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Real Salt Madrid - Ep. 13
43 Plays2 years ago
Ari and Noah discuss the Sounders incredibly bad loss to Real Salt Lake in the Leagues Cup, Messi Debut with Inter Miami, USWNT at the World Cup, and an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Arsenal from the MLS All Stars.
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Transcript
Introduction and Apologies
00:00:10
Speaker
What's going on everybody? Welcome to episode 13 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I've got producer Noah here with me. Producer Noah, say what's up to the people.
00:00:22
Speaker
Welcome back, Ari. Welcome back. It's good to be back, yeah. The first thing I wanted to say actually was just apologies for the delay in laying down this audio this week. It was a crazy week. There was a lot going on. I was working the MLS Skills Challenge and All-Star Game on Tuesday and Thursday.
00:00:44
Speaker
And then I was also working the messy debut. So just didn't quite have a window. No also went to summer camp. Apparently, I didn't even really know that was happening. And I was like, Hey, where are you? We should record. And he's like, I'm at summer camp. So I mean, I was in my camp counselor era. He was camp counseling. So we just couldn't quite get it aligned to get the preview audio for for League's Cup and all that recorded. But honestly, I don't think they missed much.
00:01:12
Speaker
You know I'm kind of glad we didn't end up recording based on how it went for the Seattle Sounders but we're back in action and the result of missing that audio is that we got a jam packed episode today.
Episode Topics Overview
00:01:26
Speaker
We're going to talk the Seattle Sounders for a into the new expanded edition of League's Cup which did not go very well as you're probably aware. We're going to talk Messy's Miami debut which did go well for MLS and inner Miami.
00:01:42
Speaker
And the US Women's World Cup is also underway. Our first game of the group stage took place against Vietnam. So I'm gonna lay down some takes about that as well. And then a couple quick hitters at the end here on episode 13. So yeah, apologies for the delay, but we got a good show lined up. And I've also got a few takes and questions from the people that I crowdsourced on Twitter. So I'm gonna try and hit
00:02:09
Speaker
a few of those. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get to all of them, but I'll do my best. But... Marathon episode today. It's gonna be a marathon episode, and we're gonna actually lead with the Seattle Sounders. You know, I said on a previous show that I wasn't gonna lead with the Seattle Sounders unless they scored multiple goals in a game, and I was planning on adhering to that. I was.
00:02:34
Speaker
But this League's Cup game was so bad that I felt like I had to lead with it. Just for the novelty of how bad it was, it deserved to be talked about in painstaking depth at the top of the show.
Seattle Sounders' League's Cup Struggles
00:02:55
Speaker
Seattle was facing off against Rial Salt Lake in their League's Cup group stage opener at America First Field. And if you didn't watch...
00:03:06
Speaker
First of all, good decision. But that was me. Yeah. You made the right call on that summer camp was probably a lot a lot more pleasant experience than what I went through watching that game. Yeah. But if you didn't watch and think I'm exaggerating, I'm not exaggerating at all. However bad you're imagining this game was, it was actually worse than that. That's how bad it was.
00:03:34
Speaker
Most of us have been following this team long enough now where you're gonna have games like this eventually at some point. Every team has them at one point or another. In MOS, even when you're having a good season, which the Sounders are not having, and especially good season, but even when you are, sometimes you're gonna take lopsided Ls. The Sounders have had a few, and when I think about the worst individual performances in Sounders history, there are three that come to mind.
00:04:02
Speaker
You got MLS cups 2017 and 2020, and then you got the SKC game in 2016 where Ziggy got fired right after. I considered those three like the gold standard of just terrible individual performances, at least in recent times. This might be recency bias, but I think this game in League's Cup was the worst of them all.
00:04:29
Speaker
It was at least right in the conversation with those games as the worst. And there's definitely a credible argument that it was worse than any of them. That's how bad it was. That's how bad it was. Seattle was non-competitive in this game. Real Salt Lake was cooking with gas from the jump. Real Salt Lake looked like Real Salt Madrid for the entire first half.
00:04:55
Speaker
And that's probably the most alarming part of all this, because for however tough the last stretch of this season has been for Seattle, they were at least competitive for the most part. They were competing in these games. And that's something that I've talked about. When I talk about underlying performances compared to results, that's what I mean. They weren't taking the results they needed, but they were playing well enough to give themselves a chance in most of the games. There's a couple where they didn't. But for the most part, they were competitive.
00:05:25
Speaker
And when you're doing that, that's something that you can at least point to as a reason to believe that it's possible results will eventually start to flip and that you're maybe not playing as bad as your record might be and stuff like that. But that's why a loss like this is very different than, you know,
00:05:45
Speaker
Looking at it compared to this the San Jose game earlier this season in Seattle where they lost the game, but they played well Put up 3 xg This ain't the same as as a loss like that. This is different
00:06:00
Speaker
We're not used to seeing stuff like this from Seattle. We've seen bad runs of form before, sure, but there's usually been a baseline of competitiveness. Even during runs where they're not taking results, they're usually competing in the games. And that's been true for the most part this season. And I'll always point that out if that's the case.
00:06:20
Speaker
But a run where you're competing but not taking results is different from a situation like this where it's like they as well have not even made the trip for this game. Seattle was non-competitive. The first half was outrageously bad. It was somehow still 0-0 at halftime. It should not have been. Seattle was as bad in possession as I've seen them all season, possibly ever. And that's something that's been an issue for this team a lot this season. They get in these cycles where they just can't keep the ball.
00:06:50
Speaker
Every single time Seattle had the ball in the first half, they gave it away immediately. The amount of bad giveaways in this game was staggering. And that was frustrating to watch.
00:07:03
Speaker
When you can't keep the ball like that, two things happen. Number one, you're constantly under pressure, especially because they kept giving the ball away in their own end. So Rial Salt Madrid were immediately cooking in the final third every time they won the ball back. And number two, it's impossible to generate anything on offense unless you're on the counter.
00:07:22
Speaker
But Seattle couldn't counter because on the exceedingly rare occasions where they even touched the ball, they immediately gave it away. So the result was Stephen Fry was under absolute siege for the entire first half. Stephen Fry was the only Seattle player who had a good game. That guy was everywhere. He had the city on his back. He tried everything. But there's only so much you can do when your defense in midfield is getting cooked on by Jefferson Savarino and Chicharango every five seconds. The dam was going to break eventually.
00:07:50
Speaker
And it did in the second half. After somehow surviving to half time 0-0, Rial Salt Madrid bammed immediately after second half kickoff. And the frustrating thing about that opener was that it actually came directly after Seattle had their first positive attacking movement of the game.
