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OT: We may win the World Cup in 2026

Because they feared for the lives of all the players. Also, nyc didn't get it either.

#JusticeForNJ

I have no issue with the NY Giants (because I'm a fan haha) but the whole New York/New Jersey for stuff like this really bugs me.
#Hypocrite
 
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Not a single venue from 1994 will be used for 2026. For this reason, I was a little bummed the Rose Bowl wasn't selected (though understand having two stadiums from the same region/county wasn't feasible).
There were only nine venues in 1994, as opposed to 16 this time.

Of those nine:

* Three no longer exist (Giants Stadium, Foxboro Stadium, Pontiac Silverdome).
* One is decommissioned and scheduled for demolition (RFK Stadium)
* Two are in cities that were not selected, Chicago and Orlando.
* The remaining three are the Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Stanford Stadium. All of which have been replaced by more modern facilities.
 
Going only on memory for 1994 World Cup ... I recall an opportunity to enter a lottery or list for tickets. People had to buy the entire slate of tickets for a given stadium. I was living in NorCal and got tickets to the Stanford Stadium matches - three or four group stage games (Brazil was in two or three), a Round of 16 match (which turned out to be USA-Brazil on July 4th) and a Quarterfinal match. The ticket prices were really expensive. I expect ticket prices to be astronomical.

I'm sure a lot of RU fans will have memories of the 94 World Cup and Italy matches at the Giants Stadium. I had moved to California almost decade prior, so watched the matches at Stanford Stadium. A much different experience than the Meadowlands because Stanford Stadium is a short walk to downtown Palo Alto.

I have some great memories from that WC, especially the first Stanford Stadium match - Brazil-Russia. I went with a buddy, arrive over three hours early on Caltrain. We immediately went to a bar (it was around 10 AM) to see part of the Ireland-Mexico match. Just started to figure out what we were in for when the bar was so packed full of fans, that many were standing and dancing on the tables and chairs. We left for a nearby grocery store to buy some beer. The place was packed full of exuberant Brazilian fans, including a cadre of models/cheerleaders, a couple of guys smashing bongos who were cheered on by a pack of drooling Brazilian dudes who I suspect hadn't slept in three days. Every cash register had a line that went to the back of the store - the store was almost as packed in as the bar. We picked up a six pack (It was about 11 AM by this point) and we stood in line for a while and the line DID NOT MOVE. We drank all the beers, but line still DID NOT MOVE. It was no problem, because the Brazilian fans were so full of infectious joy. By 11:30, we had downed the beers and said, eff it, and left the store.

We arrived at the stadium shortly after. Clarence Clemmons, Bill Weir and Carlos Santana all performed before the match. The game was kind of boring - Brazil just toyed with Russia the entire time. However, the 40 or 50,000 Brazil fans were in ecstasy. A great atmosphere that was like seeing your favorite band play.

After the match, we headed back to University Avenue for a lot of partying. My last recollection was riding Caltrain back to San Francisco and joining a multi-car conga line of Brazilian fans keeping up the celebration.

That sounds awesome.
I'm already pitching the wife on saving for a "World Cup 2026 Ticket Fund. Think of how much fun the kids will have....."
 
I have great memories of 1994 in NY/NJ. The Italy/Ireland final comes immediately to mind. A sea of green. How did the Irish get all the tickets?

Then there was the semifinal which was supposed to be a marquee matchup of Italy-Germany. Problem was, Germany was upset by Bulgaria in the quarterfinal. Bulgaria then took maybe 10% of the semifinal allotment being held for Germany. Thousands of prime tickets were given away to school groups that day
 
There’s really no NYC stadium you could stage this in.
It was the first game at Giants Stadium and along with the Louisville game and a Rangers Devils 94 playoff game still ranks as the best sporting events I have been to in my life.

IIRC they hadn’t had grass in Giants Stadium up to that point, and they allowed banners, so when you walked through the tunnel into the stadium you never would have believed you were in NJ instead of Europe.
 
DC didn't even have a stadium to use so they partnered with Baltimore for Ravens stadium. With all the Northeast Corridor places Baltimore was the odd man out.
 
It was the first game at Giants Stadium and along with the Louisville game and a Rangers Devils 94 playoff game still ranks as the best sporting events I have been to in my life.

IIRC they hadn’t had grass in Giants Stadium up to that point, and they allowed banners, so when you walked through the tunnel into the stadium you never would have believed you were in NJ instead of Europe.
I was able to see Germany vs. Bulgaria there in the quarterfinals. Not the outcome I wanted but still a very cool experience.
 
