Growing up my friends and I used to like working phrases from movies into everyday conversation. The movie Ghostbusters was one of our go-to’s with lots of good ones like, “You didn’t even negotiate with him!”, “What did you DO, Ray?”, “All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.”, and “That’s a big Twinkie.” In one of my favorite scenes, comedic acting legends Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Dan Akroyd are trying to explain to the Mayor of New York City that all of the unusual happenings going on in the City are signs to indicate that the end of the world is coming. When the Mayor asks for further explanation, Akroyd, Ramis and Murray say, “Real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dog and cats living together, mass hysteria!” Well, during the South Africa match this past Wednesday night, I had a “dogs and cats living together” moment.
Before going further, I want to make something clear. I am forever grateful to John Harkes and Alexi Lalas and their teammates for their contributions on the field.
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In my opinion, without them, U.S. soccer is nowhere near where it is today. That said, I have been less of a fan when they are broadcasting. I don’t have a lot of venom for them; I just don’t often agree with them. However, during the broadcast of the South Africa match and the post-match commentary, I found myself agreeing with comments that were made by John Harkes and Alexi Lalas. For me to agree with a comment by Harkes or a comment by Lalas by itself is unusual, but for me to agree with both of them on the same night had me very concerned. Was this one of the signs of the Apocalypse? Is it one of the things that Nostradamus predicted? Perhaps, I just have a tumor pressing on my frontal lobe. Regardless, I think John Harkes and Alexi Lalas were spot on Wednesday night.
Let’s start with the comment by John Harkes. He said credit needs to be given to Bob Bradley for giving the young guys a run out. I completely agree. Many fans have taken the position that the USMNT is going to stagnate under Bob Bradley if he coaches for another four years. Well, the early returns would suggest otherwise. In the last World Cup cycle, Bob Bradley brought in over ninety players in sixty-six matches, with forty-nine getting their first caps. Some of those first-timers included Jozy Altidore, Stuart Holden, Charlie Davies, Jay DeMerit, and Maurice Edu. Given how he has handled the matches since the World Cup ended, it looks like Bob Bradley is going to continue his practice of looking at as many players as possible. During the four post-World Cup matches, Bradley has given ten players their first USMNT cap, including Jermaine Jones, Eric Lichaj, Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury, Tim Ream, and Mikkel Diskerud. When you add in that some of these players are eligible to play for other countries, this is good early work by Bradley, in my opinion. If Bradley keeps this up, he should know about every worthy prospect in the pool by the time the next World Cup comes around. Bringing in talented new guys should keep the veterans on their toes, as well. Another sign that the stagnation concern may be unfounded is that Bradley has been trying out some new formations. While he has typically played a 4-4-2, since the World Cup, he has already experimented with a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-5-1. The experiment was not a full success, but it appears that Bradley is trying to figure out the best way to maximize his talent. Scheduling a friendly with Chile -- a 2010 World Cup participant -- is a nice step, too. From my perspective, there are hopeful signs out there for those who fear that the program is going to be on cruise control for the next four years.
As for Alexi Lalas’ comment, he congratulated Juan Agudelo, but was also quick to bring a dose of reality into the situation by telling everyone to calm down. Some are criticizing Lalas for what he said, but not me. Did you see the chatter online after the South Africa match? People were already calling for Agudelo to start in place of Altidore. Being blunt and direct is the only way to communicate to people like that. Listen, I think there are a lot of things Altidore could improve upon, and, in fact, I do not think Altidore would have finished the chance that Agudelo did against South Africa, but Altidore is still our best forward right now. Agudelo is very promising and he may end up earning a starting spot over time, however, scoring a goal in a friendly against the fiftieth ranked team in the world does not qualify Agudelo to lead the line for the USMNT. He needs time to continue to develop and fans need to let him do so if he is ever going to reach his potential. This reality check also applies to all of the new young guys who come into the team during the next four years. Diskerud had nice vision, composure and touch on the assist to Agudelo, but that does not mean he should now be the starter in central midfield as I have seen advocated. Brek Shea looked out of his depth in his first start, but that does not mean he should be written off as a result. There are going to be ups and downs with all of the new guys, and I hope USMNT fans enjoy the ride, but keep a bit of objectivity going forward.
So, in taking some of my own medicine, I am going to be objective and will accept that my agreement with Harkes and Lalas is not some frightening sign of end times. It’s merely a couple of experienced soccer professionals stating an informed opinion that I happen to agree with. Now, if I start agreeing with Wynalda, too . . . “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”
