A championship for a professional team, no matter the sport, isn’t complete without the victory parade that follows. Recently, the Kansas City Chiefs had an underwhelming turnout for their Super Bowl party, but how did it compare with other victory parades? The only way to find out is to compare Super Bowl vs. Champions League celebrations.
On Wednesday, the Chiefs celebrated their Super Bowl 54 title in front of, well, some fans.
As we grow older, we find less and less time to play the sport we grew up loving so dearly. No longer do we play soccer five to seven days a week as we did in our youth. Hell, finding time to play once a month is hard enough.
But still we reminisce about the days of yore, when weeknights were filled with going to practice or playing pick-up games at the park and weekends were loaded with games and tournaments.
Ahh soccer. Yes, soccer. Not football, but soccer. American soccer.
Americans who follow the world’s game have it tougher than footie fans just about anywhere else on the planet. In the U.S., soccer isn’t the most popular sport — it’s not even in the top four — providing unique challenges to those who love the beautiful game.
But American soccer fans persist, because our love for the game is greater than any annoyance.
Here are 11 most annoying things about being an American soccer fan:
Southampton’s social media team will be hearing none of it as the club gears up for Leicester City this weekend in the Premier League. The Saints would prefer to adhere to the saying “the past is in the past.”
The last time they encountered the Foxes back in October, it was a rainy and dreary 9-0 defeat in front of their home supporters at St. Mary’s Stadium. Not only was the loss humiliating, but Southampton “earned” the title for joint-largest margin of defeat in a Premier League game alongside Ispwich Town.
When his side slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in 2014, then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho produced one of the great memes of recent memory speaking in the mixed zone after the game. When pressed on the impact of two red cards produced by referee Chris Foy had on his side, Mourinho famously said "I prefer not to speak ... if I speak I am in big trouble, and I don't want to be in big trouble".
Rewind about five years and you'll find a name on the USMNT that most people have forgotten about: Aron Johannsson. People were excited about his potential and what the then 24-year-old could bring to the national team after scoring 17 goals and picking up 16 assists for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie.
Since that season, Johannsson has struggled with injuries and has barely seen the field, not only taking him off the pitch but also off the USMNT, where he scored four goals in 19 appearances.
Most Major League Soccer teams have been busy negotiating contracts and striking deals across the league . . . but not D.C. United.
Instead, this MLS original has decided to assign every MLS team a type of candy, and well, it's pretty amusing.
Here are some of the best:
As part of MLS Rivalry Week, the Portland Timbers hosted the Seattle Sounders in not only an important match in terms of the playoff race, but the winner also took home the regional Cascadia Cup.
The Sounders put together one of their best performances of the season, winning 2-1. While the Timbers had bright moments, Seattle was dominant throughout the match. Jordan Morris, in particular, seemed unstoppable on the right wing, using Portland left back Zarek Valentin more as a training cone than an opposing player.
Although the Premier League kicked off this weekend and demands our undivided attention, I think you’ll be pleased to see a couple things outside of Pep Guardiola spending $1 billion on assorted full backs. I give you two videos unashamedly taken from r/soccer.
If you don’t know, r/soccer is a sort of void that begins in the pit of your stomach before lodging at the back of your throat — it’s the ultimate representation of what it means to see fear in a handful of dust. It’s like Twitter in that respect.
Oh no.
How did we get here? Why are there horoscopes on the hallowed pages of The18.com? Why aren’t there more extremely interesting transfer mongerings like the ones over at ESPN FC? (Sources: Man Utd pray Dybala arrives in transfer exchange for Phil Jones . . . Sources: Coutinho rejects Tottenham and mind-body dualism . . . Sources: We don't have any sources.)
These astrological signs better at least be rooted in scientific fact, The18, or I’m going batshit crazy in the comments section. You're not ready to feel the wrath of my keyboard.