USMNT Gives Most CONCACAFY of Performances 🇺🇸🇯🇲

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers numbed by the most CONCACAFY of performances. A night no one laughed a single time about bounce passes. March Madness? This was March Sadness. There is winning. There is ugly winning. Last night, the United States taught us there is also “Sad Winning”. Victory which left a fan base with the unshakeable awareness we had all just stared into the darkness of the abyss and heard it swallow our screams. 

This performance by the best American Men’s squad, individual for individual, we have ever been able to draw upon, against a vastly depleted Jamaica in the Nations League Semi-Final was that unsyncopated, unimaginative, and shorn of coherent tactical ideas. The good news: The Threepeat is still on. In the words of Jim Valvano, survive and advance. Sunday’s final against Mexico now looms, but we made it via thievery at levels known only to Shohei Ohtani’s translator. 

Make no mistake: This Jamaica side was woefully short-handed and reeling before kick off. Their biggest stars, Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey, West Ham’s Michail Antonio, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock, were either injured, suspended, or out for disciplinary reasons. Bailey was attempting to burn down the entire program. Yet they summoned the guile to score – from a throw-in - WITHIN 30 SECONDS as the entire US backline fell to sleep. We then toiled agonizingly, tossing on one attacking substitution after another, like logs onto a fire, as Jamaica retreated into a low block with a ferocious collective spirit we could not dent. 

95 minutes 24 seconds. 

That is how long it took to summon an equalizer. With essentially the last touch of the game. An own goal to boot. By then, the astonished fury of the fans across social media was “Katespiracies” loud. The goal was cruel for the Jamaicans. Former Icelandic-dentist-turned-manager Heimir Hallgrímsson had shaped his squad of largely Championship and League One players into an admirably fearless and resilient unit. That they were done in by their own hand – or head – must have been an agony. And they were gassed in extra-time as life-saving duo Gio Reyna and Haji Wright conjured the incisive creativity and clinicality akin to a Get Out of Jail Free Card. 

Here is what hurts: listening to the US fans who love this game. So many spend hours dreaming of this squad, packed with players we adore – Pulisic! Weston! Pepi! Yunus! Antonee Robinson! Chris Richards! Players who are grinding away at the highest levels of club football come together and make our dreams come true. We broke the game down live on YouTube at the final whistle, and the agony of the fans that called in, post-victory with their dark, dark moods is heartbreaking. This is what football can do to you. The game can make you soar. The game can make you feel alive. It can also leave you feeling bleak, confused, and angry, even in the hour of victory. 

Gregg Berhalter said post-game, "You can see this team hasn't played together for four months, that's pretty clear." A perplexing comment – as that is the very nature of international football – and the core of its difference to the club game. These squads are always going to be fleeting creatures who fly in from all-points, train perhaps twice, and then take the field to represent their nation. It is time we do so with a simple game-plan and a system designed to make the most out of abundant talent we have at our disposal. Let’s field the best players we have – set them up to succeed and thrive. 

We live. We live. Just. Indeed, if we win on Sunday night, history may forget how close we came to true humiliation. We are two years out from the biggest sporting event ever to rock our nation. A World Cup which will hit with the heat of 100 Super Bowls. One in which the profile of the game we love can forever be changed from sea to shining sea. And we are still in need of a defining performance to begin to capture the imagination outside of our football bubble. Sunday, we have another chance to do just that. 

b. Gio Reyna and Haji Wright are Great Americans 🇺🇸🏆

Let us serenade two heroic cameos which coated the agony with a layer of honey, feelgood sweetness. Savor this second: When Gio Reyna charged forward, skipped one way and slipped a disguised pass the other, as if he was The Professor from the And1 Mixtape Tour. The ball was fed to our hottest player. Haji Wright. The 25-year-old Angeleno shimmied to create space then rifled home with aplomb. I am so happy for Gio. Are you watching, Nottingham Forest? That kid – and he is still a kid at 21 years of age – must have felt so redemptive and filled with self-love. Cue Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. After all he has been through with the World Cup trauma, and the subsequent tailspin down the Forest-depth chart, to step up and bail out the United States – to save Gregg Berhalter – is football at Greek epic drama level-narrative. Against Mexico he has to start. Name a player who has earned that more? 

