders. Now the Sounders Timbers rivalry in general has been reasonably competitive. There was a ah stretch there where Gio Savarese really had Brian Schmetzer's number. And he of alluded to Dude, that was the only.
00:37:08
Speaker
I think that that specifically kept him in that job. Yeah, I mean, there was like a three year run where it just seemed like the Sounders could not could not figure that out. But aside from that relatively small window, it's been a very competitive rivalry and the Sounders have actually won their fair share of games in Portland.
00:37:26
Speaker
And that's what makes this whole. winless streak against the Timbers at home, even more frustrating. And I don't really know what to make of that other than, you know, there was a time where I think you could say the Timbers just get up more for this game, but there's been just some weird ones. Like last year, the Sounders seemed like they were going to win. And then they got this red car. I feel like the red card, the weirdest red card,
00:37:51
Speaker
that maybe the Sounders have ever gotten, where Obed Vargas just waves his arm, sort of like punches at the air. The referee is nowhere near him, and he gives a second yellow, and he had been letting dissent go repeatedly throughout the game.
00:38:06
Speaker
And for some reason, he just feels like he has to send Obed Vargas off for descent late in that game. And then there was a couple years ago, the Sounders were up to zero And then ah and Leo Chu, of course, rips off his jersey, gets a yellow card, and then gets a second yellow card early in the second half. Sounders play down a man and end up blowing a two zero lead.
00:38:27
Speaker
ah So it's it's like they're getting closer. They're getting closer. But they just can't quite... they can't quite close the deal and they, they, you know, if they can finish with 11 men, which has been sort of ah a theme. Yep. Yeah. yeah That would be a good start.
00:38:45
Speaker
ah That would be a good start. It's such, yeah, like I am looking back and thinking about how there has been so many just stupid ass moments that have changed these games.
00:38:59
Speaker
in talk Let's talk about stupid ass moments or maybe favorite moments. I wanted to ask you what your favorite moment, your favorite rivalry moment. let me let me Let me phrase this so I can clip this into an awesome little TikTok video.
00:39:12
Speaker
Mm-hmm. What has been your favorite rivalry moment between the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers? All right. So I should have given this a little bit more thought than I have. But the one that jumps to mind first is is definitely one of my favorites.
00:39:29
Speaker
And it was 2010.
00:39:34
Speaker
17, I want to say. And ah Clint Dempsey was coming off the bench. And this is in Portland. And the crowd is chanting, fuck Dempsey. Can you say that on the show? Yeah, absolutely. yeah Or fuck you Dempsey or something like that. right They're chanting. It's an F word Dempsey.
00:39:52
Speaker
And they are and he's they're chanting it as he comes into the game. Sounders were down 2-0 in this game. They grab a goal to go down 2-1. And then right... basically at the death Roman Torres of all people just floats in across Clint Dempsey comes in and just heads it in to two game.
00:40:12
Speaker
And it's just like, perfect. Like that was, that was definitely the port. I have to admit there's way more great memories of this series for me in Portland. i went down there this year with my, I took my daughter and my nephew, my um I think he nine year old nephew and my 12 year old daughter and they and we sat in the sounder section and they were just their eyes were big and they were so excited to just hear all the cussing and the language that so that that just for that part of it it was a not a relatively uneventful game one one
00:40:46
Speaker
But that part of it was another great memory of mine. ah The 6-2 win, which I did not go to ah in Portland, was that was a great one to watch on TV.
00:40:56
Speaker
But in 2014, I want to say, there were two great games in in Portland. One of them was the 4-4 tie, where Clint Dempsey also gets ah a late equalizer in that one on ah on a penalty, I believe.
00:41:12
Speaker
and they were down 4-2 in that game. They came back to get it to four four That was a great one. And then later in the season, they won four two and this was the game where Obafemi Martins had just an amazing goal. Chad Barrett had a great goal, and it was just sort of this fun, festive atmosphere.
00:41:30
Speaker
And for what i like I said, for whatever reason, all the fun games that the Sounders have had have been in Portland for some reason. I don't have a good explanation for that. ah But yeah, those are those are probably like my four best that I'll come up with.
00:41:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'll give two off-the-wall ones. That 4-4 game was pretty awesome. ah just it I mean, I was like a child, so it felt extra special and cool. Sure.
00:41:57
Speaker
um i I honestly, and this is going to be a little bit out of the box, but this year, this season, Open Cup Timbers versus Tacoma Divines.
00:42:09
Speaker
Now, this is super out of the box, but and they didn't win. The Tacoma Divines didn't win. But the idea and the atmosphere and the feeling of playing the Timbers with our second team And at absolutely outclassing them should have won terrible refereeing.
00:42:29
Speaker
You know, they got bailed out by a penalty in the end, you know, whatever happens happens. But I mean, they were outclassed by a bunch of kids at star fire in front of oh awesome crowd.
00:42:41
Speaker
I mean, when, when Georgie Manongu was tearing it up out there, I mean, was electric. It was so fun. The atmosphere was amazing. Like, the i just I think that it's so awesome that how like that was the the peak for me because it was like, how little respect can we give you?
00:43:01
Speaker
That's how little respect we can give you. We can roll out our second team and almost embarrass you. We almost embarrassed you. I think it's still embarrassing, frankly, the fact that it was that close and they were playing basically all of their starters.
00:43:13
Speaker
that it would have been a little yeah It would have been a little weird if the Defiance had won at home before the Sounders had won at home against the Timbers. So like there is a that That would have been off, but I agree. That was an amazing game. That was as much fun at the Open Cup as I've had in a long time.
00:43:30
Speaker
And I should also mention the red card wedding. Again, not a game that I was at, but it was for sure one of my favorite Sounders memories, just because as as frustrating as it was, it made for such a great story.
00:43:44
Speaker
And it was one of those things you had to see to believe. And it was, it was like this, this rivalry is, has some rich history. I think it's, you know, that there's a lot, then a lot of memorable moments in this, in this thing.
