Golden Boy Wondo Gets 3, USA Beats Belize

Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too! 

The U.S. Men's National Team opened their 2013 Gold Cup with a powerful 6 goal blowout over Belize Tuesday night in Portland. Chris Wondolowski, the 30 year-old striker from the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS gets a hat trick in the first half, Landon Donovan scores another goal on a penalty kick goal and gets 2 assists and this Gold Cup squad after 2 games together looks like they've gelled. Despite his age, Wondolowski is a relative newcomer to the MNT. He has about 13 caps since 2011 and now has scored all of his 4 goals in the past two games. The name on his jersey was spelled wrong... U.S. Soccer added an extra "W... Wondowlowski" Let's go to Chip for some Gold Cup analysis...

So, how do you spell Wondolowski.... Wondolowskie... Wondowlowski.... I spell it  GOALS! 6 goals in back to back games for the USA is an encouraging sign! The players are making it tough on Jurgen to pick his WC roster. Someone is inevitably going to be left off the team that should have a chance. We will have to see how the rest of the Gold Cup plays out and see if Jurgen tinkers with the lineup again in Sept. and Oct. Landon is still producing, so that adds pressure too. Pressure is a good thing. The caliber of teams in Gold Cup are not great, but as Danny pointed out any team can be dangerous on any given day. See you in Salt Lake this Saturday.

That's right! Chip is right down the road from The Rio Tinto stadium where the U.S. MNT beat Honduras in their last World Cup qualifier last month. The temperature was almost 90 degrees for the 7pm start. What is it going to be this Saturday for the 1:30pm kick off? Hey supporters... remember to drink plenty of water! We need you for a full 90 minutes!

Yes, Jurgen is going to have some tough decisions to make. Hercules Gomez and Oguchi Onyewu each sat on the bench and their replacements both scored. It will be good to have deep talent when we go into the World Cup. Between yellow card suspensions, injuries and slumps, we'll need several players who can step up and put the ball in the net. 

Interesting tidbit I discovered at ussoccer.com  ... Chris Wondolowski is half Native American (I'm guessing the Wondolowski name is Polish.) His tribal name translates to "Warrior Coming Over The Hill." Well at 30 years-old he is coming over the hill and if he keeps battling like this for a spot on the World Cup roster, he's going to be a victorious warrior!

Go USA... Beat Cuba!

Gold Cup Preview- Belize

Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too!

Tonight, July 9, 2013 USA vs. Belize JELD-WEN Field, Portland, Oregon 8pm PST
Game 1 of The Gold Cup for the U.S.

The Gold Cup has already had it's share of upsets and the U.S. wants to make sure they don't fall in their opening game to a weaker team like our neighbors to the North and South did. Canada and Mexico are both 0-1-0 in group play. The U.S. has Belize tonight, Cuba on the 13th and Costa Rica on the 16th. Costa Rica might be the only team that gives them a fight in their group, but we've learned every opponent can be dangerous in this tournament.

This is not our World Cup team, but we will definitely see some of these players in our last four World Cup Qualifiers and probably on next summer's World Cup team. Everyone seems to think that Landon Donovan will be on that squad. Another blast from the past, Oguchi Onyewu is back and trying to make the World Cup squad on the back line and Hercules Gomez is back up front after recovering from his injury.

This same lineup beat Guatemala 6-0 in a friendly in San Diego on Friday. It was interesting to see the Yanks bring out the "Where's Waldo" red and white striped kits. I thought those were going to be retired forever. I thought they would play all season in the simple Centennial all-white or white and blue kit. I don't know where Chip is tonight, but if he was here, I know he would have SOMETHING to say about DaMarcus Beasley being named captain of The Gold Squad team! Well, it's almost time for the game. Hopefully we'll hear what Chip thinks about what's going on the Gold Cup.

Go USA!    

MNT vs. BLZ | 07/09/2013 | 8 p.m. PT | JELD-WEN Field; Portland, Ore. - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/#sthash.SleTX30q.dpuf

MNT vs. BLZ | 07/09/2013 | 8 p.m. PT | JELD-WEN Field; Portland, Ore. - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/#sthash.SleTX30q.dpuf

U.S vs Honduras- The Fan Experience

Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too!

Happy 4th of July- This is OUR HOLIDAY! Hooray for The Red, White and Blue, Brother! Here's our recap of our fan experience attending the U.S. vs. Honduras World Cup Qualifier.

