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The Cooler Guild: Another discouraging result - Ep. 68
317 Plays14 days ago
We feel like a broken record. After a month off for the men's World Cup, the Seattle Reign returned to NWSL action with a disappointing loss on the road to the North Carolina Courage. We get into the Reign result and what went wrong. We also get caught up on other NWSL results and news, including making our hopes and dreams known about where we would like to see Emma Sears land amidst the news of her trade request.
This episode is dedicated to Van Jr., one of the best cats there ever was.
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Transcript
Introduction: Episode 68 and Podcast Network Details
00:00:19
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to episode 68 of The Cooler Guild. I am Coop Cooper and joined with me, as always, is my co-host, Van Crisp. Hello. We're recording it on Tuesday, July 2026, a week into July.
00:00:34
Speaker
where has the time gone um On today's episode, we're going to go over ah the rain is back and nothing's changed. So we're going to go over the rain's game against North Carolina Courage, which unfortunately unfortunately was a loss. But before we get onto that ah and some other stuff, get some housekeeping to take care of. The Cooler Guild is part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. You can either listen to us on our public feed or if you're a Sounder at Heart subscriber on the private unified feed with the other podcasts on the network.
00:01:02
Speaker
If you'd like to become a subscriber, just visit our page at soundertheart.com forward slash the Cooler Guild. New subscribers get 10% off the normal rate and it'll help support everything we're doing.
Personal Story: Van's Tribute to a Late Pet
00:01:12
Speaker
It's been a minute.
00:01:13
Speaker
It has. And we were going to do a bonus episode in the time away. um But then my 15-year-old cat, who was my best friend, died.
00:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, it was pretty terrible. Yeah. Yeah. R.A.P. Van Jr., best bar cat ever. he he was good cat. He's a great cat. I miss him a lot. But i don't want to be sad, so I'm more sad than I need to be for this episode.
World Cup Experience: Senegal vs Belgium
00:01:38
Speaker
Yeah. We did go to to go to the World Cup, though. Yeah. We went to the World Cup.
00:01:43
Speaker
That was fun. It was a sweet game, too. Coop texted me on ah on Sunday night and was like, hey, um what are the chances you can get Wednesday off? This was like last Sunday. Yeah. And i was like, oh pretty good. Yeah. she's like i Yeah, I looked up tickets because like it seems like they didn't sell through the hospitality tickets.
00:02:01
Speaker
Well, first, they didn't sell through tickets that are on the ends and they were like they weren't cheap. They were 600 bucks, which is certainly cheaper than what the next round was going to cost. um And then I looked later in the hospitality tickets that they didn't sell, I assume, were also the same price. So I ended up being able to get basically it was almost exactly midfield seats in the lower bowl, just high enough up to get a good view of everything, too, for the Senegal and Belgium game. Yeah, it was cool. Great atmosphere. I'm trying to forget what happened when we left. Yeah.
00:02:35
Speaker
I'm just like not including that in experience. Those are two different experiences. Yes. but The game was great. I really, i'm really glad we got to go. It was fun. And it was an exciting game too. It was. and unfortunately, Egypt kind of pulled the Senegal today. Yeah, they did.
00:02:52
Speaker
It was really sad for them. With some help. Yeah, definitely with some help. It seems like there is a bit of a conspiracy and some things at play that, you know, it's not good. But ah we're here to talk about the brain um and the NWCL and women's
Upcoming Women's World Cup and Reign Game Reschedule
00:03:10
Speaker
soccer.
00:03:10
Speaker
And a reminder that the women's World Cup is less than a year away. Yeah. And there will be less flailing around. That'll be nice. um So, yeah, I'm looking forward to that. um But the rain, this is just really unfortunate. The rain. Well, first, before we do that, the rain had their game ah scheduled for, you know, Fourth of July. Right. And turns out there's a giant heat wave going through. Like almost everywhere in the United States. So they put, they push kickoff like a back an hour.
00:03:44
Speaker
Forward an hour? Makes you think. I don't know. guess forward, right? Back an hour. But like it is forward in time, right? Yeah. Okay. I don't need to think about this.
00:03:55
Speaker
You have point, yes. Yeah, they moved it so that it would be darker, right? Instead of just being out in the hot sun. Because it was like over 100 degrees from the sounds of it when the sun was up. At least fully out before the shade hit. And then it was still like 98 degrees when they played. It was hot.
