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As soccer takes center stage this summer, Comcast helps bring the experience home to America. As the exclusive Spanish language home of the tournament in the US Telemundo is set to present its most expansive coverage ever. 700 hours of programming, live on site presence at all 104 matches and with multi view and real time 4K Xfinity will deliver the most innovative and immersive sports viewing experience for fans watching on Telemundo, Peacock, Fox and FS1. Learn more at comcastcorporation.com Todd A lot
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of virgins working in one room together. A lot can be accomplished.
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Han I just got excited.
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And Rosenberg, Alan just expressed theoretical arousal about the Dolly Parton puppet.
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This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.
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This is Don Hahn and Rosenberg.
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The best threesome I've ever heard on
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ESPN New York and streaming live on
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YouTube 301 of the big city Don Hahn and Rosenberg until 6:30. Then it's Mets Royals, the rematch of the 2015 world can the Mets get off the mat after a disappointing game five loss of the World Series in 2015? Can this three game series here in the middle of July help the Mets soothe their problems and get Kansas City back on track? Coming up at 6:30 here on ESPN New York. Did I sell it?
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Really good promo.
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Did I sell it?
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Oh yeah, yeah.
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Good.
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I'm in. I'm in. I can't wait for this game.
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Are you in?
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It's like your dream.
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Are you sure?
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Oh yeah. It's one of the reasons I didn't even care about what happened last night because I just couldn't wait to get good.
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See that's the thing.
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Let's.
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Let's get to the bottom. Look, brass tacks here. It's talk about a Tuesday, but it should be brass tax Tuesday. How about this? Is that you. You wanted the USA to win because you've rooted for them since you were a kid.
C
Yeah. 14.
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And you've got different jerseys.
C
Oh yeah. Going back to 95.
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And you love them. But a major reason was that we don't have to dive back into the
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baseball, especially the Mets. I mean it's. The Yankees sucked. We're having a Yankee. Yeah. It's a slightly different version, but we're having a Yankee suck moment of which we usually have one a year.
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They bounce back nicely, you know.
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Of course. Of course they did. So it's really. What does it all mean? In three days the story could be over.
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Yeah.
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And then the Mets is a completely recurring. This is just going to be.
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I don't know how much Mets we're
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going to be talking.
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Door gets dealt. I think that's really.
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Yeah. The trade deadline to me is the only next big topic.
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Don't you.
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There won't be a lot of Mets.
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You don't think there won't be a lot of Mets?
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I don't know.
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It depends if they. If they end up dealing him. You never know.
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Luke Weaver, by the way back to the Yankees would be something.
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That would be something.
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I might.
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Aaron Judge done right now.
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Really good. Right. Straight up.
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Just move on.
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Really good. Tell you I'll give you Volpe. Would you take Volpe?
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No.
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Because he's in the way right now.
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Although the Yankees just. Caballero hits two home runs. I don't know if you should play short. You know you can't do it because Volpe's got no place else to play.
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That's what I mean.
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Listen. Plenty of baseball to discuss. And basically until.
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And Brunson's having surgery.
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What just shows you how amazing what he did. Right? But I'll give you 100%.
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I'll give you what that's all about.
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All right.
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Listen.
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We got a lot.
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I'm saying later on just three and a half hours.
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But there's got to be closure on Team usa. All right. And I watched it. I went to the mill and suffering the two riches like helped me out Gorgeous wings burger that you dream about and sat there and I had the Mets on one tv. I had the Yankees on the other tv. But completely captivated by Team usa. They bounce back after giving up an early goal. They tie it less than a minute later. It's 2:1. And they eventually lose the game.
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It was a glorious 61 seconds.
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Is that how long was 61 seconds? You know.
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And stop. Listen. Peter's going to have his opinion. Alan's going to have his opinion. But can we please stop. Stop with the analysis. After it's over. It's like.
C
Oh.
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But yet still they captivated the imagination of the United States. And no. It's just another failed run. It looks a lot different than it did. And Peter will get into that in just a second. But it ends up being the same old garbage. And I'm sorry. The entire world is laughing at us right now. Laughing at us. After everything that went down with all the controversy over the last 36 hours.
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For this.
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That to be your response, that to be your effort and anybody upset that Belgium's trolling you on social media and they did the Trump dance after a goal that you earned that. You gotta wear that because. I'm sorry. The feel good. The whole thing about, oh, well, the soccer. Finally, 30 million people watch it. All the goodwill. That's not what they're in it for, man. They're in it to finally be a legitimate contender and listen, enough already. Enough. They deserve to get killed. That effort, that performance, Peter, they just didn't look like they're ready to play. They looked overwhelmed by the moment, and they deserve the 41 loss.
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Where do I begin? Don? Yeah, completely agree. It was one of the most disappointing games I've ever seen from a team that I'm rooting for in a big spot. They were putrid from the second the whistle blew. They defensively looked completely lost. Effort looked bad. Knowledge of where they should be looked bad. They didn't seem to have any solutions for anything that was thrown at them. It was awful. The goal off the set piece was obviously amazing. And that's back to back now. And for that to happen again, I've never seen that. And again, I'll point out that as being another thing that was unique to this version of U.S. soccer that we haven't seen before. Beautiful set pieces like that, you haven't gotten a ton of it. But, guys, the Pat, Al and I texted about this last night. In the group, the passing was never crisp, constant turnovers. They never. They never felt like they could even possess the ball well. It was just absolutely brutal. And I'm really upset and disappointed by all of it. And I got to tell you, to me, you cannot remove the 36 hours that came from it. Would they have lost to Belgium no matter what? Probably. But would they have looked the way they looked? They looked to me completely disheveled. They sort of looked like a team maybe that had been prepping for one thing for four days. Then it changed the day before the game. Allen, this is a sport.
