Cosmos averaged 48k, 47k, 43k in 1978-1980.  No one else came close to that but they were a huge draw with all their stars.

7 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

Cosmos averaged 48k, 47k, 43k in 1978-1980.  No one else came close to that but they were a huge draw with all their stars.

I do seem to remember that to Dips fans, the Cosmos were the "Cowboys" of the sport. Hated by all. 

Just now, VaBeach_Eagle said:

I do seem to remember that to Dips fans, the Cosmos were the "Cowboys" of the sport. Hated by all. 

There is a cool Cosmos documentary.  I didn't really follow it that much.  The Philly team sucked.  I went to one game at Franklin Field.

 

1 hour ago, DrPhilly said:

There is a cool Cosmos documentary.  I didn't really follow it that much.  The Philly team sucked.  I went to one game at Franklin Field.

 

I believe my tenth grade gym teacher used to play for them. That was the word going around at the time. I suspect it's true. As gym teachers go, he was one of the better ones.

Were they the Atoms?

11 hours ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

I haven't watched any soccer since about 1979. Back then, a local newspaper (The Prince Georges Journal), used to have a contest where they'd take a photo of a soccer game in action. They'd then erase the ball from the picture. You had to place an X where you thought the ball was. If you placed the X in the correct location, you'd win free Dips (Washington Diplomats) tickets. 

My brothers, friends and I would always enter the contest and won a bunch of tickets. Back then though, I think it was more important to most of us that we got our names in the paper as winners, than getting the actual tickets. 

I do remember getting to see Pelé play (if I'm remembering correctly), and at the time he was one of the more famous soccer players in the world (again, if I'm remembering right). 

Pele is still one of the most famous soccer players in the world. Probably the only guy in the same realm as Ronaldo.

5 minutes ago, TEW said:

Pele is still one of the most famous soccer players in the world. Probably the only guy in the same realm as Ronaldo.

I don't know Ronaldo, but I've always remembered Pele. In my time, I've been lucky to see a few all time greats. I got to see Jordan play, before most people knew who he was... my father had Maryland Basketball season tickets, so I got to see him a couple of times when UNC played the Terps. 

I also got to see the man who was better than Jordan, Len Bias. Sadly, most people never got to see Len's greatness though. 

2 hours ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

I don't know Ronaldo, but I've always remembered Pele. In my time, I've been lucky to see a few all time greats. I got to see Jordan play, before most people knew who he was... my father had Maryland Basketball season tickets, so I got to see him a couple of times when UNC played the Terps. 

I also got to see the man who was better than Jordan, Len Bias. Sadly, most people never got to see Len's greatness though. 

Christiano Ronaldo is the most famous athlete in the world. Also arguably (soccer debates make US sports debates look tame — you can reasonably make the argument for Pele, Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona or DiStefano) the greatest soccer player of all time, though he’s past his peak at this point.

Definitely check out some Portugal matches if you have a chance — this is probably Ronaldo’s last World Cup. He might be old but he’s one of those guys that is liable to do something incredible in the biggest moments. And with the recent drama around him, he’s definitely motivated!

And yes, Bias is definitely one of the most tragic "what could have been” stories in the history of sports.

9 hours ago, TEW said:

Christiano Ronaldo is the most famous athlete in the world. Also arguably (soccer debates make US sports debates look tame — you can reasonably make the argument for Pele, Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona or DiStefano) the greatest soccer player of all time, though he’s past his peak at this point.

Definitely check out some Portugal matches if you have a chance — this is probably Ronaldo’s last World Cup. He might be old but he’s one of those guys that is liable to do something incredible in the biggest moments. And with the recent drama around him, he’s definitely motivated!

And yes, Bias is definitely one of the most tragic "what could have been” stories in the history of sports.

In modern soccer, the only name that I could tell you, is Ertz. So Ronaldo isn't a name that I've ever heard before. Well, I've heard the name before, but not for that person lol. 

My best friend in Jr. and Sr. High, lived about a block away from Len Bias' childhood home. He and I and a few other friends at school, were in charge of getting guest speakers for weekly school assemblies. After Len's death, we decided to pop by his mother's home and ask her to come speak at our school. She wasn't home, so we left a note on the door. A day or so later, she called me to accept our invitation and invite me and my friends over to the house to talk about it. 

Their living room was basically a shrine to Len, who for us was a local hero. So sitting in his childhood home was a little surreal. Tragically, a couple of years later, Len's little brother was murdered at a local mall for 'flirting' with a girl that worked at one of the stores. 

When Len was drafted, I was all set to become a Celtics fan. I tell people that he was better than Jordan, coming out of College, and they look at me like I'm insane. But when I say that, I'm completely serious. He was a great, talented, basketball player. Probably all Terps fans from back then will back me up on that lol. 

