America's Football 8.24.07: Issue #7

Posted by Sean Garmer on 08.24.2007

The greatest game in MLS history, FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo match #3, and even some Europe Footy talk all inside.

Hello everyone, I again apologize for not doing the SuperLiga like I promised, but I had many things come up after the group games were done with, and I needed to handle those. Also, classes are about to start for me next week, so I just needed to get back on schedule with MLS, and because I work too I don't have time to watch and write about games all day, like I did when I first started the column. I had planned to do a "five best games of SuperLiga" special, but then, I decided against it because I wouldn't have been able to dedicate time to it. I also apologize for this being one to two days late. That being said, I now have DIRECTV at my house, I have obtained the luxury of getting FOX Soccer Channel, GOL TV, and Setanta Sports (all for a juicy 28 bucks a month,) so I can keep myself abreast of not only what's happening in MLS, but around the world in Footy too. You can actually thank FSC for the first game on the schedule, LA Galaxy vs. Red Bull New York. I'll also have the third match in the Texas Showdown, between Houston and FC Dallas for you as well. Since I have these other wonderful channels, if ESPN continues to not show their Thursday games, like they are supposed to, I might just select a game of the week of sorts, from either England, Italy, Spain, or Germany and have that on here too. Well, enough babbling, I think it's time to get to the games, and find out more about…







Beckham Starts but Galaxy Still Find a Way to Lose

NY Red Bulls (5) defeat LA Galaxy (4)






Line-Ups


(4-4-2)


LA Galaxy

GK: Joe Cannon
RB: Chris Klein
CB: Ty Harden
CB: Ante Jazic
LB: Mike Randolph
MF: Landon Donavan
MF: Kevin Harmse
MF: David Beckham
MF: Kyle Martino
ST: Carlos Pavon
ST: Alan Gordon


(4-4-2)


NY Red Bulls

GK: Ronald Waterreus
RB: Hunter Freeman
CB: Jeff Parke
CB: Seth Stammler
LB: Chris Leitch
MF: Dane Richards
MF: Clint Mathis
MF: Joe Vide
MF: Dave Van den Bergh
ST: Jozy Altidore
ST: Juan Pablo Angel


66,237 that's the number of people in attendance to watch this one at Giants Stadium. That actually broke the record for the highest attendance of any MLS game played at that place, hopefully Beckham mania can continue to spread throughout the country. Now, let's get to the game, but first I should point out that Abel Xavier is out for the Galaxy, that's a huge blow to their back line. Also, New York are without Claudio Reyna once again, we'll see how they cope without their #10 in the middle.


First Half Highlights:

This game started out quick, as already by the 3rd minute we had a booking, when Ty Harden held onto Jozy Altidore's shirt for so long as he was approaching the box, that it caused Altidore to fall down. Harden is lucky not to get a red because Chris Klein just barely made it back far enough, to prevent Harden from being the last man, and that would have meant he'd be sent off. So a free kick is awarded on the penalty arc.

A minute later, Juan Pablo Angel takes the shot and the whole Galaxy wall does something similar to how Ronaldinho scored on a free kick last season for Barcelona. The entire wall jumps up in the air, as Juan Pablo kicks it low and to the left, Joe Cannon tries to stretch out for it but ends up hitting it into goal anyway. Just like that, the fans in Giants Stadium see their team go up 1-0.

A minute later, the Galaxy find themselves in a corner kick situation on the right side, but Beckham lifts it over goal and Joe Vide kicks it out for a corner on the other side. Beckham takes another corner, this time from the left, and he finds Carlos Pavon who heads into the right side of the goal, that quickly, Galaxy find the equalizer. David Beckham with his first assist in MLS and what a beauty of a bender to Pavon, for his first goal of the season as well, his first start and he provides instant offense for the Galaxy, I think Manager Frank Yallop couldn't ask for a better start.

In the 8th minute, Seth Stammler fouls Carlos Pavon on the 27 yard line (I'm talking in American Football terms, or 35 meters away from goal, if you will.) Setting up a free kick for David Beckham. This time he hooks up with Pavon again, Pavon makes a run into the box on the left side he dives, the ball lands right on his head and Pavon puts it into the other side of the net. To put the Galaxy up 2-1, and we haven't reached the tenth minute yet, and there have been three goals, three cracking ones at that.

