Goal of the week

Before we left for Seattle, the Thunder played the sounders here at the NSC. It was by far the best game I've seen them play and they ended up winning 3 - 1. One of their goals was absolutely spectacular and it ended up being the "goal of the week." I found a video of it and had to share it. USL 1 soccer, while not the best, is definitely getting better and it's not all that often you get a goal like this. This is a from a free kick taken by Ricardo Sanchez from around 35-40 yards out.

embedded video removed because couldn't figure out how to turn the volume off and it got annoying to hear it every time you opened the blog (9-1-08)

Launch in external player

Thunder take down the Sounders

It has been a while since I've blogged about the Thunder. To say the least, they have been having a rough season. An eight game streak without a win says it all. To top this off, their coach stepped down. Yet, maybe change is a good thing. They played the defending league champions tonight and came back to WIN 2 - 1.There was also an article in the star tribune today about the supporters club. The above photos is from the article entitled: Dark Clouds add noise for Thunder

Thunder to host Burnley F.C.

I recently found out that the MN Thunder will host Burnley FC for a friendly match on July 15th. This is pretty exciting stuff. Burnley is a first division English team (now called the Coca-cola championship league) that has been a contender to make the Premiership, not too mention the club is 125 years old! Again, for those who don't know, most leagues in Europe are not built on a franchise model. There are several divisions and the top 3 teams move up each year and the bottom 3 move down.

In any case, It should be a huge crowd as the game will be held during USA Cup week. If you're interested in seeing a professional soccer game this summer, this is probably a good one. The only downside is whether Burnley brings their A squad or not... we'll have to see. In any case, I'm excited and plan to be in the supporters section.


Thunder page

Thunder fall short

The Thunder lost 0 - 1 against Vancouver Saturday night. It was a good game with most of the action taking place in the midfield. Unfortunately Minnesota never managed to piece together any quality scoring chances and ended up allowing Vancouver to get a fairly easy goal at the end of the first half.

It was fun to see some old friends at the game and make some new ones in the supporters club. I've even been working on some songs. It's fairly humorous to see what types of songs are adapted for soccer. For example, the hymn "Lord of the Dance" has been used by numerous clubs . . . and not always with the cleanest lyrics

Original chorus
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he

Chelsea FC
Carefree, wherever we may be
We are the famous CFC
And we don't give a ****, Whoever you may be
'Cos we are the famous CFC

For those who can read Norwegian, here's another version from Vålerenga
Blå – rød, i regn og sol og snø,
Engas sjel vil aldri dø.
Vi kjemper for klubben over land og sjø
– for Engas sjel vil aldri dø.

You can even download their version here

Future Minnesota version
Thunder . . . .

Thunder Supporter

Shana and I went to see the Minnesota Thunder play Miami FC tonight. The Thunder have just moved their home stadium back to the National Sports Center in Blaine. It was a good game, Minnesota has definitely gotten better over the years and won 3-1. What's also great is that the stadium at the NSC is being revamped to be more of a true soccer stadium. The best part of the night, however, was the supporters club. I've always wanted to go to a European soccer game and experience the songs, chants, and general craziness of a match. Now I can get a taste of this right here at home with the "dark clouds" supporters club complete with songs, drums, smoke bombs and flags. I'm pretty stoked to be a part of it and can't wait for the next game where I hope to join the tail gating party and the mayhem that follows! We'll see if Shana will go with me again :-) Check out http://www.blueskysoccer.com along with http://www.mnthunder.com/ for more info about the team and the supporters club.
Below is a photo of the construction taking place at the NSC with a the projected new sideline. I think it's going to be a great new venue for professional soccer in the Minnesota.
Now if the league would only figure out a relegation system. For those who don't know, most of the professional soccer leagues in Europe (if not all) have a relegation system. Each league has a number of divisions and in each division the top 3 teams move up and the bottom 3 move down. Anyone who wants to can start a team, they just have to start in the lowest division. After Malcolm Glazer bought Manchester United, a bunch of fans who were ticked off started their own club and I think their team is now in the third division, only two away from the top! I think there is great irony in the fact that this approach is far more in line with the spirit of the free market, especially in comparison to how professional sports are currently run in our country.