00:04:11
Speaker
ah Do you miss the band 98 Degrees? i was never really big into them. Okay, fine. I have their CD. One of them. but We were going to have another issue possibly coming into the game um as Claudia Dickey is still dealing with her ankle injury that she suffered in the national team game against Brazil.
00:04:31
Speaker
Really not great. Just not the vibes were not great leaving like going into this break. um And then we started again and it didn't feel like it got any better.
00:04:42
Speaker
Oh, same thing, same result. Who knew? so ultimately the Reign lost the game
Reign vs North Carolina Courage: Game Analysis
00:04:47
Speaker
3-1. You wouldn't have known if you watched the first 20 minutes or so. But they also conceded not long after scoring, so...
00:04:57
Speaker
ah Anyway, so you got any other general notes you want to add on? Should we give some notable stats before we really get into what worked or what didn't? Sure, notable stats. ah Sam Meza, not her best game, but ah she did give the ball away that led to the first goal, which is tough.
00:05:12
Speaker
um And not in a normal fashion. She usually lets that ball stick to her and they got away from her. But there were some other moments that were not typical Meza stuff. So blame the heat. I don't know. But she still had 14 recoveries.
00:05:24
Speaker
Which is insane. Yeah. There was a penalty kick in this game and I'll go over the other ones when we get to the ah league wrap up. But ah there were six total penalties awarded in the NWSL this weekend. Do you how many of those were like VAR checks or were they all like?
00:05:37
Speaker
I mean, they're all checked by VAR now. Yeah. But like ones were like, you know, call was made and then they changed it. At least two. Okay. Okay. okay Because ours in our game and then there was one in the, want to say the Bay, Boston Bay game, I think.
00:05:52
Speaker
Okay. I'm just curious. I did not include that when I did my it's far highlights watching. i guess I shouldn't. i ah I don't expect you to know these things. I just, with the way that the World Cup's been going, I'm just like, my brain's like getting fried on like the penalty calls.
00:06:08
Speaker
ah The step that I put down, no team has conceded more goals in the first half than North Carolina. i think they said it was like 11 out of like the 14 goals they've conceded were in the first half. Dang. And then they also talked about how the types of goals that North Carolina typically concedes are like the one we scored on, like crosses and set pieces and stuff like that. And i mean, granted, it was like a cross coming through to get break that line, but...
00:06:33
Speaker
I don't know, man. I was just, when I read this or like heard this, I was just like, okay, so we're just taking advantage of of the vulnerability that North Carolina has. But we weren't even able to kind of really put the game away early.
00:06:47
Speaker
no Like get them, like if you know they're vulnerable in this way, then like, I don't know, take advantage of that. Yep. But can this team do that? We're still working with the same players. Yeah. Well, let's get into what works. first and then we can start cutting it apart but um to it yeah um we looked like a real team for the first 20 minutes of the game they were connecting passes they were i mean the first half i think we had 58 possession which is not usual in north carolina not for us not for most teams yeah they have a they have a do you have a pretty good and home stand there
00:07:22
Speaker
And it was connecting. It looked like it was working. We were getting Dahlien open on that left-hand side. They were playing balls through the channels, breaking lines. I was like, oh, okay. And then they scored first and I felt like there was some hope.
00:07:36
Speaker
Short-lived. Why do I do this? Why do I do this? but er I don't know. i love the thing I wanted to point out of what worked. I do want to give Cassie Miller a shout out. We haven't really had to play since we got her. i mean, we played maybe one or two games last. What's her face game on? Prohaska? Yeah, Prohaska. But we really haven't in a long time had to play another goalkeeper other than Claudia Dickey. This is Miller's first.
00:08:05
Speaker
Was it her first appearance or even in her first start? Like, was it? it was It was one of those. I think it was her first appearance for the rain, right? Yeah, for her first end of sale game start since 2024. Yeah. So I think she had a good game. There was one save that she just caught it and didn't let it rebound.
00:08:20
Speaker
um She didn't really make any mistakes that caused any of these goals. It was all stuff that happened in front of her. But it's nice to know that you do have a solid backup goalkeeper when you need her like in these times. Yeah, and it's not like it's not like before this injury with Dickie that she was at her top top of her game either. so Right. i I would like her to feel some pressure from whoever the backup is. ah The thing that I put down, I thought Laura Harvey, I mean there wasn't a lot of things that worked. um I did think Laura Harvey's outfit worked.