00:08:08
Speaker
Seattle actually had a positive sequence of play right before that goal. They got the ball to Rui Diaz at the top of the box in a dangerous area, and it was a pretty chaotic sequence where Rui Diaz went down, and it looked like there might have been a penalty shout. I think the Sounders teed up a couple of shots that were blocked, and then RSL is off on the counter. They executed the counter well with some beautiful footy there from them. Chicho Arango puts it on frame, and Yeymar blocks it off the line, but right to Savarino, and bam, that's 1-0.
00:08:38
Speaker
fully deserved should have been 3-0 already based on how the first half went.
00:08:44
Speaker
The rest of the second half didn't really seem like it was going to go any different. Chicho got RSL's second on a play where they hit him with the ball over the top. He's completely on an island with Jackson Reagan, and he skinned Jackson Reagan pretty good there. He went into his bag and hit him with a nasty little juke, used his body well. Chicho's just nasty with it. That guy is smooth. But great finish by him on that goal. No chance for Stephen Fry.
00:09:12
Speaker
You know, Jackson Reagan got beat on the play, but your C.B. should never be totally isolated like that on a counter against their best player. So.
Sounders' Future Concerns
00:09:23
Speaker
It's not really his fault that he was in that situation, and Chico got the better of him on that play.
00:09:29
Speaker
But there was a point in this game where this whole situation went from bad to embarrassing. And that was after the hour mark when Seattle got a lifeline. They got a lifeline in this game as badly as it went.
00:09:46
Speaker
They got a lifeline when Marcelo Silva got a red card for a tackle on Rui Diaz. And I got no clue what Marcelo Silva was thinking on that one. You're up 2-0. You're boat racing Seattle off the field. You're like 60 yards from goal. No reason to do that, really. But it didn't matter.
00:10:05
Speaker
Because not only did Seattle not even come close to scoring after they went up a man, but they actually conceded again. They conceded again in the 88th minute. Rubio Rabin made it 3-0. Bammed on while up a man. Bammed on while up a man while also not even close to scoring yourself. I mean, bruh. I don't really even know what to say about that.
00:10:30
Speaker
BAM Dawn well up a man really sums up the whole game. I thought we were the team that scored well up a man. Yeah, I mean You like as soon as the red card happened. I was like, oh, hey, this is this is how Seattle gets back in it Yeah, this has been the strategy. There's been the strategy but
00:10:49
Speaker
It didn't pay off this time. They were given 30 minutes plus stoppage to play up a man. And if they had scored one goal in the first 10 to 15 minutes after the red card, it's game on. And not only did they not do that, they conceded again. They got bammed on well up a man. Three zero could have been worse.
00:11:11
Speaker
Worst game of the season by far. The Portland and San Jose games were bad. This was worse. And League's Cup might already be chalked. Shout out to League's Cup. Good run. Sick tournament. But the rest of this tournament is about salvaging dignity, in my opinion. You gotta salvage dignity.
00:11:37
Speaker
Christian Roldon is back in concussion protocol, so honestly, I think there's a good chance his season might be over. I'm about to punch a hole through a wall at this point. When I heard that, I was like, it's not good. But that's obviously a situation where the player's long-term health takes priority. Oh, yes, absolutely.
00:12:00
Speaker
If this is a recurring issue, then he's got to be shelved for however long it takes to ensure his health and safety for the long term. So best wishes and speedy recovery to Christian. I don't think we even need to talk about the implications for what this team is going to look like without him because we already know that. That's what we've been watching for most of this season. So I think we already kind of know what's coming in that regard, unfortunately.
00:12:31
Speaker
I took some questions and takes on Twitter, so I'll hit those in a second But I'll just give my initial thoughts on what this all means Which is that I mean you really just can't have performances like that There were qualifiers going into this
00:12:47
Speaker
This was always going to be a tough game. We also at Lake are the hottest team in the league right now, arguably. And also Seattle never wins away at RSL. Never. They've won one regular season game at RSL in the last decade plus. They showed the stat before before the game on the broadcast. So I'm not necessarily super shocked that they lost the game, but I'm definitely surprised that it wasn't a competitive game.
00:13:09
Speaker
You can't even chalk it up as an outlier. We did that with the Quakes game a couple weeks ago when they also weren't competitive, but this is the second time in this last set of games where they've been non-competitive in a game. So it's not a full-on trend yet, necessarily, but this is the second time it's happened in the last couple weeks. So with that in mind, Seattle's at an inflection point, a proverbial fork in the road. If they put out more performances like this,
00:13:39
Speaker
Jobs are on the line, and that's just the reality. I'm not calling for anyone's job. I'm not saying Schmetz out, Raoul out, Nico out, but it's just a fact of life that if you put out performances like that with any sort of regularity, especially with where this roster is at in terms of the age of a lot of the players in the core, jobs are on the line.
00:14:01
Speaker
I think everyone on the staff and in the locker room would probably tell you the same thing. They know that, you know, I'm not saying anything that they don't know internally, so. Thank you for listening to the Sound Rithart podcast network, which now includes no sonnetes, lobbing scorchers and the cooler guild. We've been independent since August of 2023.
00:14:31
Speaker
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00:14:46
Speaker
If you're able to support us at higher levels, starting at $75 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. To find out more, just visit soundrathart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening.
00:15:16
Speaker
Plus, I mean, you have weibull who's just stepping in. This is going to be his first chance to make moves and everything. I think people are definitely going to be playing for their spot. People are playing for spots. People are playing for spots. I mean.
00:15:30
Speaker
you know barring a miraculous turnaround this League's Cup venture isn't going to last all that much longer, which isn't a horrible thing. No, it's not a horrible thing, but I think the unfortunate thing you know I was going to I was going to talk about this on the preview show if we had done one, but like
00:15:48
Speaker
I think this tournament was important just from the standpoint of it was a chance to, you know, write the ship. Like they put out a lineup that was the same that they've been putting out in league play. And it was a chance to get some more reps and get guys reintegrated and try and get back rolling.
00:16:09
Speaker
And so falling on your face like that in the first game and putting your backs against the wall right off rip, now you're not going to have any sort of momentum that you could have used this tournament to create.
00:16:25
Speaker
It's not over. They got CF Monterey next Saturday in Seattle but I mean that's a really good League of MX team. It's going to be a really tough game. So the pressure is on. They got to come out against CF Monterey and I mean they got to play better than that you know.
00:16:41
Speaker
I don't really even care what the result is at this point, but they got they got a they got to compete. They got to look better than that, so. No, unless you got anything, I can dive into some of these Twitter questions, but I don't know. What do you think?
00:16:58
Speaker
I didn't watch the game, but Ari gave me a recap pre pod and I've, we've talked about a lot of bad sounders games. We've joked about a lot of sounders games. The seldom this in, in your voice was telling about how just desperately bad this team is. It was a tough, it was tough to watch brother. He was tough to watch. Like that whole game was really like just gouging your eyes out.