23 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

Cosmos averaged 48k, 47k, 43k in 1978-1980.  No one else came close to that but they were a huge draw with all their stars.

 

23 hours ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

I do seem to remember that to Dips fans, the Cosmos were the "Cowboys" of the sport. Hated by all. 

 

23 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

There is a cool Cosmos documentary.  I didn't really follow it that much.  The Philly team sucked.  I went to one game at Franklin Field.

 

I was a huge Cosmos fan. they were the only non-Philly team I ever liked. I also recall really liking the Philadelphia Fever who played in MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League). 

12 minutes ago, JohnB said:

I was a huge Cosmos fan. they were the only non-Philly team I ever liked. I also recall really liking the Philadelphia Fever who played in MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League). 

I grew up in Maryland, very close to D.C., so for me, the Eagles were basically the 'outlier' in terms of fandom.

I followed the Bullets, the Caps (hockey), The Orioles, the Terps and even for a single pre-season game, the Washington Federals (USFL). After that single pre-season game though, I told my brothers that I just couldn't bring myself to root for a Washington professional football team. It had to be the Stars or nothing at all. They tried their best to turn me into a Redskins fan, too. 

1 hour ago, JohnB said:

 

 

I was a huge Cosmos fan. they were the only non-Philly team I ever liked. I also recall really liking the Philadelphia Fever who played in MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League). 

Have you ever watched that Cosmos documentary?

22 hours ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I believe my tenth grade gym teacher used to play for them. That was the word going around at the time. I suspect it's true. As gym teachers go, he was one of the better ones.

Were they the Atoms?

Yes, they were the Atoms. 

1 hour ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

In modern soccer, the only name that I could tell you, is Ertz. So Ronaldo isn't a name that I've ever heard before. Well, I've heard the name before, but not for that person lol. 

My best friend in Jr. and Sr. High, lived about a block away from Len Bias' childhood home. He and I and a few other friends at school, were in charge of getting guest speakers for weekly school assemblies. After Len's death, we decided to pop by his mother's home and ask her to come speak at our school. She wasn't home, so we left a note on the door. A day or so later, she called me to accept our invitation and invite me and my friends over to the house to talk about it. 

Their living room was basically a shrine to Len, who for us was a local hero. So sitting in his childhood home was a little surreal. Tragically, a couple of years later, Len's little brother was murdered at a local mall for 'flirting' with a girl that worked at one of the stores. 

When Len was drafted, I was all set to become a Celtics fan. I tell people that he was better than Jordan, coming out of College, and they look at me like I'm insane. But when I say that, I'm completely serious. He was a great, talented, basketball player. Probably all Terps fans from back then will back me up on that lol. 

Bias was an awesome player. 

32 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

Bias was an awesome player. 

I’m sure Roy Hinson was better though.

32 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I’m sure Roy Hinson was better though.

Gene Banks was as good as either

6 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

Have you ever watched that Cosmos documentary?

yes, I believe I saw a few years ago

Iran beating Wales by 2 actually helps us quite a bit, so long as we don't get blown out by England today, we can basically control our own destiny with a win against Iran on Tuesday.

2 hours ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Iran beating Wales by 2 actually helps us quite a bit, so long as we don't get blown out by England today, we can basically control our own destiny with a win against Iran on Tuesday.

I sure hope all of this plays out.

I really wanna get into this more I just can’t get over how dramatic and pussified all these dudes are 

39 minutes ago, LacesOut said:

I sure hope all of this plays out.

It assumes that England doesn't lose to Wales. So let's say we lose to England 2-0, but then we beat Iran 1-0, and Wales either ties or loses to England, we would go through with 4pts. If Wales beats England, then we still can get through on goal differential depending on how much we beat Iran by. In that scenario, we would need to beat Iran one more goal than Wales beat England by. If we have the same goal differential as Wales, the next tiebreaker is most goals scored, so even getting a goal in a loss against England could prove decisive enough to help us get through. Of course, if we just beat England, then everything is that much easier.

About to teach you yanks a lesson in footballing you won't soon forget.

No Welshmen this time... the men have arrived.

58 minutes ago, Arthur Jackson said:

About to teach you yanks a lesson in footballing you won't soon forget.

No Welshmen this time... the men have arrived.

I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve been excited while saying this 

1 hour ago, Arthur Jackson said:

About to teach you yanks a lesson in footballing you won't soon forget.

No Welshmen this time... the men have arrived.

A boring sport for for weak men to roll around and cry

Real solid first half, can't be upset with the effort or anything else, except for some yellows that should've been called against England.

15 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

A boring sport for for weak men to roll around and cry

Football is 11 minutes of game action, that is boring. 

Just now, we_gotta_believe said:

Real solid first half, can't be upset with the effort or anything else, except for some yellows that should've been called against England.

Great first half and belonged