Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 298: Not much good to discuss
65 Plays6 years ago
It’s been almost a month since we last recorded, so apologies for that. We haven’t missed talking about anything good, though. The Sounders have not won since our last show, and are now riding a four-game losing streak across all competitions as they prepare for their next game on June 29.
We don’t have much good news to discuss. The latest gut punch is news from Miki Turner that Will Bruin suffered a “serious” ACL injury, which means he’s at least out for the forseeable future and probably the rest of the year. That’s on the heels of a loss to the Portland Timbers in the U.S. Open Cup and three losses to close out the first half of the year, all on the road, all by one goal and each frustrating for their own reasons.
So let’s get to talking.
This week's music: Perry Como - "Seattle", "RVIVR - "Ocean Song", Woody Guthrie - "Roll On Columbia", "Your Journey Begins" - OurMusicBox (Jay Man) (CC BY 4.0)
Thanks to James Woollard, Sounders Public Address Announcer, for doing our sponsor reads. You can follow him on Twitter at @BritVoxUS - if you’re looking for a British Voice to advertise your business or non-profit, please reach out to him.
Want to hear the music from the show in their glorious, full versions? Check out the Nos Audietis playlist on Spotify!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Sponsorship
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of No Sadietes is sponsored by Full Pool Wines, a Seattle-based wine seller who recently released their first book, 36 Bottles of Wine. The ethos of the book, a highly curated look at wine categories that provide exceptional value right now, should be familiar to full pool readers. But there's loads of fresh content, and since it's not trying to sell any wine through the book, there's a bit more of a sass factor.
00:00:21
Speaker
And there's food, lots of it. Fulpel's unique writing style is applied to recipes like leftover Thanksgiving turkey, schmaltz-a-ball soup, and pregnancy nachos. This book can be purchased through Sasquatch Books.
Podcast Episode Introduction
00:00:32
Speaker
Hey, this is Christian Roldan. And Jordan Morris from the Seattle Sounders Football Club. And you're listening to... There's no study at this. Fuck! Hey, Ocean! Let's go! Morris runs right by him and sticks in and slots in him for a bowl. Fantastic for Jordan Morris.
00:00:55
Speaker
Here's Morris! Morris! I'm back in the net! What do the tigers dream of? They take a little tigers. The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle. And the hills, the greenest green in Seattle.
00:01:24
Speaker
like a beautiful child growing up. Welcome to another edition of NOS Adietta, sponsored by Focal Wines. This is episode 298 and we're recording on Wednesday, June, no, Tuesday. Today's Tuesday, June 18th, 2019. I'm your host, Jeremiah Shannon. As usual, I'm joined by my co-host, Aaron Campo and our engineer, Lickett.
Sounders' Recent Challenges
00:01:43
Speaker
It's been almost a month since we last recorded, so apologies for that. We haven't missed talking about anything good, though. The Senators have not won since their last show and are now writing a four game losing streak
00:01:53
Speaker
across all competitions as they prepare for their next game on June 29th, a full two weeks from now, or almost two weeks, 11 days. We don't have much good news to discuss. The latest gut punch is news from Mickey Turner that Will Gruen suffered a quote unquote serious ACL injury at training, which means he's at least out for the foreseeable future and quite possibly for the rest of the year.
00:02:16
Speaker
That's on the heels of a loss of the Portland Timbers in the US Open Cup and three losses to close out the first half of the year, all on the road, all by one goal, and each frustrating for their own reasons. So we'll probably get into the Will Bruin stuff in the questions. So I don't think we need to dwell on that too much. And there's not too much to really discuss at this point.
00:02:38
Speaker
But let's start with the Timbers loss. That's the third time the Sounders have lost in the first round or their first game of the Open Cup in five years. Those are the five years that Garth Loggway has been in charge. I'm sure a lot of people have drawn that connection. They have won games during his era, three of them in fact. But it's been kind of a growing trend that the Sounders go out earlier than I think a lot of people would like in the Open Cup.
00:03:07
Speaker
What did you make of this particular early exit, Aaron?
Tactical Decisions & Game Analysis
00:03:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's good to keep the focus on this early exit because I feel I feel like there's less of a trend than it might seem. Like there's definitely a trend of bad results and right now early, but
00:03:29
Speaker
independent in different reasons. Yeah. And in this case, I don't know what, I mean, the only thing really that the sounders could have done to put out a stronger team
00:03:42
Speaker
two things, I guess. Stefan Fry starting over Brian Meredith would be the obvious one and Brad Smith starting over Nu Who. That one's a little more questionable because I feel like Smith was still kind of getting fitness back and maybe wasn't 90 minutes of it. And I think it made sense to maybe put out a little bit more of a defensive lineup against which was effectively a first team
00:04:05
Speaker
Yep, yep, all three all three DPS Fernandez looks like a legit player. And so, yeah, I knew who did not have a great game, but I think that
00:04:18
Speaker
you're right that it's reasonable to say, eh, maybe we should go with a more defensive option here. Um, I don't want to restart the, the new who Brad Smith argument, but I don't think it's, I don't think it's an obvious thing to say. Brad Smith is the clear better decision in this case. Um, but you could, you could make the, you could certainly make a case that he, that he is the better decision. Right. So those are the two things the sounders could have done. Um, I don't.
00:04:49
Speaker
Teams are almost never going to start their starting goalkeeper in the first game of a cup competition. It's just pretty rare. And the Tibbers didn't. It should be said. No, no, they didn't. You've got to give backup goalkeepers a reason to give a shit, frankly. And knowing that they're going to get a chance in cup games is probably part of that.
00:05:12
Speaker
And, you know, I mean, every time you play a game, there's a chance that a player is going to get hurt. So if you can limit the chances that Stephen Fry gets hurt, I don't know that that's a terrible thing.