00:43:57
Speaker
And hopefully the Sounders can finally get one on the right side this week. That was going to be my second one was the red card wedding. I mean, it's, it's undeniably like the funniest thing.
00:44:09
Speaker
possible just content wise like was insane like that's yeah that added so much to the rivalry and I do miss like a player like Clint Dempsey who absolutely loved playing against the Timbers I mean that dude wanted to kill somebody on that field there's so many players you know that you can go through in the history of the rivalry that that just Ozzy Alonzo man i think that dude is like that guy that guy was wanting to kill someone on that field every single time he played um and yeah is Diego Shara still playing he is is still playing yeah I hope we get to see him I hope we get to see him put him on start him don't be cowardly start him at Lumen
00:44:56
Speaker
I think he's 40, but that's okay. Good for him. i think he might actually be 40. Yeah.
00:45:02
Speaker
Well, that's that's what I had for ah timber Timber's talk. He's 39. He's 39. Okay. So, yeah, that's basically roundup, you know. yeah We made two documentaries, but one about the best rivalry in American soccer, which I'll link below.
00:45:19
Speaker
You guys should go check it out. It's on YouTube. It's on our YouTube where we went down to Portland, explored the city, went to the match this year. That was the match you were at and talking about. It was super fun.
00:45:31
Speaker
That's a great stadium, a great atmosphere. So I hope that every single one of you come out and make it an even better atmosphere Lumen because... Let's be real. like What they can achieve, what they can reach as atmosphere will never top 70,000 people watching us beat Messi 3-0. But regardless, that's you know that's a whole other thing. But go watch those documentaries.
00:45:55
Speaker
um And let's talk about This next topic here, which we could also make a documentary about if we get there, which is the Seattle Sounders. This may not be a must win game, but they're about to hit the playoffs.
00:46:08
Speaker
Do we think that the Seattle Sounders actually have a chance of winning MLS Cup? there was a lot of talk early in the season that the Sounders were favorites ah for some pundits or at least favorites to win the West.
00:46:23
Speaker
And as the season has shaken out, I think there's been a lot of ups and a lot of downs. And I want to see right now three games left in the regular season. How are you feeling, Jeremiah? Do you think the Seattle Sounders are going to win the MLS Cup?
00:46:38
Speaker
Well, do I think they're going to win the MLS Cup? I don't know. i i don't I would not necessarily say they are my favorites to win MLS Cup. Do I think they can win MLS Cup?
00:46:50
Speaker
Absolutely. i can talk myself into believing that they have a path to MLS Cup. And if they... i mean, honestly, if they can beat Miami, who is a flawed but very good team, I don't see why they can't go on a MLS Cup run.
00:47:08
Speaker
ah let's Let's look at if we take the table as it is right now, they would play Minnesota United in the first round. I realize that Minnesota United seemingly has the Sounders number. They've won both of the games.
00:47:20
Speaker
Frankly, I did not think that they dramatically outplayed the Sounders in either one of those games. And I will... I think that's a great first round matchup for the Sounders, frankly. I'll take that. I will take... Over three games? Oh, yeah. Yeah, over three games. I will take that. ah And if they can't if they can't beat Minnesota, then what they they weren't going to do they weren't going to beat anybody else. you know So, look, I'll take that that first meeting, and I think they can get past Minnesota.
00:47:46
Speaker
they get They get that one. And then they're going to play, they would presumably play the number one seed in the next round. The next round would be, I mean, the number one seed, looks like it's going to be ah Vancouver or San Diego.
00:47:58
Speaker
Again, I'm not saying the Sounders are favorites against, they did not, they you know, they beat San Diego once, they they tied Vancouver once, and they lost once, right?
00:48:10
Speaker
So these are not necessarily great matchups for the Sounders, but nothing I saw in any of those games makes me believe that they aren't capable of going on the road and and beating those teams. So they could absolutely win that.
00:48:21
Speaker
And look, playing in the final, the was that would set up a Western Conference final most likely against LAFC, although it could be could be someone else. you know Someone else could maybe upset them.
00:48:33
Speaker
And this is where finishing fifth does have some value because if if that because then you are at least in position where if someone else on the other side of the bracket gets upset, you are potentially hosting the Western Conference final.
00:48:44
Speaker
But let's assume it's LAFC. Look, LAFC looks like a juggernaut right now. I'm not, you know, if I had to pick a favorite to win MLS cup, frankly, LAFC probably is the team I would pick, but I, all the Sounders are one-on-one against LAFC this year.
00:49:01
Speaker
They, you know, i think if there's any, you know, if they have son and Bwonga hitting on all cylinders, you know, that's, that's going to be tough. That's going to be tough.
00:49:13
Speaker
That's going to be tough. No matter what, ah there was nothing the sounders could do to make me necessarily feel better about that matchup. Could they get past them? Sure. And then, and then honestly, there's no one in the East who I feel like his heads and so shoulders above the Sounders. I will take my chances against anyone.
00:49:30
Speaker
LAFC is honestly the team I am most worried about facing. That's the, they look like they are, like I said, they look like absolute juggernauts right now. They are a huge problem.
00:49:41
Speaker
But look, if you if you want to tell me that the Sounders play l LAFC in the Western Conference Finals, and you take, I'll take that. You know, I would consider that a successful season. If they can get to the Western Conference Finals, I will be very satisfied, and I have no complaints.
00:49:56
Speaker
But, so yeah, it's ah it's an uphill battle. I'm not going to sit here and say Sounders are favorites, or even second or third favorites, to win MLS Cup, because I think that's a really tough path to get through if they had to face LAFC, but I'm not saying, I'm also not going to sit here and say they'd have no hope.
00:50:11
Speaker
I think this is a good offense. I think that they, I think they're, they've shown that they're capable of putting together a good defensive run. They, they were very good defensively in the league's cup. So, you know, we'll see.