ii. Haji’s Best Week Ever never ends. His arc: Being snubbed from the squad initially despite his 15 goals for Premier League aspiring Coventry. Propelling his club team to an FA Cup at Wembley with this 90 minutes + 10 wonder strike then being called up last-minute as an alternate. Having to charge over to join the US camp and then conjuring two magnificent Reyna-crafted finishes to end Jamaica. Dude only does buzzer beaters. What must he feel right now, after delivering for his club and becoming an icon in their history. Now he has done the same for his nation and… it was magnificent to witness.

c. Huzzah Jamaica. That was a performance for the ages, even in defeat 🇯🇲

That was some performance. Some gameplan. Within a last, last gasp own goal of a historic win that could change the trajectory of the entire organization. Listen to this podcast I taped with their manager, my friend, ex-Iceland coach/dentist Heimir Hallgrímsson who described in unvarnished detail how shoddy the Jamaican Federation and infrastructure are. How raw the skill. How poor the coaching. How deep the streetball potential. This was a Jamaican B-Team, but they were equipped with a collective ferocity and steel and they made the United States sweat, struggle and shake. If I ran an MLS team I would hire Heimir in a heartbeat. Few managers can do more with less. Also – was he rope-a-doping us when he said this before the game?

d. The crowd – or lack of it – was heartbreaking

To watch the United States kick-off before a desolate, near-empty 80,000 seater AT&T Stadium was a symbol of where we find ourselves. There will be reasons given. There are always reasons. But as the game went on, to watch the seats fill up with Mexican fans there to watch their team in the second-half of the double-header, was salt in the wound. The optics are painful. Football has never been more popular in the United States – the Premier League, Champions League, Liga MX and NWSL all breaking viewing figures. Our USMNT should be capturing the imagination of much of this audience. With the World Cup coming, we desperately need to engage the widest possible American sporting fanbase, yet are losing the interest of the diehard faithful. This is a vicious circle and warrants serious and honest conversation about how we got here and what can be done to create change. Quickly. 

e. THIS TEAM NEEDS A NICKNAME FOR THE COPA. VOTE NOW 🇺🇸🦅

One more order of business, last month we asked you to create a nickname which can propel this USMNT to Copa glory. We received thousands of entries that we believe can match the likes of Cameroon’s “Indomitable Lions” and Thailand’s “War Elephants.” Here are the 5-finalists. Vote now and you can play your role into delivering US victory: 

• “The American Revolution “ from Jeffrey Varner

• “This Generation's Fast Car” from Barb V

• “Gen Zeagles” from Cameron McMurtrey

• “FC to Shining Sea” from Sean Parker

• “The “You Don't Know Where I'm From Dawgs”” which was sent in by so bloody many people

Lend us your voice and HEAD TO THIS LINK TO VOTE for your favorite. That simple, but we appreciate your input so so much.

2. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. Just in case you want to be reminded about the Top 3 Premier League run-in.

ii. Chelsea owners warned by fans about “irreversible toxicity” they are bringing into the club. 

iii. Why Kansas City’s new stadium has set a new bar for women’s football.

iv. English football re-ignites the “what is a proper fan?” debate in this global era. Are we “plastics?” Lolz. 

v. When will the United States produce a coach with true caliber? 

3. This Week at Men in Blazers World Headquarters

A Golden Corral’s worth of content this week and every week.. 

🌎 The Country Fried Steak of our offerings… a brand new season of World Corrupt, which officially launched last Saturday. Listen to Episode One RIGHT HERE. This is our mashup with Tommy Vietor and the wonderful human beings at Crooked Media. This season, we examine the way Saudi Arabia is pumping billions into football and why they’re doing it. Episode one detailed that nation’s football history and culture, which very much does exist. Also, PIF’s takeover of Newcastle United. Episode two - which dives deeper into who Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is and the role he’s playing in this - drops TOMORROW on the Men in Blazers’ Podcast feed. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Our latest This Week in Wrexham piece with Tomi “Cheese” Lewis is one of our favorites of the season. Tomi and producer Steve went deep on the uptick in Wrexham TATTOOS as a result of the club’s surging popularity. The conversations in this piece are actually quite layered, hilarious and, at times, truly beautiful. Thanks to the GFOPs at STōK Cold Brew for making all of this possible. To be able to partner with them to create this content means the world to us. 

