Podcast
AN AMERICAN GAME
Hosted by SOCCERTOWN MEDIA · EN
Some say that soccer is an American game. Okay, Tom McCabe and Kirk Rudell say that, and it might sound weird if you’re an American soccer fan, and you’ve spent your whole life defending your love for the game to people who say the US has no soccer history.
But: soccer was in New Jersey before it was in Brazil. The US had a pro league before Italy or Spain. We were the first country to register for the first World Cup. In this series, the former teammates tell stories from the 150 years of American soccer history that even die-hard fans may not know. Tom is one of the pre-eminent historians of American soccer, and Kirk is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter, so it’s real history that’s fun to listen to.
With a World Cup coming this year, we want to give American fans a reason to stand a little prouder, cheer a little louder, and celebrate the generations of immigrants who brought their dreams, and the game, with them. Because it’s our game, too.
WEB: https://www.soccertownmedia.com/
IG: @soccertown_media
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25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Atlanta 2.0 -- Back to the Benz
Apr 1500:25:08Tap to summarizeLast fall, Atlanta was one of our Starting XI of US Soccertowns. As it prepares to host games in the World Cup, Tom and Kirk take a look at how preparations are going in the literal home of US Soccer.Then we re-broadcast the Atlanta section from that Starting XI episode, so tourists (and natives) can get a quick hit of the long history of soccer in the Dirty South. It's only ten minutes, so maybe Mauricio Pochettino can find time to learn about the country he has the privilege of representing this summer. Just a friendly suggestion!Special thanks to Atlanta historian and preservationist, Patrick Sullivan.And shout out to Atlanta soccer writer Doug Roberson: https://soccerwithdoug.substack.com/
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Our Family Versus Your Team: Inside the St. Benedict's Soccer Dynasty
Apr 100:38:53Tap to summarizeTucked in the middle of Newark, New Jersey is a small school called St. Benedict's Prep that has had a huge impact on high school soccer. For 40 years the Gray Bees have been the most dominant soccer program in the country...and one of the most dominant high school programs, in any sport, ever.How have they done it? Players like Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, and Gregg Berhalter helped. So have gifted international student-athletes. But maintaining excellence year after year, with the country's biggest target on their backs? That takes tennis balls.This week, we dive inside the Gray Bees' hive.
Transcribe →A Boycott Is a Flat Circle: the 1980 US Olympic Soccer Team
Mar 1800:39:00Tap to summarize"History rhymes" is a thing we say a lot, paraphrasing Mark Twain who was also probably thinking about soccer. With the threat of a boycott hanging over this summer's World Cup, we go back 47 years to when the U.S. Men’s Soccer Team qualified for the Moscow Olympics... and then had to stay home. It's another ugly collision of sports and politics, with Iran again playing a major role. Rhymes! It's also an excuse for Tom and Kirk to break out their Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan impressions. To paraphrase the Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to nail the impression but to make your dad stop the car and tell you to cut it out."
Transcribe →It's a Duck, It's a League, It's...USL
Mar 400:45:26Tap to summarizeIn 2028, when USL Premier launches, the United States will have a Division One pro soccer league at the top of a promotion-relegation pyramid. Sexy!But we're in 2026, when a potential players' strike threatens the entire USL season. Not sexy!Tom and Kirk look at USL's place in the US soccer landscape--at the intersection of small town dreams and big business--and, with the help of a wooden duck, explore how that tension makes it the most "American" pro soccer league. For better and, possibly, for worse.
Transcribe →AITA? I'm Co-Hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada
Feb 1800:44:29Tap to summarizeIn 2018, when the United States, Mexico, and Canada were selected to co-host this year’s World Cup, it sounded like fun: three friendly democracies throwing the world's biggest soccer party.LOL. LMAO, even. To kick off Season 2 of AAG, Tom and Kirk take a look at our (longer than you think) soccer history with our northern and southern neighbors and put some color back on what’s become a pretty crude, black-and-white picture. Because despite all the recent division, we’re actually more connected than ever. And that's something to root for this summer!
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Generation VICTORY: A Tribute to the Greatest Holiday Soccer Film Ever Made
Dec 1700:41:57Tap to summarizeWe’re back! Sort of. Season Two of AN AMERICAN GAME will be coming your way in February 2026, and we’ve got so many new stories to share about US soccer history that we’re burning one now. Hahaha that can’t possibly come back to bite us, right?Anyway, think of this as a holiday gift, because it’s about one of our favorite holiday films: the movie that influenced some of our greatest players, coaches...and podcasters. We’re talking, of course, about the Stallone/Caine/Pelé classic, VICTORY, a.k.a. ESCAPE TO VICTORY. Give a listen to find out how it was made–and why we’re still talking about a movie that was, in 1981, less popular than Ringo Starr’s CAVEMAN.
Transcribe →Soccertowns: A Starting XI of US Soccer
Sep 2401:34:30Tap to summarizeIf towns make a nation, we think our soccertowns make us a soccer nation. That’s kind of, like, our whole thing–it’s literally the name of the show. In our final episode of Season 1, we play a full 90 minutes (plus added time!) and dig into the deep roots of the game across the United States, from sea to shining sea. If you think we got our lineup wrong, let us know at: soccertownmedia@gmail.comOr hit us up on Instagram @SoccertownMedia Or on Bluesky @soccertownmedia.bsky.socialOr write a song about it, Alexi.And for more history:S.A.S.H.: https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/Washington State: https://history.wasoccerlegends.org/
Transcribe →Water Break
Sep 1000:14:58Tap to summarizeLook, if it were up to Tom and Kirk they'd just play through but, you know, Wet-Bulb Temperature, FIFPRO Players' Union mandates, blah blah blah.So while the team guzzles [ENERGY DRINK SPONSOR TK], enjoy this mini-episode where they follow up on some earlier stories, make a few (small) corrections, and chat a bit about a recurring character on AN AMERICAN GAME: Alexi Lalas.Back next week to finish the game- er, season!
Transcribe →Little Earthquakes: The First Women’s National Team
Aug 2700:43:26Tap to summarizeThe US victory in the 1999 Women’s World Cup has been called “a tsunami hitting the shore” for women’s soccer in the United States. But the seismic activity that started that wave goes way back to the 19th century. (Surprised? You must be new here.) Tom and Kirk track the long line of women’s soccer that led to an under-appreciated quake: the formation of the very first US Women’s National Team, the 85ers, whose wild week at a tournament in Italy 40 years ago laid the foundation for one of the most dominant programs in American sports. OOSA!Also, we give a shout-out to a member of the women’s national team pool from the 90s, whose daughter, a standout soccer player in Los Angeles, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a few years ago. The family has started a foundation dedicated to raising awareness about pediatric cancer, advocating for research and funding, and supporting other kids facing similar challenges. The women's soccer community, including the 99ers, have rallied around them--and so can you.Check out what they’re doing:Zoe’s Goal: https://zoesgoal.org/
Transcribe →Lone Eagles: US Goalkeepers
Aug 2000:50:36Tap to summarizeSome of our greatest writers have been goalkeepers. Unfortunately, none were available for this episode, so Tom and Kirk dug out their Goalkeepers’ Union cards to celebrate the one position where the United States has produced world class soccer talent for 140 years–and will continue to if US Soccer listens to this episode. So stop asking, “What if our best athletes played soccer?” and get to know legends like Briana Scurry and Stan “The International Man” Chesney.
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