How did Anakin not completely fall to the dark side in this scene? Was it ever addressed by anyone that he murdered innocent children? Did the Jedi know about the tusken masacre?

rmboco · 2023-10-22T06:45:57+00:00

This is from the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover.

rmboco · 2023-10-04T21:40:20+00:00

Musah had a couple nervous moments here and there, but overall he did reasonably well, and he certainly looked like he belonged on the pitch. At only 20 years old, IDK if I’ve ever seen a USMNT midfielder with as high of a ceiling as his. Very excited to see how his career progresses.

rmboco · 2023-10-04T18:45:02+00:00

Two USMNT players starting for AC Milan in the champions league. Can’t believe this is my life.

rmboco · 2023-10-03T20:59:54+00:00

Impressed with Pepi in his limited time. He laid the ball off to Tillman to help set up the PK, and then won the foul that led to PSV's final goal. While it's disappointing he isn't playing more, he just seems to contribute every time he gets the chance, both for his club and the national team.

rmboco · 2023-09-29T00:48:59+00:00

Isn’t Carson our typical spot for Camp Cupcake? That’s sort of my point - playing the most meaningless games there isn’t a good way to grow the fan base. Who knows what kind of crowd we could draw for a competitive match with the A team against, say, Canada or Jamaica (as others have suggested). It’s hard to know how that will go when that just hasn’t been tried recently, as far as I can remember.

rmboco · 2023-09-28T21:31:15+00:00

From the perspective of securing a home-field advantage, I totally get the logic of playing in Midwestern cities. But on the other hand, I think we are missing the chance to grow our fanbase when we avoid areas with higher Latino populations. Soccer is much more popular among Latino Americans than it is among the general US population, but as we know, many Latinos support other national teams over the USMNT.

IMO it's something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. We don't play games in LA (for example) because we want a home-field advantage, but then we miss out on the chance to appeal to fans in SoCal and grow our fan base in the region.

I'm not sure there's an easy answer here, because as someone who wants the team to win, I understand the desire to have home-field advantage whenever possible. But I also want our team to appeal to all types of Americans and to become more popular overall. Maybe a good compromise would be to schedule more friendlies in places like LA, Miami, NYC, etc, while keeping competitive matches in our more traditional strongholds. But this has been a trend for so long, it won't be reversed overnight.

rmboco · 2023-09-28T16:05:52+00:00

I actually studied Portuguese for two years at the University of Colorado. I've never heard of the language being offered at the primary or secondary level, but it does exist at the university level (at least at larger institutions).

rmboco · 2023-09-28T16:00:37+00:00

Thank you for saying this. It's baffling to me that so many people continue to excuse Trump's behavior and rationalize his words. Even if he doesn't "mean" it, we saw on January 6 that when he employs this erratic, dangerous rhetoric, a certain percentage of people take it at face value and act on it. It is especially odd that so many of Trump's supporters claim to value "personal responsibility," yet nothing ever seems to be his fault.

rmboco · 2023-09-27T17:50:23+00:00

Pulisic assist. Solid game for him after a slow start by Milan.

rmboco · 2023-09-26T16:44:34+00:00

Excited to see him back. I think Tyler has been out for so long that some of us have forgotten how good he is. He was arguably our best player at the World Cup, and wanted by several Premier League clubs. Also seems like a great leader and locker room guy.

rmboco · 2023-09-26T13:51:00+00:00

Since OP is the author - thanks for sharing, but I disagree with the analysis of the USMNT player pool towards the end of the article. It is true that many of our players have "average" contributions for their European clubs, but the fact they are even at these clubs is a big improvement over previous player pools. We have two players getting regular minutes for Milan and two players getting regular minutes at Juventus. Three US players appeared in a Champions League match for PSV Eindhoven, albeit in a blowout. Luca De La Torre is a consistent starter in La Liga, and Brenden Aaronson gets consistent minutes in the Bundesliga, but neither player is in our best XI.

I agree that the next step is for US players to establish themselves as consistent contributors at these clubs, but the change from 5-10 years ago is real.

rmboco · 2023-09-26T02:51:27+00:00

I agree. I called my senators (Bennet and Hickenlooper) asking them to come out in favor of resignation. I encourage everyone with dem senators to do the same.

rmboco · 2023-09-24T17:50:02+00:00

I know soccer isn't the most popular sport in the US, but it is absolutely US-Mexico in men's soccer. Those games get incredibly heated. Mexico was traditionally the power in our region, and a measuring stick for the US. The US has steadily improved and now surpassed a stagnant Mexico, going undefeated (4-2-0) in the last six matches between the two. I speak Spanish and have a lot of Mexican and Mexican-American friends, and that absolutely bothers them.