00:17:23
Speaker
Yeah, I'm glad I didn't watch it I think that I've been saying this team isn't that bad for a while now But I don't know the sample size is is starting to starting to speak differently I've been thinking of them as more mid than bad correct through through this whole stretch, and I think that's still probably accurate You know
00:17:48
Speaker
They've had these two really bad games in the last couple of weeks San Jose away and this one. Yeah, but I mean I still seems like they're in free fall. I mean after that I don't blame anyone for thinking that.
00:18:04
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's really going to be defined by the last stretch of the league season. That's really their chance to turn it around and show that they're not in free fall. But like that, that game, like it felt like the 2016 SKC game that went right before Ziggy got fired. Like that was the vibe and you never want that vibe. No, that's never the vibe that you're, that you're going for.
00:18:32
Speaker
We're vibes guys on this part and yeah, that was not the vibe that was that was not the vibe Yeah, I don't know we'll see they they have they have every opportunity to prove that that's not the type of team they are and I think if you look at the season on the whole they haven't really been that type of team there are 1.5 points per game team on the league table and
00:18:57
Speaker
That's a mid team. It's not a terrible team. It's not a bad team, but I mean if that League's Cup game is any sort of indicator of Where they're at going down the stretch
00:19:12
Speaker
I mean, that's bad. With everyone back as well. With everyone back, you can't really, I mean, now Christian's out again, but like the lineup in this game was good enough, even without Ledero who had ad actor tightness. So he stayed back in Seattle, but even without Ledero, and then there are also three subs at halftime in this game, but the personnel in this game was enough to compete. Like,
00:19:37
Speaker
It wasn't like it was def. It was the first choice lineup pretty much. You know, Jordan was coming off the bench. They were the three subs at halftime. Josh Tencio came on at halftime for Obed. Dylan Teves came on for Christian. Jordan Morris came on for Leo Chu. But overall, I mean, it's not like if it was a rotated lineup.
00:19:58
Speaker
You could chalk it up to that, but it wasn't. It was the same lineup that they've pretty much been riding over these last few weeks. I don't know, man. I don't know. I was surprised to see that.
00:20:13
Speaker
Like I said, I'm not surprised that they took a bad result in this game because I'm never surprised when they take a bad result at RSL. That's basically how it goes when you go away at RSO. But I was surprised that they didn't compete.
00:20:32
Speaker
I'll get into some of your Twitter takes and questions now. I've got them pulled up here. Handle for Ian asks, our guy handle for Ian, what can we read into Schmetzer's beard in progress? Is this a sign of defeat or a bold new period of artistry inspired by his acceptance that life is meaningless? I think it's a bold new period of artistry inspired by his acceptance that life is meaningless. I think that's you hit the nail on the head with that one.
00:21:00
Speaker
Ryan here at RShaneM99 says, it doesn't feel like this team believes they can overturn even a one gold deficit. Something needs to provide a spark. Do the overarching poor performances of last year and this year stem from Pineda and Torres' Traore's departures? Yeah, that's a connection that a lot of people have seemed to make, like a perceived dip in form dating back to when Gonzo and Traore left.
00:21:28
Speaker
I don't know how much I buy into that. I don't know. I tend to think that who the assistants are on the staff doesn't have that big of an impact on results. There's no way to really measure that, but I don't know. It seems like if you're, if it's affected by the assistants that much,
00:21:57
Speaker
That's probably not a good thing. I don't know But yeah, I've never really I've never really bought into the notion that Pineda and try worries exit is like a big reason for the Overall downturn in form that we've seen in the last year, but I mean it's possible Schmetzer gave Gonzo a lot of credit for the game planning while he was here But it's impossible to say
00:22:20
Speaker
It doesn't seem like it's everything. I mean, the assistants handle a good amount of scouting and things like that. But aside from that game plan tactics, I feel like that's still mostly Schmetzer. And he was assistant before, so he would have understood the position that they were in. And clearly he was good enough as an assistant to be promoted as a head coach. So, yeah, I don't know. I agree with you. I don't really buy into that either.
00:22:47
Speaker
Second of here, we've got Aaron Bean asking, considering the poor form our team has been in over the past 10 plus matches, why is the front office refusing to look at bringing in a transfer?
00:22:59
Speaker
It's just because they're up against the cap. And that's why there's just not a lot of financial flexibility with the roster. It's all it's all tied up. So as far as making like a big splashy move in this window, like they literally can't do it just financially. That's I mean, I brought that up on the show a fair amount. But the roster right now is is what it is like they can't.
00:23:26
Speaker
They can't make a big splash like that just with what their cap situation is like.
00:23:31
Speaker
Yeah, one of our faves on Sounders Twitter, Soundernavia put out a whole big piece about that written and hopefully we can get Naves on here soon. Yeah, we got to get Naves on here. But yeah, I mean, so you can go back like Naves did and critique what led to this situation where they're up against it with the cab and like
00:23:57
Speaker
whether those were the right moves. But it doesn't change the reality that there's just not a lot of roster flexibility at the exact moment. Yeah. And that brings us to this question, which is hot take. We're starting to rebuild a season too late. Right. I mean, that's I think depending on how the rest of this season shakes out, that's really what people are going to be pointing to is did they hold on to this core for too long?
00:24:24
Speaker
I felt like at the time it was at least a defensible decision to try and get the group that won CCL back together after it hadn't really been together after the tournament last year. And I try and look at it like, can I see the logic behind that approach? And I thought it made sense at the time. But if things keep going like this, it's a question that people are going to be right to ask because
00:24:54
Speaker
sometimes you do have to make those decisions even when it's difficult timing and I think it's fair to wonder but we're just gonna have to see if they can turn it around maybe that'll be validated a little bit more but yeah right now I mean it's it's not a bad take it's not a bad take
00:25:14
Speaker
And I think definitely when we have naves on, we will dive deeper into this whole topic and really nitpick every decision and all of that. So definitely look forward to that. Next up, Snacktar Donutsk, Kenny Sloth asks, Frigid Take, this was something you kind of brought up, so maybe not that frigid. RSL is one of the hottest teams in the region and the Sounders hadn't won there in a bajillion tries. Why would this game be any different?
00:25:41
Speaker
Yeah, that's fair to point out based on the result, but not the performance. You got to compete in the game. You got to compete in the game. You have to make them try to win. I don't know. If they had taken a result in this game of any sort, it would have been an outright phenomenal result, like if they could have gotten a draw.
