PurpleandGold Motown

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This is how I feel about goalie. Too many freaks out there are developed at high level in football/baseball/basketball, and probably played all 3 as a kid, with skills that translate. Tracking a ball in the air, highpointing, reacting to balls off a bat, defensive angles, ball distribution, punting a football, etc.

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Keeper has been the historic strength of the US team for decades. We had three top 5 keepers in the world back-to-back-to-back in Friedl, Keller, and Howard. Guzan might have been top 15. For some reason, the last two cycles are keepers have been mediocre.

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I was responding to your comment about a 14 year old Bo Jackson. That's way too late to start.

Perfect example is Alex Freeman, son of Antonio Freeman (NFL WR). The son obviously received the genetics but he started playing soccer when he was four years old. You need a lot of these physically gifted guys playing from a very young age to play at the highest level.

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On the women's side, you can also point at Trinity Rodman (arguably our best player when healthy) daughter of Dennis Rodman. She's fantastic and inherited her athletic genes sans the crazy from her Dad.

The problem with our development is that unlike every other sport -- especially for the men -- there is no fall back plan. We have no men's D1 soccer teams. We only have women's because of Title IX. Instead, you get scouted by an academy at 14, go into their development program, move away from home, live and breathe soccer, and then the cuts start.

Only the 1% of the 1% are going to make it to the end to earn a living, but you sacrifice education, social life, your family, everything. You can't just be very good, get a scholarship and earn a degree in Soccer. You either make it or you don't, and the ones that don't have very little else that they are good at.

Now, if you are exceptionally, you're getting upper hundreds to million dollar contracts at 16 or 17.

Our athletics systems are just not designed to funnel players into the sport. It is the oddball.

And that's not to take away from the talent and skill of our team. The majority of our players play for top flight teams around the world. They are the best of the best. But, I would be lying if I said we don't miss out on the players that have the ideal body type and athletic skillset because the risk is too high.

I have personal experience with this because my nephew was invited to join Atlanta United developmental program at 14 or 15. He opted to play basketball. Now he's a 6'3 shooting guard at good junior college and is quitting competitive sports altogether after this year. I'm not saying he would have made it in professional soccer, but 6'3 on a soccer pitch is a whole lot bigger than 6'3 on a basketball court.

Pulisic is an albatross for any US manager. He a very good player, but he's not great. The average fan THINKS he's great. He THINKS he's great. USA soccer built a generations media around him.

If a manager doesn't play him and we lose, he's going to hear about it from everyone.

No other player has that level of protection without earning it. Even those that have earned it don't have it.

It didnt end the way any of us wanted, but the last few weeks have been a ton of fun.

The dream ended but it will start up again soon enough.

I can't be pessimistic about this sport or any sport. That takes the fun out of it.

Time to find a back line and a keeper up to our standard.

Thanks for the smiles, the moments and the cheers.

Zero matches I feel compelled to watch compared to yesterday which was a full slate.

Might catch Colombia v Ghana due to old scars.

I think this is a Gen X and an Elder Millennial thing. I took typing in 5th and 6th grade. Give me home row, and I can type 90 words a minute. My parents? They hunt and peck. My nephews and niece? They hunt and peck. My generation, we type like a Tommy Gun and never look down.

What's more, I don't have a visual map in my mind. I don't think where the keys are. It's all muscle memory. The only time I frick up is when my hand strays from the home row.

Is home row even still a thing?

FIFA catching shade from Lasik.com.

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"I was going to go swimming this morning before the match, but Landon didn't want to get in the pool for some reason"

Probably Clint.

Jersey and Cap swap.

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They picked the player closest to their section and just...did Brit shite.