A great time was had by The Red White and Blues Brothers as Chip and I saw our first game together in 2013. Chip is living in Salt Lake City so I flew out from Chicago for 3 days of Fun, Food and Football. In 2009, Chip saw his first U.S. game, which was also our first U.S. game together. Ironically, it was USA vs. Honduras and a World Cup Qualifier for the 2010 World Cup. The game in 2009 took us by surprise. U.S. fans are used to being in the minority when we play Mexico in big American cities like Chicago or LA, but when we showed up to Soldier Field in Chicago, we were shocked to see Honduras fans were in the overwhelming majority. To make things even harder for us, our U.S. Supporter section was divided between the 100 and 300 level with Honduras fans filling up the 200 level.

Yeah, well if it was MY FIRST game ever, then it stands to reason it was OUR FIRST game together too... seems a bit redundant Danny. Not necessarily! What if I wasn’t there? It is possible you could have gone to the game without me... you wouldn't do that though... would you?   Hmmm, Yes, I think I probably would! I do remember that game well and was shocked to see so many Honduran fans at the game. I thought USA soccer had come farther than that, but apparently not yet. It was still an electrifying game for me, being my first time and just being in the atmosphere of it all.

This was going to be a much different situation. Playing in the intimate Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake’s soccer specific stadium was chosen because we would have the home field advantage with a pro-U.S. crowd. The capacity is listed at just over 20,000 and it sold out within a few days.
The game in Chicago had 55,000 mostly Honduran fans.

Once again we were surprised to see large groups of fans wearing the blue and white of Honduras.  I think it was still a pro-U.S. crowd but Honduras was definitely well-represented.

Different is certainly putting it mildly Danny. I would almost prefer to have had more Honduran fans there to be honest. It would have made for a more exciting crowd (I said almost!) I would say our crowd was about 70% American. On one hand it was good to see more Americans at the game, but on the other hand Americans sure are sedate when it comes to soccer! I mean, let's see... Danny brought a drum to the game and there was only ONE other drum in the whole stadium!! (Actually, a few Honduras fans had drums but we only had two in the U.S. Supporter Section) AND that one came from Iowa for God's sake! Come on Utah! If you want more USA games in Salt Lake, I suggest getting a little more positive energy in the stadium. The only time the crowd really got going was when a Honduran player went down and the crowd chanted "let him die". To be honest I was a bit disgusted by it. I know players dive and stuff and pretend they are in agony, but using our energy to antagonize that AND to even suggest someone should die for it is appalling to me. Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately, too often the passionate fans have hatred towards the other players, the other fans and the other team. Many U.S. Supporters have a great sense of humor and they are super-clever. I like when we use playful humor in our chants and songs. Too many of them are negative and derogatory. The Red, White and Blues Brothers stand for unity through soccer and good sportsmanship. We have a blast interacting with the other team’s supporters before and after the games. We take pictures and drum and dance with them. It truly can be an international party. In 20 years of attending national team games, I can only recall one negative experience where a drunk Mexican fan stole my Uncle Sam hat after a game in Houston.  Can't we be loud and boisterous in a POSITIVE way to lift our team up and give them energy to help them win the game?! That is what a "12th man" is for in my opinion. And before all the feminists jump in, let me point out it was a Men's National Team game. If the women were playing, then it would be called a "12th woman". Whew, I could hear the wrath coming already on that one!

With that being said. I really did have a great time at the game, as I always do with Danny. I only wish we could have more passion in our country for the MNT. Danny and I went around the stadium after the game with Danny's drum and we had more Honduran fans dancing with us than American fans. I had to double check the scoreboard to make sure I didn't miss something and wondered if Honduras actually won the game. I hope tons of Americans go to Brazil and get to see and feel their passion for the game! Danny and I went there to experience it and it is a trip I will never forget. Especially since we wrote a book on it. Check it out at http://www.fieldsofpassion.net  We danced more in Brazil than I have danced in my lifetime. So go out and dance America! It is fun!

For the past year, U.S. Soccer has really become fan-friendly. Last May they started having a training session open to the public a day or two before the game. Recently, they started holding a pep rally the night before the game. Chip and I went down to the rally and were quite pleased. It was held in a medium-sized music venue. They played great videos on the big screen and had Q & A sessions with U.S. Soccer Federation president, Sunil Gulati, , former U.S. great Eddie Pope, current U.S. players Eddie Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Nick Rimando and coach Jurgen Klinsmann.  What a unique experience… and it was free!  

