Rooster and the Villain: An American Soccer Podcast

Noah Perkins and I have been internet friends for a long time. We don't want to brag or anything, but we're kind of big deals in Japan. We co-wrote a column called "Mike and Perk" for the (now defunct) #2 NBA magazine in all of Japan (HOOP Japan).

Noah has watched from a distance as I have abandoned the sport I once loved and ran away with my new mistress; soccer. He explains why he continues to love the game of basketball with the exception of the NBA. He also tells a great story about how a former Patriots linebacker (Tully Banta Cain) broke his back in a pick-up game of basketball. 

We then get into which NFL players would make excellent soccer players and decided that Calvin Johnson would have been an incredible goalkeeper.

Oh to be 24. Our guy @nicodegallo (I love his handle) is just a delightful man to converse with. He tells us all about his experience with a press pass at the International Champions Cup games. He regales us with stories about how cool the Arsenal players are in person. Yuck.

Then we talk about his beloved Man City and their amazing depth. The odd losses early in the season. What it's like to play down an early goal. Then a dive into the USMNT dungeon. And of course; delightful champions league banter. Eventually we talk about his favorite local squad and his experience at their playoff game (Philadelphia Union). It was wonderful. 

Brad, the main Rooster, also tacked on ten minutes at the end here. I won't listen to it until I hear it on the air so not sure what he ranted about. He did end with Harry Kane rant, which I heard while recording the song, and he sounded angry. We'll see. 

Have you ever wanted to jump inside the devil's mind for a full hour? Here's your chance. 

This man didn't stop talking for 56 straight minutes. It was organized, thorough, and fun. He wrote an outline and switched up the topics to keep it fun.

The episode covers USMNT, Manchester United, the Devil's favorite movies, the Devil's top 5 games ever attended (any sport), a thoughtful monologue on referees, VAR, and the way we treat them. Just so much more. It honestly might be my favorite rooster and the devil episode. I hope you like it.

We tasked our #1 fan, Bryan Helder, to come up with 10 questions for us to answer about the Premier League. During this process, you find out which of the boys is left in the stone age in terms of the boxer/brief conversation. Then the episode dips and dives with delightful conversation that touches all parts of the soccersphere, even "Major League" Soccer.

This episode came immediately following the absolute slaughter of Tottenham Hotspur at the hands of the Bundesliga giant, Bayern Munich. Gnabry, an ex-Arse player, had 4 goals and claimed that "North London is Red". Tottenham has to remember all of this nonsense for when they march in to Munich and kick their asses in the rematch.

But anyway; that's over. We talk about Manchester United in general, their game against Arsenal, Europa League briefing (prior to the tie today), Brad tells us all about his trip to Idaho (#treenerd), his brother comes on, and the final week of Premier League before another USMNT break.