DC didn't even have a stadium to use so they partnered with Baltimore for Ravens stadium. With all the Northeast Corridor places Baltimore was the odd man out.
And apparently the Redskins stadium in Landover, MD is in pretty bad shape.

I’m sure that didn’t help with the bid either.
 
And apparently the Redskins stadium in Landover, MD is in pretty bad shape.

I’m sure that didn’t help with the bid either.
Originally, Baltimore and Washington submitted separate bids. Baltimore had the stadium, but lacked the global cachet. Washington had the global cachet, but lacked the stadium. (Fedex Field in Landover is substandard as you state.) So they decided to merge the two bids. They would use the Baltimore stadium, but the glitzy events would be held in DC.

FIFA was apparently unimpressed with that. There is no reason why the Northeast Corridor needed four venues. The Athletic (paywall) is reporting that it likely came down to Boston vs. Balt/DC, and that the political pull of Robert Kraft tipped the scales to Boston.

In that same Athletic article, the Balt/DC people speculated that the global image of DC (specifically 1/6/2021) did not help matters. One Balt/DC organizer said "It's (Washington) a complicated city for people who aren’t here when you see all the images that come up and I think sometimes that scares people away.”
 
Originally, Baltimore and Washington submitted separate bids. Baltimore had the stadium, but lacked the global cachet. Washington had the global cachet, but lacked the stadium. (Fedex Field in Landover is substandard as you state.) So they decided to merge the two bids. They would use the Baltimore stadium, but the glitzy events would be held in DC.

FIFA was apparently unimpressed with that. There is no reason why the Northeast Corridor needed four venues. The Athletic (paywall) is reporting that it likely came down to Boston vs. Balt/DC, and that the political pull of Robert Kraft tipped the scales to Boston.

In that same Athletic article, the Balt/DC people speculated that the global image of DC (specifically 1/6/2021) did not help matters. One Balt/DC organizer said "It's (Washington) a complicated city for people who aren’t here when you see all the images that come up and I think sometimes that scares people away.”
The image of DC is putrid for sure.

It’s mayor is a nutjob , high crime drug gang run city and the dislike for politicians is at an all time high.

Baltimore is known for shooting homicides and and a failed educational system

No surprise they didn’t get a bid.
 
Originally, Baltimore and Washington submitted separate bids. Baltimore had the stadium, but lacked the global cachet. Washington had the global cachet, but lacked the stadium. (Fedex Field in Landover is substandard as you state.) So they decided to merge the two bids. They would use the Baltimore stadium, but the glitzy events would be held in DC.

FIFA was apparently unimpressed with that. There is no reason why the Northeast Corridor needed four venues. The Athletic (paywall) is reporting that it likely came down to Boston vs. Balt/DC, and that the political pull of Robert Kraft tipped the scales to Boston.

In that same Athletic article, the Balt/DC people speculated that the global image of DC (specifically 1/6/2021) did not help matters. One Balt/DC organizer said "It's (Washington) a complicated city for people who aren’t here when you see all the images that come up and I think sometimes that scares people away.”
If FedEx Field was up to snuff, who knows. Because RFK was no great shakes back then either.

I don’t really agree with that last point put out by the article.
 
The image of DC is putrid for sure.

It’s mayor is a nutjob , high crime drug gang run city and the dislike for politicians is at an all time high.

Baltimore is known for shooting homicides and and a failed educational system

No surprise they didn’t get a bid.
From the context of the article, pretty sure that is NOT what the quoted source was referring to. But anyway, it is all speculation. The FIFA committee members are the only ones who know, and they aren't talking. Just as likely that they were simply skeptical of having the events in one city and the games in another 40 miles away.
 
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From the context of the article, pretty sure that is NOT what the quoted source was referring to. But anyway, it is all speculation. The FIFA committee members are the only ones who know, and they aren't talking. Just as likely that they were simply skeptical of having the events in one city and the games in another 40 miles away.
The Athletic can’t be taken seriously anyways but NJ getting the games is cool.
 
TV Alert for the really hard core fans…our u20s play Canada at 8:30pm in the Concacaf u20 championship. It’s on TUDN in Spanish (channel 464 for those with Directv).