14th minute, bad news for the LA Galaxy as Ante Jazic suffers an injury, going for a ball in the air, he missteps and lands on Juan Pablo Angel's foot in an awkward manner. He was down for about two minutes before he's substituted for Gavin Glinton. Glinton moves into the midfield, while Kevin Harmse goes to the back, no formation change, but we'll see how Harmse does playing Center Back. They already have Chris Klein playing out of position and now, Kevin Harmse too. Not good for LA, especially when your entire starting back line is now out for an extended period, as Ante Jazic suffered an severe ankle sprain on that.

45th minute (+2) Dane Richards who switched from the right side to left side in the closing minutes of the half. Gets a pass on the left edge of the box, then Richards just starts going to work. He pulls a few little jukes on Chris Klein (who is not a natural defender,) he tries to cross the ball but it bounces right back to him, hitting Beckham's face in the process. He finally is able to get away from Klein, then, Harmse comes over to try to deal with him. In all that commotion, he has three guys on him, and the rest of the defense looking at him. He's ultimately able to send a flick that gets deflected, and due to all the dazzle from Richards, everyone forgets about Clint Mathis. Mathis receives the deflection, and sends a rifle to the left side of goal, and it goes in. So, in stoppage time the Red Bulls tie the game at 2-2 as we step into half time.


First Half Comments: The game started out in a great fashion with three goals in the first eight minutes. The best thing is seeing David Beckham celebrating with his comrades, and Carlos Pavon finally getting on track and showing that Gold Cup form. Beckham was spot-on with all his corners and his crosses, he is in a total class by himself when it comes to passing the ball. Landon Donavan had a couple of nice chances and as always is dangerous when he gets into open space. The back line is still their major problem, as they continually allowed Juan Pablo and Altidore to become big problems. they did not have an answer for Dane Richards, who was a constant force on the wings, and playing two midfielders at the back doesn't help. Joe Cannon though, is to date the best Keeper in the league he's made so many big saves for this team. Including one towards the end of the half on Jozy Altidore, where Altidore headed the ball right into Cannon's chest, had Cannon been standing anywhere else it would have been a goal. If the guy had a better defense, he might be in the MVP race. Speaking of Keeper's, Ronald Wattereus, the Red Bull Keeper has multiple issues, and really, Jon Conway should be playing. He seems out of it, and for a Keeper that hasn't been able to go 90 minutes yet, that should be an indication to Bruce Arena. Red Bulls also have a problem on their back line, apparently they forgot how to cover set pieces because Beckham burned them on almost every single one. Red Bulls have never found a left back that works for them, and that's been their main issue, other than losing Jozy for part of the year due to US U-20 World Cup duty. Red Bulls played better than the Galaxy in the first half, with more chances going their way. Both defenses have issues, but the Red Bull offense has a little more flow in the first half, no one has had a great rhythm yet, with only one goal coming from actual play, but Angel, Jozy, Mathis, and Richards have been keys to this game carrying this result as of now. All in all, four goals in one half made this awfully exciting and the 2nd half can only makes things better I hope.


Second Half Highlights:

49th minute, off a Beckham kick, Vide intercepts heads it down to Clint Mathis in the midline, he sends a high volley to Jozy Altidore who receives on the left edge of the box, he makes one move and gets into the box, wide open just to kick to the opposing side of Joe Cannon to make the score 3-2.

59th minute, Alan Gordon is removed in favor of Kyle Veris, bringing a defender back in, allowing Kevin Harmse to play holding midfielder again, Landon Donavan moves up front with Pavon as well. So with the back line solidified, we'll see if they play any better.

67th minute, Clint Mathis gets the first booking for Red Bull New York, after a bad foul on David Beckham.

70th minute, Van der Bergh brings down a ball kicked from the Keeper on the left, he passes it to Jozy Altidore on the left still. Kyle Veris is defending, he makes one juke gets inside the box, gets around Chris Klein and just pushes it softly into the goal. What a masterful move and finish from someone that is definitely the future of US Soccer. I have no doubt that when he turns a year older, Europe will be calling Jozy's name. He is quickly turning into the class of MLS. On the ensuing kickoff, Landon Donavan takes off running up the middle, he gets way into the box on the right and just slips it in there, to make the score 4-3. An immediate needed response from the Galaxy, a great game to watch so far from these two teams, also Joe Vide got a yellow card in the 73rd minute for a tackle from behind on Kyle Martino.