00:05:29
Speaker
But I also understand if you think that they should have played Stephen Fry because the team was so short-handed and you just feel like you have to give yourself a chance against a rival. That being said, I don't think that either of those things changes the outcome of the game. I mean, Stephen Fry, I think it's fair to say, is a much better goalkeeper than Brian Meredith, but I can't
00:05:53
Speaker
look at the goals that Meredith gave up and say, Stefan Fry gets that 100%, you know, I don't think that Brian Meredith cost us that game. And aside from that, I mean, there really was not anything that sounders could have done, aside from rearranging the deck chairs, you know, maybe they could have played lineup wise, you're saying
00:06:14
Speaker
Yeah, like maybe ship place like they could have converted a penalty, which that would have that would have helped. That would have definitely would have helped. Yeah, I mean, I just it sucks that they couldn't put a better, a stronger team out there, but. Oh, frankly, that lineup was better than the one they fielded against Montreal. Yeah, it was, you know, maybe I would say at least on
00:06:44
Speaker
It wasn't probably better than the Dallas game, but it was, it was on par, I think with the lineup. I mean, it was, it was, to me, that was a lineup that was capable of winning. If that was the lineup that they were able to put out on June 29th, essentially their next game, I don't think I would have been.
Open Cup Reflections & Fan Experience
00:07:02
Speaker
disappointed necessarily. That's a lineup capable of winning games in MLS. And it was a lineup capable of winning that game. They were the better team. There's game state issues at play for sure, but the Sounders were the better team for almost the entire first half.
00:07:20
Speaker
They were the better team for most of the second half. They dictated the pace of the play. I think they had the better overall chances. They got to convert them. The penalty that they got was probably questionable. It was harsh, I'd say, at the very least. But they got to put that away. And what are you going to do? Sometimes you just shrug your shoulders. You lose games that you feel like you should get a better result in.
00:07:50
Speaker
And the, and the, and the timbers had probably two or three, maybe four, like good chances, but the two that they scored on were both well-taken chances. Um, you know, it's a little frustrating that, that Fernandez was able to get in on the second one, but the first, you know, that was, that was a really good finish and, uh,
00:08:10
Speaker
You know, it was what do you do? Yeah, pretty much like the clerk made an amazing save on Henry Wingo late in that game, like off of a half volley that from close range that he hit about as well as you could hit. I thought it was funny. Someone in the comments on center art, it's like, Oh, no, no, that actually wasn't a very good shot. He should have trapped that.
00:08:33
Speaker
cut back, and then finished four posts. It's like, so you're thinking you should have done something that would have been almost impossible to do. Sure. Yeah, that usually, I mean, doing things that you, a human shouldn't be capable of doing, it tends to take people keepers by surprise. Right. That's a fair point.
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah, I just, I, I, I felt good about that game. Um, full disclosure, I had minor surgery that morning and was still high as shit. So maybe that was part of it. I don't know. But that was the most shots that they've taken in a game since the season opener. Um, I was against, you know, a very good opponent.
00:09:13
Speaker
I don't know. There just wasn't to me a lot to be like the result was frustrating and I'm not going to blame anyone for being frustrated by the result, but like there was no effort issue. There, there wasn't like, there was no organizational failure to like not get the team up that game essentially. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Totally agree. And, and I mean, I think you can maybe nitpick the tactical plan, maybe nitpick the formation. You usually can after a loss. Um,
00:09:40
Speaker
It was just, you know, if that game happens in San Jose, or even if it happens in Tacoma, but they're playing San Jose and not Portland, I think people are probably a little less upset about it. Understandably, I mean, nobody likes losing to Portland. But you and I were talking about this before we started recording. I want to win the US Open Cup, but if we're not going to win the US Open Cup, I want to lose the first game.
00:10:09
Speaker
Yeah, like that's, I think that's a, like there's obviously a ride involved in, in like, we've talked oftentimes on the show about like the ride as part of the enjoyment, but the open cup ride isn't always a lot of fun if it doesn't end with a trophy. Yeah. Like I don't know that the 2012 run to the open cup final was.
00:10:31
Speaker
like, particularly satisfying, even though there were some great wins, some great moments in that run up, especially like the the keys are stadium thing. But like, in a lot of ways, it wasn't it wasn't enjoyable. It wasn't an enjoyable ride, especially since at the end, it was such a frustrating end. And I wouldn't say that in 2016, when the Sounders went out against the galaxy in the
00:10:59
Speaker
quarterfinals, I think it was. Yeah, it was a quarter. Like, that was a really unsatisfying run, because not only did they play three extra games or two extra games, but they went out relatively early. Like, that's like the worst kind of performance you can have. Yeah, I mean, the last time I think I enjoyed an open cup game might have been the Red Card Wedding.
00:11:25
Speaker
It like I'm I'm dead serious. Like I don't. Yeah. I mean, that was like the biggest smile I had on an open cup. And we have I mean, we beat the timbers in the open cup since then. But I don't I don't even I don't remember anything about that game at all. Like I was very forgettable. I looked at who scored a goal. Aaron Kovar and somebody I don't even remember who.
00:11:53
Speaker
Who the other going for was. Can't tell you either. He was like a, I think he was a homegrown. Yeah, I don't know. I have no idea. Yeah, yeah. I don't even think that says a lot that we can't remember who scored in that game. Yeah. Zach Mathers. I will say. Was that his name? Zach Mathers. Was that his name? Yeah, Zach Mathers. Is that who scored in that game? I think so. That does ring a bell. It was somebody like that.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah, it was somebody like that. Well, you know, highly memorable. I will say that the fact that this was in Tacoma did give it a different feel, at least. I went down there. I thought it was a great atmosphere.
00:12:38
Speaker
I think there's part of me who's ready to let go of Starfire as someone who covers the team, but also as someone who roots for the team. Starfire was great. I don't know if you read it or not, but I wrote almost 3,000 words, kind of looking back on
00:12:55
Speaker
Starfire and my experiences and and maybe it's selfish of me to say like well I had this experience and now I've already had it So I'm over it and maybe I'm robbing future sounders fans of having this same experience But I just don't think it's gonna be the same like it was very of an era like that 2009 to 2000 to the to the red card wedding frankly to 2015 like that was the
00:13:21
Speaker
Like it was an experience that we'll never be able to recapture, I don't think. And there was an openness, there was just like a charm, like a understated charm in some ways to going to Starfire. It was like, I've made this analogy many times. It was like seeing a big band at a tiny venue,
00:13:44
Speaker
there's no luxury boxes. The luxury boxes were literally just tables on tarmac and you could reach out and touch players and you could accost them on their way to and from the locker room. The concessions were like hot dogs and there was like two bathrooms.