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I know.
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This is a different kind of sport. This is not the NBA. It's not the NFL, certainly, where everything's based on play calling. And like, yeah, you could sub, you move one lineman. Nothing changes. Without Baligan. You're thinking of doing things differently. You can't tell me that there was no impact on an international incident happening involving this team. That also changed the mentality for Belgium. Belgium went from being the US Was the team with the chip on their shoulder going into it. Not anymore. Belgium went into that game with the chip on their shoulder, with the world kind of rooting for them to show Team USA what time it was.
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I get it.
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So we can't act as if a gigantic thing happened.
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What did I say yesterday?
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And hovering over this team had zero impact.
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The asterisk switched from one side to the other side.
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You said it yesterday. You literally said it verbatim yesterday. That all of a sudden we lost any goodwill internationally. PR probably affected the fans in Seattle, who are. Let's be honest, Seattle's a huge hardcore soccer market.
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Building was rocking though. Yeah, they sang.
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No, they did a pretty good job.
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It wasn't.
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It wasn't. It wasn't Estadio Azteca. But it was. But it was a vibe.
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Is anything that. But.
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But on some level, until we barely
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sat down and it's already won nothing.
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Right. Instantaneously.
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So. So.
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But they looked markedly different than they had the whole tournament.
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I'm with you. And there's a part of me that wants to credit Belgium's approach defensively because first thing they did was take Pulisic out. Completely out of the game. Although he's zero impact. No, but you see. But it shows.
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But he wasn't good the whole tournament, Alan. He played a good 40 minutes.
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I get it.
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In the whole tournament.
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But there's still a strategy too. He's their star player and we're not letting him have an impact on this game. And what happened? He got frustrated. He got down. He might have tapped out, guys. We don't know. He might have tapped out. Because that part's. The frustrating part is this was supposed to be the new Captain America. Right?
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This was the next.
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This guy is such a. An elite player. You know? You know, it's elite. Elite. Is Lionel Messi just going off down to nothing to Egypt today?
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Yeah.
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Like that's what you need, refusing.
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We are not going to lose.
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No, I understand. He's one of the greatest players of all time. But the point I'm making is sometimes you could see it just watching the way a team is playing that they also are like, yeah, we're not at this.
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Does this sound like. Tell me. I'm asking. Honestly, I haven't heard it yet. I just heard about it. Does this sound like the guy who you need to be the star of your team to save you when the chips are down?
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Just twisted my ankle and just sprained my ankle. I mean, it's just frustrating to end like that, of course. But, you know, now I. Time to rest, so hopefully it'll be okay.
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Cool.
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Well, you can rest four years. If you're in another World cup, it'll be in four years.
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It sounds like Zach Wilson.
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How.
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How Is that the face of your program?
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First, what I need is him to have a little bit of pissed off in his voice.
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I don't want a little. You know what? When I. When I hear voice and listen, I'm no big soccer guy, but I'm a sports guy, and I've covered sports and I've gotten to know athletes, and I watch that, and they look like a team that was overwhelmed by the moment.
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Yeah.
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You know, hey, you're the underdog. It's the usa. Nobody believes in you. And you go out, you. You win a couple of games, and you win your pool.
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Okay?
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Been there, done that.
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They had some impressive votes.
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Now the world's watching you. Now you're the bad guy. Now you're the favorite. And now you're supposed to show up and you choked on yourself. That's all you did. That's what it looked like. It looked like a team that was just not ready. And when I hear Julissic talk like that, it almost sounds like it's really not that important. Oh, yeah, listen to his voice.
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No, you're not.
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You just got embarrassed on the world stage. The world was watching you. Got about. I twisted my ankle a little bit, you know, but, you know, rest up. We'll be okay. No, no, you should be mad. You should be. You should be furious that yet another four years goes by and nothing. And never mind what it means to soccer in the United States. You know what? The players shouldn't care about that. What the players care about is not the growth of the game, the popularity of the game, is that you get every four years a shot to show that you belong on the world stage, that you belong as a player, as a team, and that's how you show up. You just came off watching the Olympics where Team Canada millionaires who play in the National Hockey League are crying on the ice because they won the silver medal, because they wanted to win the gold. Didn't earn a dime for it. They just wanted to represent their country and win. And you see what the United States did when they won again. Millionaires who are going to go back to their job a few days later are killing them to represent their country and are proud to represent their country. Leaving it out there, Jack Hughes smiling with teeth missing in his mouth because they want to represent their country. And this is what we get from the face of USA Soccer.
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Just twisted my ankle and just sprained my ankle. I mean, it's just frustrating to end like that, of course, but now I have time to rest, so hopefully It'll be okay.
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Okay. Well, that's what we're all worried about. After we watched the game and watched the. We were really worried about, you know, rest up because you've got some friendly somewhere that would make sure you're okay. That's what I was concerned about. Nobody got hurt.
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Yeah.
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That's what I did. When I turned off the tv when I left the mill last night, I was like, well, nobody died. Hopefully everybody feels better for their next game. Come on.