00:50:22
Speaker
Yeah, I i feel, but bringing it back to the beginning part of like the matchups and everything, I'm not scared of Minnesota. i'm not the The teams that I'm scared of, quote unquote, or that I think are real contenders, ah it's San Diego, it's the Whitecaps, and it's LAFC. And if I'm ranking them in order, it's LAFC-
00:50:43
Speaker
San Diego Whitecaps, like 2A, 2B. Both of those teams I do think are beatable, especially if the Sounders can play like they did in League's Cup. If they can play like they did in League's Cup, that level, I mean, i don't know who can beat them.
00:50:58
Speaker
I really don't. ah that's That's the truth. And they were doing that with effectively ah B and a C squad. So you're getting Jordan Morris healthy. You're getting your attack.
00:51:09
Speaker
you know there more More players will be back. Yehmar, yes, maybe maybe he misses potentially a match in the first round. or so like That I'm not too worried about.
00:51:20
Speaker
I'm going to say it here. I'm going to just be optimistic and I haven't been super optimistic ah until today. Until right this second, Jeremiah. I got you fired up. i I think it's possible.
00:51:32
Speaker
I think it's possible that they at least make MLS Cup. It's going to come down to if they have to play LAFC or not. I really believe that. I, for all of my money, if I was going to pick a winner of who is the hottest in the league right now, who looks just unstoppable, it's LAFC.
00:51:49
Speaker
That's the truth. The amount of goals that they're scoring, it's basically doing what the Sounders were able to do. And that's just, that's lethal. That's lethal. So can those two ideologies coexist? Can they play each other and who comes out on top? Like, I don't know.
00:52:05
Speaker
Maybe Jordan Morris is better than Hunman San. We don't know. Maybe. Maybe he is. Maybe Jesus Ferrer is better than Denny Mwanga. We don't know. Maybe. You know? And the playoffs are a weird, funky, freaky thing where a lot can happen.
00:52:20
Speaker
And sometimes the best team doesn't win. Sometimes you get... Sometimes you go down to LAFC in the playoffs in a team that looks just as good as the one they have now, and you beat them, and you upset them.
00:52:34
Speaker
And that's just sometimes, and sometimes you set a MLS points record and you lose in the first round to the worst team in the, in the division ever, you know? ah Right. So this, these are things that happen in the playoffs. So again, I'm not going to sit here and try to talk anyone into believing that the centers are favorites or that I, in my heart of hearts believe that they are going to win MLS cup, but are they capable of putting together a run?
00:53:00
Speaker
Absolutely. And I will note, you know, we had a ah fun little hangout with your boys from ah Happy Foot, Sad Foot over over the weekend. And what they told me was look, I don't want any piece of the Sounders.
00:53:16
Speaker
I'm horrified of having to play the Sounders in the playoffs. And I think that there's something that we should take to heart about that because no one wants to play the Sounders. Like the Sounders, as much as we look at LAFC as the big bads, or we used to look at the galaxy or whatever.
00:53:33
Speaker
I think the reality is that the Sounders for a lot of fans are sort of the big bads. Like we are always right there. We're always competitive. We it's even when the season seems to be falling away, they, we find a way to get into the playoffs and and put together a competitive run.
00:53:48
Speaker
And I think that that's very scary to a lot of ah fans. And so, you know, own that, own that. It's I've said it before. I'll say it again.
00:53:59
Speaker
Do not count out a Brian Schmetzer playoff run. Do not count out the Seattle Sounders in the playoffs. It's a different level. It's a different team. And like I said, i think, honestly, i think the rebound from this hangover has been quicker than anything I've ever seen.
00:54:14
Speaker
Yet, they dropped two games that... what That was bad. you know, Miami and Galaxy, that was a little bit of a punch in the gut. But honestly, these last few, Austin and Vancouver...
00:54:28
Speaker
They didn't make me concerned. They were just like, shit, I would have really liked to win those games, but okay, we keep pushing and we're going to take where we're at and we're going to take the cards that were dealt.
00:54:40
Speaker
There was a lot of people saying, there was a lot of people saying at the beginning of League's Cup, one, that it was a cash grab, money grab bullshit tournament. We got your ass on that. We told you it wasn't. Number two, they were saying, there's no way that the Sounders make it out of this.
00:54:56
Speaker
They've got to win three games. They've got to beat the champion of CONCACAF who absolutely handed it to them earlier in the season. They've got to beat, you know...
00:55:07
Speaker
ah a team that is basically going to, to rat ball them. And, they I mean, it's just hard. it was It was too hard. It was not possible. They didn't think that it could happen.
00:55:18
Speaker
And guess what they did? They went out there and they they created a moment of magic. And so I don't think that we should ever count out the Sounders at the playoffs because they like they theyre frankly, they're just good at creating those moments of magic in those moments. That's why Brian Schmetzer is the head coach of this team.
00:55:33
Speaker
I mean, frankly, that's that's just the truth. Like, look what he did in 2016 with way less. Right. No, and this this is that he's he's he's probably the greatest ah tournament coach in MLS history.
00:55:48
Speaker
Hands down. I think that's a good place for us to jump into our second ad break. We will be back after talking about the finalists for the eternal Sounders Circle of Legends.
00:56:01
Speaker
think I said her at this time and slandering FIFA. We'll be right back. Welcome back. Thank you for not skipping our ads. Again, like Jeremiah said, we will be sending you 800 emails a day invoicing you if you did skip.
00:56:14
Speaker
um Also, I'm going to come to your house and just weep. Just weep on your doorstep for days if you did that. so We need those CPMs. We need your tweet need your five cents, man.
00:56:26
Speaker
it it helps it helps us, okay? werere We're for the for the culture or something. or i don't Are we allowed to say if you are a subscriber, you can also subscribe to an ad-free version of the podcast? That's true um So, like, do that.