00:14:11
Speaker
You know, it just wasn't, you know, like there was, it was, it was cute in some ways, but it was also like, over it. It was surreal. It was kind of surreal. Yeah. And that wore off for me. And I don't think it was just me. No, I think it wore off for a lot of people.
00:14:29
Speaker
And the fact that, you know, 6,200 people or whatever showed up at Chaney and Granite, that's a sounders record for a non-final for an Open Cup game. Now, granted, that's a capacity issue. Like, I'm sure they could have drawn 6,200 to Starfire if Starfire fit 6,200.
00:14:46
Speaker
But I think there was a lot of reasons other than spending two hours in traffic, which was a real thing. I totally admit it. I remember I got into a long argument with someone about how much farther it is to get to Tacoma than to Starfire. And I'll stand by this, that if there's no traffic, and you oftentimes don't have to deal with traffic if you go at the right time,
00:15:12
Speaker
I don't know if it's still true, but I have in the last few months I've been able to get from Seattle to Tacoma in maybe a half hour longer than it would take me to get Starfire. But that was definitely not the case on last Wednesday. It took a solid two hours to get to Tacoma. I think most Seattleites had that same experience almost no matter when they left. Luckily I left at like three, four o'clock or something. And so I got there with plenty of time, but
00:15:40
Speaker
So it's not to say there's not a cost to moving the game to Tacoma. I understand people's frustration that, you know, the open cup used to kind of be this thing for like the hardest core supporters. And now you've moved farther away from your, from most of your, your supporter base. I get all that, but I'm also like,
00:15:58
Speaker
kind of willing to let someone else have this experience. And if that means, like this to me is kind of like a good faith gesture by the sounders to, like they haven't, like Seattle or Tacoma area soccer fans have not got to watch a lot of good soccer in Tacoma.
00:16:16
Speaker
And this was a good soccer, you know, this was a good show. And I think once you were in the stadium, there was a lot to like, you know, the ECS was going crazy. They were popping smoke. I don't know if that was like with the clearance of like, I don't know how they worked out, but they did it several times. Uh, that section was going off. It seemed like a lot of fun people, you know, like there was decent food. Uh, the press box had outdoor seating, which was great. Um, so like, I was one over.
00:16:47
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think putting aside the stuff that you said we should put aside, and I agree that we should put it aside because it's too complex of an issue, I think, to suss out on the podcast. I think it's a great venue for that kind of game. What I'm really hopeful of is that
00:17:09
Speaker
people went because it was the first team, realized that a lot of those players play for the defiance and come back for some of those games and hopefully some rain games as well. I mean, I think that it was, aside from the results, I think that it was about as, you know, good of an advertisement for the experience of soccer at Gini as you could hope for. And, and, you know, like,
00:17:33
Speaker
minor league baseball stadiums, as soccer stadiums, there's like a wide range of potential outcomes. But I feel like Chini has set up really well for it. I think it works pretty well there. And yeah, I mean, it looked like a lot of fun on TV.
Roster Challenges & Scheduling Dilemmas
00:17:51
Speaker
And I had a lot of fun at the S2 game I went to last year. So yeah.
00:17:55
Speaker
yeah you know i mean it's a bummer that it takes longer to get there i'm i'm probably less likely to go to open cup games but i wasn't especially likely to go to starfire either frankly so yeah i mean that's kind of where i found myself i i don't think i've been to the starfire i don't think i've been to starfire since 2014 yeah and so like maybe i'm completely biased and therefore don't get a vote in this but
00:18:22
Speaker
I mean, I, I don't know. I thought it was, I thought it was, I thought it was a good experience. I know like the, the Tacoma Sounders fans that are down there loved it. Yeah. You know, it wasn't like, was it perfect? No, but it sounds like we're going to have a soccer stadium down there in 2020 by 2021. It sounds like we might actually have some big announcements coming sooner than later on that front.
00:18:47
Speaker
But, you know, so like when we have one more year and frankly, it sounded like if the center's advanced and they've gotten to host again, they may have had to play the next game at Starfire because the Rainier's still play there and they have priority, which that would have been a whole funny situation. But yeah, I mean, it was, it was potentially, it would have been kind of fun, you know.
00:19:18
Speaker
It would have been, I think if they have games their next year, I suspect they'll be popular. And it was, I think it was notable that like, I want to say eight or nine of the players who started for the Sounders had made at least one Defiance appearance this year. And then off the bench, Shannon Hoppio looked good, I thought.
00:19:46
Speaker
And Henry Wingo was the other player there. I guess there was three guys off the bench. Two of those had also played for defiance. So, you know, it was, it was a fair representation, I think of the defines. It was better than most defiance teams have been, but there was a lot of defiance influence on the team. And, uh, I thought Danny Leyva looked.
00:20:06
Speaker
Like I was worried the first 10 minutes. I was worried. He looked like you may like, it wasn't all his fault, but it looked like the sounders might get run over in the first 10 minutes. Um, but he settled down nicely. He had a, he had a really active passing game. Uh, I think there's a lot of reasons to be enthusiastic about his, his potential. So, you know, it wasn't a total loss, uh, in terms of all those things and.
00:20:32
Speaker
You know, you, you go back to these other games. I don't, I don't know how much there is to really talk about, especially with how short-handed the, the centers were against Montreal. And that was just a, I mean, that was like hilariously short-handed. Um, yeah, but like they still should have gotten one that game. That's what was so frustrating, but they were up one zero and like the, in the 70th minute, they looked like they were the team that was going to be more likely to score a second goal. And then they give up a really dumb penalty.
00:21:00
Speaker
And then they give up a really regrettable goal after that. And all of a sudden they're looking at their third straight loss. I don't know that there's anything to learn from that game at all, unfortunately.
00:21:13
Speaker
No, I don't think there's anything to learn from any of this. Honestly, I mean, the Open Cup game, at least you got to see some younger players playing against MLS competition. And I guess you got to see that in the Montreal game as well, but not to the extent I think that that you did in the Open Cup game. Yeah, I mean, it's
00:21:36
Speaker
The only lessons you could learn, I guess, would be about roster construction. But I mean, I'm of the opinion, and I think it's safe to say that you are as well, that there's just not a whole lot you can do within reason about what's caused these roster shortages, I guess you would say.