75th minute, Galaxy make their last change, as Gavin Glinton, who played decent in his time as a substitute himself, is taken out to bring in a true striker in Edson Buddle. This allows Landon Donavan to play back behind the two strikers more of a roaming midfield role.

81st minute, David Beckham off a corner on the right side sends it in, it goes to the head of substitute Kyle Veris who snaps to it, but it clangs off the right post. Then Edson Buddle shows up inside the six and taps it inside the goal to put the Galaxy on equal footing once again at 4-4. Beckham doesn't get an assist for that, but he should, it was his great cross that put them in the position for the score. Hopefully, this string of good things continues for Beckham. How bout Edson Buddle, he just came in minutes ago, and he scores.

88th minute, Clint Mathis is at about the 35 yard line (again, in American terms) on a first touch shoots it, Joe Cannon stretches out and knocks it away with one hand. It still stays in the box and who shows up, Juan Pablo Angel of course on the right side of the box, from a really tough angle. He hits back towards goal, it looks like Canon has it, but he bobbles it and it goes past the goal line.


Second Half & Final Comments: The second half was a lot more balanced as far as possession and chances for the Galaxy. Beckham played the whole 90 minutes which is a great sight to see, and that he still contributed on that 4th goal proves he's finally getting up to complete match fitness. Seems that Frank Yallop got his substitution situation figured out as both Kyle Veris and Edson Buddle were the key players in that final goal, but the Galaxy defense still looked awful. Chris Klein and Kevin Harmse playing out of position really hurt the team. Ty Harden and Mike Randolph are rookies, both of them played well, Mike Randolph was actually the only defender that had a pulse on Dane Richards. In the 2nd half, there were quite a few exchanges between the two, and Randolph took the ball away from him about three times. Randolph might not be a bad replacement, Galaxy still have to wait and see on Kyle Veris, as he's just come back from injury in this game. The rest of the team is fine with Beckham around now. Landon Donavan and Carlos Pavon will benefit from Beckham the rest of the season, and you could tell in this game how much of a difference he makes. Galaxy's main downfall right now, is their defense if they can get a few guys back or get this makeshift one work, they can make a huge run and possibly make the playoffs. There one constant is Joe Cannon who has come up huge for them in every game. He's been under the radar because of the whole Beckham Mania, but he totally deserves some MVP mentions.

Red Bull New York got a very key win to keep themselves close to the top of the table in the East, after New England lost this week. Jozy Altidore scored two magnificent goals, making two great runs and once he got inside the box, he could make one move and got by the defenders. Once this kid turns 18, Europe is going to come calling, because he is class, and has not only torn up defenses in MLS, he did it in the U-20 World Cup too. Juan Pablo Angel just continues to be in top form and scored that game winning goal from a ridiculous angle, and got a little luck from Joe Cannon. Regardless, he also scored two big ones for the team, and that's two consecutive games that both Juan Pablo and Jozy have scored in. Dane Richards is their most dangerous force in the midfield speed wise, but he's still young. However, whether it's Claudio Reyna or Clint Mathis they have experience in the middle. Mathis played a great game, he was a constant force, scored a goal, and setup another. If Reyna is out for another extended period, they are still fine in the midfield with Mathis. Bruce Arena knows how to use him, and he's been around the league a long while as well. Just like the Galaxy though, they have defensive problems to the max. They still have not found a Left back that works for them, they started the year with someone, and then they brought in Kevin Goldthwaite from Toronto, and he apparently didn't work so he warms the bench. Now, the youngster Chris Leitch is in there, and he got burned quite a few times in this game by Donavan and Beckham. It's a rather young back line, and that seems to be their issue too. The fact that they can outscore most teams, probably gives them a pass, but that might plague them come playoff time.

The game itself was a great one, a fun watch the entire way through. I'm calling it the greatest game in MLS history. The fans jam packed it and everyone delivered, you couldn't ask for anything better. It was a delight to see the 66,000 cheering their Red Bulls and booing Beckham on every free kick and corner. Hopefully, this means that more fans will show up for their next home game. New York have another tough division match-up against DC United on Wednesday. DC is chomping at their heels, and NY needs a result to give them breathing room. The Galaxy can take away that they gave the Red Bulls one hell of a game. Even a half strength Beckham can keep them in the game and that's something the Galaxy need. The best thing for them right now, is that maybe this game finally got Pavon going, and he can keep scoring goals for them. Both Beckham and Donavan will be tired on Thursday Night, after playing in Friendly's on Wednesday. We'll see how they do against Chivas on national television.