00:56:43
Speaker
So, yeah, do that. Soundrun.com slash LS. And then it's like, then you don't have to feel bad. Like, you should feel guilty if you skip our ads. That's all I'm trying to say. Um...
00:56:54
Speaker
The Sounders have announced three finalists for the Eternal circle eternal Sounders Circle of Legends. ah Last year, they did the same thing.
00:57:05
Speaker
um And people were like, oh my god, they're going to put up a name in Lumen Field forever. Whoa, they're going hang a name in the rafters. That didn't quite happen, but there is a cool little LED board with a spinning little globe Sounders module.
00:57:23
Speaker
ah And last year, they honored the 1974 Sounders team. Was that correct? The 1974 Sounders, correct. The inaugural team. I don't really know how the voting went for that, but this year... There no voting. There was no voting. Yeah, they just sort The first year, they just sort of appointed inaugural...
00:57:41
Speaker
like entry, and then they sort of announced the... the the criteria for future inductees. And yeah, it was kind of like, just to remind people of what happened is when they unveiled this thing, they had these, you know, we had this idea that it was going to be this like pretty bold signage and it was going to look pretty dope.
00:58:01
Speaker
And then they opened it up and it was just like a banner that was hanging over the, the ad board. And I was like, Oh, that's, that's probably temporary. Right. and then I start asking around and people like, no, I think that's kind of what we we did. This is not what we had in mind.
00:58:16
Speaker
And there was a ah fair amount of embarrassment over that. And then, so the, the the compromise was that they put it on this led board and i believe that they are still trying to get some permanent signage affixed to the stadium and i'm sure that the the struggle is that lubin field doesn't want any permanent signage out although the centers do have permanent signage in the rafters the you know the all their mls cups and concaf champions league and all that stuff are up in the way more than the seahawks way more certainly bigger titles than the Seahawks yeah and although the Super Bowl title is still the biggest is still the biggest sign up there but it's permanent signage and I think that's what the Sounders wanted is they wanted something that was permanent that was eternal if you ah pardon the pun and really sort of like and that looks nice and
00:59:08
Speaker
It's not quite what anyone envisioned right now. I think it's better than what it started off as. It's definitely not as good as it could be. But yes, this is the first class of what they call ah ballot.
00:59:20
Speaker
What did they call it? Ballot class. The first ballot class. ah Exactly. So this is the first time people are going to be able to vote for it. And it's a little confusing the way the vote is, is to get in. We should hear.
00:59:33
Speaker
don't you say, tell the listeners who got nominated. Who got nominated this year was Casey Keller, Siggy Schmidt, and Jimmy Gabriel. Right. ah All three bonafide legends.
00:59:46
Speaker
ah A good place to start. I think with the... So essentially the way this works, as I understand it, is there's a nominating committee that's made up of you know former... i think some some staff and some... you know There's like six or seven people, someone from Washington Legends of Soccer...
01:00:05
Speaker
a few other people and they assemble basically a list of candidates that can be as many as four people And then they put that to the fans, to essential, not to the fans, to the entire voting group. And then each group has weighted value.
01:00:20
Speaker
So there's media, there's staff, there's ownership, there is former players, there is fans, and and they all have ah their own weight. And to get in, you need to get 75% the weighted vote.
01:00:36
Speaker
ah which is actually not the highest bar, frankly. Although I i guess it's, you know, it'll be interesting once it right now, it's, it's going to like all three of these people, I think are going to get in no question.
01:00:48
Speaker
And, and then, and I would imagine the next class will probably be ah similar quality of, well, of course this guy belongs in there. And of course that person belongs in here. And we'll go through a few years where it's really obvious that these people belong in there. And then, and you know, four or five years, we'll start getting into, okay,
01:01:06
Speaker
These people deserve some consideration. And then as players start retiring, you know, we'll have to, you know, I guess you have to wait three years until you've retired. Although there are some exceptions. So it'll be interesting. But for now, I think all three of these people are going to get in easy. Casey Keller is probably the the most decorated soccer player to ever come from.
01:01:27
Speaker
the Seattle region. He grew up in Olympia. He played for four world cup teams. He has over 500 appearances for, uh, in Europe. And then of course he finished his career with the Sounders where he was, a three-year captain.
01:01:41
Speaker
He led them to the u S open cup three times or the three titles. And then he won goalkeeper of the year in 2011, his final season. And then he was a coach for a little while, with the United States. And then Honestly, most Sounders fans probably remember him for being the commentator that was the the color commentator for ah like 10 years.
01:02:03
Speaker
There was very highly critical of the Sounders at all times. Famously, he was pretty critical of the Sounders. And I think on i liked I actually didn't mind his commentary. I thought he actually provided some genuine insight, even if it was a little negative at times.
01:02:17
Speaker
Like he just never got excited about a goal like it was every time the center scored. It was like, well, this is what happened like this. And I'm like, but there was like a defensive, right. Or it was usually some kind of defensive mistake that he always wanted to point out.
01:02:30
Speaker
But, um, I thought he was insightful and I liked him and yeah, you know, it'll be good to see him sort of back in the sounders fold a little bit. Yeah, no, I, I agree. I like Casey a lot. I thought he,
01:02:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's undeniable. I mean, he's a local legend. He's a U.S. men's national team legend. um I'm sure that all of the 14-year-olds that are basically the only people following that team right now don't know who he is.
01:02:58
Speaker
But let me tell you, if you're listening to this show, which you're probably not, and you're a part of the Bot Brigade, Look him up. Watch some film. Good guy. Good at soccer. He was an amazing... At one point, he was considered maybe the best goalkeeper in the world. And that's not even hyperbolic. It that they was real... you know He was he he was an amazing, amazing goalkeeper.
01:03:19
Speaker
ah Siggy Schmidt, I'd like to thank Sounders fans still remember. you know He obviously left in 200. He was fired in 2016. ah But in his his seven full seasons, he led the Sounders to the playoffs every year.