00:22:00
Speaker
Um, players are going to get hurt. Players are going to get called up for international duty. The Sounders have tried to take as many international dates off as possible. Um, there's just not a whole lot you can do. And, and apparently they tried to get this game moved as well and they can, they just couldn't do it. Uh, you know, and I think the issue is like to me, if, if they had added a couple other guys at the bottom end of their roster available for the Montreal game, that's not probably going to change the result.
00:22:32
Speaker
Yeah. The things that changed the result are like, well, we're going to, we're not going to target designated players who play for their national teams. Well, like you're cutting out a lot of potential players there. Like, yeah. I mean, I guess the timbers managed to find a bunch of guys who don't play for their national teams and bully for them. I guess that's maybe that's maybe that is like a strategy, I suppose. Um.
00:22:58
Speaker
But I don't, I don't think it's like, to me, that's not the most effective strategy. Like, and, and frankly, if, if the goal is to have, you want to have your best players available at the end of the season, you know, we'll see how this all shakes out. Um, but I think you want the best players you can get and you don't want to put unnecessary restrictions on who you're looking for. Like, do they play for their national team?
00:23:20
Speaker
Yeah, no. And honestly, I'm sure that the timbers would claim that they're doing that on purpose, but I'd be surprised to find out that they are, that that's actually the case. I don't know. I think that merit has a chub on for Argentinian players is the more plausible explanation.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, it's like, would I rather have Fernandez than Raul Rudeas? I don't think I would. I don't think I would. He looks like a great player. I mean, I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but I think Raul's a better player. And I think, you know, I'm willing to put up with the absences. And I mean,
00:24:06
Speaker
There's also part of me that's from a long game perspective that wants this to cause problems occasionally so that the pressure to take more international dates off stays consistent. I don't think we're ever going to be in a place in MLS where they just take every international date off. I don't know if that's
00:24:33
Speaker
And right. And I think in the summer, especially in summers like this, it's like, if the centers were to schedule, be scheduled in a way that would have completely avoided any kind of international conflicts, they would have had to essentially take all of June off and like the first couple of weeks of July. And until they, until MLS goes to a more, a more international schedule, I wouldn't call it an international schedule.
00:25:02
Speaker
but a more international schedule where they're taking in chunks of the summer off, that's just not feasible. And by the way, I don't want to hear any more complaints about playing midweek games. Please stop complaining about midweek games. If you care about avoiding international dates,
00:25:25
Speaker
you need to get comfortable with playing games midweek. And there's going to be some home games midweek. So you got to make a choice. Do you want to play on international dates? Or do you want to play midweek games? You can't avoid both.
00:25:41
Speaker
And, and you can't say, well, I think we should move to the, to the European calendar, which by the way, is a thing that doesn't actually exist, but that's not an option either. Right. Right. Until we like, unless we're going to like, and I think because what makes the European calendar on feasible is the playoff system. Because as long as you need a month at the end of the season to like play like essentially an extra month.
00:26:08
Speaker
I don't think you're going to get a, you're going to get like a European calendar. Like it's like, as it is, the, the centers are going to start, I mean, MLS is going to start playing in February, I'm sure next year, like maybe even mid February. Like you can't push the season any deep, any like more into winter than that. Right. Right. And yeah, it's the idea that you're just going to have like half your teams play a bunch of road games early in the season is just not like that's not so like the, it just like completely.
Player Futures & Women's World Cup
00:26:39
Speaker
like changes in competition. Yeah, it's not going to happen. And I mean, like, look at what happened to the Timbers this year. I mean, yeah, they had to do it for reasons of their own choosing, you know, to like remodel the stadium and get an extra six seats or whatever. But I mean, teams are not going to want to be in a hole like that every single year. It happened to Sporting Kansas City when they opened
00:27:03
Speaker
Children's Mercy, that's what it's called now. I still want to call it Livestrong all the time, but it happened. Who was the team it happened to last year? Minnesota? Or somebody? Anyway.
00:27:21
Speaker
DC, DC, right. And yeah, you know, the second half of the season where the teams inevitably climb out of the hole can be exciting for their fans, I'm sure. But, you know, we all know that that the slow starts kind of suck. So teams aren't going to want to put themselves in holes like that. And
00:27:41
Speaker
Yeah, I just you're right. You have to pick one. I think midweek games are the much better of two bad options. And yeah, it does make it like I can't go to midweek games.
00:27:53
Speaker
It's just not feasible for me because of work things. I know that that's the case for a lot of people. People don't like, they can't take their kids to games as easily. It's a bummer. Yeah, it sucks. But I don't like midweek games either. That's life in the big city, right? I mean, that's kind of, that's just kind of the way it goes. And I mean, yeah, if people can, if like 30,000 people can go watch The Mariners on a Tuesday night,
00:28:19
Speaker
I think it'll be okay if we have to have some sounders games midweek. Yeah. So we don't need to get too deep into this other stuff, but was there anything else going on with this team that you feel like we need to address at this point? I feel like there was one more thing. I should have written it down. I think it was probably Will Bruin. Probably Will Bruin.
00:28:46
Speaker
Yeah, poor guy. Yeah, it sucks man. It really does. I guess he gets more time to spend with his kid though. That's true, which is nice. Although if he's got a busted knee, I don't know how much he can really do. Have you seen the King of the Hill episode where Peggy breaks her back?
00:29:05
Speaker
No. Okay. Well, that's a good one. Well, yeah, I mean, if you've seen the episode, it would make sense what I'm referencing, but that's okay. Yeah. Do you have any hot takes on the Women's World Cup? Not really. I think the US is good. Just their style rating is a bit much, isn't it? It is. They should act like they've been there before, personally. It's like it's weird because I,
00:29:34
Speaker
generally don't like goal celebrations. So I sort of was like, I don't like that they're celebrating that emphatically. But then I was like, man, the worst people in the world all have the same opinion. So the Canadians when you Canadians are really riled up, you know, you're on the
00:29:56
Speaker
I think that like Kim McCauley was tweeting about that being like her exact same path of being like, I can kind of see the point that maybe that's like a little much and then like the Canadians got so pissed off that she just like totally came around to Yeah, I mean, like there's something to be said like there's there's like
00:30:13
Speaker
Like I think to me, the take that made the most sense is like, look, if you want to be mad at the US, at a team winning 13-0 and like being really celebratory over it, I think you should be more mad at the system that creates this, that creates this gross imbalance between the best team in the world or one of the best teams in the world and the team that's ranked 34th, which isn't, shouldn't be that big of a gap. And I don't know, like on this day, I think that gap was probably,
00:30:43
Speaker
bigger than it really needed to be. But I just think that, you know, like be mad at the system that creates this and we should be supporting the growth of more women's soccer so that there are less matches like this happening. Now this was a record though. So it's not like this is happening all the time. Right.