00:08:51
Speaker
I thought she looked she looked good. Yeah, um that nice blue shirt. Yeah, I mean, it was pretty hot out there, so shout out to her for being able to still look swaggy. Yeah. I think that's kind of pretty much all. Well, you had one more thing.
00:09:03
Speaker
I had a couple of the things
Reign's Strategy Critique: Defensive and Leadership Issues
00:09:05
Speaker
I wanted to point out. We did score first. And I feel like that's new. Well, I think I do think back to a game where we scored first and then things went tumbling down.
00:09:16
Speaker
Yeah. Pretty quickly afterwards. But at least, I mean, there were so many games where we couldn't score. Yeah. And I'm still not totally convinced that we've solved that issue. No, we haven't at all. But you'll take it where we can get it. i thought in that first half, Mia Fischl and Sally Menti did a good job of combining. They did.
00:09:34
Speaker
um But it the goal was good. it came as part of that 20 minutes where the team looked like a real foot like a real soccer team. Yeah. And then nothing. There was a couple other chances. Mia Fischl could have gotten a goal, but it was a good save by Sheridan.
00:09:48
Speaker
Kind of put it somewhere else. I mean, it was kind of a stab at it and see where it could go. Yeah. She didn't have a lot of time. So there were some things like any game that we lose. There's about most of them, at least there's been a couple where there hasn't been anything to really talk about. But um there were moments you could see, but they can't they can't hold on to those moments. Right. They can't make them last longer.
00:10:10
Speaker
So it's just unfortunate. It is. It's sad. I wish things were better. And it feels like there's a lot that needs to be done from a very certain part of the organization to get that thing to get things turned around. What didn't work?
00:10:26
Speaker
I mean, defensive mistakes. It's not having your mark. Curry just missing a tackle in the box and taking out the player instead of study of getting the ball, causing a penalty. i mean, these are things, every single goal was something they did to themselves.
00:10:41
Speaker
And that should be fixable. Yeah. But it seems to be happening over and over and over again. Right. There are plenty of games where you can say, oh, man, nothing we could do about that.
00:10:52
Speaker
But in this game, it was like there was everything you could have done about that. Do you think the I mean, the temperatures were and kind of ridiculous that had had to play a factor.
00:11:03
Speaker
and know North Carolina is like having to deal with the same circumstances, but certainly they train in warmer temperatures than the rain do. Yeah. But I think that that's, you can't really blame that when you have plenty of preparation or properly hydrated.
00:11:17
Speaker
It's not like playing at altitude where you have to adjust. Yeah. You've got to sit there and you've got to acclimatize. It's something that you have to deal with either way. These players haven't always played in Seattle.
00:11:28
Speaker
Some of them have played in North Carolina, in fact. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, yeah it's one of those things who looks for other things to blame. I mean, it obviously had an impact on the players, but... just This is not the first game we've, like, kind of really screwed things over for ourselves in the heat. So it's just, I don't know if there's a different way they can prepare for that. Because clearly it's affecting them.
00:11:51
Speaker
men to like those like Like you said, a lot of these things are fixable things. So, like, it's, to me, seems like a mental lapse thing. And I can kind of see where that line gets drawn to, like, the temperatures.
00:12:02
Speaker
I also wonder, and I've thought about this and I didn't really feel like bringing it up, but I want to know what the leadership is like on the field. Yeah. Who is really pulling the team together after these mistakes are made?
00:12:15
Speaker
Where is that leading by example player? It's always been Fishlock. Yeah. Who notably traveled with the team. That's good. um And I think she might come back quicker than we thought.
00:12:27
Speaker
It has been a while, but there was like when we saw the injury happen, it was like, hopefully that's not career ending. So yeah, yeah we could desperately use that kind of leadership on the field. But yeah, it seems to be mental like you have on here. and The team just shut off right after they scored. Three minutes later, there was that mental mistake in the back from Sam Meza.
00:12:46
Speaker
Cool. That's like something that she never does. Yeah. It's so costly. oh I don't know what the deal is. I don't know what the deal is. i mean, I know where we can fix some of this stuff, but like when we have these kinds of games, it's just so annoying in a way that I just like I'm frustrated with what's happening on the front office. And and then I'm frustrated when I see stuff like this in the field.