01:03:31
Speaker
ah He had a really good record. they They won four Open Cups while he was here. He won a Supporter Shield while he was here. i And then he also just had ah an amazing career beyond that. He he also ah you know he won four College Cups.
01:03:47
Speaker
He won three MLS Cup or two MLS Cup. Sorry. ah He led two different teams to a ah Supporters Shield MLS Cup double. I don't know that there's any other coaches who have done that twice.
01:03:59
Speaker
Certainly not with two different teams. ah Really ah an absolute legend. And unfortunately, you know he he passed away ah far too early. He had a lot left to give, I think, to the sport of soccer. And so that's kind of a bummer.
01:04:12
Speaker
But Siggy Schmidt... The coaching award is named after him. And then Jimmy Gabriel is someone who I would understand if Sounders fans are not quite as familiar with. He was a player in the NASL era. He was actually a player coach for a few years for the NASL Sounders.
01:04:28
Speaker
But really, his main contribution to the Sounders was sort of a soft contribution. new He's nominated as what's called a builder. And the reason for that is because... As just a player and just as a coach, I don't think he would necessarily be getting this honor.
01:04:44
Speaker
But he was a real constant during, especially during the but sort of like the lost era between the end of the NASL and the beginning of the A-League Sounders. There was about 10 years in there, and he was instrumental in helping...
01:04:57
Speaker
ah bridge that gap where he he was the coach of FC Seattle, which also known as Seattle Storm, ah which played in a few different leagues. And he coached some absolute legends during that time.
01:05:09
Speaker
And he was really instrumental in sort of keeping soccer alive. And then he was an assistant ah with the A-League Sounders up until 2005. And he helped lead them to a title. He was also really instrumental in... ah yeah Brian Schmetzer references Jimmy Gabriel all the time.
01:05:25
Speaker
he He was really an instrumental part of ah a lot of sound, a lot of older Sounders sort of experience. And, ah you know, he passed away a couple of years ago as well.
01:05:36
Speaker
But someone who whose DNA is really all throughout the the Sounders organization. And would be the first double inductee. Because technically, yes he is already inducted into this.
01:05:51
Speaker
You're right. That is the one interesting piece about it. But I guess we get to vote. We do. Yeah. Media members get a vote. And Lions members do.
01:06:03
Speaker
I didn't know. i didn't get a I didn't get a ballot yet. But we'll see. we haven't got It hasn't gone out yet. Okay, okay. I'll check the spam folder at some point. um But I wanted to ask, I guess, you know, one, I want to hit i want to i want to jump back just a tiny bit.
01:06:22
Speaker
Actually, no, let's hit this first and then I'll jump back to ah hating on first and goal. ah let's Let's talk a little bit about what this means kind of generally in all of these people, we you know, we hit on who they are.
01:06:36
Speaker
I mean, personally, like, yeah, I'm going to be voting for every single one of these people. I think they all easily deserve to get in. Like, if you if you are a Sounders fan or you even generally know something about the Sounders, like, all of these people have crossed your mind.
01:06:50
Speaker
um That's cool that they're doing three, though. and And, like, what do you think about this whole program? ah Do you think that it's kind of, like, like a little bit, I don't know, i guess I'm, I'm a little like, that seems like a lot of people are getting inducted because I feel like usually it's only like one person who gets inducted every year. Well, I think because it's early on, you sort of want to stock it, I guess. But yeah, I mean, if I don't know how the, how the Seahawks did their ring of honor, I don't know if it was just one at a time.
01:07:20
Speaker
I don't know the process. I will say I like that. It's sort of a democratic process that this does, you know, I, I think a lot of times, the whole Sounders democracy and sports thing gets ah understandably sort of like written off as more of a gimmick.
01:07:36
Speaker
But it's stuff like this that gives it some some value and it gives it some legitimacy. And so anytime you can come up with a program like this that feels like it has some genuine value, that's great.
01:07:48
Speaker
And you know this I think this program has a lot of potential. you know Early on, it is sort of about populating it with the with the obvious names. you know maybe like Because like they can nominate as many as four, I guess.
01:08:01
Speaker
And ah theoretically, all four could get in. So it could be for the first few years, this could be really rapid where it goes from you you know one to 12 almost overnight. And I guess suppose at that point, it would maybe start to lose a little bit of its shine.
01:08:15
Speaker
But the Jimmy Gabriel one, I think, is going to be an interesting test of this program because I think he belongs in there and it, I think it really will get to how good of a, how much people understand the importance of these players, because I don't know how many NASL era guys are going to ultimately get in. Probably not very many, you know, it's going to be, obviously the 74 team and then Jimmy Gabriel. And I don't know who else will get in. I'm sure others will be nominated, but there aren't as many obvious folks in that, uh,
01:08:48
Speaker
at some point, you know, you figure, you know, there's going to a lot of, i would imagine a lot of MLS players are going to end up getting nominated. because that's when, you know, I would think maybe like a Zach Scott is maybe in the next pool. I would hope like a, I would imagine maybe a Marcus Hahnemann is in the next pool, which it wasn't just because his- Chad Marshall.
01:09:06
Speaker
yeah Yeah, Chad Marshall would be another good candidate. ah Yeah, so yeah it'll be interesting to see what the next crop of players looks like because they did a good job of sort of like spreading it out and and getting like one from each category into this thing.
01:09:21
Speaker
yeah And so that'll be, you know, I'll be very interested to see how how the program comes out. And I do think on some level they need to figure out how to get Lumenfield to put up some permanent signage because I think that's what really makes it valuable. And that's what gives it weight is when you can have this permanent display inside the stadium that is seen by, honestly, that's not just by Sounders fans, but by Seahawks fans and by every other event that goes in there. And that's what...
01:09:48
Speaker
monster truck. Exactly. we Exactly. Exactly. Beyonce concert goers. Yes. Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran's looking up in the rafters going, Jimmy Gabriel.