00:31:06
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I think, uh, and it happened in the, and it happened in the, and just, just recently in the, what was it? The U 20 world cup qualifying or the U. Oh yeah. It was like Honduras and Norway, I think. Right. Yeah. What was that? And I guess it wasn't world cup. I think it was the U 20, the U 20 world cup. Right.
00:31:27
Speaker
So maybe I'm pretty sure it was because that just did. Yeah, it did just happen. Norway and Honduras. You're right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you 20 World Cup. That was we just finished. That was the term. Yeah. It was you trying to work. Yeah. I mean, it happens occasionally. I don't I think to I think it was Arlo White made the point that
00:31:53
Speaker
If this had happened in the men's world cup, and it had been Ronaldo celebrating the 13th goal like that, he almost certainly gets just massacred in the media for it. Yeah, absolutely. But Ronaldo also has a lot of opportunities to perform and celebrate in the limelight that women don't. Yep. And I mean, to me, I think that like, there's this idea that, that like,
00:32:22
Speaker
equitable treatment means, I don't know, I just think you have to like understand that context is the thing that exists, right? And that, no, like you, it's not reasonable to expect everything between the two tournaments to be the same and between men's and women's football to be the same because women have to put up with a whole hell of a lot more bullshit than the men do. Um, and they don't get paid nearly as well. And so yeah, it's, you can't play gotcha with like, well,
00:32:52
Speaker
You know, in the men's game, there's more sportsmanship or whatever, which I don't think is true, but whatever. I mean, in any case, um, I think it's fine. Like I hate watching games that are that one sided, even if it's a team that I like, unless it's like, if that was the sounders doing it to the timbers or something. Great.
00:33:12
Speaker
You know, like, and, and I, like, I enjoy when, um, a traditional power in international football gets the snot kicked out of them. Um, because they've done that to other teams. So it's like, I don't feel bad for them in the way I do that. Like a minnow, a minnow, uh, it's like more uncomfortable for me, but like, that's me, man. That's a me problem. Like it's not Megan Rapinoe's fault that Thailand sucks. Anyway.
00:33:43
Speaker
But yeah, my hot take on the women's world cup is that, uh, the U S is good. It's pretty hot take mine. Yeah. That's a, that's a hot take. Well, that's probably a good place to call this a segment. And, uh, they have a game on Thursday.
00:33:57
Speaker
which would be fun against Sweden. They'll be the best test yet. It's US women's national team that I'm talking about. Probably only win by six. They might. They might. Yeah. So have a good one, everyone. And I guess we'll see you on the flippity flop. Well, this is the first segment, Jeremiah. I know. Oh, yeah. That's right. We're going to come back and talk to you more. Stick around. He's been waiting very patiently. Very patiently, quietly. For us to finish the segment.
00:34:27
Speaker
All right. So, uh, all right, we'll come back and talk, talk later. Bye. Full Pool Wines are based in Seattle, owned and operated by Sanders fans and have been sponsoring Nos Adieras since 2011. They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list with special focus on their home, the Pacific Northwest. Their model is simple. One, they email compelling offers.
00:34:56
Speaker
Two, you request bottles that sound appealing, and three, your wine arrives at their soda warehouse and is ready for pickup or shipping. Their soda tasting room is also open to the public. If you're interested in joining their mailing list or learning more about them, visit fullpaulwines.com.
00:35:16
Speaker
Welcome back to NOS Adietes. We have questions and I'm just going to go ahead and let Likit start firing away. Let's do it. These are grouped together because they're same subject. Oh, good. So I'm going to read them all together here.
00:35:32
Speaker
Doosby latest injury update, please. Are we a fresh squad? Ryan Healy Bruin, what are the replacement options if he's sadly out of long term and core core core core? What's Kim Kihee status? Should we be worried about his knee? Is he ready to restart his DPOI campaign? So the answer to the first question, unfortunately, is
00:35:56
Speaker
No, we aren't. As the second question alluded to, Will Bruin had some sort of collision at training today. And it sounds like he may have done his ACL. So that would be a nine month to year long recovery process, which would obviously suck. That's not a worst case scenario. I'd actually
00:36:22
Speaker
heard that he may have actually broken his leg, but it sounds like that's not the case, which is thankful. But I don't know. We don't know how severe this is. It's possible that it's not like a full blown tear, but it sounds like it's not a good situation. And I guess the backup plan for the short term
00:36:46
Speaker
It might be Alfonso Ocampo Chavez. The Sounders are gonna probably have to play at least one game where neither Bruin nor Rui Diaz is available. If Rui Diaz goes out when we expect Prue to go out of the Copa America, he should be back after the July 29th or June 29th Sounders game, which would mean he just misses one more game. So I doubt that the Sounders are gonna go out and like make a big signing just to
00:37:18
Speaker
just to get one extra game. And more importantly, it's not like they can. The transfer window is not open, so they can't do that. I think they could sign. If they were to sign someone from there, one thing they could do, I guess, is Justin Dillon is a
00:37:39
Speaker
six three forward that is leading the Tacoma defines and goals right now he's got six goals and he's got six all six goals in his last seven games so he might be a decent you know guy who can get 200 minutes or so out of so
00:37:55
Speaker
That's probably those are probably those options. And then Kim Kihi, I don't know. I haven't been to training yet. He didn't obviously play in the match against the Timbers. I suspect the deal. I mean, God, I mean, the centers don't play another game for like two more weeks. So you'd like to think that. He'd be ready by then. But I don't I don't know that for sure.