00:13:12
Speaker
I wonder how much of it, too, is the players knowing that there is a piece missing. Yeah. and the front office
Emma Sears Transfer Request: Reign's Opportunity?
00:13:20
Speaker
is doing nothing to fill that hole. I mean, there's a player that literally requested a transfer from her team who we would be absolutely insane to not do everything in our power to try and get her.
00:13:35
Speaker
But turns out she's looking for a team that wants to ah build build a championship caliber team and start actually investing in in players. And um I'm not sure we have a have a good argument for that.
00:13:51
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, June did also point out that like it could be the argument that she's the piece that's missing. Yeah, yeah. i think And if somebody knows how to negotiate, i mean, Huerta, pick up the phone. Yeah.
00:14:06
Speaker
Someone, ah one of these players. Yeah, someone's got to get in on this. Pick up the phone. Call Emma Sears. She requested a transfer from Louisville. She wants to leave.
00:14:17
Speaker
There's not a lot of players that can afford her or have space. Teams, do you mean? Yeah. Yeah. And so what the hell are we doing? No, truly, truly. Like this is a piece that we need. We have a very good environment, I would say, for somebody like her that could provide her the tools that she needs and players that she can elevate their games with what she can do.
00:14:41
Speaker
It makes so much sense. And I'm going to be livid if she ends up at one of these stacked teams. These already stacked teams. Or even like Denver or Boston.
00:14:55
Speaker
That seems like, yeah. Yeah, I mean, if that happens, I might be more pissed. Because we should be in that conversation. and We should be in that leading that conversation. yeah we should be winning that, that um you know, recruitment. We should be sending her gift baskets. Mm-hmm.
00:15:10
Speaker
I don't know, whatever you need to do to get her because that would be number one, she's available. Number two, affordable. And three, she's literally asking who wants her.
00:15:23
Speaker
We've got funds. We also have funds we need to use. Yeah. We've got transfer money from Huerta. Hi, Tama. God, each name's still getting me. yeah um That we need to use. It's like use it or lose it. Yeah.
00:15:37
Speaker
So figure it out. Figure out the financial side. Figure out how to loop her in. But Emma Sears, if you're listening to this, if Leslie Almore hasn't told you, we want you. Big fans. Big fans.
00:15:49
Speaker
Come play in Seattle, please. We need you. Come on down. We'll win a championship with you and our team next season. Yeah, might not be this year, but... It's on the way. But also no one can be with ah got what the fuck Gotham's got going on there. oh God. Actually, somebody can. and they did this week. Actually, you're right. Oh, my God. That was a disaster.
00:16:09
Speaker
Uh, anything else that you wanted to talk about that didn't work? Uh, mean, it's the same stuff we've been talking about all season. Nothing's changed. I could play probably an episode from multiple games this season and just change out the team that we played and it would be applicable yeah what's still going on. So I'm annoyed. That's kind of what I got from the pressers.
00:16:32
Speaker
Yeah, I'm super annoyed. i am sad. I want this organization to seem like they care. Yeah, it's really frustrating as a fan. Yeah.
00:16:45
Speaker
On that note, that somber note, did you want to give your breast match pressure?
00:16:53
Speaker
ah For the players, it was Menti and Mercado. And the gist of it is we need to do better. I wrote in parentheses, same BS as every week. ah Harvey, I wrote blah, blah, blah. Need to be more clinical. Blah, blah.
00:17:08
Speaker
again. Missing that bit of quality? Did she say the missing bit of quality? i don't know. I played it on two times speed on YouTube. Yeah. She did give props to Cassie Miller and said that she there's nothing she could to do on three goals and i i agree with that but Yeah, we do need to ah crown a Cooler Player of the Match though. We do.
00:17:31
Speaker
The Cooler Player of the Match is brought to you by the Doctor's Office, a great little 12-seat bar on Capitol Hill. The owner is a big fan of the rain and is proud to be our very first sponsor. So I watched after watching the whole match and during the match, I even had this thought as balls were coming in behind, lots of things were happening. We would have been so much worse off in this game had it not been for Jordan Bug.
00:17:54
Speaker
Having her back is monumental for us. Yeah. And she looks good. She looks healthy. I'm glad she got extra time to kind of regroup. Yeah. So so congratulations to Jordan Bug, the cooler player of the match.