00:26:04
Speaker
That would have been a great result Just because it's pretty much impossible for this team to get those results away at RSO historically But I don't know for me. It's it's more about how they lost than that. They lost Yeah, last but definitely not least maybe Bard asks with Christian and concussion protocols again We're probably about to see Nico play a lot more right wing with that in mind. How fucked are we? Oh Man
00:26:35
Speaker
I don't know, man. Ledero's got a tight-eyed adductor right now, too. So maybe it'll be the Dylan Tevas show. But I think Ledero can do it. It's just it hasn't worked very well so far, but
00:26:55
Speaker
I mean they definitely look better at with Nico at right mid than they did at any point last night although you know it was Christian's first game back so it wasn't Christian sharpest game but you know I think you have to give him a little bit of a break on that because he's just getting reintegrated back in the group now he's out again so yeah they're probably gonna have to run that back and
00:27:18
Speaker
let the chips fall where they may. I don't know. Thank you for your questions. Yeah. Thanks for everyone for submitting and sorry if we didn't get to you, but we only got so much time on this show with a couple other big sections coming up. But yeah, more centers to come. We like making it interactive here. Correct.
00:27:38
Speaker
We're gonna move on from the Seattle Sounders. Is that all right with you now? Yeah, let's get out of this depressing honestly like the vibes here not great I think you know it had to be done. We had it. We don't we don't shy away from the results, but no We're gonna move on to a couple more positive
00:27:57
Speaker
results, get the vibes, get the vibes back up. Um, we know Messi is here. And he's here with a bang. This was the story of the week, not just in MLS, but really a big, a huge story, obviously throughout global football.
Messi's Miami Debut: A Historic Moment
00:28:16
Speaker
Um,
00:28:17
Speaker
As someone who works for the MLS website and you know my job is based around trying to make content that generates discussion and interest about the league and engages with the fans. I mean this really could not have gone any better for us as a website. This was a lob over the plate in terms of engagement. The work got done for us with that one.
00:28:40
Speaker
Inner Miami was playing Cruz Azul in League's Cup for Messi's first game in MLS or with his new MLS club. And the result was probably the most legendary goal in MLS history for my money, not necessarily in terms of just the quality of the goal, although it was a phenomenal goal, but more in terms of the moment and the historical significance that it's bound to have. This was an iconic moment in MLS history, without a doubt.
00:29:10
Speaker
My first favorite thing about this game was the lineup graphic for inner Miami starting 11 because neither messy nor Sergio Busquets started this game So they were listed subs as subs on the graphic, which is just funny You know you just see it is like it's just a list of a bunch of MLS guys and then messy Busquets I was laughing at that. That's just crazy to see
00:29:34
Speaker
The game itself actually started pretty inauspiciously just because the starting 11 that Miami put out without Messi and Busquets was still not a very good one. And they were getting kind of boat race by Cruz Azul in the first half. We forget that Miami is bad. They're not not great. I think they're in last place on the league table still.
00:29:53
Speaker
So everyone was getting their jokes off about how bad of a team Messi is joining and not entirely undeservedly. Cruz Azul could have had two or three goals in the first half, but it was Miami that actually opened the scoring. Robert Taylor against the run of play right before halftime. So they had it 1-0 at the half despite getting outplayed pretty thoroughly. And Cruz Azul ends up tying it early in the second half.
00:30:21
Speaker
Uh, so we're going to start there because that's when messy came on. He's subbed on a lot earlier than a lot of people thought he would. I figured he'd probably get like 15 to 20 minutes, uh, as he gets fully fit, but he ended up getting like 40. So, I mean, you could just see right away. It's just different when he's on the ball, uh, than any player I've ever seen. And you know, I got to say too, before we talk about the goal,
00:30:45
Speaker
I haven't watched a heck of a lot of loose gets in my life. I wasn't usually watching Barcelona live when he and Messi were in their heyday there. So you know, obviously, I've seen a lot of highlights. And I know that he's widely considered by a lot of people to be the best defensive mid of all time. So I've seen the clips and the highlights here and there and I've watched enough Barca games. But this was the first time in a while that I've watched him just in a game.
00:31:14
Speaker
And god damn, that guy is nasty with it. He is nasty with it. I mean, holy shit. He was, he was really good in this game. His vision and passing are pretty unbelievable. And also just the way he and messy combined. I mean, that's a couple of guys that have grinded five, 600 games in La Liga together and UEFA champions league and are also
00:31:36
Speaker
Probably the two most talented players ever at their respective position and you could tell so busquets was lights out for his whole shift He's fun to watch But the moment everyone is talking about came in second half stoppage time with the game tied 1-1 And that's when messy wanna foul outside the box in that exact area where we've seen him hit those free kicks his entire career and
00:32:00
Speaker
The crazy thing is, as soon as he won that foul, I knew he was gonna make it. I think everyone did. And I know it's easy to say that in hindsight after he's already made it, but there was just no way he wasn't gonna make it. And sure enough, he hits as good a free kick as you'll ever see, literally can't place that any better, just over the wall where they can't hit it, directly in the top corner where it would be physically impossible for the keeper to get to it. If you watch the replay,
00:32:28
Speaker
Like that's as much of no chance as I've ever seen a goalkeeper have he was not even close to it a cruises will players said after the game that you know, we knew we couldn't give away a set piece in a spot like that because That's basically like a penalty for him for Messi from that spot and he's right. Yeah, it is That's like it's crazy easily the one player that you can say that about where that that shots basically like a penalty kick
00:32:53
Speaker
It's just an example of what makes a goat different from everyone else. The rules that apply to us mortals just don't apply to a goat. And there's very few athletes you can put on the same tier as Messi. We talked about it on the show after he signed. And I ripped off a few names and I missed a couple, but it's just a precious shortlist.
00:33:19
Speaker
The names that come to my mind are Michael Jordan and LeBron James, whatever side of the debate you fall on that one. And then you got Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, and Serena Williams. And as much as it pains me to say it, you probably got to put Tom Brady in there. That's pretty much the list. And what separates players and athletes like that from everyone else, it's not just their talent and ability. That's part of it.
00:33:46
Speaker
but it's their performance in pressure moments. Athletes like that, when they're in a moment like Messi was, free kick, game on the line, they just always seem to come through without fail. That's what makes them the goats. So the fact that as soon as Messi won that free kick, everyone in the stadium and everyone watching already knew he was gonna make it before it even happened, that's what makes him the best to ever do it.
00:34:14
Speaker
That goal went viral all around the world. Our tweet from the MLS main account had 10,000 retweets in five minutes and then ended up racking like 50 million views. So I mean, boom for us, man. I'm telling you. Yeah. Where's I? Hey, we, we, we need, we need to pull some of those viewers.
