2014 FIFA World Cup

[GFB]

American soccer needs a great American announcer and Gus Johnson isn't the guy I think

It sure as heck isn't Taylor Twellman either... He makes Alexi Lalas look like a composed student of the game.

[VictoriaGooner]

It sure as heck isn't Taylor Twellman either... He makes Alexi Lalas look like a composed student of the game.

I couldn't stand Twellman during the ESPN World Cup coverage. I hate how he was cutting off Ruud Van Nistelrooy everytime the Dutch legend was getting a little tongue tied during the Final build up. What an absolute twat! I couldn't stand listening to him doing punditry during MLS play-by-play with Ian Darke.

[Soarindude]

Taylor Twellmans looks are the only thing keeping him in front of a camera. He's god awful, and almost as bad as Eric Wynalda.

I can see Landon Donovan being a fantastic in game commentator when he retires from playing. Soft, well spoken voice and understands the game.

[Kevin W.]

American soccer needs a great American announcer and Gus Johnson isn't the guy I think

It'll never be Gus Johnson.

[GeorgesL]

If Germany were a college football player, he'd be this guy:

http://youtu.be/gC44nP7ClxM

And, well, you get the idea.

[DS729]

Can the US please come up with an actual nickname for the US soccer team? Like, I would have no idea what USMNT is unless I knew we were talking about the team. I don't even care if it's a cliche or corny name I'd rather see the team be called the Freedom Eagles or something rather than USMNT. Whatever it is I hope it's better than the chant

I believe it's "The Stars and Stripes".

And agreed. Something patriotic, bald eagles or something like that.

[alxy8s]

Can the US please come up with an actual nickname for the US soccer team? Like, I would have no idea what USMNT is unless I knew we were talking about the team. I don't even care if it's a cliche or corny name I'd rather see the team be called the Freedom Eagles or something rather than USMNT. Whatever it is I hope it's better than the chant

I believe it's "The Stars and Stripes".

And agreed. Something patriotic, bald eagles or something like that.

Don't the nicknames of other countries' teams almost always translate to something like "national team" or just name a jersey color?

[LordOfBaltimore]

Depending on what happens with the investigation it still seems FIFA is hellbent on holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In any event if Qatar is stripped and the U.S. happens to get it, I thought about these 12 areas that could host the matches:

Washington, D.C. - FedExField

New York - MetLife Stadium

Dallas - AT&T Stadium

Miami - Sun Life Stadium

Atlanta - New Falcons/MLS Stadium

Houston - NRG Stadium

San Francisco - Levi's Stadium

Boston - Gillette Stadium

Seattle - CenturyLink Field

Chicago - Soldier Field

Los Angeles - Rose Bowl or New NFL Stadium

Orlando - Rebuilt Citrus Bowl

Other cities I gave though to:

Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, San Diego, Philadelphia, Tampa, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Minneapolis

[NJTank]

Baltimore is too close to DC, Denver would be an automatic choice in my mind ahead of Orlando.

[pcgd]

Here's what the US bid actually had in it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_bid

Los Angeles (Rose Bowl & LA Coliseum)

Dallas (Cotton Bowl & Cowboys Stadium)

Washington DC (Fed Ex Field)

New York (Met Life Stadium)

Miami (SunLife Stadium)

Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)

Houston (Reliant Stadium)

Denver (Mile High)

Tampa (Raymond James Stadium)

Boston (Gillette Stadium)

Seattle (Husky Stadium & CentruryLink Field)

Phoenix (University of Phoenix Stadium)

Atlanta (Georgia Dome)

Baltimore (M&T Bank Stadium)

Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)

Nashville (LP Field)

San Diego (Quallcom Stadium)

Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium)

Interesting notes: 3 cities would have used 2 stadiums (LA, Seattle, and Dallas) and there is at least 1 stadium that wouldn't have existed anymore (Georgia Dome) but I don't think it was official at the time of the bid. Link provides some interesting stadiums that were considered but dropped out like Michigan Stadium, Edward Jones Dome, Soldier Field, Stanford Stadium, heck even Memorial Stadium in Champaign was at one time on the list but it was one of the first cuts.

[Jaffa]

It's worth noting that the bid documents usually include more stadia than would actually be used, FIFA and the winning host nation then whittle them down to 10-12 venues in the run up to the tournament.

I think that generally FIFA only allows one city to use two stadia, so at least two of the grounds in LA, Seattle and Dallas would have been ditched.

[alxy8s]

SB Nation posted an article about what the next American World Cup could look like. It had good ideas about splitting the country into "regions" to reduce travel in the group stage. Here's their map:

I think the regional idea is okay, but it's not like flights across the US are all that taxing when there's 4 days between games. That and I would hope that the USMNT would have their 3 games spread out to be accessible to more people.

[BlackBolt3]

I have no complaints with that. Minneapolis is a hard place to turn down, but that list seems fair. I'd go down to Atlanta for a game.

[OMMF]

Temporary grass at CenturyLink Field plays terrible. They would need a semi-permanent turf field to be able to host a World Cup game. Putting in grass at Husky Stadium would be easier and may be a better choice.

[FiddySicks]

Temporary grass at CenturyLink Field plays terrible. They would need a semi-permanent turf field to be able to host a World Cup game. Putting in grass at Husky Stadium would be easier and may be a better choice.

I've never seen it during football season so I really have no idea, but do you think that the U District would be able to handle the extra influx of people? This area always seems so cramped as it is.

[Nyk33]

Am I the only one that now sees the logo for this year's World Cup as a massive facepalm that is extremely appropriate for Brazil's WC performance?

[OMMF]

Temporary grass at CenturyLink Field plays terrible. They would need a semi-permanent turf field to be able to host a World Cup game. Putting in grass at Husky Stadium would be easier and may be a better choice.

I've never seen it during football season so I really have no idea, but do you think that the U District would be able to handle the extra influx of people? This area always seems so cramped as it is.

Yes, especially because light rail to Husky Stadium will be operational by then. Now it's a bit of a mess going to a Husky game but Metro runs many buses from park and rides all over the region to deliver the crowd without cars. Light rail will just make it that much easier.

[DS729]

SB Nation posted an article about what the next American World Cup could look like. It had good ideas about splitting the country into "regions" to reduce travel in the group stage. Here's their map:

I think the regional idea is okay, but it's not like flights across the US are all that taxing when there's 4 days between games. That and I would hope that the USMNT would have their 3 games spread out to be accessible to more people.

I'd totally go to DC for a game if that was the case.

[LordOfBaltimore]

You would have to think they would go with CenturyLink over Husky Stadium.

[dfwabel]

All of these proposed 2022 US venue battles give me tiredhead. How many threads somewhat derailed by pages dedicated to people's list? This one, the Don Garber one, and the thread regarding the 2018 and 2022 bid process itself.