Defenders of the Banc - The LAFC Podcast

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Episode 78 is upon us, and this one has the Defenders asking, “Is it game day yet?!”

After the boys go over a few LAFC News and Notes and Scarf recaps This Day In LAFC History, it’s time to talk about the first preseason match of 2020, the international friendly against Uruguayan powerhouse Peñarol. We give our listeners a little taste of the rich, 128-year old history and track record of the club while showering some praise on the club and national team career of its newest coach, Diego Forlan. 

It’s underpromise and overdeliver time! The boys give you six players to watch for on the pitch after initially promising only five! Couple that with numerous smooth segues that go wonderfully awry and you have all the makings for a classic Defenders episode. 

A hearty congratulations to Bob Bradley for another award for the 2019 season, a healthy appreciation for South American club soccer, and the preseason pilot of a brand new segment, Putz of the Pod, all await on the newest episode of Defenders of the Banc with Filly and The Scarf!

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Episode 77 is here already! Yes, just four days after our last try at this, here we are with more! Blame LAFC, as a bunch of news, a new signing, two more draft picks, and the first practice of the season has ALL happened in the last four days!

Unlike half of MLS, LAFC actually used their two Day 2 SuperDraft picks! We are happy to welcome Jorge Gonzalez and Younes Boudadi to the Black and Gold! With our first practice in the books, LAFC unveiled three trialists, including a huge name in the MLS record books, Bradley Wright-Phillips! Back with the boys was last year's third keeper and friend of the pod, Phillip Ejimadu! Sadly, no Tyler Miller or Steven Beitashour, as LAFC begins a season without either of the two for the first time. 

We welcome to the club a kid with TONS of potential, Ecuadoran National Team member Jose Cinfuentes! Do yourself a favor and YouTube his goal against the U-20 USMNT. He could be a stud! 

We also welcome back (did she really ever leave?) Alicia Rodriguez, as she re-ups with Angels on Parade. It sounds like she actually may have received a little promotion in the process, or at least more work to be done. The LAFC family is richer with her at the helm of Angels on Parade!

Finally, a HUGE thank you to our friend at Body Armor, Matt Halverson, for helping with our new canopy! Don't worry. The Scarf is now in charge of all canopy storage from here on out! 

There's so much more to be dramatic about on this episode, so here it is: Which trialist has Scarf going "Full Mingo"?! Why was Filly impersonating Foghorn Leghorn? Was Leonardo Noguiera of Cal State LA drafted? How did they manage to fit in two Javi Perez mentions? How did "Remimartinn" finish at the first eMLS tournament of 2020? (Better than Jay Ajayi!) Which players and coaches on LAFC's current roster were drafted by someone in the SuperDraft? And when does the new kit finally come out?!? 

Hear the answers to all these and more on Episode 77 of Defenders of the Banc!

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Finally... the boys HAVE COME BACK... to Filimonster Studios! It's episode 76, and the Defenders are back in Burbank to record their latest episode. 

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft is upon us, and Filly and The Scarf look to attack it from all angles. Before tackling the draft, it's time to get up to speed on all the LAFC news and notes from the last 10 days. We say goodbye to Fito, and wonder what could have been. We welcome back Jordan Harvey and Dejan Jakovic for season 3. We congratulate Tristan Blackmon, the greatest draft pick in LAFC history, on his new contract! And we begin the slow countdown to our first preseason match, the friendly against Uruguayan powerhouse Peñarol, on January 25th. Get your tickets!

We also take a quick look at the previous two drafts LAFC has been a part of. Seven picks in two years, with four playing minutes for the big club! With LAFC picking 24th overall in 2020, we take a look at the history of the 24th pick. Hint: It's not great. 

Filly educates us all on what it means to be a Generation Adidas player as we look at the class of 2020. While his Hoosier goes #2, its goalkeeper Paulo Pita to the Black and Gold at number 24. Finally we have another keeper!

With one more pick in the first two rounds, LAFC brings in a Michigan man, forward Jack Hallahan. Stay tuned to hear who LAFC adds in rounds 3 and 4 after Monday's picks are in!

We round out the episode with a look at LAFC's first eMLS athlete, Martin "Remimartinn" Oregel, as he takes to the sticks for the first time for LAFC in Philadelphia. We've also got a great season-long partnership with Free Play and ThinkWatts that you'll hear all the details of! 

It wouldn't be an episode of Defenders without some ridiculousness. We take on Apollonia's Pizza after a recommendation from new friend of the pod Alexis Guerreros! Dry January? No thank you. What do the Tampa Bay Rowdies, the greatest draft pick in Montreal Impact history, a 5'8" soccer player at Cal State LA, Scarf falling at work, and Filly coming up with a brand new cheer for a player who never signed a contract with LAFC have in common? They are ALL a part of Episode 76 of Defenders of the Banc!

Is the Banc open yet?!?

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It's the second episode of 2020 for the Defenders, and it's our second HUGE interview of the season! Fresh off the heels of our sit-down with Stix, Filly and The Scarf are lucky enough to be joined by Alexis Guerreros, comedian, writer, American soccer defender, and one-half of the incredible podcasting duo known as The Cooligans!