Yes, I really enjoyed the pep rally, Danny. I came away impressed with Jurgen and I feel he just might be the right guy for the job actually. I may not have said that a ear ago. My only regret is I didn’t step up to the microphone to pepper Jurgen about his substitution selections and his thought process in it all. Next time perhaps. Maybe that’s a good thing. If you got going they might have called Security and have you removed!

After the rally we helped out a TV reporter by being his colorful and cheering backdrop during his live remote. On Tuesday-game day we ran around getting last minute additions to our Red White and Blues Brothers uniforms and I needed some supplies for my sign I was making. Since the game was being broadcast on a jumbo-tron screen back home in Chicago’s Grant Park I made a sign that said, “MAKE SOME NOISE CHICAGO!” I know the cameraman filmed it more than once, but I didn’t hear from anyone who saw the sign on the air.



You can see all our other photos on our online photo album HERE

We also filmed scenes from my Castrol Correspondent video. The video was good enough to get me in the top semi-final round.  You can watch it and vote once a day from this link:
https://www.facebook.com/castrolusa?sk=app_362434780537080&app_data 

Thanks and Let's Go USA!

Honduras Recap

Hi! We’re the Red, White and Blues Brothers and this is our color-coded U.S. Soccer blog. Chip writes in red and Danny writes in blue. We cheer for the U.S. and you better too!

On June 18, the Red White and Blues Brothers attended the U.S vs. Honduras World Cup Qualifier in Salt Lake City where the Yanks came up victorious 1-0 to that pesky Honduras team.  Now let's go to Chip with the game recap...  

A win is a win they say. It was a big win for the USA MNT for sure and it solidifies us as a team to be reckoned with. However, we still have a long way to go to be ready to WIN a World Cup. Keep in mind my review is from ground level BEHIND the goal which is a little different perspective than watching on TV. 

It felt like we had little or no flow in the game. Bradley controlled the midfield as usual, but other than that if felt like we were kicking the ball around a bit. We did play nice defensively in my opinion. Honduras only had one or two real chances at goals. Tim Howard stepped up both times as expected. And not to pat myself on the back, but it does reinforce my belief that Beasley needs to be used as a midfield substitution (instead of Castillo) and not as a starting defender. I guess we will see how Jurgen feels come September. I don't think we need to wait that long. The Beas was just appointed Captain of the U.S. squad during the Gold Cup for the month of July! Our offense did have some superb attacks and we could have had 2 or even 3 goals with a little luck or a little NO OFFSIDE call. (Minutes before the U.S. scored their real goal, a U.S. goal was waved off with a controversial-for-us offside call.) Jozy (Altidore) came thru once again and Clint (Dempsey) was a bit unlucky not to head one in. Unlucky? It was beyond that. It was surreal! I’ve never seen anything like it. Dempsey hit a nice full-extension header that went off the post and it bounced back directly over his diving body. If he was able to bend his leg up he might have scored the most amazing forward-heel shots ever scored!  Bradley even had his opportunity to score, but it sailed just over the crossbar. Overall it was nice to see the attacking mindset. I still wish we could do it with a little more fluidity and I wish we could counterattack better.  Counterattacks are some of the most dangerous plays in soccer, and Honduras almost proved that on Tuesday night. Luckily they had a miss dribble to ruin one and a misfire to ruin another. Our counterattacks look like we are setting up for a tea party or something... We are not the British National Team, we are the US Men's National Team!!

I feel Graham Zusi is one of the most under appreciated players on our team. Well I appreciate him if that helps. Why does Jurgen always sub for him? I need to know these things. Now, I was really impressed with the way Brad Davis played when he came in for Zusi, but what if Zusi stayed in and Davis came in for Eddie Johnson? That might just be dynamic! In an earlier post I had mentioned Eddie might be in top form since he scored a couple of goals and yes he scored against Panama in Seattle, but I retract that statement. He hasn't impressed me much personally.

Again, overall I am pleased with our progress and look forward to seeing how we improve over the next few months and into next summer. Danny and I will be in Columbus to see the HUGE game against Mexico. Come on out and meet and greet with us!

I almost say here that it didn't help that the officials insisted on taking away all the streamers that the fans were throwing towards the field and the goal. Don't they watch any soccer games in Europe or Brazil? There are always streamers along the field and the goal. It seemed to take away some of the enthusiasm from the crowd and it showed how little America really knows about the passion and fun of the game.

Wow, I’m glad you ALMOST said that, because if you really said that, it might be taken a little harsh!

Read about our fan experience in the next blog and as we get ready for the Gold Cup... Let's Go USA!