00:18:07
Speaker
Thanks again to our sponsor, The Doctor's Office. The Doctor's Office is the best place to grab a drink before or after a rain match. Make an appointment today and order one of their limited edition cocktails.
00:18:19
Speaker
They've got one called the Light Cheese Mo right now. Ooh. Lychee? Yep. Lychismo, right? Am I saying that right? Lychee infused rum. Gosh, these names. I need to like go to like a cocktail class. Cocktail?
00:18:34
Speaker
Cocktail. Rum agricole. Rum agricole meets tropical vermouth layered with hibiscus, toasted coconut, Tahitian vanilla, and lime leaf, which all of those flavors I know how to pronounce. And I do love all of those flavors as well. but ah Lifted by Bitter Bianco and Banas Pineapple Dis... Boy, Matt, you're really... you really Send me a... It's a fruity, bright, and sour cocktail, which describes Pride Month even though it's not Pride Month anymore. um
00:19:14
Speaker
ah It sounds delicious. I need to go there sometime when we're not actually trying to cover a game professionally. ah We're super professional here in case you can tell me this ad read. Check out their Instagram at TDO Seattle or better yet, go drink there in person.
00:19:30
Speaker
Cheers. Cheers.
00:19:33
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Anietes, Lobbing Scorchers and the Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023. Thank you.
00:19:47
Speaker
although this podcast is free it's only made possible by your continued support memberships start as low as twenty five dollars a year which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen but also gives you access to everything we produce if you're able to support us at higher levels starting at seventy five dollars a year you gain access to a host of other perks Most notably, entry into our members-only Discord where the smartest, funniest, and most engaged commenters share their thoughts and ideas.
00:20:15
Speaker
To find out more, just visit centeratheart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening.
NWC Games Recap: Highlights and Outcomes
00:20:26
Speaker
Well, NWC's back. It's back. We had a full roster of weekend games starting on Friday. um We had washington Washington Spirit beat Houston two to one And Jane Campbell actually made a penalty save on Kwasi.
00:20:41
Speaker
Good for her. It was a great save. She actually had a pretty good game. She's going to win save of the week. Not for that save either. That's why they lost, though. Yeah. um Rodman got a brace, scored the winning goal in 90 plus four after Fossey tied it up for Houston in the 89th minute.
00:21:00
Speaker
Next game on the docket, ah Denver lost to Kansas City Oof. Yep. Michelle so Cooper scored two goals, and Croy Bethune assisted both of them.
00:21:11
Speaker
Nice. I know. And Chuinga got one in the 87th minute. And in this game, Casey could have had four because La Bonta took a penalty and cracked it over the bar, which seems to be a theme in soccer recently. She's been watching a lot of World Cup.
00:21:26
Speaker
Angel City beat Orlando to zero Goals scored by Neuse and John Stotter in the 56th minute. Neuse in the 36th. The game was kind of boring. Orlando didn't have much. Luana actually hit a screamer from outside the box that grazed like the upper V posts. Didn't go in, but it was pretty gnarly.
00:21:46
Speaker
um San Diego beat Gotham 2-0. San Diego started a goalkeeper... first First game in the NWCell. She's 19 years old. Holy crap. From Columbia. Her first NWCell game.
00:21:58
Speaker
She was the highest rated player on FopMob. Wow. She made a couple of great saves. Wow. Agudelo is her name. That's impressive. So get it? Young kids? Yeah. barcena scored in the 45th minute that was an outside outside the box curler into the upper v wanted her i wanted her on the rain so bad i know and then buyers scored a 90 plus three put that game away ah boston and bay two too comeback chicago win for boston here um
00:22:30
Speaker
So this game started off with a penalty um with Hutton in the fifth minute and then followed by Carly Lima for both for Bay. So Boston was down to zero They got one back right before the half was first half was over. Gutierrez scored in 45 plus three.
00:22:46
Speaker
And then there was another penalty in the 79th minute that Troy already put away. So Boston comes back to tie and get a point. And then in the other surprise game of the weekend, Chicago 3, Utah 2.
00:22:57
Speaker
Who scored a brace in this game? Jordan Heidema.
