the original winger

Back in the time of html and soccerboards.com I developed an affinity for Brian Dunseth. Okay, if I'm going to admit some stuff I might as well admit it all and start from the very beginning. I used to be a New England Revolution fan. Gasp! Shock! The horror! I know. Given everything that's happened in the past ten years between the Revs and my now beloved Chicago Fire I can't I'm believe I'm admitting this in a public forum. (although, if you knew me on bigsoccer, my user name kind of gave my former allegiance away) But you have to remember, there was a point in time when the Chicago Fire didn't exist and I had to find a team to root for. I hate to think about those dark ages, too, but they really did exist. My New England fandom came from my obsession with Boston when I was in high school. I really thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there. Wow, I'm glad that dream never came true(Celtics? Red Sox? YUCK). But yeah, I used to totally love them.

What does this have to do with Brian Dunseth and why am I bringing it up on a Friday night? Well, probably on a boring Friday night similar to this one (in my defense I just worked a full day, went out for drinks with the coworkers and made a stop at Target with the boyfriend so the evening wasn't a complete waste) I made a website for Brian Dunseth. Yep, I was THAT cool. It was basic html at it's finest! It was full of pictures and useless info and all sorts of crap. If I had to pick a few words to describe it those words would be OUT OF CONTROL. I don't know why I picked Brian Dunseth to make a website for, okay I thought he was hot, but it's come to haunt me ever since.

First, everytime Brian Dunseth is on FSC The Boyfriend likes to look at me and laugh thinking about the website, he doesn't even have to say anything. I then like to kick him in the face. It's a fun exchange. Second, it was actually brought up to ol Brian a few years ago during an interview with 90 minutes magazine. My bio page was quoted and everything. I would have remained blissfully unaware of this but a friend in Salt Lake, who is actually friends with Brian, found the need to point it out to me. Cringe and cringe.

Again, why do I bring this up? Due to my five minute love affair with him being documented on the internet forever and ever I've kind of kept an eye on his career. I have to say, Brian Dunseth is like on a one man mission to make soccer cool and acceptable in America. Between his clothing company, blog and day job dude is really trying to represent the sport we all love on all levels. It's like every where I turn someone's giving him love over one of his sweet tees or linking to his blog. After journeying throughout the MLS he's having an even bigger influence on the game in America. As a soccer fan all you want to do is convince everyone you encounter how much you love the game and how they should love it too. The difference between him and myself (and there are plenty. heh) is that people actually listen to him. He has a great influence on the game and despite all the crap I've taken over the years for that stupid website I couldn't think of a better guy to have given props to.

All of this was really just to link to this great post from Chivas USA's Justin Braun about his turn from college student to pro athlete. It's just refreshing to hear one of the young guys talk about how amazing of an opportunity it is to get his foot in MLS instead of justifiably bitching about how little he's getting paid.

donde esta el guzano??

Does this guy look familiar? For the past two years I watched this dude mimic a brick wall. PK's...he would stop them. Thinking about winning at the HDC...not if el Guzano could help it. I had been hyping him the entire 2007 season saying Timmy Howard better watch his step. For the first part of the EPL season had had been rumored to go to Arsenal and I wasn't surprised. I figured it was due time for my boy to show his stuff on an international stage. Then came January and he almost sealed the deal. It would have been a great opportunity for him at Aston Villa. He went to England to finalize the deal, and the large transfer fee, but it just wasn't meant to be. Stupid work permit got in his way. Oh well, he knew the interest was there and I was beyond certain he wouldn't be around in August when I make my way out to LA for the final Superclasico of the season.

Then the 2008 season started and, well, he's not exactly looking like a guy who is ready to move onto the biggest stage of his career. With his 2.00 GAA, which statistically puts him as the third worst goalkeeper in the league behind Toronto's Greg Sutton and LA's Steve Cronin, he's looking pretty pathetic. Is this his sophomore slump a year late? Are his bags already packed for what, supposibly, lies ahead this summer? I'm not sure what it is but he quite literally doesn't look like he's involved with these games at all. I didn't catch much of the Chivas/Dallas game this past weekend but I saw all of the misery that was the Crew/Chivas game two weekends ago. He looked lost. He looked like he had forgotten everything that was involved with being a goalkeeper. He just didn't look like he was into the game at all. Sure it's still early in the season, but you've got to wonder where his head is at? He knew, well before the preseason started, that he was coming back to Chivas. Him coming back to Chivas had nothing to do with his talent or ability, he just couldn't get his work permit this time around. Now it's like all of his confidence has been taken from him.

I like too many crap teams that I don't need to follow a crap goalkeeper around his entire career so I'm giving him one more game to save himself. He needs to deliver a clean sheet during the Superclasico this weekend or else it's over for Brad and me. I hate to be that way but I have plenty of things to consider, like my fantasy team. Thankfully with the fantasy game on ESPN they don't really take away points when your goalkeeper gives up ridiculously easy goals that they should have saved and would have saved a few months ago, otherwise my team would be sitting in the basement. It's time for some tough love for Brad. You've got to pull yourself together!

This is one of the many reasons I'm looking forward to the first Superclasico of the season!

god bless mother nature, she's a single woman too!

Originally I had wanted this blog to kind of be my journey into the EPL world. I didn't lose interest in the EPL world, but I started a job where I worked Saturday morning and therefore couldn't sit at the bar all morning watching EPL games. Kind of took all the fun away from it. Besides, now following the EPL isn't really fun, it's depressing. Relegation is fun when you know you can get yourself out of the bottom three. Fulham has officially been lumped with Derby as the sure bids for relegation and it's just not something I can think about without getting all verklempt.

David James doesn't really put perspective on the whole relegation thing, he just reminds us how sucky it is. Thanks, that's what the boys need to read Monday morning as reality is setting in.

Anyways, I'm going to use this blog more as a venting spot for all my sports thoughts. There are a lot of them, believe it or not. I've been using my personal journal for that but I figure they deserve a better subject to read about: me. So Let me give you a heads up on what I'll be going off about in the coming weeks(I'm trying to keep my goals low and hope I can keep this going for at least a couple weeks): The Bucks rebuilding, the lack of Chicago Fire offense and Carlos Bocanegra sightings(just not when he gets in a game for once, just all sightings...I'm a bit of a fan.)

I think there is only one thing that can really give you a great idea of the direction this blog is headed and it's this video:



I remember Boxing Day of this year, listening to Jesse Marsch make fun of Ante Razov's "Extra" TV spot where he was looking for a wife. I'm glad this came out now instead of before that conversation because it could have turned ugly. heh.

My ringtone this week has been "It's Raining Men". I can't think of anymore appropriate of a song.

I'll be back with more later, hopefully.