00:34:31
Speaker
Yeah, so just a great moment, and that's why it's such a monumental thing for this league to have messy because I mean he does stuff like that all the time like if you haven't watched him throughout his career That's like that's every game that guy's life is a movie. That's yeah, just a regular day at the office He makes everyone else's life a movie as well like he made he made he made DeAndre Yedlin look like a Premier League player like
00:34:57
Speaker
I mean he was, but you know what I mean? Like he looked like he was prime. Like the passing he had between him and Messi was just like... Yeah, yeah. He elevated their whole team by as much as we would have predicted or expected as soon as him and Busquets got on the field. Like it looked entirely different. Everyone plays with a different intensity when he's on the field. A different intensity and then also like you said like his
00:35:25
Speaker
Both of their passing it's like it's just next level. Yeah on a different level then They probably they have the two best passers in the league now, right? So well Albert Rusnak would like a conversation but
00:35:41
Speaker
For however much excitement and buildup there was preceding Messi's arrival. It's at a fever pitch now. Everyone is going to be locked in even more on every single game that he plays. And, you know, if you were saying that Messi was only coming here because he's washed and wants a beach vacation or whatever, you know, hopefully he'll pipe down a little bit.
00:36:01
Speaker
Because he's gonna do a lot more stuff like that for however long he plays in league. That's just what he does You know, I've been I've been watching him for years and years and that's just he does that stuff all the time And he did it in his first game with inner Miami And I mean it's just crazy. I didn't even take him a game to pull out a moment like that.
Inter Miami's Potential Rise
00:36:24
Speaker
Wow, man, it's wild. In Miami with Messi and Busquets, I went back and forth on the degree to which it could turn their season around. But after watching that game, I'm kind of back on the train that
00:36:29
Speaker
I
00:36:39
Speaker
Like just those two moves alone without taking into account all the other maneuvering that they've been doing Could turn them from bottom feeder to contender Uh, just the only question uh in regards to the league table is if they have enough time To get out of the hole that they're in and get messy's gonna play on turf If I mean, you know, how much are they gonna manage his workload in general? I don't know but
00:37:03
Speaker
I mean it was just wild how much better they looked once they both subbed on. They went from absorbing pressure the whole time and praying to get one against the run of play which they did but Messi was creating danger every time he was on the ball. He's the best player in possession to ever play the game and he's also the best passer to ever play the game and you saw that with the types of balls that he hit in this game repeatedly.
00:37:26
Speaker
He and Joseph were combining very well. That looked like a fun little partnership. They almost lined up a couple of goals. So at the very least with Messi and Busquets in the fold, they're going to be a problem in attack, obviously. But there's still questions about their defense and just the supporting cast in general. But we've seen plenty of examples in MLS history of how big a difference an elite DP mid-season arrival like this can make.
00:37:52
Speaker
You know, you saw what Ledero did for the Sounders in 2016. They went from being near the bottom of the table to winning MLS Cup. So I don't know if inner Miami has time to make a run like that and get back into the playoffs, but they're going to be the team to watch in League's Cup for sure. And as far as next season goes, if they can bolster the roster around Messi even more, which, you know, they're already doing that with all his Barca boys coming in, but
00:38:21
Speaker
And they just acquired an international roster spot from San Jose. Oh yeah, that happened today, right? Yeah. So if they can just, if they can keep, if they can just build a competent team around messy, that's literally all I need to do. Yeah. And they have pieces there already. They've talked about like, we love campana hostess good. Yeah. It's like, you know, it seems like they're, they're just, uh, it's a pretty, it's pretty leaky defense. Yes. Pretty leaky defense. They, they 100% have the worst defense in the league.
00:38:49
Speaker
Ooh, there's probably some debates there. They're bottom of the barrel. They're definitely up there. If they keep reinforcing it, Messi and Busquets in this game, they looked like elite centerpieces, which obviously shouldn't come as a shock, but damn, it looked really good in this game. It was fun to watch. I don't know. No, you got any... What did you think when you saw the goal?
00:39:20
Speaker
Well, I had to wait like 45 minutes because Apple TV wouldn't cut away from walking around the pitch but I I mean it when he wouldn't the foul was one I was like, oh cool like everyone thought that everyone thought that everyone's like, oh he's making it. Yeah, and it's I can't think of a player where
00:39:44
Speaker
you you know what's going to happen before it happens yeah like everyone knew he was going to make it destined yeah I saw someone put out a tweet where they were asking who had the better debut was it Zlatan or Messi and my response to that was Zlatan had the better first goal Messi had the bigger impact
00:40:06
Speaker
Yeah, no, it depends if you mean quality of goal or like magnitude of the moment. Yeah, because I think the messy moment, not only just the moment, but the immediate impact that he had the second that he stepped on the field and how the game changed.
00:40:20
Speaker
That's like there's there's only there's very few players in the entire world that could ever do that slot on incredible score that goal Fucking sick like just probably one of the best MLS goals of all time. I still probably have it. I mean
00:40:36
Speaker
That goal that's a lot on goal. It's like if you're making like a YouTube supercut of the greatest goals that Have ever been scored in soccer and you only had like 20 or 30 video clips to put in there
00:40:52
Speaker
If you put that Zlatan goal in there, I wouldn't even argue it. That's how sick that goal was. The Messi one, it's an insane free kick. I've seen him do that a thousand times. Right. If that was any other player, yeah, goal of the week, but it's like, okay, it's Messi. Yeah, but in terms of magnitude of the moment, it's Messi all day.
00:41:15
Speaker
his arrival to the league is substantially bigger than Zlatan's as big of a deal as it was when Zlatan got here. I mean, Messi's the literal goat. So for the literal goat to pull out a moment like that in his first game game stoppage time game went
00:41:38
Speaker
That's I mean yeah, I'm pretty good Scripps pretty good It really it felt scripted man. It felt scripted. Everyone was making that joke, but it seriously did feel like that It's just yeah, it's awesome to have him in the league man like he looked happy. That's another thing I noticed he looked like he was having so much fun He looks like he was having the time of his life out there and going and celebrating with his family Yeah after he scored it I think people you know
00:42:05
Speaker
A lot of people who don't follow MLS, my question, why a player of that caliber would want to come to a league that's perceived as not on the quality tier of the other leagues that he's played in. But something that you have to remember is quality of life stuff like that. Players want to go a place where they can be happy. Their family is going to be happy.
00:42:32
Speaker
I've always thought that you can tell me if you agree with this take. I've always thought that Miami would be a really sick place to live if you were incredibly wealthy. Yeah, definitely. I wouldn't I wouldn't necessarily want to live there, but like I can it's very expensive. I can see how it's a it would be a really fun city to live in if you had a shit ton of money. Yeah, it's kind of like us here. Yeah, I mean,
00:42:57
Speaker
What do you mean? Like, like if we had a shit ton of money, it'd probably be incredibly. Yeah. I mean, right. You could. So you could say that about a lot of places, Miami, Miami, like uniquely. So, I mean, you just got, you know, like I can, I can see the appeal. I can see the, uh, but he just, he just looked like he was having a great time and that was great to see. Like, you know, I hope he enjoys playing here and has a good impression of the league. And he's bringing in so many people. Like, I mean, we talked about it before, but
00:43:27
Speaker
I don't give a shit what Messi does. One, it's going to grow soccer. It's going to grow the fan base of MLS. People will always make their jokes. It doesn't really matter. That shit's always going to happen. But the fact is some of the best, you know, like maybe declining, but some of the best players in the world are now looking at this league like
00:43:49
Speaker
Well should I want to play against Messi or I want to play with Messi or well if he did it like yeah No, what's the percent? I think you're I mean you're already seeing it happen with inner Miami You know everyone's saying that they're cheating like the roster rules by bringing in all his Barca boys and you know I
00:44:10
Speaker
I'm the type of person where I'm not going to get into conspiracy theory mongering unless I see some evidence of it. If you can show me evidence of it, I'll look at it. I haven't seen any. But I also don't find it that hard to believe that all of Messi's boys are just like, oh, we'll come over and play with him for a pretty relatively low salary number. I've already made all my money. I want to go live on the beach and keep playing with Messi and dominate MOS. Why not? That doesn't seem that crazy to me.
