US vs. Panama

BRING THE EFFIN' BROOMS TO UTAH! Wow. That very easily could have been 4 or 5 to nil. Umm, Geoff Cameron? Yeah, I think he's a MIDFIELDER, Stoke!

Hey, El Tri, YOU WANT A PIECE OF US NOW?

COUSMNT!

CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT TUESDAY!

 

Cameron and Bradley were easily my co-MOtM performers and Jozy played the most complete match I have ever seen him play from applying defensive pressure to finishing on the cross from Fabian Johnson. The sod was pretty sad but the crowd was amazing. The chanting and singing came through so well on TV that my wife was joking they must have left hymnals in the seats.

 

Outstanding performance all the way around;

Jozy: totally agree Barry, he earned a pk (that wasn't called) a couple minutes before his goal, and was fantastic in all areas. Hope people saw the interview he did with Julie Foudy in Holland.

Bradley: When he is on the pitch, we are soooo much better. The first goal was provided by MB with a great run and layoff to Fabian.

Cameron: Got to show respect to a guy who has drawn a lot of criticism (from me included), but shows his versatility and comes up w/a MOTM performance :bow-yellow:

Eddie Johnson: Stayed onside, than great first touch and finish. When he was being loaned out from Fulham and bouncing around I never thought he'd make it back. One of the hallmarks of US Soccer (both men and the women's teams) has been perseverance, EJ has shown it big time, you can't help but feel good for him.

 

I'm not sure I remember a more dominating performance by the USA in a Hex match. Fantastic and entertaining, well done to the guys in the centennial jerseys. :flags-usa: :handgestures-salute: :happy-cheerleadersmileyguy: :flags-usa: At this point I am going to stop paying attention to Klinsmann's nonsensical moves. Maybe he is right, maybe the answer is to take the eleven USA players with the best soccer IQ and bring-it-on attitudes, roll them like dice onto the field, and play them where they land. Heck I dont care if that is how we play against CONCACAF competition every time. That was some freakin' good soccer from Bradley, Cameron, Jozy, Beasley, Dempsey, Omar, Besler, Evans, EJ.

Seattle did not disappoint, that crowd was amazing. It looks like it may now be the norm for the ENTIRE stadium to stand on their feet for the whole game at USA WCQ matches. That started in Columbus, btw, but I dont think it has to do with the locale. I think we've reached a critical mass of fans that care enough, and American Outlaws deserves loads of credit for that.

They have guys with mics orchestrating the chants. I hate to be negative about such amazing support but that is what I dont like about the Seattle supporters. It's a little too close to our other sports where the stadium announcer gets the crowd going ala "defense, defense". Plus some of the stuff they do is a little too militant for my tastes, not happy and spontaneous enough.

 

Enjoyed the "We are going to Brazil" chant. Not so much the "USA ain't nothin' to f*** with" which ran for at least a minute clearly on TV. Classy.

As for the match, probably the best/most complete effort I've seen from a USMNT squad in some time. But before I get too excited, I have to admit that was not a very good Panama side. And I still have serious concerns about our CBs going up against the highly talented strikers they would face in Brazil. Omar nearly gifted them a late goal (and would have, if it wasn't for a quick reaction from Timmy H). But we're as solid in the center of the park as we've been in a long time...and if Jozy and Clint are in form, then perhaps USA truly ain't nothin' to, um, mess with.

 

I think Bradley-Jones is still probably the best option in the middle, but damn I enjoy Mikey more when gets to play more of a #8 and play further up the field more and has a dedicated #6 sitting behind him. And Cameron was great in that defensive midfield role. Mikey doesn't get to do that as much when Jones is in there. But it is nice to some have depth.

Jozy has scored in all four games that Fabian Johnson has played at left midfield and the US has scored 11 goals in those games. While most would think the best option would be to move him back to left back with Beasley out next week, but maybe leave him there and play Castillo or someone else.

Mo, I would rather have a loud crowd that stands and chants all game with a leader than a crowd that sits half the game and has no organization. Would it be a perfect world if everyone stood and sang spontaneous songs? Yes, but we are not there.

They did have little song/chant sheets that you could get at the AO tailgate party, but I was not able to get my hands on one (not that I was looking overly hard for them).

Also, everyone in the stadium got a free scarf. I think they are doing this for all five home Hex matches. I took two non soccer fans (one was sort of with it and knew the players while the other was clueless on who Clint Dempsey was), but they both had a blast.

 

Agreed but now that I am a Timbers fan I have to criticize Seattle supporters in some way.

And Tim totally agree on the "we are going to Brazil" - enjoyed that one immensely. As for the "USA aint nothin' to **** with, I've heard worse from the Outlaws . . . but not on national TV

 

Here are a couple photos from my trip. I wish I had more time as I highly enjoyed Seattle and ate some damn good food (Salumi lived up to the hype and was worth the 45-minute wait in line). I attended the American Outlaws party the night before (It was OK), but the AO pre-game party at Fuel was a lot more of fun. I also took in a random concert at Crocodile and took a ferry out Bremerton.

Here are links to my photos (I guess they are too big to embed on here). And I added a cool youtube video of the AO crowd during Seattle's clap thing, which was awesome in person.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxT82BQOZkc[/youtube]

 

Fantastic shots Lax. Looks like a heck of an atmosphere.

 

Great stuff Lax, thanks for posting.

 

Great job, LaxMan! I've always kind of liked that end zone section opposite your section. Adds a little flair to an otherwise typical NFL stadium. Looks like you had a fantastic vantage point for Jozy's opener. Now seriously thinking about heading to Columbus for the next USMNT match which, I think, is in September or October vs. El Tri. Should be festive!

Awesome pics, happy for your great experience....and a crucial three points for US!