Houston Keep the Capitan for another Year

Houston Dynamo (1) defeat FC Dallas (0)





Line-Ups


(4-4-2)


Houston Dynamo

GK: Pat Onstad
RB: Patrick Ianni
CB: Richard Mulrooney
CB: Eddie Robinson
LB: Wade Barrett
MF: Ricardo Clark
MF: Dwayne De Rosario
MF: Nate Jacqua
MF: Brian Mullan
ST: Brian Ching
ST: Joseph Ngwenya


(4-2-3-1)


FC Dallas

GK: Ray Burse Jr.
RB: Clarence Goodson
CB: Drew Moor
CB: Aaron Pitchkolan
LB: Chris Gbandi
MF: Bobby Rhine
MF: Pablo Ricchetti
MF: Arturo Alvarez
MF: Dax McCarty
MF: Ricardinho
ST: Carlos Ruiz


Robertson Stadium is the local for this one. Where FC Dallas needed a result just to remain at the top of the table in the west, but not only for that, but if they lost to Houston, the Dynamo would retain The Capitan for another year. FC Dallas is without two big players, one at the back, as Adrian Serioux is out with an injury. Also out is Dallas's most dangerous player in Juan Carlos Toja who is also injured at the moment. Of course, they are still without Kenny Cooper. Starting Keeper Dario Sala and backup Shaka Hislop are also out with injuries. Then Marcelo Saragosa got a red card in their last game and is out by suspension. Houston is without one of their great midfielders Stuart Holden, who was a constant force in SuperLiga. Brad Davis is out as well, and Paul Daiglish is also gone with a surgery, both teams still have tons of talent on the field, on to the game.


First Half Highlights:


34th minute, Bobby Rhine is the first man booked in the match-up, for a hard foul from behind on Houston's Nate Jacqua.

36th minute, Eddie Robinson becomes the first Dynamo player to be given a yellow card for continuous fouls on Carlos Ruiz

41st minute, Houston has a goal called back because three Houston Dynamo players are obviously offsides, but the referee doesn't notice it until he talks to his assistant. However, the right call is made and we continue on.

43rd minute, Houston gets on the board, as Dwayne De Rosario has a ball at the midline, he sends a nice volley for Brian Mullan who's making a run to receive it on the right side, he sends a cross-in, right to Brian Ching's head and he puts it in the net.


First Half Comments: As you can tell from the highlights there, not much occurred in the first part. We had the goal but it happened late, and other than that, for the most part the Keeper's weren't bothered with much. FC Dallas Keeper Ray Burse Jr. made a couple of nice interceptions to keep the Strikers from getting something, but that's about it. Other than a nice chance from Arturo Alvarez in the first minute, Pat Onstad pretty much had no problems.

FC Dallas are missing Juan Toja, as they can't get much going offensively. Dax McCarty may be a good central midfielder in the future, but right now he's still a youngster that's learning. He's good on his corners though, and he played decent in the U-20's. Arturo Alvarez is having a great string of games but he's been non-existent in this one. Ricardinho has recently come back from injury and is still getting used to things on the team. The thing is, both of these teams know each other well, and Dallas without Serioux still has a terrific back line and midfield.

Houston has key injuries in the back, but they still were able to keep Dallas from causing any trouble. The midfield was the key to Brian Ching's goal, they have one of the best midfield's in the league actually, even without Holden in the line-up. Not to mention two big strikers in front that make things run smoothly. Joseph Ngwenya suffered a small tug on one of his ankles and was smarting after it, we'll have to see if that affects him in the 2nd half. Carlos Ruiz has been playing better, but playing the lone man position hasn't been kind to him. He plays a lot better with someone next to him, I'm sure Manager Steve Morrow will make a change to help that. The first half gave us a score but not much else, hopefully the 2nd is better.


Second Half Highlights:


56th minute, Joseph Ngwenya is removed (probably due to that injury that happened earlier) for Chris Wondolowski. It's a position for position change, so nothing changes in formation but it was probably better to take out Ngwenya, to prevent anything worse from happening.