00:44:40
Speaker
Also, if you look at their books, which are not completely public, but all of the moves and transfers, they've been leading up to this moment. There's a reason they were so bad this year. Like they're not like spending a ton of money on what people would probably consider like top tier MLS players. They've just been like, all right, whatever. Like we'll just kind of like, you know,
00:45:03
Speaker
Well, and then I mean, you know, as far as messy guys use DP so they can pay them. Yeah, they can pay whatever But and they have three DP or yeah, they have three DPS now, right? Yeah Well, and then I think I mean you're just gonna see names coming in that aren't gonna be DPs where the name value you would think how is that not a DP? but what I'm saying is it's just like I don't I don't find it that hard to believe that I
00:45:28
Speaker
A guy like Jordy Alba for instance who's coming in like he probably just wants to come play with messy and would do it for Whatever number yeah, they can get him on a one-year or something for yeah for not crazy I think that can about do it for the messy section it was a
US Women's World Cup Challenges
00:45:50
Speaker
it was a fun game to watch man I'll tell you what I was locked in I was locked in but I was also locked in on the US Women's World Cup which was going on at the exact same time unfortunately so I had to dual screen that but
00:46:07
Speaker
I'm gonna lay down some US dub NT takes I'm going to Because I watched the game as closely as I could while I was While I was working the Miami game and I'm gonna be watching the whole tournament for sure I'm a big US dub NT fan. I love the US dub NT because We actually win stuff, you know, yeah, we do we dominate not this year. We won't but
00:46:30
Speaker
We can get into that because that's part of what I was going to talk about. The US Women's World Cup is underway and USWNT back in action, opening game against Vietnam that I was dual screening.
00:46:50
Speaker
But yeah, it is. It's an interesting women's World Cup because this is the most I can remember since I've been a fan of the U.S. Devon T where people are questioning our status as the top dog. Is that kind of what you were alluding to? Yeah, I think that's fair. Yeah, you know, so for for so long.
00:47:06
Speaker
We've been just unbeatably dominant. I mean been a dynasty Which is a big part of why it's such a fun team to be a fan of especially as someone who's also a fan of the men's team Which is like pulling teeth a lot and we don't really win anything. We're middle of the pack So watching the US WNT absolutely just boat race everyone and win the World Cup every time really never gets old to me I don't know about you but I fucking love watching us just hang six goals on every opponent and
00:47:33
Speaker
and just cruised a victory. It's great. It's so cathartic to watch, but this cycle, this is the most I can remember people saying, you know, the U S might be vulnerable. There are a lot of countries that have started to invest more and more in the women's game and it seems like they're coming.
00:47:51
Speaker
If you look at the FIFA rankings, like we're still number one, but you've got Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, all these countries are ranked high and it seems like they're closing the gap. That's the vibe I get. Also our coach, Vlocco, I don't know what you think of him. I don't think he's a very good coach. No. I mean, I know he takes a lot of criticism from the fan base, but, you know, there's my hot take. Yeah. Go think he's worse than Greg. Ooh. I mean, yeah, he is. He is. Yeah. Like he's
00:48:21
Speaker
There's just so many times like I mean there's there's stuff with it with his call-up sometimes, but his subs and like or like where he plays certain players he does stuff where he puts players out of position and
00:48:39
Speaker
It's just like this I'm like, is this guy a good coach? I don't think yeah, I don't think so And then you know you combine that with the fact that our results on the field haven't been as one-sidedly dominant dominant as much in the last In recent years, you know, we only took bronze at the Olympics in 2020, which is like that's crazy like The expectation for us is win every single thing So I remember seeing that seeing us take bronze at the Olympics and being like, okay, you know
00:49:09
Speaker
That's kind of a sign that our status as the unquestioned top dog is...
00:49:15
Speaker
It's questionable. It's as questionable as I can remember. And it seems to me at this point, you know, there was a clear advantage for women's sports, specifically women's soccer against the world stage with title nine and the implementation of title nine and how we were able to build a lot of infrastructure around women's soccer in this country very quickly around that, which is awesome.
00:49:41
Speaker
but you only get a lead up for so long before every other country is gonna catch up to you and build their own program and everything. And we're kind of at a point in women's soccer specifically where like, it's mainstream now. It is mainstream and that's awesome and I'm actually really excited about this World Cup because the US isn't just like,
00:50:02
Speaker
The outright front runner blow it away. It's actually competitive fun tournament. Exactly. That's what I was going to say is that I actually think it's a good thing that we've got these countries coming after us. Good. That's healthy for the women's game to have these countries investing and catching up and trying to take us down. Taking us down is not going to be easy. We're a legitimate dynasty. Dynasties don't end without a fight. So if someone wants to come take the crown though, I say come take it.
00:50:30
Speaker
come take it seems like we're as vulnerable as we've ever been so come take it if you can and as much as it never gets old watching us just boat race everyone it'll only grow the game more if we have legitimate competitors so I completely agree like I'm I'm down for this to be competitive and it makes it way more compelling
00:50:52
Speaker
having this much of a chance, it seems like, for someone to actually take us down than it is, like I said, as fun as it is for us to just stomp on everybody, it's gonna be a lot more fun to watch with it being more competitive.
00:51:07
Speaker
And I think another exciting thing about this is this is kind of a new generation of players that we have coming up. You know, Alyssa Thompson, 18 years old. Trinity Rodman, 21. Sophia Smith, 22. Naomi Girma, 23. So these are the next generation of superstars that are playing on this stage for the first time. And I'm excited to watch them take over and make their names.
00:51:37
Speaker
Trinity Rodman to me is
00:51:40
Speaker
One of the most intriguing to that group. She's a superstar in the making. She's got it all. She scores bangers. She's got swag. She's got an edge to her. So that's one player who I want to see break out. And I think when you put all that together, she has the potential to be the face of the program type player. Her and Sophia Smith, who I'm going to talk about too, those are the two young up and comers that I think could break out.