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It's a joke. It's not a joke. He laid on the field in an elimination game, and he got up and he tried to play through it and clearly couldn't. Right. He was struggling, but it's like, at some point, you know, that's. I think when you realize that you're dealing with some people that never believe they could actually do it.
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See, that's a better way to put it.
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And that's why I think you hear that in his voice, because deep down, he's not crushed, because he never really believed he could do it.
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It doesn't sound like it. It doesn't sound like he believed it, Don. And I'm telling you, I. He. If we're being honest now, we have a moment to break this thing down. They've been offensively. They've been really good throughout this tournament. And he was really good in the first half. In the first game. Now, remember, he doesn't come back after halftime.
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Yes.
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So he gets dinged. He's dealing with the calf or whatever. He helps set up the two goals in the first half, and then he ends up not coming back, and then he misses the next game.
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He.
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He was really basically ineffective after that.
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He.
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He was not the dude on this tournament. Baligan was probably the dude on this team in this tournament. And let's not even get started with the goalkeeper. Freeze is a freaking joke. I mean, that is. That is. You talk about mental error in a big spot.
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Yeah.
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You.
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You do this for a living.
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Young way cooed that, didn't he?
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He did. Young way coo. He did, because he comes out, he gets out of the box. So obviously, once you're out of the box, you can't play with your hands, so you got to play it now with your chest and your feet, which he tends to do.
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Yeah.
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Then completely just misses the ball, kicks the ground. We still had an opportunity to stop it.
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Can't.
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Can't.
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That was the moment. It had already been an embarrassing start, but that's when you can hear the Brazilians and the Argentinians and the French and the British laughing, just going. And that really was a setback for the guys who'd worked really hard in this tournament to play better. That moment was a true joke.
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And I'm not talking about, you know, fighting through the pain the way Brunson did. I'm not even gonna go there. Okay. Because I don't know how badly he was hurt. But did that sound like a guy that was devastated by the result?
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No.
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And I think Alan put it better than I did when I said it sounded like he didn't care. It's not that they don't care. Of course they wanted to win, but they knew they weren't.
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Yeah.
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Because that's not what. That's not where we're at.
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Right.
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As long as we want to build it up to be that way. I just feel we try.
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We were farther than we've ever happens in sports. We start to believe in a team that goes on a run, and sometimes the experts try to tell you, hey, listen, this is nice, but come on, that does not have to happen. And you don't want to hear it. So you get into it and you want to believe that something crazy can happen. Right. Because in 1980, we saw something that shouldn't have happened happen. So ever since then, we're always going to believe that can happen. Yeah, but I also just feel like we get caught up in those types of things when even the players to themselves are going, like, let's not get crazy. Like, we know where we are right now, but you got to look across the field. That's a top 10 in the world team in Belgium. And as Peter said, and he's right, they already were motivated. They didn't need extra. They didn't need extra motivation. They were motivated already because, you know, they are an older team trying to make another. Make another run at it before this generation of Belgium is over. Right. So they're already motivated to win. And then add to it what happened with them overturning the red card. Now they're feeling away. So now you've got this angry pack of dogs, this veteran team that comes out, and they're on you from the kick, on you. And that's what I saw a US Team going, oh, snap. Right?
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Yeah, it felt that way.
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And they were on their heels. They couldn't make a pass. They could. I know this is a basketball term, but this is all I kept saying. They couldn't beat anybody off the dribble. And whenever I see that in basketball, when you don't have the sink. No one can beat them off the dribble. You got a problem. You got a problem and it starts to mess with your head. And then you make those errors that you may like. That's the problem is that it starts to the domino effect of mentally, it's the Mets, it's the Yankees right now. Can't hit now. I can't field. Same thing happened to these. These kids. We watched it last night. That's what you saw. They were overmatched at the start and then they knew it and they mentally crumbled. That is not on the coach. That is once again on the system. This is a team that is good, but they're nowhere close to being one of the best in the world. Not even close. So we should, as some of the analysts wanted to say, we should have an appreciation for the run they had, the pool they were put in to set up a time that the country got back behind the sport again and started to believe. The problem was we got suckered again into thinking maybe this is the year they finally break through and some miracle can happen. And then we were reminded once again, no, this is the sport of kings. You're far, far from being among the kings.
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Yeah, that was disappointing to watch.
C
Yeah, I would say they're still a ways away, unfortunately. I think there's being a little bit of revisionist history that I've heard. Absolutely nothing has changed. It's the exact same thing again, I do think it's a slightly extenuating circumstance because they really did look good in some of these games. You really did see a different level of play, but like. But really, like consistent. I mean, the way that they scored their goals in all three group games and then even in the Bosnia game, the confidence. Remember yesterday when they went down, guys, that was the first time they were ever down. Okay, like, so let's not act. They didn't barely get through the group stage. They were really good. I understand Paraguay is not incredible. Neither is Australia, but they.
A
They pretty good team.
C
Solid.
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How many clean chances other than obviously the direct kick, how many last night chances did they get on. On net?
C
It felt like almost.
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They couldn't.
C
Couldn't, right. It felt like nothing.
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The only way they got one was because of the penalty.
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Yeah, that's correct. So yesterday they looked completely broken, which is why I just.
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Their speed was taken away and that was their strength, their speed. They could not ever make just that one touch.