65th minute, Dominic Oduro comes in for Ricardinho. This has been a substitution that Steve Morrow has made a lot recently. Without Toja in the line-up, it might have been better to remove Bobby Rhine and add Oduro in place of him to give them more speed. However, Oduro is more in tune with the squad and his pace makes him hard to contain when he gets going in space.

70th minute, Brian Ching is removed in order to bring in more speed and to start protecting that lead, by putting in Corey Ashe. This leaves Wondolowski up front alone.

72nd minute, Steve Morrow decides to get some attack going as Abe Thompson is put in, and Defenseman Drew Moor is sent to the bench.

76th minute, we have a controversial play, as Dominic Oduro receives a ball in the box, alone in front of the Keeper Pat Onstad. Oduro then suddenly falls down, since he's on the break in front of defender Eddie Robinson, it would make no sense for him to take a dive. However, after the referee stops play, Pat Onstad comes out to yell at Oduro for supposedly diving. Oduro is given a card for that supposed dive. When in fact, Eddie Robinson pushed Oduro down as he was getting in the box, and it was rather clear as well. So, the referee misses one here and can be a play to look back on, as time winds down.

85th minute, Nate Jacqua gets a card for a hard foul on Clarence Goodson.


Second Half & Final Comments: This game was rather boring, with not a lot of chances either way, Dallas in the 2nd half was a little more vibrant, but after the penalty (that should have gone their way) but didn't, they seemed to lose any interest in attempting to score. Ruiz was nowhere to be seen, Arturo Alvarez was about the only one that seemed enthralled in the action. The back line was solid for both teams, it was mainly a battle of the terrific midfields, Houston was a lot closer in the 2nd half to a second goal, then Dallas was ever going to get to scoring their first. The only real bright spot for Dallas continues to be Keeper Ray Burse Jr. He made some key saves in the 2nd half, especially one on Corey Ashe that he tipped over the goal, to keep the scoreline the way it was. The game played out as expected, a tight one, between the top two teams in the division. Both teams will be fine once their injury situations get a little better. Dallas is off this week, and Houston has a chance to go four points ahead of their Texas rivals, if they can defeat a tough Columbus Crew team at home.



MLS Standings Along with News & Notes


Chivas USA gets a key addition


One trade happened not too long ago between FC Dallas and Chivas USA. Dallas sent Ramon Nunez over to Chivas for a 2009 draft pick. The Honduran central midfielder played very well for Dallas early in the season, with three goals and a few assists in 10 starts, including a game winning goal, all before he got injured, and then Steve Morrow brought in Juan Toja, Pablo Ricchetti, and Ricardinho in his absence. By the time, Nunez was ready to return, Dominic Oduro, Dax McCarty, and Arturo Alvarez had all emerged as major players and Nunez wasn't even getting playing time off the bench.

Nunez solidifies the midfield for Chivas USA, as they already have two terrific strikers up front, and Jonathan Borenstein leading the back line, along with US National Keeper Brad Gusan behind the two posts. He joins the emerging youngster in Sacha Klejstan, Paolo Nagamura, and Francisco Mendoza. If he can contribute quickly for Chivas, they can be a monster team in the playoffs. He brings a creative midfield role to Chivas, someone you can run the ball through to get it, to Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov. I'll be rooting for Ramon to do well.


MLS Standings- Through Mid-Week of Week 21


Western Conference

Houston Dynamo- 37 points
FC Dallas- 36 points
Chivas USA- 33 points
Colorado Rapids- 24 points
LA Galaxy- 14 points
Real Salt Lake- 12 points


Comments: As I mentioned earlier, FC Dallas is idle this week, so Houston has a chance to give themselves some distance if they can defeat a tough Columbus side. Dallas needed a last minute header from Clarence Goodson to beat them a week or two ago. Baros Scheletto is really pulling through for the team, and has been a scoring machine along with Alejandro Moreno. The Dynamo barring no Stuart Holden, are fine, that should be a good contest.

Chivas USA continues to win as they picked up another win last week against a hurting expansion, Toronto FC side. This week they had a huge game under the bright lights of ESPN, against their park rivals, the LA Galaxy. With the win Chivas inched closer to Dallas and Houston, they'd also probably knock their rivals out of the playoffs.