We hammered St Kitts in the opener 10-0, but Canada should be a better test (though they did drop their opener 1-0 to Cuba). Again, this tournament is doubly important as it’s both the qualifier for next year’s u20 World Cup, and the 2024 Olympics.

Bonus for the Union fans is that Philly has 4 guys on the squad.
 
TV Alert for the really hard core fans…our u20s play Canada at 8:30pm in the Concacaf u20 championship. It’s on TUDN in Spanish (channel 464 for those with Directv).

We hammered St Kitts in the opener 10-0, but Canada should be a better test (though they did drop their opener 1-0 to Cuba). Again, this tournament is doubly important as it’s both the qualifier for next year’s u20 World Cup, and the 2024 Olympics.

Bonus for the Union fans is that Philly has 4 guys on the squad.
The U20s played Canada to a draw, and then beat Cuba 3-0 to win the group. They play Nicaragua Saturday in the Round of 16.

Two Red Bulls on the team: Caden Clark and Daniel Edelman.
 
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Back to the Senior USMNT, their final two friendlies have been scheduled. Japan on 9/23 and Saudi Arabia on 9/27. Both games to be played in Europe, specific sites TBD.
 
The U20s played Canada to a draw, and then beat Cuba 3-0 to win the group. They play Nicaragua Saturday in the Round of 16.

Two Red Bulls on the team: Caden Clark and Daniel Edelman.
We really outplayed Canada but they scored twice against the run of play. Cuba was a total mismatch, probably should have scored a few more times.

Pretty easy round of 16 game, then things will get a bit tougher. If all goes well, it likely comes down to needed to beat our youth nemesis Honduras in Honduras for a spot in the Olympics.

Clark has looked solid…I’d say the most impressive guy for me has been Aaronson, reminds me a lot of his brother and has a pretty high ceiling.
 
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I have great memories of 1994 in NY/NJ. The Italy/Ireland final comes immediately to mind. A sea of green. How did the Irish get all the tickets?

Then there was the semifinal which was supposed to be a marquee matchup of Italy-Germany. Problem was, Germany was upset by Bulgaria in the quarterfinal. Bulgaria then took maybe 10% of the semifinal allotment being held for Germany. Thousands of prime tickets were given away to school groups that day
One of the games I was lucky to be at. Stoichkov! Scored off a free kick if I recall. Italy/Ireland was the most fun game.
 
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One of the games I was lucky to be at. Stoichkov! Scored off a free kick if I recall. Italy/Ireland was the most fun game.
Think that's the game he said "God is Bulgarian!"
After they lost, he was asked if God was still Bulgarian. He replied "Yes. God was on our side, but the referee was French."
That dude was always a great quote. And Super Bowls, NBA Finals, etc, that was still my favorite event to cover, damn near 30 years later.
 
The u20s just beat Nicaragua 5-0 (probably about the right result based on the flow of the game, though we didn’t score the first one until first half injury time) to advance to the CONCACAF quarters. We now play Costa Rica on Tuesday night, with the winner claiming a spot in next year’s u20 World Cup. Win that, and we’ve likely got a matchup with Honduras (in Honduras) in the semi with a spot in the 2024 Olympics at stake.

The Union players on the squad are playing very well. Sullivan followed up his hat trick last time out with a brace tonight (plus he drew a penalty that we converted). And I think that Aaronson has been the best player on the team. Beyond the Union, really like Cowell (he’s been capped already for the full national team), and Diego Luna (he just joined MLS from the USL earlier this month, though he does also have Mexican eligibility).
 
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Hope MLS can remain viable media rights deal but heard the decision by US Soccer to break the package up btwn the domestic league and national team hurt MLS.

The MLS academies are pumping out talented players and its national structure is the difference.
 
Hope MLS can remain viable media rights deal but heard the decision by US Soccer to break the package up btwn the domestic league and national team hurt MLS.

The MLS academies are pumping out talented players and its national structure is the difference.
Not sure what you heard, but...

OLD DEAL: $90MM per year, split between MLS and USSF.

NEW DEAL: $250MM per year, all for MLS.

How does that hurt MLS?
 
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Hadn’t seen the actual dollar amounts following the announcement but read speculation that the deal was tied to subs.
 
That’s great then! Was afraid they were going to get less as I had read some articles about the league’s value as a media property.
 
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TV Alert: u20s against Costa Rica tonight at 7pm on FS2…winner goes to next year’s U-20 World Cup. Plus, winner will play on Friday night in the semifinals, with the winner of that game qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
 
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