00:23:03
Speaker
Good for her. Very happy for her. And then also, like, am I kind of like looking for things to make our front office look bad? Yeah. At this point, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. um In the last game of the weekend, Portland beat Louisville Four zero four different goal scorers.
00:23:20
Speaker
The Louisville defense was wide open. Yeah. It was. There was one goal. i think it was Turner's goal. It was a ball from the opposite side of the field, like almost like a cross long ball, but she's just wide open on the far post.
00:23:36
Speaker
I mean, this is why Emma Sears wants to leave Louisville. Yeah. so And then my other note about this game is Seattle need to sign Emma Sears like yesterday. Yeah. That's it. That's a wrap for the weekend's matches.
00:23:47
Speaker
Yep. And we were going to do the bonus episode were going to cover the women's national team in their games against Brazil that were down in Brazil because those were kind of a shit show. Oh, yeah.
00:24:05
Speaker
Dickie, did she get hurt in those games or did she get hurt in training in those games? She got hurt in the second game. Okay, that's why I couldn't remember. It's been so many weeks and I've watched a thousand games, it feels like, since then. Oh my God, I'm just looking this up because I haven't looked at these in a while. yeah i forgot about the win.
00:24:20
Speaker
Yeah. this Yeah. You know, it was an utter I mean, it's it was crazy. It was so wild. And thank goodness that the U.S. soccer organized these batch of games because I don't think based on the first game, i don't think the U.S. had any idea of like how hostile it's going to be there.
U.S. Women's Team in Brazil: Challenging Matches
00:24:42
Speaker
I mean, they had to have had some idea, but like this Brazil team is pretty good now. And these fans are very passionate about that. Yeah. The first match was super loud. They played in a stadium of 49,000. 49,205. And five and i don't think there was an empty seat in the house. Yeah.
00:25:03
Speaker
But they lost two to one. The U.S. did. Yeah. Yeah. First game. U.S. lost first game two to one. um Sophia Wilson, though, started off scoring in second minute. It's good. Jesus. Yeah.
00:25:13
Speaker
And then the next game was the might be one of the weirdest, craziest U.S. Women's Action Team games I've seen since maybe the quarterfinal comeback win.
00:25:24
Speaker
There's so much shithousery that. And like the U.S. was actually up for it. There was. And oh, man, she was. Sonnet was up for pissing people off. Emily Sonnet's such a menace.
00:25:39
Speaker
She's such a menace. Yeah. But Brazil, for some reason, thought the referees were like against them. Yeah. And there were two red cards in the run of play.
00:25:51
Speaker
And then two after the match. But I think there was a total of like six, it wasn't there? was like five or six. And like their coaching staff, like just, just ah if I think like all of their main coaching staff, you know, like they edge somebody said, I think at at one point in this game, so it's Marta the coach now.
00:26:10
Speaker
ah Yeah, Brazil maybe needed this more than the U.S. did in some regards, right? Brazil need to sack their coach. Yeah, I don't know. i don't know what the deal is there, but certainly... He seems like he hates women and he's an asshole. Yeah.
00:26:25
Speaker
Yeah, the strategizing, because this is something that got pointed out, but like they have so much talent on their team. They don't need to be playing this, you know, kind of a constant fouling game there. They are plenty good enough to just do what they're good at, which is beautiful soccer.
00:26:44
Speaker
get like Like you said, like the Luana shot, like they they they play some really fun style with some fun style. And ah it was disappointing to not be able to see them showcase that.
00:26:57
Speaker
Yeah, it was just so disjointed. Yeah. They don't need to do that. No. Reminds me of Mighty Ducks. I think too. When they were playing Iceland. And then he tells them to take the kid out. Yeah. Like, go take him out. Like, you don't need to do that.
00:27:13
Speaker
You're Iceland. You're good. Play the game. But yeah, it it was really frustrating to watch from, you know, as like a whole soccer game. Yeah. They don't. They don't. It's so unnecessary.
00:27:25
Speaker
Brazil isn't very good. And as somebody who unfortunately is a Brazilian national team fan, it mostly it just annoys other people, but they're not very good at picking coaches for either teams.
00:27:37
Speaker
So I don't have confidence that they're going to fix this. No. Unfortunately, because they like the they brought in Pia that one time. Yeah. And she was like not saying good things. And while she was the coach. um How many national teams has Pia Suntaga coached? Three?