C
I was listening to caught off sides today, which, if you're looking for a Good breakdown of the game. Our friends Andrew Gunling and JJ Delaney Devaney, they do a podcast and obviously they did one last night, and they were explaining some things about Belgium's approach, both offensively and defensively, and they really did us in. I mean, that part's true. There's a million fingers I can point, but really, at the end, you got to point to Belgium, too. Who smacked him.
A
Phenomenal. The US Were not physically phenomenal. Right.
B
Beat the hell out of them, no matter what. I mean, you could have a lousy team, just look good for a week. Great. True greatness. A champion does it on a more consistent basis, and there's going to be times where you're going to be tested, and, boy, did they absolutely fail the test. All right, so we could talk about, you know, Trump intervening and all the things that kind of put the world against us, but that's the true test of a champion, the true test of how good you are. So they looked great early on, but really, you even said it yesterday, Peter, that we've. Because they've expanded it. You know this. We've seen them play, we've seen them get out of a pool. It seems like this last night was our. Is it truly different? Maybe it looked a little different early on, but it ends up being the. The same result that we've always seen, and it's not. And it's not a one nothing loss in penalty kicks. You lost four one.
A
Yeah. No, you. You were outclassed.
B
You were outclassed by. What did Egan call them? Like superpower ish? Like power ish. Power ish. So let's say they had won the. What's going to happen to Spain on Friday? Against Spain. Right.
C
It would. They would have been a serious dog. Serious. Oh, you mean what's going to happen now?
B
No, no, no, no. I'm saying they had won the game based on what we found out last night. Again, they didn't win the game. But I'm just saying that the. Belgium's not Spain. It's not Argentina.
C
No, but, but, but it would have fell. That's the thing. If they. Guys, if they had just shown up last night and lost, I think we would have all felt different.
A
Dignity.
C
Yeah. It's the way they lost. It was never.
B
Even if it was not 1 nil.
A
1 nil. Like they get. They get an early one and you just can't get through their def. You could tip your cap. It's. It's because of, as I always say, what it looked like and what it looked like was a team that was outclassed. And now I don't put this on preparation. I don't put it on coaching even. You could see the US coach kind of sat there just looking like, yeah, I've seen us at our worst, and this is our worst. I know what it looks like. And our guys are just, everything that can go wrong is happening and there's nothing you could do about it. The worst time of it, of course. And what does it do for the sport in the US I don't think it does anything. I don't think it does anything negatively. I don't know what it does positively. But if anything, there should be just continued motivation by anyone in the development system. Because the one thing I hate about what we do in this country is we profit off of developing youth sports. We profit off of developing players in every sport. Club, teams, you pay for everything costs a ton of money. Europe, they pay for you to develop. That's why they can get players from all walks of life, because some of them can't afford it. You don't lose them, they don't get lost in the system. And soccer is a sport that isn't played by all just rich kids. It's played by everybody. But because it's expensive, you get to a point where you have to make that financial choice of, you know, I can't afford to pay for that club team. I can't afford to play, pay for training. So I just couldn't play anymore. I played in high school and I was done. That's a problem here. But that's what we do in this country. We profit off of youth sports. In Europe, it's the opposite.
B
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A
Do you hear that? Sounds like breakfast is ready. Because Quakers coming in hot with morning nutrition, 100% whole grain oats and a good source of fiber to fuel the rhythm of your morning and kickstart your day. And that sounds absolutely delicious. Fuel to start whatever's next Quaker Official sponsor of FIFA World Cup 26. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block. Or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it, ready to make anything online make sense. There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required Compatibility and availability Various 18+ thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
C
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
A
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
B
Before we get to the calls, Anthony Pucick has tons to tell you.
A
Oh thank you Don Julisic Pucik yeah, no. Yes, this is. This is Anthony Pusick. New York. You need to hear this. This summer, all lines lead to Champs Sports Fan Central Station. A soccer pop up shop open right in the heart of the city at 125 W. 33rd St. This is the soccer destination in New York. You know that I've been telling you for weeks jerseys for every national team you ride with. You can still get a USA jersey. Mexico, Argentina. That comeback against Egypt might be one of the best comebacks that we've ever seen. Brazil and way more. All under one roof. If you want to gear up, rep your country and feel the energy of the city Champs Sports fan Central Station, 125 West 33rd Street. That is where you need to be. And for all your Knick fans, they have championship gear to celebrate your team's first title in 53 years.
B
Great job as usual. Anthony. 1-800-919-3776 let's start it off with Santiago in Westchester. You're on ESPN New York. What's up man?
D
What's up guys? Love you guys together. Love you guys individually. Oh, thank you Christian. Christian Pulisic, once dubbed the LeBron James of soccer, look more like the 76ers against the Knicks in the conference semifinals. Hearing Allen ask if he quit, that made me cackle. And his his supporting cast to Serginio Dest. I don't know what anybody sees in him. From his time at Barcelona, I knew that he was but he was awful yesterday. Big tough guy. Weston McKinney. He was on the side of a milk carton yesterday. Local guy Tyler Adams incredibly mid yesterday. Grandpa Tim Reen getting lost his stuff was an affinity.
C
Yeah, keep going.
D
And I have an affinity to NYC fc, but Mass Matt Freese, we laugh at you today. He froze and the best part of it all. Best part of it all. I don't have to hear Americans who pick up the sport once every four years for four weeks lie to everyone saying that the US Has a chance to win. And yeah, my team was also eliminated in the same round, but my team picked up all nine points in group play. My team didn't allow a goal until the round of 16. And my team fought until their final breath against the English. And the Americans crumbled against the Belgians with that ball crook. Gianni Infantino on your side and the orange guy. Viva Mexico. Nixon 5.