00:52:08
Speaker
really become global superstars in this tournament. You know, we've got the old guard there, too. You know, he's still got Megan Rapinoe, Kelly O'Hara, Alex Morgan, Rose LaVell, Julie Earths, Crystal Dunn. I could go on. But it's a good mixture, I think, of youth and experience. And where the standard is still clearly, obviously still go win the whole thing. So forever, for however much more competition we have than usual, we're still the favorites and we should be.
00:52:38
Speaker
But also they lost to England and Spain and Germany all in a row And those I would say are the three biggest contenders Yeah, no, I mean that's those I think all those all those ones that you just named are all like top five in the FIFA rankings Yeah, so that's they they could take us down. They could take us down pretty easily I mean not easily but like feasibly easily because sure it could happen and
00:53:04
Speaker
Our first match of the group stage was against Vietnam and we won 3-0 so good shit it was actually kind of a frustrating game because we probably should have had seven or eight goals and weren't finishing our chances, but I mean
00:53:19
Speaker
if you look at the numbers it was still pretty much outright domination i've got them pulled up i mean 28 shots to zero 66 possession 464 passes with 80 accuracy compared to 257 on 48 for vietnam so i mean we we played well and we're dominant but could have played a lot better could have had at least a
Sophia Smith: A Star in the Making
00:53:42
Speaker
few more goals
00:53:42
Speaker
Alex Morgan had a penalty saved in this game, which you don't see all that often, but that's a sick story for the Vietnam goalkeeper. She'll always be able to say that she stuffed an Alex Morgan penalty, which is pretty, pretty cool. Not easy to do. Uh, one time Alex Morgan responded to my tweet and I printed it out. I didn't tweet your photo.
00:54:00
Speaker
Yeah, she tweeted out my photo and I printed out her response to my tweet and I had it framed. That's fine. I still have it. It's really fire that she tweeted out your photo. So I'm just saying that's probably the best moment of your life. Yes. Saving a pen, getting a pen save on her, like frame that shit. Yeah.
00:54:17
Speaker
Sophia Smith scored a brace 14th minute and another in first half stoppage and Lindsay Horan had the other on 77 minutes but look Sophia Smith is a superstar okay I was at the doubleheader game when OL Rain played the thorns and
00:54:33
Speaker
Sophia Smith was the best player on the field by a country mile. It was clear as day I was sitting next to some Portland media at that game who were in town and at one point I leaned over and I said to one of them like just Dude, holy shit. She is so good and the guy from Portland looks at me and he goes. Yeah, she's a cheat code And she really is in her last four NWSL games. She scored in each of them and at a hat trick in one it was just like
00:55:03
Speaker
you know you know when you're watching the game and there's just one player that you can just tell is on a different level than everyone else on that field that's how I felt watching Sophia Smith in that in that thorns game
00:55:18
Speaker
Our first goal in this game was a really sick set piece routine executed perfectly and Sophia Smith finished it off but she's just an all-around complete player you know I could see that at the game in Seattle and you can see it when she plays for the women's national team so
00:55:34
Speaker
Sophia Smith is a superstar in the making and when we're talking about the future faces of the team That's one who's on on track to be that I think like she's that good her and Trinity Rodman Dude, that is a sick duo like of up and comers. So the future is in good hands and in that regard so
00:55:55
Speaker
Overall good start to the tournament, even if it could have been it could have been it could have been a little sharper against Vietnam I'll say that and I understand why a lot of people were critiquing that aspect of the performance I mean, we're just so used to this team being being that level of ruthless in a game like that and it felt like they you know, they were in the run of play, but We were missing sitters not finishing so
00:56:24
Speaker
Netherlands up next. So that'll be more of a test. Netherlands are a top 10 team in the world. So we'll be tracking that here on lobbing scorchers. And we're going to keep covering the Women's World Cup as it moves onward. Noah, do you have anything else on that? Nothing else. Just excited to watch.
00:56:41
Speaker
Sick. A couple quick hitters here to close it out on episode 13 here. There was one big trade since we've last recorded in MLS, and it was a pretty big one.
Columbus Crew's Strategic Trade
00:56:52
Speaker
It was a pretty big one, man. The Columbus crew acquired Julian Gressel from the Vancouver Whitecaps for a hefty sum of that general allocation money, 850K of it.
00:57:07
Speaker
This is a bit of a blockbuster here. This is a bit of a blockbuster. Julian Gressel is a big name in the league. He's having a really good year, one of the better years of his career for Vancouver this year, so it's a big loss for them.
00:57:23
Speaker
This is a player that has got some of the best service from Outwide in the league. I think he's probably the best peer crosser in the league. So I think this is a really sick get for Columbus when you look at the rest of their roster. You know, you already got Zella Rayon, who's one of the best number 10s in the league and
00:57:45
Speaker
Kucho who's a really good number nine and Kucho's having kind of a weird year where he's just racking up a ton of assists Yeah, and not scoring as many goals, but I think with a player like Gressel now on On Columbus like that's gonna be a boom for for Kucho because Gressel's service is so good He mean he lays down a dime every time he sends it in from out wide so
00:58:11
Speaker
Yeah, they could they should have they should have traded progressive but
00:58:18
Speaker
What are Vancouver cooking? Well, OK, so they had to trade him because he was going to be a free agent after this year. And he said that he wanted to go back to the East Coast for like family reasons. That's where his family is at. So they either had to trade him or they were going to lose him for nothing. So I mean, they they were in a in a bind where they pretty much had to do it. But it is unfortunate for them because he was playing really well for them.
00:58:44
Speaker
Yeah, they they played the whitecaps have played some decent ball this year, you know, they're in seventh And so this is gonna make it Quite a bit harder for them I think a lot of the reason they were having such a good year was because of Julian Gressel I think I probably him in Scottish Mercy combining. Yes. Yeah
00:59:02
Speaker
And like they had been Vinnie had been Vinnie Sartini had been doing some fun stuff with him. He had been moving him around playing him as an eight a little bit like he's known as a wingback and that's probably what he's going to be end up playing in Columbus. But he was pretty nasty with it as an eight to it kind of gave him.