💪 Sam Mewis’ podcast heat map is almost as impressive as her range as a player. This week, The Women’s Game editor-in-chief dropped two new Pods. Tuesday, a brand new episode of Good Vibes FC with co-host and USWNT hero Lynn Williams in which they celebrated the start of the NWSL LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE. And Thursday, an interview with Welsh Wizard and Seattle Reign maestro Jess Fishlock. LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE.

🚨 A Reminder that we will DO IT LIVE! with very special guest Brendan Hunt this Sunday at the final whistle of the Nations League Final as our gents try and go back-to-back-to-back. SUBSCRIBE HERE TO GET NOTIFIED WHEN WE GO LIVE. 

Prize Picks. Best PP since Pablo Picasso 

Charlie Kipp writes: Weeks like these show why it’s so great to use a platform like PrizePicks - men’s club soccer is on an international break but the world of sports keeps rolling along. If you’re like me and staring down the barrel of a busted bracket after one day - get back in the action with PrizePicks. We go away from the pitch and to the hardwood this week for a special March Basketball edition of More or Less. Sitting at 0-3 in my last three weeks, what better time to try something radical: Keisei Tominaga MORE than 14.5 Points.

Non-college hoops fans may be confused by the pick but allow me to provide a little context. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have won exactly zero NCAA Tournament games in their history, but they have also never played in a tourney game with their newest star: Keisei Tominaga. The 22-year old guard is listed at 6’2” in the official program, but looks more 5’11” to the naked eye - making his on-court prowess all the more impressive. Tominaga was born and raised in Japan before coming to America in 2019 to play basketball at Ranger College - a Community College in rural Texas. When he arrived, he could not speak any English. He questioned his decision to come. But he grinded, eventually transferring to former Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg’s Nebraska program where he has flourished on and off the court. Now a proficient English speaker and even more accomplished bucket-getter, Tominaga’s shooting has led Nebraska to its best NCAA Tournament seed in 30 years. His performance against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament is worth the watch. Tonight, Friday, at 7 p.m. ET, Tominaga’s Cornhuskers face Texas A&M in the Big Dance - where I don’t see one bit of slowdown from the rising star. Keisei Tominaga MORE than 14.5 Points.

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and use code MiB for a first deposit match up to $100.

4. England National Team will find new ways to break a nation’s heart 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

England are set to field a veritable Premier League superteam in their two international friendlies despite Starboy Bakayo Saka withdrawing yesterday to join Harry Kane, Trent Alexander Arnold et al. out with injury. Saturday (3 p.m. ET, Fubo) (future Man Utd manager?) Gareth Southgate hosts a Brazil side on an erratic run of form dating back to their World Cup exit in the quarterfinals. Tuesday’s opponent, Belgium, will be without captain Kevin de Bruyne, who missed City’s last game after going off with a groin injury against Liverpool. Kobbie Mainoo’s 11th hour inclusion on Tuesday means he joins future Everton heartbreaker Jarrad Branthwaite and current Everton heartbreaker Anthony Gordon as first-time call ups to the national team. 

More: What if England was picked by best club season statistics? This would be a team. Everton! Everton!

5. Wrexham. No More “Wrexhaming It Up” Please 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

No Premier League this weekend. No problem. Re-up your iFollow subs because Saturday, Wrexham are away to Grimsby Town, who play their football on the far North East coast of England (11 a.m. ET, iFollow). Wrexham’s shock home loss to Tranmere last weekend sees them sit third in the table, one point below the resurgent Stockport. With just five weeks left in the regular season, a win this weekend could take Wrexham within two points of leaders Mansfield Town ahead of their (title deciding?) meeting on the 23rd. 

More: loved this SportsVideo piece about the technical way we shoot our Welcome to Wrexham series on iPhones. Great to shed light on our British production team. Steve Ellis and Tomi Caws are the Scorsese and De Niro of Welsh Football. This piece on Wrexham tattoos is one of my favorites all season.

6. NWSL and WSL? We are not worthy

NWSL matchday two kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET with Orlando Pride hosting Angel City (Prime Video) followed at 9.30 p.m. ET by newcomers Utah Royals FC against Sam Mewis’ beloved North Carolina Courage (NWSL +). The big one to look out for this weekend: Challenge Cup winners San Diego Wave host KC Current at the Snapdragon Stadium Saturday at 10pm (Ion Television). 