01:09:59
Speaker
Who is that? now I'm going to look him up. I'm to watch some film. Exactly. going to watch some film. Let me, let me learn something about a UCLA Bruins soccer. Let me learn something about that. Right. Exactly.
01:10:12
Speaker
It's, it seems I like it a lot. I hate the fact that it's, I guess i guess what i what i want what I really take from it is truly the importance of the culture that the Sounders have built.
01:10:26
Speaker
ah We've talked about it, and I think we both are very much in agreeance that the Sounders are one of the few clubs in MLS that can truly point to their history and have a through line of culture to their modern-day iteration.
01:10:42
Speaker
I think that the only, the only, honestly, they're the only, I, I, I don't want to, I'm not trying to slag off the Timbers and the Whitecaps and, and the Earthquakes, I suppose, are the other team that can kind of theoretically draw their history back.
01:10:55
Speaker
But the, the reality, this is just cold, hard facts. The, The things that link the current versions of those teams to their NASL all the way back to their NASL era are just so much more tenuous. i don't I'm not saying they don't count.
01:11:11
Speaker
I'm not saying that they don't matter. They matter. But they are just not the same. There's not the same level of through line. It is like a really – it's very easy. And frankly, Brian sch s Spencer is the perfect – ah avatar for doing that.
01:11:26
Speaker
But there's more than that. You can, you can kind of go throughout the Sanders organization and see the the links to the, to the old versions of the team that the previous versions of the team. And it is really, it's unique in ah in North American sports ah and certainly North American soccer. And I, and I know that there are ah folks, especially in Columbus who want to act like the sounders are ah nothing more than a an expansion team from 2009.
01:11:53
Speaker
But let that's come on. What are we doing here? You know, you can you can pretend that and like even if you want to claim that that's cool like that. i don't think that that's a big deal to me personally the perception of it because at the end of the day.
01:12:08
Speaker
If it's not the same organization, cool, but there are still there's so many threads that have been pulled in a legitimate way, not just in a like, here's our crest and this ball represents ah one time that a soccer ball was kicked into our glue factory and burned down the entire town.
01:12:28
Speaker
ah It's like, no, like the head coach of the Seattle Sounders has been a Seattle Sounder since he was in high school. Right, exactly. like that that There's that. There has been someone who has been a part of all of that throughout every era. There have been players who were like, I love this city and this team and this culture so much that let me bridge the gap.
01:12:50
Speaker
let me make Let me keep this together in some way because there is value here. And the way that they recruit, the way that they play players. you know like i will be The second that Paul Rothrock becomes eligible...
01:13:03
Speaker
i would I'm going to buy billboards. I'm buying billboards. He's getting in. He's getting in. ah That's, you know, i don't know. That's that's really...
World Cup Ticketing Controversies
01:13:14
Speaker
To me, what it means, and I love that they they have introduced this and are doing this.
01:13:20
Speaker
And to the first and goal people, listen, I know you listen to the podcast, okay? I know we're we're big monster truck enthusiasts here. we're the monsters We're the number one monster truck podcast in the US.
01:13:31
Speaker
ah Let me tell you, if you don't give some goddamn permanent signage, um I'm going to give a call. to our next for our next future mayor, Katie Wilson, and I'm going find a way. I'm go find a way for you to break that lease, buddy, because I bet you the city will manage it 10 times better than first and goal.
01:13:47
Speaker
Your millions and millions and million dollars of parking from Mariners games, gone. Gone. Get ready to be impoverished, buddy. So put up those circle of legend signs, okay? that That's my threat. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about. Okay?
01:14:01
Speaker
Don't make me call in the big dogs. Okay? I will lobby. I totally have that power. I don't. I do. don't. um From one nightmare of an organization to another, this time with... I actually don't know if they have a monster truck.
01:14:22
Speaker
A FIFA monster truck would be cool, but... FIFA, Jeremiah. They are an organization that exists ah that doesn't like me particularly very well, unfortunately, um and runs the World Cup, which will potentially be happening in Seattle.
01:14:40
Speaker
Not sure if it will be or not because of certain threats from certain presidents um and also ah who who knows? that's it's there's I don't even know what's going on day to day anymore, but FIFA said, we got to sell tickets to this event.
01:14:57
Speaker
And it's been a nightmare. It's been a nightmare. The Athletic wrote a very, very, very in-depth article talking about just how insane it is to try and buy tickets to this game, regardless of how much you want to pay, which the prices are ridiculous too.
01:15:17
Speaker
Um, it has been an absolute nightmare for anyone trying to buy. There's, you got to sign up for an email and get a date. And then if you get then you might like on that day, you log in and click a button and then that'll send you another email, which then you'll get a window of 10 minutes texted to you at four in the morning, uh, on a random Tuesday,
01:15:38
Speaker
that you'll be able to then purchase, but also it may not actually let you purchase because there's other people in the queue. What's going on, Jeremiah? what What is happening with all of this? And and how do we fix this?
01:15:51
Speaker
Yeah, so there's two things going on here. One of them is there's a very, kind like ah i maybe not complicated, but convoluted path to getting tickets right now. And this is the still the first phase of ticketing where you effectively had to sign up for a lottery. And if you're one of the the folks that get selected for this lottery,
01:16:12
Speaker
then you get a window to buy tickets in and that's itself sort of a complicating thing. And that, that lottery is currently ongoing. It started, people started getting notified, I believe today on Monday ah if they were, they were selected and then they're going to keep adding more people to the lottery as people buy tickets. And cause there's only a million of the, there's about 4 million total tickets to the world cup. There's about a million tickets that are being sold during this window.
01:16:40
Speaker
And so they're basically rolling it out and seeing how many tickets get sold in each one. And then it's going to keep rolling it out until they sell these first million tickets. Okay. Whatever. That's annoying. It's, it's frustrating. We're still a long ways off, but you know, whatever you get it, you get in, but at least you're getting a good price.