C
I love that by the way.
B
He was. He's obviously from Mexico or a Mexican fan.
C
Either way, I think the Villa Mexico at the end, that's now I guess you could be say Viva Mexico and not be Mexican. You're just a hardcore fan. Feels fraud of Jace a little bit. I'm going to go with. He's from Mexico. Listen, you're absolutely right if you are Mexico based on their performance. Because these are two teams that have, you know, not done well in this tournament. In a minute. Oh, in Mexico, your head's way higher today. They were fantastic in group play and they took England to the absolute max. The US Got spanked by Belgium. But by the way, did anyone. Do you ever go into a World cup not to rain on your parade for what was a very good call. No one who knows anything goes in the World cup thinking the US Is a better team than Mexico.
A
We.
C
No one really ever thought.
A
Santiago was just emotional.
C
Yeah.
B
And he's also. I can understand, by the way, he
A
wasn't really saying much. In fact, he was just using his emotions.
B
Well, no, no.
C
The things he said about our players at the beginning was factual.
A
No, I mean the other stuff. Yeah, I mean about how every four years. Okay, like.
C
And also, you have to be reasonable.
A
Many of us were like planning parades.
C
Yeah, I don't think it was planning parades. That's a good point.
A
We were having fun with the meet England and beat them again kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, they did have fun with that.
C
There was no jokes about that. And I heard again, JJ Devaney was saying on caught offsides. He was like apologizing because he basically guaranteed they'd be Belgium and it felt very foolish by how the US Looked. Listen, you get caught up seeing how a team plays. How many in every sport, Don. We see a team go on a run for four games and you go, oh, my God. Oh, my God. They could. The Giant. Hey, listen, the Giants went to Minnesota. Why not go and compete in Philadelphia? I don't know. Because you got. Because you lost 100 to nothing in the first quarter. That's why.
B
But, but I think I understand where Santiago's coming from as a die hard soccer fan. It's an irritating couple of weeks because now everybody comes out of the woodwork and they think they're a soccer fan. They think they're a soccer expert. I think the US Has a chance to win. It happens in every sport. You know how many people claim to be Nick fans didn't watch a game all year. I think they're gonna win the championship. Go New York. Go New York. Go. You think all those people at the or watching a Kings game at 10:30 on a Tuesday in November?
D
No.
B
So I'm not going to fault people that got excited about usa. And the only reason they thought they had a chance because there were people that know soccer like JJ Devaney saying, I think these teams got a chance to go to the final eight, play in the quarterfinals. Who knows? Peter was saying they were playing the kind of soccer we've never seen them play on a consistent basis. But you can't get mad. It's the World Cup. People are going to parachute in. It's the same people that go to super bowl party. You never watch the games. All of a sudden saying, go Seahawks. You got to live with that, right? It's the World cup and now they go away. Because guess what? It ends today.
D
All right?
B
Now that the USA is out, it's over. This is the post mortem of the, of the usa and the soccer fans are going to continue watching. Peter, you're going to continue to watch. It was a great game today, although
C
I was so irritated.
B
Egypt, the blue, the 2 nil lead.
C
Although I can't believe it was a 12 o' clock start. I was not aware of that. They've been so random with the starts
B
and they got a four o'. Clock.
C
There are fours, there are fives, there are threes, there are twelves. Today was a 12. And if you somehow missed it like I did, I think they're classic.
B
Because I think as we're getting deeper, Peter, they're more prime time in Europe. I think that's what they're catering to now, right? I think early on they were catering to us, keep us engaged.
A
That's a great point.
B
But now that the meaning is more escalated, they want these games in prime time.
A
You know what?
C
Interesting point.
A
No, no, come on. Because think about it. Canada's out, Mexico's out. Now we're out. So. So who are you catering to when it comes to?
B
Well, even if we were in, even if we were in the game on Friday, if they had advanced to take on Spain, three o'. Clock. But when you get to the quarters, you're starting to get to where, you know what, you know, the world. Yeah, this is, this is the world's game. And, you know, let's, we'll, we'll play the reindeer games for the US early on. But now, now it gets real. Ricardo and Cliffside park, you're on. Don Hanna, Rosenberg.
D
Hi, gentlemen. I'm still in my Nixon five high. And listen, I'm Puerto Rican, Dominican, born in the United States. You know, I root for Spain, you know, and in my local areas, a lot of Brazilian, Croatians, you don't see a lot of the American love. And I was, you know, rooting for America. But I wanted to ask Peter real quick, what was your why. On why we lost the game on your, your Instagram? Why are you saying you know, why we lost, if you don't mind me asking?
C
Oh, you're referring to my post last night. I was referring to the. I was referring to the Donald Trump curse from Game three. That's what I was referring to.
D
Okay, I mean, listen, let's keep politics out of this, because.
C
Real quick note, before I hang up on you, let's keep politics out of this, except you went to a post from my personal page that you knew what the answer was. You knew it's a take. I wouldn't say on the show. I don't bring these things to the show. But no. So I have to. So real quick, I specifically don't do the things on the show, but you have to pull it from my Instagram and say, let me hit you with a gotcha moment.
D
Well, this is the only time, Peter, I get to actually speak to you or get that opportunity because here's the deal. And you know, there's a perfect.
C
No, no, there's a perfect comment section on the post for you.
