Your Monday Morning Roundup
Good morning, beautiful minions. It's going to be about 7,000 degrees today and there is a 0% chance I leave the air-conditioning.
Sadly, the long-awaited Women's World Cup is over. From a competition standpoint, that was one of the more entertaining games – er, matches – you will ever see: late regulation comeback, late overtime comeback, shootout win by the lesser team. Had the US held onto to its original one-goal lead, Alex Morgan was poised to become our next hot female athlete. Instead, three weeks from now, no one will know who she is… But that's not entirely her fault. She scored a goal and setup Abby Wambach for more spectacular head. It just so happens the team imploded in the shootout. Like Jonathan Broxton imploded, making this Nike "pressure" commercial, which was played just after the tilt ended, a bit ill-timed. Hey, at least the game broke a Twitter record for most Tweets per second- over 7,000.
All of this soccer got me thinking (not unlike every other person in America): Can I become a soccer fan?
I hear the futbol purists pouting at that statement.
I found myself actually enjoying the intricacies of the game, beyond just the spectacle of it all, yesterday. The uninterrupted flow of play for 45 minutes is a dream, it's the antithesis of watching an NBA game that is marred by commercials during key moments. The sport looks good in HD. And the fact that few goals are scored make each exciting.
This happens every few years, though. Last year, after watching four weeks of incredible pitch action, I tried so, so hard to become a Union fan. I made it about three minutes into a match before calling it quits. The talent gap between FIFA and the MLS is enormous and proved too wide to bridge- think trying to go from watching the Eagles to Villanova football. Not happening. Even my uneducated eye could see the vast inferiority of most of the players.
But this year could be different.
The women's game sets the bar significantly lower in terms of speed and skill, perhaps making the transition to MLS possible. So I'll try. I'll go to the Union-Real Madrid match this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. I'll watch the game against Colorado the following Friday. I'll try.
The Union are in first place, the stadium is beautiful, its fans drink a lot, and they have a Chooch. Maybe we're missing out. Who's on board?
Couple of quick notes:
– Quizzo was a success at Drinker's on Thursday. They hold a new one every week. You can see the full schedule here. Don't forget: $1 hot dogs during all Phillies games and $1 Rolling Rock ponies all-day, every day.
– Placido Polanco will be signing autographs at the BC Sports in Exton Square Mall this Saturday from 10:30-12. You can get tickets here. Just watch his back.
– With the dog days of summer approaching, demand for Phillies tickets on the secondary market is significantly less. What does that mean for you? Better seats available at better prices. Support us and get your tickets from Crossing Broad Tickets.
The roundup:
– Budweiser is fucking with your beer. They trademarked "215" in an effort to takeover the local microbrew market.
– A man in a wedding dress ran onto the field in Atlanta. Jayson Werth looked on.
– Oh hey, speaking of Jayson Werth… he was 0-for-5 yesterday and is batting well below .200 since the beginning of June. He's on pace for a historically bad season.
– Bill Lyon, legend, writes about the raw deal new Sixers owner Joshua Harris may have gotten.
– The Flyers aren't bullies anymore.
– Planking it out. Owling is in. Win.
– Tiger's ex-wife is dating another guy who used to bang Rachel Uchitel.
– The Big Lead has Alex Morgan covered top-to-bottom, like chocolate syrup.
– The Phillies could have interest in Carlos Beltran.
– On Google+? So am I. Add me. And once Google allows it, we'll have a Crossing Broad page, too.