00:27:56
Speaker
I think it's more than that. I feel like I saw her somewhere else again. i was like, what the hell is this woman doing? It's so funny. um But yeah, i I just it's really too bad because Brazil has a really good team and they'll be at home. They have plenty of talent. and I know. And they could showcase like the women's game to a lot of people in Brazil that maybe don't always watch it. Well, that and their men's team kind of sucks. Yeah. They're so boring now.
00:28:24
Speaker
Whatever. Not our problem. At least not until they figure out how to play in a good Yeah.
00:28:33
Speaker
ah Is there anything else you want to go over? Wait, should we should we quickly also before we get into the the preview for the the match against the Thorns?
Critique of U.S. Men's World Cup Run: Media and Leadership
00:28:41
Speaker
um Do you have any final thoughts on the U.S. s men's team run in the World Cup?
00:28:49
Speaker
I thought they had a really easy group. I was glad they made it out of the group. They made it to the round of 16 and then finally played a good team. But for me, it was like all the glazing of the U.S. men, right? Oh, my God, they're so good. you have all these ah sports broadcasters that never talk about soccer. I'm like, oh, the U.S. s men, they probably really have a chance to win this thing.
00:29:12
Speaker
No, they don't. No, they never did. no Sure, anyone can win on any day, but... It when you have a player that gets red carded, whether just or not, that was the call.
00:29:25
Speaker
And then you have your shitty president call the president of FIFA and tell him, well, maybe maybe let him play the next game. And the whole world knows what you did. Mm-hmm.
00:29:37
Speaker
Nobody's going to root for you. Yeah. I mean, I will because if you win, the women get paid. Yeah. If the U.S. s men, as as well as the U.S. men do, equal pay, the the women make money too. Mm-hmm.
00:29:49
Speaker
But for me, it's it just seemed unnecessary. It seemed... And they just don't have leadership. They glaze Christian Pulisic constantly about how he's Captain America, the best player in the world for the United States, and he plays in the United... No.
00:30:07
Speaker
It's embarrassing, really. It is. Like they put so much effort into ads with him. And I was like, this guy for this guy, we were just going to act like he's really that good.
00:30:19
Speaker
I guess so. I guess we're just going to run with it because I guess who else at this point? They haven't really decided to make another 10 the face of the team. But anyone who has followed it for a while knows that he's not that good.
00:30:33
Speaker
And he doesn't step up in the way that like the team that we will always remember that played Belgium and and tried their darndest. I can even give more credit to Lana Donovan. I don't like I don't really like watching him play. Yeah. But like he tried.
00:30:49
Speaker
Yeah, it was like Tillman was the only one on the field that had his head screwed on straight. Yeah. I mean, if they would have tried to give Roldan some time earlier, might have been a different thing, but, you know, whatever. really care about the men's team that much. I was laughing the bar, and I think I was the only one laughing in the bar who was wearing... I was wearing my U.S. soccer jersey, and every time they screwed up, I was just having a cackle, and everyone was, like, quiet. And I was like, this is hilarious. We all knew this was coming. I was just laughing because it was so bad. We all knew was coming, too. That's what I was like. Come on.
00:31:22
Speaker
You guys have to laugh at this. This is is comedy. Yeah. I do feel bad for freeze. Yeah. You know, a goalkeeper mistake that leads to a goal. It's never good for a goalkeeper, but mean, Seattle, Seattle looked good. We'll go with that. That was Seattle as as a host city. Seattle looked good and I'm glad they made it as far as they did.
00:31:43
Speaker
i think it was also a reality check. I think it's also bullshit that Pochettino makes like six times the amount that Emma Hayes makes. Yeah, that's mostly why I want to bring this up. There's no equal pay when it comes to coaching staff. Yeah.
00:31:57
Speaker
So I just don't. They need to earn my respect. It's not there. It's not there. All right.
Reign vs Portland Thorns Preview: Performance and Fan Engagement
00:32:05
Speaker
We've got the next raid match. ah Great news, everyone. It's against the Portland Thorns.
00:32:15
Speaker
Oh, boy. is going to be... Oh, fuck. ah god Oh, God. It's Sunday at 1 p.m. Okay. It's at 1? Yep. Oh, nice. i can get home on time.