D
Well, right. No, no. And I'm not trying to call you out on your show because, look, you have the microphone, you have the ability to hang up on me. But gentlemen, listen, let's get to the honest opinion of it. United States is, you know, and Barton and Garland this morning, that's somebody who used to be a representative of ESPN who talks about soccer, and he made a funny comment saying hearing the people on ESPN now talk about soccer is like how he hears tourists talk about New York City. And they laugh. It was a good joke. And the thing is, guys, we are. He said it. We're 40 years behind, and we always will be. United States will never lift a World cup trophy in a very long time, because even look at it now, probably
C
not in our lifetime.
D
Mexico, that last baller, I would say it's going to be a very long time before we do, because look how Mexico. You saw a size difference between Mexico and England, man, England was a tower. Now what. What Mexico's advantage was against England was the defense, them being a little bit shorter. And I'm not making any, you know, any jokes or anything like that, but you could see the height difference. Mexico really had them, you know, on the defensive end because that game could have gone even worse for England. But look, Brazil, another, you know, team, every time they go into the World cup, they're always favorites to win it. You know, if the United States would have gotten past Belgium, which Belgium didn't even have two of their best players even playing, which they substituted the last two good players the last couple of minutes just to kind of warm them up. But if they would have gotten past Belgium and played either Spain, yeah, they
C
would have gotten hammered.
D
But what Portugal, in the finally run, they would have gotten destroyed. So United States, you know what it's like. Look, the Dominicans, too, as well. I got friends that send their kids over to the Dominican Republic just so they could get better in baseball. In the United States, we play soccer. These guys that were watching on tv, like the Mbappe and the Messi's, they play football. That is a different type of sporting.
C
The overall point that. Are you just making the overall point in a very long way that culturally we are losing the war of soccer. We know that.
B
And it's never going to be.
C
That can't. That cannot be corrected. That would be like. That would be like the US Losing American football or basketball.
A
That's, I think, what he's trying to tell you, though. And a lot of people that always in this. This is once again just like the gold medal at the US Won in hockey is we have people that then now want to. Want to take it and, you know, hijack it into something else. And it's. It's still. Regardless of all the stuff that happened around it, the bottom line is we are far, far away from the best
B
teams in the world, but far away. We're not even talking about it being our major sport because hockey's not our major sport yet. We've become one of the superpowers. In it, because we worked at it and we got there. You know, 1980 was an outlier. Right? We weren't the best team in the country or in the world, but we won. All right. But it took 46 years to win again. Even after they brought NHL players in in 98, it still took another 30 years for us to be able to win. It takes a long time. And even though hockey's not our sport, we've now become a superpower in it. We could do that in soccer, but it's gonna take forever. We've been. We've been trying for 50 years.
C
Wait, let me ask.
B
And we just have not gotten. We keep taking steps back.
C
So let me ask you a question.
B
The.
C
Can you. Can you give a comp for where the US Was in hockey? Like relatively.
A
You gotta remember though, in 1960, they won the gold medal in hockey.
C
In hockey.
A
So 20 years later, they went through a point where the Soviets were just world domination.
C
So that's what makes it so inherently different.
A
There's also less countries.
B
Yeah, there's less countries that play it.
C
No. And here it's culturally so built into some of these places. It's just.
B
But we have developed.
C
But over Latin America. Listen, but we're on African. We are in a really. And Alan was making this point. We were talking off there, and he brought it up here too. Club teams there pay kids to play. Here you have to be rich kids who pay to play.
A
That's it. So the poor kids or kids from middle class families who can't afford some of these fees that it costs to be on a club team or to pay for training and all that stuff, it's just, you can't do it. So you make that tough decision as a kid that understands that this is as far as I'm going, I'm playing high school and that's it. No matter how good you could have become. But when you're 12 and you're starting to show something special you need, and that's what happens overseas. The NBA does this in Africa. But you find people that have potential physically and you bring them into your school and you cover all the costs. And the parents are like, I don't pay for anything. All right, let them go.
B
But not here's that. But here's where there's the comp, Peter.
C
Okay.
B
Even though there are more countries that play soccer and all that, is that when the USA won in 1980, I think 4% of the NHL were American born players. Now it's almost 30%. We are developing superstar hockey players that are some of the best players in the world, playing born, bred, reared here in the United States.
A
Yes, reared.
B
Is that happening in soccer? No.
C
And we have the best league in the world here to play hockey. The money's here. That's a major piece. We've talked about team here, mls, by some fault of their own. How much I don't know. It's never catching up.
D
Never.
C
No, it cannot. But the NFL, there are multiple NFL's. They're not here.
B
No, true. But the NHL was still where you made money 50 years ago.
C
Right.
B
There were 4% that were United States born playing hockey. Now it's nearly 30%.
C
Like, so it has grown up.
B
We are developing hockey players in the United States. We're not developing soccer players.
C
No.
B
And when we do, on the rare occasion we do, they end up getting gobbled up by another country. Now, they could still represent the United States at some point, but it's every four years. And it's. Listen, it's tough. It just.
A
It's just not enough.
B
Listen.
A
But this has been the story about for year after year after year. This was a fun run that ended in a way that to me, I feel like why we're upset, I think the best take of all was if they lost 1 nil, how would we feel a lot different? We feel like, hey, this is. We're right there scratching because of the way the game went and how poorly the best players played and how overmatched they looked. This is a crushing blow to how there was a great kind of momentum behind it. And now I feel like it's gone.