Over the course of 70 minutes, Alexis and the boys talk about pretty much everything under the sun! We pick his brain about how The Cooligans got their start, what makes them so successful, and how his parents are still trying to cope with the disappointment of their son not becoming a pitcher for the New York Yankees. We talk about the beautiful city of Newark, New Jersey, his relocation to New York, and his quest to take over both coasts' best stand-up spots. We couldn't let him go without discussing the best pizza in Los Angeles (@ApolloniasPizza), what the crowds are like in LA's comedy clubs, and his thoughts on Banc of California Stadium and The 3252 after attending last season's playoff win over Carson! Trust us, Alexis is hilarious, but he also bleeds American soccer!

Julius Peppers makes another appearance on the pod as Alexis is baptized by the "Official Drink of Defenders of the Banc!" Also on the episode, be sure to listen for the way to score up to $20 off your next bar or food tab at Free Play while supporting the ThinkWatts Foundation! 

Stay tuned for our next episode later in the week, recapping the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, the recent moves made by LAFC (Is Fito finito?), and so much more! 

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Happy New Year from your favorite pair of podcasters, Filly and The Scarf! The Defenders look to kick off 2020 in a big way by interviewing LAFC legend, rapper, writer, producer, manager, and founder of the ThinkWatts Foundation, Stix! A special thanks to Erin and Brandon for allowing us to record at FreePlay, home of Black and Gold Fridays! 

Hear the story of how Stix became Watts' favorite son and philanthropist, from his beginnings as the founder of the Krump Dance movement, to working with Iggy Azalea and the icon Snoop Dogg, to his fateful clothing choice that led to his LAFC connections. His 2020 should be incredible, from working with LAFC, the Clippers, and soon, the Rams and SoFi Stadium. 

Near and dear to our hearts and the LAFC community is his foundation, ThinkWatts. Stix talks about all the amazing things his foundation does for the underserved community and all of the huge things on the horizon in the coming year.

Defenders of the Banc is proud to announce our season-long partnership with Stix and the ThinkWatts Foundation. We will be selling a special Black and Gold Watts Tower ThinkWatts logo pin during the entire 2020 calendar year to raise funds for his foundation. Each pin will be $10; $5 from each pin will go straight to the ThinkWatts Foundation!

As you'll hear in our next episode, Episode 75, this pin will also get you discounts at FreePlay all season long! Please help us raise as much money as we can all season long for the ThinkWatts Foundation. 

The Defenders have many more exciting things coming in 2020, including our interview with one-half of the legendary American soccer podcast duo The Cooligans, Alexis Guerreros! Here's to an incredible season three, especially for our boys in Black and Gold as LAFC gets set to kick things off this month against Peñarol!

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As 2019 comes to a close, the boys at Defenders of the Banc could think of nothing better than to get together one last time this decade to put a bow on the 2019 season.

In this short and sweet 26 minute episode, Scarf brings you one more This Day in LAFC History, Filly discusses our newest Uruguayan donning the Black and Gold, and the boys discuss their New Years’ Resolutions! We’d be remiss if we didn’t congratulate Tom Penn, John Thorrington, and Larry Freedman on their contract extensions, so we do! Also, listen for an early peek into who Filly and The Scarf are most looking forward to seeing at THEIR place in season 3!

Finally, we begin to lay out our plan for world domination in 2020 with an announcement about our first episode of the new year, an interview with artist, writer, producer, media mogul, and the Founder of the Think Watts Foundation, Stix. We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the second full season of Defenders of the Banc!

Here’s to many wonderful happenings in 2020 from your friends, Filly and The Scarf!

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Filly and The Scarf are back at it again on Episode 72! A flurry of LAFC news dropped over the last few days, but the main topic of discussion on this episode? LAFC crashes the CONCACAF Champions League party! 

The draw for the 2020 CCL is set, and LAFC drew the toughest opponent possible, Liga MX foe Leon. The Black and Gold will travel to Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico for the first leg, then host "Los Verdiblancos" at the Banc. Both legs will take place in mid-to-late February. Will it be a time to shine for Pablo Sisniega? Will we still have Diego Rossi? Only time will tell. Filly does a wonderful job talking (and talking) about the history of the CCL while the pair run through a mini-breakdown of Leon. Poor Filly will have to miss both matches, as he will be in Italy for the first set of matches. Will LAFC prevail in his absence, or will the pod-favorite hashtag #blamefilly make its return? 

The trip down memory lane on This Day In LAFC History is a little longer than usual on this episode. This week in December is a big one in LAFC, as news pertaining to Walker, Eduard, Tyler, Latif, Rossi, and former mates Marco Urena and Laurent Ciman all played out over the course of the last few years. There's even an obscure birthday on the calendar!

The Defenders family also takes time to wish a VERY big congratulations to @lafclarry, Larry Freedman, on taking home MLS Executive of the Year honors. As if we needed another reason to be huge fans of Larry? A new player, Danny Musovski, joins the Black and Gold, while we ponder the offseason fates of Dejan Jakovic, Steven Beitashour, and Jordan Harvey. The home opener is also a topic of discussion, as Inter Miami (Fort Lauderdale?) CF plays their maiden MLS voyage at the Banc on March 1. Welcome back home, Lee Nguyen!