00:59:21
Speaker
There's like more dimensions to his game with you playing there than it is with him as a wingback So I don't know maybe Wilford Nancy will do similar stuff with him but either way that's a good get for Columbus and I think that gives them a little boost in the East there, and they're in six right now, but honestly Columbus
00:59:41
Speaker
They have a good team. They have a good they're a good team. They're better than six in my opinion. Well, and also the East is just To be honest a harder conference this year. It's a lot. It's it's crazy to look at how much better the East is than the West. Yeah Yeah, I mean that's another reason why I don't think that inner Miami are gonna be able to make it back up the table there I mean the thing is like
01:00:05
Speaker
you know the top six to seven spots in the east are pretty strong yeah but as far as inner Miami make it a run for the eight or nine spot like I could see that happening like a wild card that's not I think it's gonna depend if they make a league's cup run or not because I think if you make a league's cup run
01:00:25
Speaker
How gas do you gonna be for yeah, there's that and they're all dude. They're in such a big hole. Yeah, they're bad They're 5 14 and 3 yeah last place in the entire league. Yeah, I have the fewest points in the entire league. Yeah, so They basically can't drop any points
01:00:43
Speaker
They have to they're they're in that 2016 Seattle situation where they got to win every game yeah, so We'll see what happens with that, but anyway good move for the crew I think that makes them Even more of a contender when they are then they already were and I already kind of looked at them as one of the stronger sides in the east
Upcoming Seahawks Coverage
01:01:08
Speaker
Before we get out of here, I did want to say we're going to be kicking off Seahawks coverage here on Lovin' Scorchers pretty soon. I had at least one person actually ask me about that, which I found surprising, but I really appreciate it because I'm glad that at least someone out there actually wants to hear my takes on that. But I am planning on getting us started.
01:01:31
Speaker
on that and really the only reason I haven't yet is it's just we're at the point in the NFL offseason where just there's absolutely nothing going on and it's at that point where people are just reaching for storylines and content and I'm just like I don't even know what I would say about that. I googled it
01:01:51
Speaker
See what was going on with the team the other day to see if there's anything worth talking about before training camp They got new jerseys. Yeah, so okay. Yeah, we'll talk about that. We'll talk about that. Yeah, but um The only the only articles that came up where it was like DK Metcalf Talking about how his diet is all skittles and gumdrops and stuff like he just eats like a ton of candy That's fine. You know it's fire, but I don't really have I mean I guess I'm kind of surprised that DK can eat like that and still be as an elite and
01:02:20
Speaker
Physical specimen as he is but like I don't really have takes on the candy that DK is eating But that is one thing that did happen no, it's a good point They put those throwback jerseys out
01:02:37
Speaker
heaters. Oh my God. Those are the sickest football jerseys I've ever seen. Like they look so good that that shade of blue and I'm, I'm, I'm probably going to buy one and I'm pretty pissed that they're only wearing them for one game. They should wear those for like two games. Okay. Two games, two games reported right now. That's, that's better. We're one away at Dallas and then that home game randomly, like towards the end of the season. Okay. Okay. Well, uh, I mean, I don't just wear them for like four or five. People love them.
01:03:04
Speaker
like where I'm wearing is the primary. Yeah, I bring them back. That's a shit. That's what they do if it was MLS. Yeah. They're fire. Yeah, they're sick.
01:03:19
Speaker
Anyway, so we're going to be jumping into Hawks soon. Training camp is starting. It's an exciting season for the Seahawks. And I'm really pumped up to get back into that scene. I've been out of that scene for a long time now. So and you know, sounder season is kind of dragging right now. So I'm definitely excited to have like a.
01:03:40
Speaker
New season, fresh start, building from scratch. It's exciting times for the Hawks anyway. They're expected to be pretty good this year, so pumped up to get into that.
01:03:55
Speaker
I think we were going to call it right there for episode 13 of Lobbing Scorchers. This was a Titanic one, but we had to do this makeup episode and there was just so much going on this week. We didn't even fucking talk about the All-Star game. I totally forgot about the MLS All-Stars. Should we just pop it real quick?
01:04:11
Speaker
getting boat race five zero by Arsenal I mean yeah there's not that much to know about it other than that Arsenal Arsenal bammed on our all-star team I mean I don't really care it's it's an all-star game it's an exhibition it's not that serious no it doesn't really like you know it doesn't
01:04:29
Speaker
Tell us anything deeper that we already all really was better than I'm already knew that the Premier League was better than MLS and There's also I mean, you know if you look at the history of the games we've played Again against these European teams in the all-star game. We usually don't actually get boat raced like that badly because
01:04:53
Speaker
The thing is, both teams are kind of in a disadvantage in that format, which is that the European team is in pre-season and they're tuning up, so they're not really fully fit. But the MLS All-Star team, they've literally been training together for two days. So it usually is not a super...
01:05:15
Speaker
Super pretty game from that standpoint. Yeah, I think we need to go back to or go back to I don't know if they ever did it but West versus East I Don't know if they ever did that but I don't think they haven't for at least not for many many years but I I mean I get why they don't do it like that just because You know that has pull for like sickos like you and me and people who listen to this show
01:05:37
Speaker
Yeah, but like the thing about having it be a team like Arsenal or Real Madrid or Bayern Munich or Chelsea we've played all these teams in the past is it's like there's so many people in the US that follow the EPL and the Bundesliga and those big clubs like that that don't follow MLS and
01:05:54
Speaker
So, theoretically, it's a way to get those people, like, watching the game, going to the game, and then maybe, you know, they'll want to start following MOS, like, through that. I don't know if it's actually worked like that, but that's probably what the logic is. Yeah, let's see the conversion rates on those. I mean, I don't know. I'm just saying that's probably what the line of thought is.
01:06:20
Speaker
East versus West like I would get into that yeah, like is like is a casual is more casual fan like gonna get into that if Messi's playing True, I mean you know, but yeah, he's got to make the all-star team first. That's true. No you got to do we do it like the NBA you do it like Captain Messi and Who would be on the West Captain Vela or Captain? Yeah, sure. Yes
01:06:42
Speaker
But yeah, I don't know we've uh, we've historically not getting caught and worked that bad. That was the worst Yeah, I was pretty embarrassing. It was a little bit but You know, I wouldn't you know, you know, there's a year I remember in 2014. That was the first year I I was covering the all-star game and we beat like we like beat Bayern Munich that year and
01:07:05
Speaker
I wasn't out there saying, oh, this means MLS is as good as the Bundesliga. Everyone should already know about whatever quality gap that there is between MLS and the EPL, man. That's not news.
01:07:25
Speaker
Anyway, it was a it was Arsenal's goals were really sick the first two goals that they scored Gabriel Jesus had a really good one and then I can't remember the guy who scored the second one, but the second one was a Really really sick goal. So they bammed on us pretty good. But you know, I enjoyed watching that for the quality of the goals. I
01:07:47
Speaker
All right. I think that's good on the all-star. Yeah. Totally, totally forgot about that. But it's probably a good reason. It's probably a good thing. Just like this Sanders game. Let it, let it pass your memory. All right. That'll do it for episode of 13 for a lobbying score. Thank you all so much for the patience this week. Thank you for tuning back in. Thank you for continuing to tune in. We really appreciate all the support, uh, like subscribe, rate us five stars, do all that good stuff and share with Leo.
01:08:17
Speaker
Share with Leo Messi, tell your friends, tell your parents. We'll see you again on episode 14. Until then, we out. Peace.