00:38:19
Speaker
Well, Mickey Turner just tweeted that he's updating the Will Bruin story with additional information, and then it's not good. So there's all that optimism we had about maybe him recovering quicker out the window. Right. But yeah, and it's just like. Not to make light of the situation, but it's like almost comically. Oh, it is. It's almost comically bad. It's comically bad. And it's just like, man, it's
00:38:49
Speaker
What can you do? There's nothing you can do to prepare the team for this, I don't think. Nothing reasonable that you can do unless you're just like, yeah, we're not going to sign internationals. And we're going to hope that they don't get good.
00:39:06
Speaker
Because I remember serious discussions on Sounder at Heart not too long ago about maybe the sounders just should not sign international players or sign fewer of them. And then Gustav Svensson is a great example of a player like that. And then he kicks ass with the sounders and starts getting called up again.
00:39:27
Speaker
Right. And there's a handful of guys like that. Right. And you want that because it means they're playing really well. Right. Christian Roldan was not a national team player when the Sounders signed him. Right. Jordan Morris signed him. I don't think anybody was expecting Jordan Morris to be getting a Gold Cup call up when he signed the contract. You didn't expect him to get a Gold Cup call up until the minute he got the call up. Right. To be honest with you. Yeah.
00:39:53
Speaker
Yeah, it sucks, man. But I just don't. There are definitely times where the sounders are in bad roster spots because of injuries or whatever, where there's a reasonable argument to be made that there are things they could have done. But I just don't know what you can do about this. It just sucks. Mickey's update says, the sources said the ACL injury was serious, which indicates more than a mere sprain.
00:40:22
Speaker
Well, I guess that's not too different than what we thought then. It still sucks ass though. Yeah. Yeah, it does. What about Hihi?
Season Reflection & Future Outlook
00:40:34
Speaker
I don't know. I mean, God, I would expect him to be ready, but we don't know. I don't think we have any more detailed information on him. It feels like we haven't played a game in six months. It does seem like a long time. It feels like the offseason, really.
00:40:53
Speaker
Okay. Move on on here. Uh, it was last week, but anyway, it wasn't only a week. It was like, well, that was barely the sounders though. I don't remember. Maybe I blanked it out. Okay. Two more questions that are grouped together. Uh, Mike Standish, do you remember when the sounders look like the best human MLS for like three weeks? And firewood one, one three says now that the first half of the season is over, knowing how good Schmetzer is at making halftime adjustments. Will the sounders start the second half as strong as the first half?
00:41:23
Speaker
I'm gonna say no to the second one. Unless AOC is just really ready to tear shit up, it seems unlikely that they're gonna get off to a hot start to the second half of the season. But, I mean, I do remember when the Sounders were good, and it's been within this season, so it's a little different than the last couple of times we've had this problem where you had to like think back, you know, to the previous season.
00:41:49
Speaker
So, once we get through this, I still think this team is great. They're not going to catch LAFC, I don't think, but... No, no wonder. 538 has them as a 85% chance to win the supporter shield. It's halfway through the second. Well, 538 says a lot of things.
00:42:09
Speaker
They did 85% chance. No, it's it's I mean, they're they're even for Nate Silver. They're extremely close to being a walk, I think at this point. But, you know, like at full strength, I don't think they're that much better than the Sounders. We've talked about this. They just have been a little luckier injury wise, a lot luckier, a lot luckier.
00:42:29
Speaker
A lot of luck here. They haven't had the same issues with call-ups and things like that. And that's not to take anything away from LAFC. I'm not trying to put an asterisk next to their name. I think when both teams are at full strength, the sounders match up quite well against them. And you've got to ride your brakes.
00:42:50
Speaker
you deal with the luck that you get, right? And you're the sounders were pretty much untouched by injuries. They won the supporter shield and that was 2014. Every other year they've had struggles and that's kind of the dirty secret of the supporter shield is that the team that wins it is usually the team that's a legit MLS cup contender that has the best injury luck. That just tends to be the way it goes.
00:43:15
Speaker
I'd love to hear what their percentage goes to if they, like, forbid, God forbid, they lose, like, Vella for some time. That would actually be very interesting to see how they look without Carlos Vella, but... I mean, I still think they would be good.
00:43:35
Speaker
Um, I don't think they're a one, like a one man team or anything, but he's the player that makes them. I mean, it's like if the Cedras lost Lidero, right? Yep. Yep. And I think Lidero is a better example than like, uh, then Raul would be right. Cause he's just so much of what they do and how they do it anyway.
00:43:54
Speaker
All right, switching gears here. Bill Jones, STRPT asks, what are the financial incentives for players and teams for making it into CCL? Does CCL have the same effect on the desirability of an MLS club as a destination that UCLA does, but on a smaller scale? I'm going to say no. I don't think anyone
00:44:24
Speaker
cares that much about the CCL. Not anyone, because obviously some people care a lot. I barely care anymore, frankly, if I'm being completely honest. I think it's a very low priority for most MLS teams. I don't think the Mexican teams really care all that much. I don't, I mean, I'm sure that the players want to win it, the teams want to win it, but I don't think that
00:44:53
Speaker
I mean, they're, they're players that leave teams in Europe because they want to play in the champions league. I don't think it's any kind of consideration in, in, in MLS at all. And it's a, I mean, that's unfortunate. Um, I would like to care more about the continental competition, but I just, I just really don't, I don't know. And I think one of the things that makes it tough is the logistics of this tournament compared to the logistics of champions league. And yeah, you know, we, we've.
00:45:23
Speaker
probably talked about it on the show before, but like the distance between like traveling around MLS is basically like traveling all around Europe and traveling around the continent is not like anything that Champions League has to endure or European teams have to endure. There are some financial incentives, but they're not enough that certainly not enough that that players are coming here in order to play a champion like
00:45:53
Speaker
Michael Spurning was like one of the only players who got genuinely excited. Like he was like, no, I came here because I want to play. I want to see the world. I want to like go to these countries. I want to go to Trinidad and I want to go to, you know, like he was all pumped up about doing that stuff. And he's probably the only player I've come across who was like legitimately pumped up about CONCACAF Champions League. Everyone else is like, yeah, it's cool. Like I'm, I'm into it. Um,
00:46:22
Speaker
But I don't, it's just not a, it's just not anything on the scale of what the European Champions League is in terms of attractiveness. Like players aren't even choosing where an MLS to go based on if they're in Champions League. Right. Okay. Go ahead. Gbent14 asks, when do the summer transfer rumors start? Are we gonna finally sign Der Lise or not?