Finally, the boys reveal Defenders' 1-year anniversary party, which will take place at @FreePlayLA on Friday, December 20th! Please bring toys for the Krew's Toy Drive benefitting Think Watts, and enjoy a Julius Peppers with the Defenders of the Banc co-hosts!

It'll be mid-February before you know it, but until then, take a listen to our 72nd try at getting this right. Thank you for your support!

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It's the offseason, so it's time to publish a fun interview we recorded during the season! Back in September of this year, between episodes 58 and 59, Filly and the Scarf sat down with do-it-all superwoman Roxana Aguirre, mother of two, wife, LAFC supporter, and part-owner of the brand 90 Plus Culture, a brand she helped cultivate with LAFC's very own Latif Blessing. 

You've no doubt seen Roxana around almost every tailgate and LAFC event wearing her trademark teal baseball cap! She almost never goes anywhere without it. Rox shares her story of how she became a ticket holder (Facebook!), how she got involved with Latif's lifestyle brand, and all the good and difficulty of bringing two children under the age of 4 to Banc of California Stadium on a regular basis. It really is a great look into the life of yet another incredible woman with LAFC ties. 

In this episode, hear Panda yell through the door of the studio at Filly, reminding him who really does all the laundry in the house! Also, hear the moment water almost shoots out of Scarf's nose as Filly re-tells his story of the torn hamstring he suffered playing kickball! Finally, Roxana shares with us Latif's favorite meal while sharing how supportive her husband Carlos is at every single game. 

Rox sat with us on her daughter's first birthday, and we couldn't be more grateful to her for doing so. Roxanna also (much more recently) sat down with our friends at Shoulder 2 Shoulder, so if you want to hear more of her story, please check out Chris, Christian, and Jonathan's great podcast. Their episode should be out soon. The LAFC #podfam is definitely full of great stories and people!

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What a week for the Defenders of the Banc! First, we sit down with President of The 3252, Jimmy Lopez, on Episode 69. Now, Filly and the Scarf head to LAFC's head offices in downtown to chat with Vince La Rosa. 

You may know Vince from his many fantastic articles on MLSsoccer.com or LAFC.com. Or maybe the many pre- and post-game videos and insights while you are at Banc of California Stadium. Or maybe you know him as a co-host of Inside LAFC, the fantastic insider podcast, with friend of the pod Max Bretos. The bottom line is this: there is almost NO place with a Black and Gold connection that you won't find Vince La Rosa. 

With so much current and impending LAFC news, we picked Vince's brain about a ton of different topics: Losing Lee Nguyen in the Expansion Draft, upcoming dates for options to be picked up (or denied) and new players to be signed, his take on the Shield vs. Cup debate, the 2020 All Star Game vs. Liga MX, and so much more. Finally, someone makes sense of GAM and TAM and what either of them mean! We couldn't leave without asking him what it's like to work with the voice of LAFC, Max Bretos. Will we finally see Vince conducting an interview in a jacuzzi? You've got to listen to find out!

We hope you'll enjoy this first sit-down between the Defenders and Vince, one of what we hope to be many more to come! And if you haven't caught up on Episode 69, with Jimmy Lopez, add that to your queue next! 

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To quote one of our favorite movies, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, “69, dudes!” It’s Episode 69 of Defenders of the Banc, and this one is definitely a memorable one. We have a very special guest in this longer-than-normal episode of Defenders.

With us today in beautiful Filimonster Studios is the President of The 3252, Jimmy Lopez! We are thrilled to be able to sit down with Jimmy and talk all things LAFC. Filly, Scarf, and Jimmy explore all of the recent roster announcements leading up to the Expansion Draft on November 19th. We discuss the 12 members of the Protected List, as well as the great debate of protecting Pablo Sisniega over Tyler Miller. It’s definitely hard seeing names like Steven Beitashour, Jordan Harvey, Lee Nguyen, Mohamed El-Munir, and Tyler on the Unprotected List, but with our ability to only protect 12 players, some tough choices have to be made. Who does Filly, Scarf, and Jimmy think are the most likely candidates to be picked? All three have different answers, so you have to listen to find out! 

Jimmy also gives us a hint at the offseason work being done by The 3252, including some amazing charity work over the holidays. Hear all about what it takes to come together to create the amazing tifos we are all in awe over before our biggest matches! There truly is no offseason for the leadership of The 3252. Jimmy even gives the Defenders a sneak peek at some new merch, revolving around the Supporters Shield. Trust us when we say to save your money for some sweet stuff coming! Speaking of merch, please heed the words of the president when he talks about the bootleg march being sold on Christmas Tree Lane.

We also wish a big congrats to D9U on their 12th anniversary and FCFC Pod on their 1st! Our 1 year anniversary is just around the corner, and there will be much more to come about that soon! Thanks for coming with us on our 69th (giggly) journey of all things Black and Gold. Much more fun to come on Episode 70, including an appearance from our friend Vince La Rosa to clean up all the mess after the Expansion Draft! Thanks for listening!

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