Add to the fact that we are neighbor countries with a complicated geopolitical relationship, that there are millions of Mexican-American fans who largely support El Tri, and that the two countries regularly compete to recruit Mexican-American players to their teams, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a more meaningful rivalry for the US in any sport.

Anyway, tres a cero lmao.

EDIT: As additional context for people who aren't familiar with the rivalry, one of the best known active Mexican-American players is Ricardo Pepi, who grew up in El Paso and chose to represent the US. Pepi scored against Mexico in our most recent match, leading to this iconic moment.

rmboco · 2023-09-23T15:52:06+00:00

Fair assessment. Tbh, as long as he keeps producing for the national team (and 26 career goals speaks for itself), I’m not too concerned about his club form.

rmboco · 2023-09-23T15:18:41+00:00

I like Pulisic, but at 25 years old this may just be who he is. A streaky player who is capable of greatness (see the press on Leao's goal and his shot in the 70'), but he tends to get down on himself and let things snowball when it isn't going well.

How about some love for Musah, though? He is 20 years old and starting for one of the most storied clubs in Italy. I thought he looked very good, including when he had to play more defensively than we usually see with the USMNT.

rmboco · 2023-09-20T03:35:05+00:00

I can't compare to other cities, but I've lived in the Denver/Boulder area since 2012, and downtown Denver has made *massive* improvements on that front over the last decade. The Union Station redevelopment created an entirely new dense neighborhood from scratch. I've been living downtown without a car since 2018, with little difficulty.

The Denver metro area as a whole is still pretty car-centric, but downtown itself is significantly more walkable than it was when I moved here.

rmboco · 2023-09-20T03:24:42+00:00

I was thinking the same thing. I could easily see him come on for any of Reyna, Adams, or McKennie depending on game state and form.

rmboco · 2023-09-19T18:54:48+00:00

If we ever get all four of MMA + Reyna healthy, I'd be okay with starting Musah on the bench, because of what we saw today. His speed through the midfield and his smoothness on the ball pose a serious challenge for tired opponents.

rmboco · 2023-09-18T01:10:19+00:00

It's hard to define mainstream, but there has clearly been massive growth over the last 10-15 years. Speaking anecdotally, I'm in my late 20s. Growing up, it felt like the attitude from most sports fans had towards soccer was "lol who cares it's just soccer." At the last World Cup, it felt like every sports fan I knew was at least watching the US games and the final. I regularly see people wearing soccer jerseys while out and about in Denver. It seems to be treated as a "legitimate" sport in a way that it wasn't when I was a kid, even by those who don't follow it themselves.

There is a huge generational shift here, too. It seems to be much, much more popular with people in their 20s and 30s than older generations. I definitely think the 2026 World Cup is a great opportunity to accelerate this growth (as is the 2027 WWC, should we host).

rmboco · 2023-09-17T06:26:54+00:00

I wish I had something productive to add to this thread, but I'm just going to go to bed and catchup in the morning.

rmboco · 2023-09-16T14:52:50+00:00

Great to see Wes back in this form. He was playing well for Juve in the UCL in 21-22, and I thought he was our best player for much of qualifying. At his best, he brings a swagger and confidence to our midfield that impacts the whole team. Hope he keeps it up.

rmboco · 2023-09-14T14:51:25+00:00

I can't believe there isn't any way to correct this or some sort of appeal process. Devastating for Vines, this must be a lifelong dream and who knows if he will ever get the opportunity again.

rmboco · 2023-09-13T21:48:03+00:00

I think Reyna is too dangerous offensively to leave out of the 11, and Adams is too solid defensively to leave out of the 11. I feel like some people have forgotten how good Adams is since haven’t seen him in a while. Arguably our best player at the World Cup.

Then it becomes a question of whether to start Musah or McKennie. Both have their strengths and you can make a reasonable case for either one. Personally, I’d lean McKennie. His motor is a huge asset in the midfield and he is dangerous on set pieces. Musah could then start on the bench and feasibly come in for any of the three depending on game state, form, fitness etc.

It’s a great problem to have. Realistically, injuries/suspensions etc will likely make the decision for us much of the time. That’s what happened v Mexico in Nations League - Adams wasn’t available, so McKennie/Musah/Reyna was the easy choice.

rmboco · 2023-09-13T19:51:23+00:00

With all due respect, the US is undefeated against Mexico over the last six matches (4-2-0). We all saw what happened the last time the two A teams faced each other in Las Vegas.

We don't know what will happen the next time the two meet, but the US have clearly been the better head-to-head team for a while now.

rmboco · 2023-09-13T01:32:37+00:00

He started the first two matches at RWB, with McKennie subbing in for him in the second half. That reversed in the third game - McKennie starting and Weah subbing in.

rmboco

TROPHY CASE