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Happy Thanksgiving from SBI

 

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Hello everybody. It is Thanksgiving Day, one of those rare days during the year when soccer goes on the backburner and there are no major games to watch.

American soccer fans have plenty to be thankful for, from a thriving Major League Soccer to a continuously growing number of soccer TV viewing options. The U.S. national team continues to build toward 2014, while new soccer stadiums continue to pop up around the country.

What will I give thanks for from a soccer standpoint this year? Here are some things that came to my mind this morning:

The SBI  readers who make my job worthwhile

The success that many former SBI staff members are enjoying in the soccer media world

The SBI redesign that finally happened

Montreal’s arrival to MLS

The opening of BBVA Compass Stadium

My first Seattle Sounders/Portland Timbers match

The chance to experience road World Cup qualifying in Guatemala and Jamaica

The brilliance of players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Falcao, Xavi, Iniesta, Ibrahimovic, Aguero, etc.

The emergence of beIN Sport

My family for being understanding about all the trips I take and all the soccer I watch.

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These are just some of the things I’m grateful for when it comes to 2012. I’m sure I could make this list twice as long.

Now it’s your turn. What will you be giving thanks for as a soccer fan today?

Share yours below (And have a Happy Thanksgiving).

Comments

  1. Thankful for a lot… Especially soccer…football. I’m thankful for my teammates on my shite D 6 team that play fantasy football…(not stupid, I get concussions take me outta the game, football). For cuatros the bar I watch the USMNT play, for Dempsey goals and soccer souls, for Howard saves and Mexico graves. mostly… for the at win at Azteca and following my football Mecca… USMNT!

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  2. I’m thankful for the Usmnt and the Uswnt teams. Thankful for Ives and the whole SBI team that keep me abreast of all things soccer. I am thankful for my soulmate and best friend, and for family most of all. Also, I am thankful to able to go home to S.F for the holidays, my moms food is da bomb!

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  3. The fact that I know longer get stared at when I say soccer is my favorite sport.

    And, mostly, the fact that my son is growing up in a soccer nation.

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  4. Thankful for my little striker in training and our new tall neighbors with a daughter the same age. Gonna do my best to get them to be the next great target and speed forward combo. Look out uswnt in 2030! In all seriousness, thank you Ives for making this site your passion, so guys like me don’t have to work too hard to get our daily footie fix.

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  5. I’m thankful for how much soccer has changed in the US since I was a kid back in the 80s. Back then, soccer was a “new” sport (at least where we lived in central VA). That meant, among other things, that my youth coaches knew practically nothing about the game, let alone how to coach. They were volunteers–and I am thankful for that–but the coaching that my kids receive these days is 1000 times better. Their coaches, at U6, U8, and U10, teach them things that we never even knew existed back in the 80s. And I am very grateful and thankful for this.

    The other thing I’m thankful for is being able to watch soccer on TV. Back in the day, we got “Soccer Made in Germany” and, once in a blue moon, a televised match. With commercial interruptions, of course. But now, whoa! I can watch matches several times a week on channels like Fox Soccer, ESPN, and Univision. I get to watch some of the best soccer in the world. All the time. With no commercials! Who wouldn’t be thankful for that?

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    • Young people have no idea how much things have improved. I vividly remember the soccer wasteland of the 1980’s and the struggle for the first SSS. How many do we have now? 12?

      Just imagine what it will be like with this generation growing up immersed in soccer culture on TV and in MLS.

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  6. I am thankful that the usmt has good young players beginning to contribute. If only Klinsman would call up John O’Brien…

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  7. I’m thankful for quality soccer coverage in the US. Thankful that I can watch games for nearly 24-hour stretches on the weekends, without interruptio , if I so desire.

    Thankful for the Nats. Thankful that I’m financially secure enough (finally) that I was able to travel to two games this year. Looking forward to many more in 2013.

    Thankful that WC2014 is getting ever closer.

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    • I second the easy availability of soccer on TV–I’m apparently of the same vintage of Redneck below, I remember Soccer Made in Germany as the only real steady option, and really nothing before that.
      Along those lines, the “away” leg of the León-Tijuana Liga Mx semifinal is on Telemundo and apparently also online at 10:00pm EST tonight –of interest to some because of the Americans playing for Xolos . The other semi “ida” game (Toluca_América) is on Univisión Deportes earlier, not sure whether it will also be on Univisión.

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  8. Thankful for family that all healthy. And for a place like this where I can get my soccer fix, as my close friends all just put up with my interest in soccer. And to O’Brien’s Pub where we go to watch games.

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  9. DCU making the MLS playoffs, the continuing emergence of USMNT field players – playing abroad – making important contributions to their club teams (Cameron, Gatt, Mixx, Mikey B, Jozy, Boyd, Deuce, Klejstan, and the crew at club Tijuana), and the rare infringement call on penalty kicks (of course, only when it benefits the team I’m rooting for

    Cheers SBI.

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  10. New Jersey midfielders. I’m from California, but the history of USMNT success looks a lot different without Ramos, Reyna and now Bradley.

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  11. Happy Thanksgiving!

    I’m thankful for Ives’ new site. I’m thankful for “The Fiver” (no disrespect, Ives). I’m still thankful for Brian McBride.

    And I’m thankful for the tip that has brought me one step closer to the six-fingered man….

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  12. Having a bunch of soccer-loving friends. Life is good.

    And thank you to Ives and all the other people who work so hard to give us fresh content every day!

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  13. Diving headers and outside-the-box overhead kicks. And Pelé. He was really, really good. Watched YouTube highlights of Pelé last night and it was a special treat.

    Reply

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