B
A1 nothing loss. We could have had a conversation today and said that we took a step forward. Today we're saying we took a step back and you can't make any progress if it's one step forward, two steps back.
A
Unfortunately, yeah.
B
Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever.
A
Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him.
B
Now take Duras.
A
Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside?
C
No, just Duracell.
A
Remember, goats only trust goats because they're
B
built different and Messi only trusts Duracell.
A
MLB TV on ESPN is your home for every out of market game, live or on demand. Catch your favorite teams and players.
D
Plus MLB Network and ESPN app features
A
like multi view, syncing your stats, key plays, bets and fantasy all in one place. Sign up now for MLB TV in the ESPN app. Separate subscriptions required blackouts and other terms apply. Visit stream.espn.commlbtv for more information. Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.
C
I didn't listen to anything you just said.
A
Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
B
So a lot of pundits had a lot to say about the USA loss to Belgium last night, 4 to 1, as a lot of them were on myriads of shows both on television and radio here at espn. Jeremy Shaft does a terrific job and this is kind of sobering. This is the ceiling the USA is stuck at.
D
We're talking about a level at which we have seen the US Crash out time and again over the course of last quarter century when they have gotten out of the group stage, when they have qualified for the tournament. So taking putting aside 2006 and 2018, this is where they exit. This is, you know, 2010, we lost to Ghana in the round of 16. 2014, it was Belgium, despite Tim Howard's heroics in that game in Salvador 2022, it was the Dutch and this time it was the Belgians. You know, this was not one of those games where they can walk away from it and say, boy, we were so close, right? This was a thrashing. This was comprehensive. They were lucky to be down by a goal at the half.
B
Hercules Gomez was on Barton Carl, I'm sorry, I'm very immature, but when I hear Hercules, I Hercules, Hercules, you have to. It's such a bold name too. And that shouldn't be the first thing I think of when I hear it. But he gets to the point we were talking about. Are the best athletes not being attracted to soccer a reason why the US Lags behind other countries?
D
No, it's not. Let me tell you why. In the NFL you can have a player who's just a freak athlete get drafted who's never played, right? That's not gonna happen in soccer. I saw a conversation I believe it was J.J. watt and Zach Ertz having with their respective wives and their wives played at the highest levels for the US Women's National Team. And they were saying that it'd be easier to pick up soccer ball and be good at it than it would an actual American football. And that couldn't be further from the truth here in America or just in general, it's different coordination of skills. One is hand eye, the other is footeye, which is very difficult. The greatest player that's ever played is about 5, 6 and looks like he should be doing my taxes. Weighs a buck 40. That's not how it works. This is more chess than it is athletics. Being a team, a freak athlete will absolutely help you, but it doesn't guarantee you success. We look at it from a different lens. Being American, this is one of those sports that you can't just be a good athlete and pick up. If LeBron James dedicated his whole life to soccer, that guarantees you nothing. That would guarantee you nothing. You would have no guarantee that he would even be a decent soccer player.
B
So what does that mean, though, that you. You can't be trained? Like, there's only a certain type of person that could be a soccer player? And why can it happen here?
A
That felt like that was a response that didn't make sense to me.
B
I'm just trying to follow the logic. I think LeBron James can do any. If LeBron James has athleticism. If you wanted to be a linebacker in the NFL, I think he'd be a linebacker in the NFL. I think if he wanted to play soccer, I think he'd be able to play soccer. He just didn't. He played. He played basketball.
A
But I. Like I said, I would have wanted to follow up on that. Like, I know we're using the audio, and it's. It's. It's compelling audio, but there's so many questions I would have to follow up on that theory because that didn't make
B
sense to me, but because it kind of suggests I'm not gonna play it again. It's a minute long.
A
Please don't.
B
But you love him. Is he suggesting that there's just something in your DNA that makes you a soccer player? And we don't produce that in the United States.
C
Perhaps that's in there, but, like, that doesn't. I don't totally disagree with that.
A
We're a country that is basically made
C
up of people from all over the
A
world, all the countries.
C
I know, but sometimes to say that,
A
well, we don't have the type of people that can play the sport at a high level.
C
I don't think he means, like, the physical.
B
Well, there's another one here where he says, how far behind is the US compared to top competition?
D
There are 48 teams in this tournament. Only eight countries have ever won it. That should show us how difficult this actually is. We are American. Sometimes we are arrogant, and that, okay, it's what makes this country great, and it's what makes it innovative and what makes you keep pressing forward and keep trying to break new barriers. And I am here for it. But let's not pretend we're anywhere near the world's best. I've been labeled as over critical when it comes to this national team. I had them finishing third in their group. This team right now is not going to surprise anybody in world football. And I'm saying that respectfully. They are who I thought they were. They are who the rest of the world thinks they are. There needs to be for as many Christian politics that are great players, there needs to be a hundred of them out there. That's the way the rest of the world works. In this country you have have the luxury that in all sports almost that matter in the US there's a draft system where if you're at the collegiate level, you're among the best in the world. If you're playing college soccer, that's great, you're going to get an education, but you're nowhere near the best in the world. You're nowhere near. There's a different type of system. Players are playing at 16, 17 in first division. It's cultural. This is going to take time and that's okay. You can do things your way and that's okay. But let's not expect to be the best when we're not.