00:32:27
Speaker
Love when that happens. ah Yeah, we and it's going be Lumen Field, too. So that is, I guess, good. um Fun fact, though, I don't think... know how many games we've played at Lumen. Is it two, maybe one?
00:32:39
Speaker
Is this a couple? Okay. Well, we haven't. Someone pointed out in the comments on ah one of the articles that the Reign haven't scored. Granted, not many games, but they have not scored a goal in Seattle this year ahh no, like that stat. um The Thorns are pretty good right now. Annoyingly. Yeah, they're on a roll. They are are tied with a few teams on like goals per match. They've got the highest swap mob rating. they're They've got a lot of clean sheets.
00:33:09
Speaker
They're pretty formidable. And it's it is a rival match, so maybe we'll have that going for us. It won't be a thousand degrees, so... No, it is one o'clock Sunday on ESPN.
00:33:22
Speaker
Oh, nice. What do you want to see in this game? Please don't embarrass us. That's really all I'm asking for. yeah it's a We all remember what happened when we went down there.
00:33:34
Speaker
I wish I didn't go look up for that lobotomy still. ah I'm just, I'm waiting for somebody to step up and be the face and a reason to watch this team. Yeah.
00:33:48
Speaker
It seems like they're selling good a good amount of tickets for this game. They've opened up a couple extra sections. And if you're going to be bringing people in, whether they're home or away fans, because Portland always has a good away contingent. Mm-hmm.
00:34:00
Speaker
Seattle needs to get the fans involved and give them a reason to be engaged and excited. Yeah. The play on the field is currently matching kind of the energy that you get, which is not a whole lot.
00:34:15
Speaker
It's not great. Up your game, get the fans involved, make your home stadium somewhere that other people don't want to play. Yeah. This is the first game that the, that ticket promo will be going. Oh, the BOGO one? It's, yeah, but it's like, what, like five tickets or something for kids?
00:34:34
Speaker
Oh, yeah, that one too. It's the the one the the one where you get one ticket for an adult and you get five kids you can bring. Yeah. So the kids, I'm hoping that's like, I guess, maybe why this is filling out so much. And if it is that big of an atmosphere for a game against Portland, this is your moment.
00:34:51
Speaker
to really give the people a show, give the city a show. Everyone's hyped up from having the World Cup there, the Men's World Cup there. they They're really into the sport. Everyone's feeling this this good energy about what's, you know, kind of transpired and like, I don't know, it's... Take advantage of it. Please. Like you can, you can, they can defend.
00:35:12
Speaker
Yeah. Don't make mistakes. Make Portland struggle. You can do that. I believe, I believe they can do that. I think so. I don't know if they're going to score. i don't know if they can score more than one goal, but I think they can make things difficult for Portland. And that's what I'm looking for.
00:35:30
Speaker
Yeah, just stay in the game. Yes, please. There's still going grass there, isn't there? I think so. i know they're turning it up pretty quickly, but I don't think it's this quick. Yeah. like I could be wrong. Well, we'll find out on Sunday at 1 p.m. and you can go to the game, which please do, and watch on ESPN.
00:35:47
Speaker
Yeah. Definitely go to the game though if you're in the area. Anything else you want to shout out before we wrap everything up?
Closing: Personal Shoutouts and Podcast Contact Info
00:35:53
Speaker
Once again, shout out to my cat, Van Jr. Love of my life. I love you and I miss you.
00:35:58
Speaker
My pit profile picture for you and my phone is that you're making that weird face and holding him in my apartment in Seattle. That was just a normal face, Van.
00:36:08
Speaker
It makes me laugh every time I see it. Yeah, ah yeah I think i'm i may we'll see. If i if i can get if anyone knows it about the... Okay, I got to know a car. If anyone happens to know about the car charging situation at Lumenfield and the costs or whatever, please let me know. Please send an email.
00:36:29
Speaker
I would love an email about this. And you can send us an email at thecoolerguild at gmail.com. ah You can also follow us on Blue Sky and Instagram at CoolerGuildPod.
00:36:39
Speaker
Visit our main page, SounderHeart.com forward slash The Cooler Guild. Or on YouTube, YouTube.com forward slash at The Cooler Guild. Wherever you're listening, please go rate five stars. Till next time, I'm Coop. I'm Van. Stay cool, y'all. Stay cool.
00:37:17
Speaker
I'm gonna have to do that again. This is, that light sheet ad really got me going.