We're a couple of soccer fans who grew up playing the game in New Jersey at a time when the state was producing players for the U.S. National Team like it was its job. Players like Tab Ramos, John Harkes, Tony Meola, etc. We didn't even come close to following in their footsteps, but we still love the "Beautiful Game" all the same. The idea for this blog is to provide a place for conversation abou
t soccer with friends, both old and new. A little about Barry and Brackie:
Sometime around middle school we played on a summer select team. Having shared our love of the middle school mullet and probably our parents’ dread of taking us everywhere, we grew to be good friends both on and off the field. We only lost track of each other for a few years after college, but then re-connected and our friendship picked up right where it left off quoting movie lines and talking soccer. The only thing missing (sadly) was our mullets. Stymied about 25 years ago in our attempt to make it to England in a rubber dingy (not recommended), the winter of 2012 finally saw us fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing live Barclay’s Premier League games and visiting stadiums in England. We saw Manchester United vs. Newcastle at the Theatre of Dreams on Boxing Day, Stoke vs. Southampton at the Britannia, Everton vs. Chelsea at Goodison Park (where we literally bumped into Phil Neville in the hallway before the match), and Spurs vs. Reading on New Year’s Day at White Hart Lane. We also took tours of Old Trafford, Etihad Stadium, Anfield, White Hart Lane, and visited Emirates Stadium and Stamford Bridge. We love the game, and our friends love the game. So we thought we would keep the conversation going about the game. We can credit our parents for bringing us to Giants Stadium to watch the NY Cosmos: 70,000 fans for a regular season game at Giants Stadium was awesome, even if we were very young. Bugs Bunny throwing out mini-balls, Chinaglia scoring goals, Bogie, Esky, Birkenmeier, and don’t forget the NY Cosmos chant! Can you smell the turf? As mentioned, our goal is to keep the conversation going. We aren’t professionals, and we are not here to say we are better than anyone (we certainly are not). However, we are about keeping the game a big part of our lives even after our playing days are long gone! About Barry:
I'm a U.S. National Team and Tottenham Hotspur supporter. I grew up going to New York Cosmos games and wore #13 on almost every team I ever played for because Johan Neeskens would come out and tailgate with my parents after Cosmos games. I’m a big proponent of Major League Soccer and how it has advanced the game here but I just haven’t been able to develop any emotional attachment to a team because I've always held out hope that the Cosmos would come back to play at the highest level here in the U.S. one day. That's looking less and less likely now with the advent of New York City F.C., but one can always dream. Also, I played on a team out of Westfield, NJ for about ten years after high school pretty much just to spite Brackie since they were his main rivals in high school. Finally, if Brackie’s Manchester United are able to pry Gareth Bale away from Spurs, this blog will officially be closed due to “creative differences” between Brackie and I. About Brackie:
I am a U.S. National Team and Manchester United supporter, but put a game in front of me and I will watch. I think if you ask me where I picked up the love of the game, I would also have to say it was from my parents taking me to NY Cosmos games. I grew up a few towns away from Barry in Scotch Plains, NJ. Like everyone else at the time, I watched the great players from NJ: Harkes, Meola, Ramos, and Claudio Reyna to name only a few. But I can truly say the players I admired the most are the ones that came before me in my hometown, many of which are still major contributors to the game at various levels. In the "corporate" world now, my past experiences have included the opportunity to be a college assistant coach, and work in the front office at a professional USL2 team, and I have been grateful for these experiences. In terms of Barry and that team from Westfield, ask him what happened to his wiffle ball title last time he wore a Westfield top during our annual tournament! We really hope you enjoy our blog. You can sign up for email alerts for when new blog entries are posted on the right hand side of the blog's homepage. Thanks a lot for stopping by! Peace,
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