...From Golf’s Heaven
Good news this week from Scotland, home of St. Andrews. US National Team favorite son DeMarcus Beasley is back training with the first teamers at Rangers. Beasley, the blazing outside mid, tore the PCL in his right knee last November and has been out of action since. His rehab went well, and he recently began practicing. No doubt US National Team Coach Bob Bradley is paying attention to this and will be keeping a keen eye on Beasley. We can only hope Beasley returns to the form that made him not only one of our better players but also one of our favorite players.
...The "International" Dilemma
There are many experts who criticise the collegiate soccer game because it does not adequately prepare players for the professional level. Perhaps part of the reason for this is that too many college coaches are going overseas to get their players. High school soccer stars in this country are finding spots on Division I, II, and III squads more and more sparse. Of course, you certainly can’t blame an international player for coming here to play - decent soccer, great education.
...Soccer And (or In) the Media
If you live in the Central New Jersey area and do not have the Fox Soccer Channel (at the very least), you will never know a thing about the world of professional soccer unless you travel to a newsstand and pick up the Newark Star-Ledger. If you subscribe to the Asbury Park Press like I do, well, let’s just say professional soccer is not covered. But at least you get pages of hunting and fishing and NASCAR and a page and a half of local bowling results. I kid you not. A page and a half of local bowling results. MLS games? There are days when the MLS standings are not even listed in this newspaper.
...Soccer And (or In) Hollywood
When you think of the great sports movies of all time, chances are non are about soccer. If would be hard to rank the all-time greatest sports movies, but, from this writer’s standpoint, you start with such great films as "Remember the Titans", "Hoosiers", "Miracle", "Raging Bull", "The Contender" and, of course, "Caddyshack".
But how many great soccer movies have ever been made? How many movies about soccer have you ever seen? Well, I am here to help you out because there are three movies out there that are worth a look.
Most recently, "Goal: The Dream Begins" is outstanding if you truly love this game. It is about a young Hispanic man who plays for a local team and gets seen by a former player from the English Premier League who gets the young man a tryout with Newcastle United. Although quite predictable, the movie never hits a dull spot and the soccer action is terrific. Rent it. Better yet, buy it, like I did.
Prior to "Goal", my favorite soccer movie was "Fever Pitch" - no, not that moronic baseball film with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. The original "Fever Pitch" was based on the book of the same name written by Nick Hornsby. "Fever Pitch" shows exactly what it is like to follow professional soccer in England with the lead character being - like me - an Arsenal nut. It has a love story as a backdrop (which helped me because my wife loved the film as well), is brilliantly funny and dramatic.
The third film was one of those that I just happened upon at the local Blockbuster one time, brought it home, and watched it with the family - "The Cup".
This movie is, alas, subtitled, but nevertheless, is worth it. It is about a monastery for young Tibetan monks, one of which is a die-hard soccer fan. The movie takes place during the World Cup. The monastery, obviously, has no television, causing our young lead character to design plans on how to watch the Final. Of course, he gets others involved in his devious plan and they manage to pull it off. This movie is cute without being moronic. And it is easy to follow along. My son, who was just 10 or 11 at the time, watched it over and over again.
There are other movies that had a soccer backdrop. "Victory" with Sylvester Stallone and Pele, about Allied POWs during World War II, is a decent movie, although Stallone, whom I do like, is absolutely awful as the Allied Goalkeeper (he’s got the technical ability of a U-11 recreation player). Still, at least the producers managed to get a few professional players to make the soccer action somewhat realistic.
For the most part, soccer seems to be a good backdrop for comedies. "Kicking and Screaming" with Will Ferrell and Mike Ditka was pretty funny. "Ladybugs" was cute. The biggest of all the movies, though, was "Bend it Like Beckham". Biggest as in most financially successful but in my humble opinion, nowhere near as good as "Goal: The Dream Begins". Get it.
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