00:46:53
Speaker
I would, I would expect transfer rumors to start relatively soon, but I don't think we, it, this is kind of like, we didn't have any rumors before Ariaga signed. We didn't have any real rumors before Joan signed. So it's entirely possible that the sounders get this thing all the good, whatever they're going to do all the way to the finish line before. Like, you know, we don't find out until like a week before. So.
CONCACAF Champions League Impact
00:47:20
Speaker
I don't, I don't, I certainly don't base. Like I know people have said this many, many times like, Oh, there's no rumors. That means that the centers aren't actually out there looking and that's a hundred percent, not the case. Um, but I don't know the dirt least thing. It was funny. I know Matt Doyle put that out there after really scored.
00:47:38
Speaker
I don't know if the sounders would be willing to sign him at the right like I'm sure there's a price at which he didn't be attractive. I don't know that he's even like a designated player kind of signing at this point. Look at his his production since the sounders missed out on him.
00:47:56
Speaker
It's not good. He's, he's playing in Brazil now. That's not really bad. He was, he was in Brazil and he was playing in one of the state leagues, like not even in the main, like not even, like, I think he's, that team maybe have been promoted to Siri B or whatever it's called, the second division of, of Brazil, but the team he was playing for wasn't even like a top division team. Well, it wasn't, he was playing for Santos though.
00:48:26
Speaker
Yeah, but they were playing, he was playing for like Santos's B team or something. Cause they were playing like, yeah, they were like, they were playing in like, I was looking at this the other day. There were things like in like the, in like whatever state they're in. Yeah. I mean, and he's, it looks like he's played.
00:48:45
Speaker
four times for their first team this year. And it's June. I don't know, man. We've probably dodged a bullet with that one, it seems like. Or maybe not. Maybe he would have been a great fit here, I don't know. I bet Dynamo Kiv, which is that they had not been greedy. Yeah, exactly.
00:49:12
Speaker
Okay. Uh, let's see, getting to the real meat here. Uh, M. Jowman asked, what's the story behind the greater green campaign? Is it a specific initiative or just drumming up support? Admittedly, it's giving me the warm and fuzzies. I mean, it's kind of a cool campaign, but I don't know anything about the reasoning behind it. Like it kind of just came out of the blue for me. It, it seems like it might just be a, like.
00:49:38
Speaker
a way of selling a bunch of tickets? I don't know. I'd be like... It almost makes me feel weird because it seems to be using the... I don't know how to put it. It's trying to...
Sponsorship & Naming Rights Discussion
00:49:57
Speaker
I don't want to say ape, but it's trying to come across as, or you just aesthetically present itself as a charity thing or some kind of community service thing or something. But it's very much just seems like it's an ad campaign for the team. It's weird. I don't know. Makes me kind of uncomfortable.
00:50:25
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I can't say that it makes me uncomfortable, but I can definitely say that I don't quite get what it is. I think if I knew more about it, to be clear, too, anytime there's advertising and I don't really get its angle, I feel uncomfortable. So it's not that's that's a me. That's a me problem more than a sounder's problem. It's just it's weird. I can't figure out what its deal is as a campaign. Well, hopefully they build on it a little more and it comes becomes more clear. But yeah, it's a little.
00:50:56
Speaker
And generally their advertising works itself out, like it ends up being pretty good. So I'm sure it will be fine. Okay. Ibukaloo, what's the status of the pitch naming rights and other non-shirt sponsorship deals? Oh, that's right. I forgot they were going to announce some sort of pitch naming, weren't they?
00:51:24
Speaker
I guess that didn't quite come to fruition. I don't know what, I'll have to look into that. That's a good one. I thought it was one of the... Oh no, I think that, yeah, I think Primera, now that I think about it, I bet you Primera has that. Cause Primera is like branding all over the stadium. So I bet you they have some sort of...
00:51:45
Speaker
I'm sure that's what it is. Now that I think about it, it was Primera. As far as I know, it was Primera. And then they sold the training tops to CHI Franciscan, which, they've got like three different health organizations sponsoring them. But yeah, I mean, they were definitely- Why it's their own network. Huh? I made a hell of a- They're all within networking?
00:52:16
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I would say that they've safely increased their sponsorships over what Xbox was getting. Like, I would say it's probably at least double what they were getting from Xbox, so that's positive. Was the pitch thing announced already, or is that coming up?
00:52:37
Speaker
No, that was, I think that was announced like before the start of the season. That's like premier is branding is all over the tarps and all over like they're like the game day presentation. Oh, I haven't heard them say like, you know, Xbox. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe they don't call it the premier pitch, but it's like their branding is like all over the game day experience. So like all those videos that they play before the game are all premier sponsored by premier or whatever. Um,
00:53:05
Speaker
So I don't know if the actual pitch is part of that or not, but I think that's my understanding. I think that may have been what it was. Yeah. And I know that like on the schedule, if you look now at just a century link field and it used to say like.
00:53:23
Speaker
The Xbox pitch at CenturyLink Field or whatever on the schedule page, so. Like, yeah, they might not. Maybe they didn't really sell that part of it and they still like, I don't, I don't. Which is fine.
Podcast Milestone & Listener Engagement
00:53:33
Speaker
I'm totally fine with that. Even if it means that they like don't sign a player, I don't need to hear Primera, Blue Cross. And healthcare. Field or whatever they would want to call it.
00:53:50
Speaker
Okay. Uh, two more questions. Not underscore Rossi asks, what should we do with our free time without Sanders games? Uh, I've been playing guitar and playing video games and those are both good things to do. I think I've been, uh, being much better about riding my bike. That's good. Yeah. And, um,
00:54:18
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe spending more time with my family. Well, let's not go nuts. So that's actually like kind of, I don't know if that's actually a good use.
00:54:29
Speaker
I like you, like if you, if somebody had asked this question when we first started doing this podcast, we both would have been like, well, you can drink beer and go to rock concerts. Right. Beer bongs. Things have changed a lot. Like this, what is it? In seven years? Did we start doing this in 2000? No, we started in 2011. So eight years. Eight years. We started, our first episode was previewing the game where Steve Zachwani's career was ended.
