At her height, Mia Hamm was one of the most popular athletes in the United States. Her goal scoring (and sometimes shot stopping) abilities were matched only by her charisma off the pitch, so it was no surprise countless companies flocked to the face of soccer in the U.S. for their own Mia Hamm commercials.
There are two arenas in which professional sports teams succeed: on the field and on social media. As Southampton showed earlier this season, it's possible to win online even after losing on the pitch. A master class Club Brugge tweet at Manchester United ahead of the two sides’ Europa League Round of 32 first leg bout once again showed the power of Twitter.
After the tragedy of losing to Tottenham in last season’s Champions League semifinals was compounded by a heartbreaking exit during this year’s group stage, Ajax’s European odyssey has appropriately descended into comedy after being parachuted into the Europa League Round of 32.
Argentine legend Diego Maradona is fondly remembered for his amazing goals and off-the-wall personality. Sadly, Maradona’s legacy also includes a notorious history of drug use, and while managing his struggling club Gimnasia in a recent Primera División match, Maradona was handed a suspicious small bag.
The coaching staff was then quick to block the view of the camera.
Nashville or Miami? With the start of the 2020 Major League Soccer season right around the corner it’s time to take a closer look at the two new MLS expansion teams. This will absolutely be the most in-depth comparison you could possibly receive for the two new teams in Nashville and Miami.
Harry Maguire of Manchester United decided to give Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi the boot . . . literally. During the first half of the Red Devils-Blues showdown, Maguire kicked Batshuayi where it hurts most.
What did you make of the Harry Maguire/Michy Batshuayi incident earlier in the match? pic.twitter.com/QYg80N9mCQ
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 17, 2020
It used to be a common sight in football, particularly if you had Arsenal on the television and midfield enforcer Patrick Vieira was out there crunching people: a gobshite stain between the nips of players that was actually a hearty application of Vicks VapoRub.
There was a common misconception that the lovely bit of goo was actually mucus, which is a decent enough shout given footballers’ love for blowing delicious snot rockets.
Players change their style all the time — I swear Neymar is on his 10th hairstyle by now. To avoid the mundane, people enjoy switching it up and acquire a new look from time-to-time. Eventually someone won’t even resemble their younger self and that’s what nearly all the players on this list of biggest football player transformations have done.
Tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 12, marks the start of the 40th season of “Survivor.” Still going strong with Jeff Probst and a group of castaways, Survivor has been airing two seasons a year for about 20 years, redefining reality TV, for better or worse.
But what if our favorite American soccer players were cast on Survivor?
After 12 years away from the sphere of youth refereeing, I feel like I can finally come clean. While there’s a lot to like about making officiating your main means of employment throughout high school — namely the fact that you get to be outside while your friends construct thousands of take-and-bake pizzas at Papa Murphy’s — there’s also a fair degree of post-traumatic stress.