Rooster and the Villain: An American Soccer Podcast

I have known Gerardo since the 2013-2014 NBA Season. We were both on "International Row", which was a section in the lower bowl of Verizon Center that was dedicated to International media covering the Wizards. 

We had a mutual friend early on, Arnaud Gelb, who connected us and then led our group in motivation as we all ended up doing some pretty great NBA player interviews before and after games. I recall a time where Gerardo, Arnaud, and I, spoke with Dirk Nowitzski for a good 10 minutes after the game and it was a fun conversation. We also met our fourth Verizon Center pal, Roscoe Whalen, from an Australian podcast on the way. We became a close group. Happy hours on days that there weren't games. Constant conversation on a Facebook group. Trips to NBA games. NBA All Star Weekends. Phone calls. Texts. 

But then...our friend and glue guy, Arnaud Gelb died suddenly in the middle of the night at 31 years old. It was crazy. Gerardo, Roscoe, and I were grieving hard. We still talk on our thread but it is definitely more bare without the constant barrage of Gelb-isms on there. But we're all still friends.

Roscoe has since left the US to pursue a career in producing news journalism on Australian Broadcast Network. I have pretty much "retired" from being a "fake reporter" and will have 2 kids any day now. Gerardo maintains a DC day job and has now successfully started his own journalism company. Just wonder what Gelb would have been up to?

We sit down our friend Michael McCloskey and put the Premier League sorting hat upon his head and let the gods of the internet determine which team he should support. Will it stick?

Beyond that, we talk about all the juicy drama happening in the soccer world. From Man City's two year Champions League ban and its ripple effects to some red hot Champions League match-ups, and a new soccer bar experience for Mike.

Lots of silliness.

In this bonus episode, we take a deep dive into the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid with the General Manager of Maryland Bobcats FC, Evan Raimist.

The Bobcats are fresh off of winning a United Premier League Championship (UPSL) National Championship in Florida. Now they are gearing up for their first season as a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) squad. Evan gives us a glimpse of what life is like as the GM of the Montgomery County based, Maryland Bobcats FC and educates us on both the UPSL and NPSL. 

Then of course we had to ask him about his opinion of soccer development here in the US. He gives us a breakdown of his own soccer journey (shoutout to FC Frederick and Shippensburg University). Tells us about some of the "dream brands" in the US (Providence City FC, Minneapolis FC, Forward Madison FC). Regales us with stories from his experience as a 10 year old at the 2006 World Cup. Then we dream about the future of US Soccer.

There's a bright future for Evan!

I'm legit publishing this before listening and the keywords I have been sent are:

• Rangers FC

I'm curious and I hope you are too. Enjoy a conversation among two friends that revolves around the beautiful game. 

Leicester and Chelsea tie. Bournemouth over Villa. Sheffield over Palace. Liverpool over Southampton. Newcastle and Norwich tie. Everton comeback against Watford. United and Wolves in a scoreless draw. Tottenham slaying City. Burnley and Arse in an unwatchable 0-0 tie. Bergwijn!

FA Cup schtuff. DFB Pokal. GIO REYNA GOLAZO. 

This is a weak ass effort for this write-up. Does anyone even read it anyway?