There's something in the water: Angel City and the Wave: Setting the standard for NWSL fan bases.

b. In the Women’s Super League, all eyes will be on the Etihad Stadium for the Manchester Derby between City and United (Saturday, 8.30 a.m. ET, Paramount +). SAM MEWIS WILL BE THERE!!! City’s win last weekend against Brighton means they are level on points at the top of the WSL with Emma Hayes’ Chelsea, while their crosstown rivals United sit fourth, six points behind third-placed Arsenal. AND if one North West derby is not enough for you, you're in luck! Midtable Everton host fifth placed Liverpool at Goodison (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Evertonfc.com) with the Reds still very much in contention for one of the league’s three Champions League places. Meanwhile in the Capital, Kristie Mewis and West Ham face league leaders Chelsea (Sunday, 12.30 p.m. ET, Paramount +), who are fresh off a 3-0 Champions League victory against Ajax.

Oh, and it's El Clasico weekend in Liga F (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, DAZN). Two of the biggest clubs in global football. They're less soccer teams, more Spanish institutions. It will be live at 1pm EST on Sunday, March 24 ET on DAZN. Sam Mewis has taped a pre-view which will drop across our social this afternoon. 

7. Not Football, And All the Better For It

i. From TED To PERNOCTATED, Scrabble’s Best Player Knows No Limits G.O.A.T. 5 points. 

ii. The "hippies, nerds, and Hollywood pros" who helped create "The Simpsons". Trying not to remind myself that Bart should be 45 by now. 

iii. Why do airlines charge so much for checked bags? Tl;dr: Because they can. 

iv. There are three job openings at the remote "Penguin Post Office" in Antarctica. Hesitate to share this one, don't want all yous applying to my future job. I was made for THIS.

v. Irish Wish Is a Crypto-Fascist, AI-Generated Harbinger of Doom. "Irish Wish is a thinly veiled Trojan horse for the conservative agenda, a crypto-fascist work of art cluttered with right-wing dog whistles and dialogue that could have only been written by a malevolently programmed artificial intelligence." Starring Lindsey Lohan. 

vi. How one fan came close to a perfect March Madness bracket. Gregg Nigl, teach me your ways. 

vii. Ben Folds Five Marriages make me doubt the idea of love. Any excuse to post this 1998 Conan appearance of his side project Fear of Pop featuring William Shatner doing spoken word poetry about a breakup. 

viii. Loved this essay: The many lifetimes of an old red bike.

ix. There is legislation before the Senate to officially shorten the standard workweek to 32 hours. This is a small incremental step toward my ultimate goal: the 0 hour workweek. 

x. Here’s why your mom’s Facebook feed is full of Shrimp Jesus. Picture what Shrimp Jesus could possibly be before you click.

xi. Noted sandwich reviewer asked 30 professors: Is a hot dog a sandwich? This noted sandwich eater votes no. 

xii. I LOVED this song Blackpool Illuminations by Yard Act.

xiii. I read this book: Kids Run the Show by Delphine de Vigan. A French-translated novel about child-YouTube influence culture, and the pathologies that feed into it. It took some time to warm up, but I loved the back end. It made me feel sad and bereft. Which I love in my books, music. And football. Read more about it here. 

xiv. I am headed to Montreal this week and I CANNOT WAIT. Let me know where I should go, shop, and EAT. 🇨🇦

That is it for today. Much love to you all. Let’s revel together post-Nations League final on YouTube Sunday. I will be joined by my friend Brendan Hunt and you can come on and talk to us. 

I will leave you with this incredible mini-essay on fandom from my friend John Green. I loved this, which he tweeted in the aftermath of Liverpool’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United last weekend: 

“The good thing about football is that when you are disappointed, someone else is happy. And that someone else is probably a nice person who loves their family and whatnot.

But the bad thing about football is that it's impossible for me to think of that person with any empathy or vicarious joy. All I can think is that I want their food to turn to ashes in their mouth and for their descendants to be cursed down through the generations for millennia.”

God bless you John.

Let’s Savor Every Second Watching Football Together, and never take it for granted.

To more.

Go! Go! USA!

Courage,

ROG