A
Well, okay? Again, this is, we have a firm grasp of the obvious now. We all knew that, like we understand how this works, right? But it goes back to what I, what I've been saying, and I'm trying to hammer this home with everybody, is that in other countries the sport means it's religion. In some of these countries to the point where if they see a 12 year old who's special, he doesn't just get put into his local club team or maybe a regional club team, they take him and put him like we're talking about, like again, Barcelona, AC Milan, like they recognize a player, a Spanish kid, an Italian kid, and they put him right in the system. And then they say, let's see if he grows into what we think he could be. And you know what, what happens is then they sift them out and the ones like he's talking about that don't grow big enough or strong enough or smart enough, they're gone. They're gone. But they get for a couple of years like an amazing experience of free training. And then what happens out of that though is becomes the cream of the crop and then that's. So does the US have, you know, 10 pulisics out there that have to fight each other to get that spot? No, because those pulisics don't get to the point where they can Afford to train at a high level to see if they could be that there's other sports they can play as well. But there's just. It's not in our culture. Because soccer is not the religion like football is. To me, that's why no other country will be good at American football. Not because places don't want to be, but if they tried, they couldn't. Because here, football is religion. Told you. 36% of the population calls football their favorite sport, College or NFL. It's the one they like to play. And in our country, what happens to a small. What happens to an eight year old who suddenly looks like he's fast as hell on a football field? He's all over Instagram. People like, we have kids that are 12 that are committing to colleges in football because it's a religion. It's just cultural. That's all it is.
B
And if you're really good at like, I think Marco, and I know I'm his dad, but I think he's a good athlete. It seems like everything he plays, he plays it at a really good level. And he goes to the Real Madrid soccer camp and he always does well. And he plays baseball and he plays, plays all the sports at some level. But what he's going to end up really committing himself to is going to be another, any other sport but soccer. Because he can say, I want to be in Major League Baseball, I want to be in the NFL, I want to be in the NBA, but if I want to be in the NHL,
A
what camp is this again?
B
The Real Madrid. Yeah.
A
I guarantee you if he was the best player by a mile at that camp, somebody would be contacted.
B
Well, I'll tell you what happens when he goes, when he goes to the Realm, maybe it's just a money grab, I don't know. But when he three years he's gone to the camp, they will tell you. Select kids will be chosen to go to Madrid in November and train with the national team. Every year he's been invited to go and we don't send him because it's in the middle of school. It costs a fortune.
A
Right now, here's two things. A, yes, it is a money grab. B, it still is an opportunity, right?
B
It is an opportunity, but that's our country.
A
This is about making money over here, not over there. They wouldn't make you. They wouldn't make you spend a dime if you lived over there. And he was the same camp.
B
You know, it's funny, like, I don't. They know Americans, some of the kids in the camp are older. Like, Marco's eight. But there's kids that are. The camp goes to up to 18. Yeah, right. I don't see any scouts at this camp looking and saying, oh, that kid's good. Let's put him in our program.
A
It's not scouts.
C
It's just.
B
Well, you know, I'm saying, like, yeah, yeah, Real Madrid's there. It's. It's not. It's not.
A
It's not a U.S. it's run by.
B
Right.
A
Probably a local camp, but they. They use the brand.
B
But the thing is, if Marco was some kind of phenom, right, if he was like a Freddie Adu, who would have the inside track to get him Real Madrid.
D
Right.
C
I'm sure that's not how it works,
A
but their brand now is in the. In the faces of these kids. And then the kids grow up and they become fans of it.
B
So what do I bet on? Peter, talk to me.
C
Well, it's still.
B
Stock is over. Now what do I do?
C
No, it's not. It's still the biggest stage in the world, and fanduel still changed the game. In fact, now maybe they're still playing. You got to pay more attention than ever because with the US out, you can focus on this. If your player gets subbed off, your bet goes. Does not go with them. Not anymore with FanDuel super sub. If the player gets subbed out, the bet stays in. That's right. The player leaves the match. Bet continues on. With the sub in the game, you're still in it until the final whistle. Visit FanDuel.com local to get started now. Let there be goals this summer on FanDuel21 Fizzly Present New York for help with a gambling problem, call 877-8-Hope and Wire text open y467369.
A
Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.
C
I don't want to know how the
A
sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Hear more of Don Allen and Peter. Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app, and your smart speakers. The most memorable gifts aren't found. They're made.
B
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B
that's zazzle.com.
A
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Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Platform: ESPN New York
The trio convenes in the aftermath of a brutal 4-1 elimination of the U.S. Men’s National Team from the World Cup by Belgium. Emotionally charged and honest, the hosts dissect what went wrong, where U.S. soccer stands after years of hope and hype, and why the narrative remains the "same old USA." The conversation critiques coaching, mentality, youth development, cultural dynamics, and the reactions of fans old and new. Callers and notable ESPN contributors add to the post-mortem, with the conversation ranging from technical breakdowns to the systemic issues plaguing American soccer.
The tone is sharp-edged, emotional, and raw—equal parts frustrated, self-deprecating, and analytical. The hosts pull no punches in diagnosing what ails U.S. soccer, from fleeting hope to systemic failure, cultural obstacles, and structural economic barriers. There is appreciation for heightened play during the tournament, but the manner of the team’s exit extinguishes most optimism, leaving listeners with the sobering reminder that American soccer, for all its periodic surges, remains a long way from the world's elite.
Bottom Line:
A cathartic but honest group therapy session for American soccer fans—one that laments, “same old USA,” and asks the tough questions about whether real change is possible under the current system.