Colorado will be receiving Beckham mania this week, the Rapids pulled off a huge upset against New England last week, defeating them 3-0, and ending their 11 game losing skid in MLS and US Open Cup play. Galaxy must get results, and have to win this game if they even dream of still making the playoffs. They played well against NY, a Rapids team, that's just getting back into their groove.

Real Salt Lake lost to Chicago last week, and face a dangerous Chivas team on Sunday, RSL is out of it at this point, so this is a nice cupcake game for Chivas to go through.


Eastern Conference:

New England Revolution- 39 points
DC United- 36 points
New York Red Bulls- 33 points
Kansas City Wizards- 32 points
Columbus Crew- 26 points
Chicago Fire- 23 points
Toronto FC- 20 points


Comments: As I mentioned earlier, New England suffered a huge loss to Colorado, and now are facing their bitter division rivals, the NY Red Bulls this week. If the Red Bulls win, DC has the ability to tie the Revolution for first place. So it would be in best interest of both teams to get a result here.

DC United picked up a huge 3-1 win over NY to put them in 2nd place in the East ahead of NY. DC still has one game left this week against Toronto, who just lost Jeff Cunningham and Ronnie O' Brien for the whole season. I think Toronto is at a huge disadvantage at this point, especially with DC hungry for points.

KC defeated a Chicago team that has gotten increasingly better since Blanco joined the squad. They got a close 3-2 win, and these two teams play each other again this week. If KC wins they will be at 36 points and make the East even tighter.

Columbus lost to DC last week in a good game, they need to get some results to hold on to that 8th spot, as Colorado and Chicago are slowly creeping up in the standings..



The International Realm


The USA Men's National team lost to Sweden on Wednesday 1-0. Tim Kallstrom got the goal in the early stages of the 2nd half, but their was a clear foul committed beforehand to allow the goal to happen, but the referee never saw it. The US played well in the first half, they held Sweden down, they had a chance in the first minute of the first half, but Damarcus Beasley missed it. In the 2nd, the youngsters were put in play after the goal, and Bob Bradley used it as a time to test some guys. It was a rather dull game though.


In the English Premiership, Manchester City surprises everyone at this stage of the game, with three straight wins without conceding a goal, and find themselves top of the table.

My Manchester United club is suffering at the moment, after losing to City last weekend, and without Rooney for two months, and no Ronaldo for two more games, they could be in dire straights by the end of this month. They have a huge game against Tottenham on Sunday, in which they need to win, to have any hope of being in the top tier later in the season.

Serie A and La Liga start this weekend. Glad to see that Serie A is back to form with the big four back in place as well, as Juventus is back in the top flight after the one year suspension to Serie B. I don't get to watch my AC Milan team play this week, as they are the only ones out of the big four, not being shown by FSC this weekend. What a bummer, but at least I'll be able to check out how the others are doing.

La Liga has three great games on the schedule to start the season, as Villareal (maybe without Riquelme) vs. Valencia, Real Madrid vs. Atletico, and my new look Barcelona against Racing. This is all shaping up to be a great weekend of footy for me, thank God for DVR.


Goal of the Week





Cuautehmoc Blanco with just absolute brilliance on this one. It was also the official MLS goal of the week.


Don't Forget to Read These


First of all I invite you to read the entire 411 Sports Zone

Secondly, I write reviews and do the roundtables over there, but there's more important stuff like columns, news, and more in the 411 Games Zone


My 411 Footy Brethren


Tim O' Sullivan as always is here with his Round Football Column With all the news about last week in England.

In case you were late on joining everyone for the Premiership season. Daniel Wilcox gives you a preview of what to expect. Don't forget to read his Sunday Soccer Showdown too.

The T-Man, Taareq Elsokari is the third of the Footy writers on 411. His Thursday Kick-Off is always a good read. Here's a link, so you can get a little taste of his style.


Well that's it for this week folks. I'll have three games for you in the next column, that should be out on Wednesday. Which include FSC's DC United vs. Toronto FC, and Galaxy on Galavision against Colorado, and maybe another game from the international realm. I would have done Chivas USA vs. Galaxy, but it's too late now, as this column was out late. Until then, enjoy your footy weekend, and always remember that even though it's called Soccer here in America, it will always be Football to me.