01:16:57
Speaker
Well, I'll tell you, the good price, the face value of these tickets is out outrageous. So the, one of the things that ah came out in this report from, ah from the athletic was they got, they got the ticket prices for a lot of these games. Now, not all of them. They're basically just sent,
01:17:19
Speaker
ah information by fans who got through. And it's crazy. you know For the US game that's going to be played in Seattle, ah right now, the tickets are... Let's see. I'm looking for this.
01:17:33
Speaker
So the game in Seattle, which is on June 19th, Category 1. And then this is the other thing. You don't buy specific tickets. You buy a category of tickets. Of course. so cat Right. Because that would be it would be too simple.
01:17:44
Speaker
yeah Category one, it looks like is basically the entire ah lower section and then parts of the club section, I believe, is is how it works out.
01:17:55
Speaker
Category one is five hundred and thirty five dollars. Category two, which I guess is some of the tickets, some like the next level up, four hundred and five dollars. And then category three, which I'm assuming are on the third deck. There was also a category four ticket, but they weren't available by the time ah anyone got in.
01:18:14
Speaker
So the category three, you're looking at a get in price of 185. Okay. That is all. Those are expensive. 185 just to get in to see the U S but what's even crazier is that if you want to go see the U S season opener or the U S world cup opener, you're They're starting at $1,100 for this game and at SoFi.
01:18:39
Speaker
$1,100. The face value of their first World Cup game, $1,100. And you have to watch the U.S. men's national team? And you have to watch the U.S. men's national team on top of that.
01:18:52
Speaker
Like, no disrespect. We love our boys in red, white, and blue. But I'm paying $1,100 them... What? Like, what?
01:19:04
Speaker
That's insane. And you know what? This is actually interesting to me. this What this ticketing says is that ah they know they know what the demand is in Seattle from the Club World Cup, and they took that to heart.
01:19:17
Speaker
Because I think... Because it's better if you're saying it's cheaper tickets. Yeah, I mean, if you look at it, right, the opener, the head-in price is 10 times more for the opener in Southern California than it is in Seattle.
01:19:30
Speaker
And it's more... The third game is also more, which is also in Southern California. yeah so Yeah, the third game is... About 50% more. Yeah, that's crazy. That's crazy. It's an extra $100. That's insane.
01:19:42
Speaker
Yeah.
01:19:45
Speaker
There's no, like, what are they doing? did they Did they not learn anything from the Club World Cup? I mean, they legitimately were throwing tickets at people towards the end of that tournament. They were like, please, come to our games.
01:20:03
Speaker
are they just goug Are they just gouging, like, the biggest supporters, and then they're going to drop the prices? is Are they going to do the same thing that they did last time, you think? I don't know. It's going to be, I mean, for the final...
01:20:14
Speaker
For the final, the get-in price for the final is $2,000. um two point seven $2,000!
01:20:21
Speaker
$2,000! $2.7! No, the for the Category 4 tickets, were $2,000. Oh, yeah. Apparently already sold out. I don't know if they're sold out, but they're not of it they weren't available. Yes. And, yeah, and the Category 1 tickets are $6,700. Let's keep in mind...
01:20:36
Speaker
let's keep in mind This is not for necessarily premium seats. This is just somewhere in category one. No guarantee at all of where your tickets are going to be.
01:20:50
Speaker
I i don't even have words, Jeremiah. I don't have words. I'm trying to look up what the, like in 2018, what the final price was because
01:21:05
Speaker
I guess it was like in 2018, it was between $455,000 and $1,000. but for Between the categories. For the final? For the final. Yeah.
01:21:16
Speaker
Even if you adjust that for inflation, that's that's not, that is not $2,000, I don't think. I don't think that it's been, i don't think our economy is that bad.
01:21:29
Speaker
It's bad. I don't think it's that bad. I mean, that's ridiculous. And you have to be in New Jersey. You have to be at MetLife. Let me talk about one of the worst stadiums in the goddamn country, MetLife.
01:21:41
Speaker
Getting to MetLife impossible. Watching a game at MetLife sucks. Terrible field. Terrible place to be. That's awful. That's awful.
01:21:51
Speaker
It's bad. Yeah, I don't... I mean, i suppose these tickets... It'll be interesting to see how these tickets say ah sell. Because I'll say right now, if I were to get into the...
01:22:04
Speaker
lottery i i guess i i'm sure there's some cheaper tickets available like i don't know if i would buy the u.s tickets or not uh but that's brutal and then yeah the whole i guess you were going to say talk about the second thing potentially about just even getting in line to get the tickets and Oh, well, the other well the other thing that the other thing that's kind of going on here that hasn't gotten quite as much attention is that there is these right to buy ah passes that you could buy where it was theoretically, it was basically like a ah and NFT that was supposed to give you early access. And crypto grifting too!
01:22:48
Speaker
Yeah, there is an NFT that was supposed to give you early access, but it's been really spotty. And and there's been a lot of complaints about what the early, act because it's like you pay this big upfront cost just to get access to buy tickets.
01:23:01
Speaker
And then you actually have to buy the tickets and the tickets are so inflated that people are just like, wait a minute, what are we doing here? And apparently the NFTs have been selling really... ah will really well in or like in Mexico is where they've sold the best.
01:23:15
Speaker
And people are freaking out about how much they're now having to pay for actual tickets. Well, and I saw that like the tickets in Mexico and Canada are cheaper. like The get-in price is much, much cheaper.
01:23:27
Speaker
And they seem to be like actually in line with what the average person would be able to pay to get into these games. And I guess this all begs the question...
01:23:39
Speaker
That we've all known for a long time that the World Cup is no longer a celebration of football. It's no longer a celebration of soccer.
Commercialization of the World Cup
01:23:47
Speaker
It's no longer a way to bring the world together. It's a way to sell Coca-Cola sponsorships and to make as much money as physically possible on tickets.