Summer Beer Preferences & Closing Remarks
00:54:59
Speaker
Perfect perfect. Yeah, it's really you know
00:55:05
Speaker
You know obviously we're gonna have we have two more episodes before episode 300 no yeah our second or 298 as i said to begin the show and uh so we might have to come up with something i don't know people yeah we should we should all get together and maybe invite some listeners to come i think i can do anything crazy but maybe we'll go and have some free time now yeah you might we'll have to
00:55:33
Speaker
He's probably got some good painkillers, too, and I do. I still have some leftovers. You guys can trade painkillers. You do like the hot ones, but for drugs. Yeah, that's a great idea. And make for great radio, too. For sure. Just 20 minutes, 25 minutes of silence because everyone's passed out. Absolutely. Last question.
00:56:00
Speaker
Well, actually I should probably say that with my free time, I've been doing more yard work and it sucks. So let's get some more sounders games going soon. Coffee underscore bike says, what beers are you drinking this summer?
00:56:14
Speaker
I'm not. What a sad question. Yeah, I'm pretty bummed out about awkward. Sorry. Yeah, no, it's it's fine. I've had enough for one lifetime. So it's OK. But if I were order those, there's like a new style that I'm only like vaguely aware of. But it sounds really good where it's like a cross between a pilsner and a goes. So it's like kind of got the salty, sour, funky thing, but not nearly as much. Hmm.
00:56:43
Speaker
This weekend is the Fremont Pride Kolsch. It's really good. Get one of those. If I had it all to do over again, and I will because it's not like I can never drink again.
00:57:01
Speaker
I, man, the strong beers, like the IPAs and big stouts and stuff, like it seems so unappealing to me these days. I would just like, I would kill for a cold or something, you know, Oh, in the backyard.
00:57:14
Speaker
Sounds great. It sounds so refreshing. It's the weather too. Along those lines, I have to admit, like Moontucky is a really nice drinking... Montucky? Montucky. There you go, Montucky. It's delicious. It's a very enjoyable beer. Yeah, it is a delicious beer. And that's the thing is like, I think that people sort of associate beers like that with
00:57:42
Speaker
And it makes sense that they would, but like with, you know, just like being shitty, but I mean, a good, a good Pilsner is great. Like a good, um, a good, just like American lager like that, man, when you're just like mowing the lawn or just hanging out in the backyard or whatever, that's a beautiful thing. So I haven't had any really great new beers lately, but I did go to Bainbridge Island for father's day and
00:58:10
Speaker
I took my bike on the ferry for the first time that's complete aside but I rode that same bike to the there's like this little like office park uh business park in Bainbridge where like there is a a brewery and a
00:58:26
Speaker
distillery and that's a some pizza place that is kind of famous now. Isn't that supposed to be like the best pizza in the world or whatever? I got a slice and it was like not perfect because it's like sitting in the little heating thing. It was pretty good. Like I don't know if it was the best in the world, but it's pretty good. Like I would say I would
00:58:47
Speaker
It made me want to go there again. So, but the, I went to the distillery and that's like, like, I, I am not like a whiskey aficionado or anything, but it was really, really, really good whiskey. And then even their vodka was good and they have a Oak Age gin that was really good too. Oh, Oak Age gin sounds, that sounds good.
00:59:12
Speaker
Yeah, I had never had an okay gin before, and that was quite tasty. I mean, that almost sounds like a white whiskey or something, but like with botanicals, that sounds tasty. Yeah, it was all, and it's free samples there, which is dangerous. Well, that's nice. That's the free samples. Yeah, the booze aren't cheap, but the samples are cheap. Oh, shit. All right, that's it. That's it.
00:59:43
Speaker
Yep, totally unprepared for this. Yeah, Sadie's not done yet. She's still got something to say. Well, good show. Thanks for still hanging out with us. Sorry we haven't been recording a lot lately. It's been kind of a wild, depressing kind of six weeks around this part. Yeah, that's not been great. No. So let's hope that once the sounders get back into their rhythm,
01:00:08
Speaker
that it's more fun and less crappy. And we have some positive news to share. Hopefully we pull these sounders in the second half much better. Yeah, that would be nice. And it would be nice if the sounders pulled those sounders because they haven't won. We didn't miss talking about any wins.
01:00:32
Speaker
Yeah, like that's that's not great. It's not. It's not great. There haven't been like a lot of games, but still it's not. Oh, there has been a lot of games, but there's it's just been not it's not been great. So anyway, thanks to football wines for tolerating our.
01:00:51
Speaker
very inordinate recording process. So make sure you buy some extra wine from them and let them know that you really, really appreciate their support of us because it's awesome that they keep giving us money. It is. It's definitely awesome. And drink, drink, drink my share. Yeah. Do it for full pull and do it for your old pal Aaron.
01:01:17
Speaker
And I'll remind everyone that we have some new merchandise available. Who's our shirt provider? Is it Big Cartel? No, it's not Big Cartel.
01:01:37
Speaker
Threadless. Oh, Threadless. Yeah. Yeah. Threadless. There you go. No-study-at-this.threadless.com. And you'll find our new line of shirts, which I think are really cool, and sweatshirts and whatnot. And they are a YNYA spelled out in flag. Flag? I don't know what the line is. What is it? Nautical flags. Nautical flags. There you go. What's the word?
01:02:04
Speaker
You just said it, but I didn't hear it. It's not semaphore. Semaphore is signals. It's like flag signals. I learned this. It's not semaphore. Gotcha. But it's similar. It's similar. Anyway, so thanks, guys. Good show. Yeah. I'm going to sign off now. I'm Jeremiah O'Shan, signing off on behalf of Aaron Campo and Lickett. This is no Sadie Antist and Sadie. Remember, you'll never yell alone.
01:02:33
Speaker
Green Douglas spur where the water's cut through. Down to wild mountains and tangents you flew. Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue. It's Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Roll On, Columbia Roll On. Your power is turning our darkness to dawn. Roll On, Columbia Roll On.
01:03:11
Speaker
We love you. Let's win another one!