The Soccer Thread (Version 12) — Revenge of the Backup GK

Door might be frozen.

Not quite the memory that I have from Snowmageddon (Costa Rica in Denver). (At least two members of that sports desk who weren't big on soccer stopped by my TV in my spot to watch.) Think Honduras will hold this against the U.S. in a similar to the Ticos?

 

Send me. You can have the match in the middle of a summer afternoon when it's 100 degrees. Will trade ... every time.

 

The match should have been played in warm weather with 50k fans.

 

I'm really late to the game on this, but if there is one thing that bothers me about soccer it is the random stoppage times. Then they go and put a minute on the first half. There was a goal review and the double yellow card alone, but only a minute? What's even the point? I guess because it was cold!

 

There was one game played about 10 years ago in Colorado in an absolute blizzard.

EDIT: This must be the one @Sam Mills 51 was referencing.

 

The thing is, the Snow Clasico was played in 28-degree weather in Colorado in March — March 22, 2013, to be exact. Snowy, yes, but sometimes that happens in March and April (and even May) in Denver, although it wouldn’t necessarily have been expected. A typical night at that time of year in Colorado could see a kickoff temperature anywhere between 30 and 50 degrees, and the average temperature at any point in the day on March 22 is 43. It was reasonable to expect chilly, but benign, conditions nine years ago. There was no expectation of a comfortable night on Groundhog Day in St. Paul, not when the average temperature at any point on Feb. 2 is 17 degrees. If the temperature were 20 degrees for an evening kickoff, it would be considered miraculous. There is no reason this match should have happened in St. Paul. There are any number of cool-and-cold-weather cities where it could have been played ensuring that the weather would be a factor — Cincinnati, Cleveland, Portland, Nashville, Philadelphia, Washington, etc. — but not to the point of actual danger for the players. But this is U.S. Soccer we’re talking about; rarely has a sporting organization been in more dire need of a HAZMAT team than this.

 

As a Minnesota resident (current temperature, -8), I'm kind of annoyed by the near-constant bitching the soccer media has been doing for days about this fixture. I'll be the first to admit that doing this outside at night in February in St. Paul doesn't make a lot of sense. My hypothesis is they really wanted to put some qualifier at Allianz, but they decided to put the Mexico game in Cincinnati and this was a crappy consolation prize. I think a lot of people's arguments crossed a line here.

The US didn't artificially create this environment. My neighbors and I have to put up with this shit every day this time of year. Shoveling snow, going to the store, waiting for the school bus. It is just as American an environment as anywhere else. In 1994, we made Dennis Bergkamp and Cafu play a World Cup quarterfinal in the Cotton Bowl at 2:30 in the afternoon in Dallas in July. They put the Republic of Ireland in a group based in Orlando. Jack Charlton's face turned colors that haven't been invented yet. He probably Sean Miller'ed his way through three shirts a match. So if you say it's too cold to have a qualifier outside in the winter here, you'd better hold places like DC, St. Louis, Texas, etc. to that same standard.

That's not to mention the badly-lit rickety stadiums in Mazatenango and other Central American metropolises. If you don't like the cold, add some layers. It's a little harder to dress for having bags of piss thrown at you. I'm mad because I don't think US Soccer put Allianz and Minnesota in a good light but I also don't like the entire continent viewing where I live as a frozen hellhole.

 

Goal of the year.

 

That absolutely looks like a FIFA glitch.