01:23:57
Speaker
And that sucks. That really, really, really sucks. Well, and one of the other things that's kind of a bummer, and this is another thing that hasn't gotten quite as much coverage, is there's a lot of concern from the cities over the FanFest that they were committing to.
01:24:13
Speaker
Because ah apparently the the agreement that cities sign is they're going to basically post up a FanFest every day of the tournament. And a lot of these cities once, ah and it was sold originally as, and you're going to be able to sell sponsorships and you'll be able to make your money back.
01:24:30
Speaker
Well, the thing is is, that you can't sell any sponsorships against what FIFA is already selling. So you can't go out and get your own beer sponsor because they've already sold you know Budweiser or whatever as a sponsor.
01:24:43
Speaker
You can't go out and get all these categories of sponsors to sponsor your event. and And then on top of that, they're saying you can't charge admission to these things. So all of a sudden, these FanFests are looking like big loss leaders for the city.
01:24:57
Speaker
And you know on some level... you want these things to be free, but on the other level, most of these cities do not have tons of spare money just laying around to throw these fan fests, especially if there's no way to like monetize them.
01:25:12
Speaker
And I don't know, it's, it's kind of a bummer. Like the whole, the whole endeavor is started. you know, I remember i had this conversation with Ryan Rosenblatt way back when ah the sound, when the U S first got this and when Seattle was getting picked and he's like, I'm telling you, you do not want this. This is,
01:25:28
Speaker
This is fool's gold. And was like, God, b Brian, let us live. Let us enjoy this. and And this is exactly what he was talking about is, is this kind of stuff where it's just, it's going to end up being, you know, I don't doubt that once it gets here, it will put it all aside. It will be amazing.
01:25:47
Speaker
I hope, but there's going a lot of frustrations and a lot of annoyances, and it's not going to be really what we all envisioned, which is just like you said, like a celebration of soccer for a month.
01:25:58
Speaker
And instead it's going to be sort of like much more of a, a celebration of capitalism. Which, you know, i think at the end of the day, like, it does kind of... It's it's come to this point where now... This is a hugely political event.
01:26:16
Speaker
This is a massively political event in America. And, like, people don't want to talk about it, but... As the government. Okay, let's just say, let's just, let's just shoot it. Let's just shoot it straight here. The government is currently shut down.
01:26:31
Speaker
The federal government doesn't want to give anyone money. State governments are doing what they can to not go into deficits. They have been in in Washington state specifically have been cutting back on funds towards important services so that fucking Seattle university can replace their field and get better locker rooms to host players.
01:26:53
Speaker
And is this really what we want at this point? Like, I'm sorry. Like it's, it's getting to the point where now, and now cities are going to have to throw more money. If the city of Seattle has to throw more money when they're already cutting services,
01:27:07
Speaker
right Throw more money into hosting a party because they can't get a beer sponsor? What are we doing? what what What are we doing? I love soccer.
01:27:18
Speaker
I love soccer more than anything. It's brought me the most joy and the most friendships and most everything in my life. But it gets to a point, man, where it's like, I think Ryan might have been right. Like, this is a little bit of fool's gold and it sucks and I want it to be amazing and I'm going to experience it in whatever way I can experience and try and put this all aside when I get there.
01:27:39
Speaker
And I hate to end the episode on such a bummer, but like, that's just, that's just where I am, man. That's just, this all just feels like such a bummer. it's The thing that's a bummer, really, is that ever since Seattle got announced as one of the host cities, there's been really... it's just been sort of like one gut punch after another. Like, I don't know if there's been really one piece of news that you're like, yeah, that's, that's going to be dope.
01:28:06
Speaker
Uh, and, and don't get me wrong. Uh, I think there's potentially it's it could still be cool. I think the, the fan fest should be, should be fun. It'll be interesting. Don't get me wrong, but it's just not, it's just, you know, I don't blame anyone who's just like, I kind of would rather just Airbnb my house and get out of town for ah few weeks.
01:28:30
Speaker
If I had a house... I would do that. But unfortunately, all of the houses are Airbnbs. Sublet your apartment. Yeah, exactly. There we go. ah that's the That's it. Everyone tap in. We're going to start the Sound at Heart apartment sublet.
01:28:48
Speaker
right That's how we're going to grift because apparently everyone else is grifting off the World Cup. and Jeremiah, we're going to have to find a way to to capitalize on this really lucrative opportunity here.
01:29:00
Speaker
that I've so been told by 7,000 media moguls. But I think we can leave it there for today. I think that was great. I think you know there was a lot of ups. There was a lot of downs. We're ending it on a bummer. But you know what? Sometimes sometimes that's the way it is,
Closing and Guest Promotion
01:29:16
Speaker
folks.
01:29:16
Speaker
um Jeremiah, where can people find you? ah So i run a little website called Sounder at Heart. That's probably the easiest place to to find me. I also do a little podcast called Nos Audientes.
01:29:29
Speaker
ah That's another good place to find me. If you are a subscriber to this podcast's private RSS feed, you will notice that you have probably heard my voice before.
01:29:41
Speaker
And that's from... I'm but i'm Jeremiah from Nos Audientes. Hey, welcome. the guy. Welcome. That's literally the guy. That's the guy. ah So, yeah, follow him on Blue Sky. Follow on... We got to get you on TikTok. Maybe you can start doing some dances or something.
01:29:56
Speaker
Yes. All right. Jeremiah's going to get on TikTok. But ah follow Loving Scorchers on TikTok. Follow Loving Scorchers on Instagram. Buy our hot sauce. Lovingsorchers.com slash sauce.
01:30:08
Speaker
Thank you to all of our sponsors. Like the video. Sub to the channel. Rate us five stars. Send Ari a heartwarming note. I don't think he's... injured, but I don't know where he is.
01:30:19
Speaker
So that's just where we're at. He's just gone. He's gone with the wind. So tell him in the comments that you miss him and need him back. I hope this show wasn't too much of a shit show. And until next time, we out.