Rooster and the Villain: An American Soccer Podcast

It hath arrived. The festive fixture schedule is insane. So many games in so few days. There's a full schedule of games mid-week, followed up by a full schedule of games on the weekend, followed up by some pretty crucial Champions League match-ups next week.

Buckle in, folks. There are so many storylines running through the league right now. Ole's continued poor run of form. Jose' the cockeral. Arsenal being booty. Leicester's amazing season. Sheffield United hanging around the top of the league. Wolves doing well in Europa League and in contention for a spot again next year. Everton sucking. Only 6 points separating #5 from #17. Liverpool's continued dominance. Man City looking vulnerable. Captain American at Chelsea. Oh my. So much juice. Like a vanilla milkshake IPA.

The boys grapple with the conflicting emotions that have arisen with the quick sacking of our biological father, Mauricio, and the rapid hiring of our new step daddy, Jose'. Jimmy preaches calm among the Manchester United storm. We talk about the top-4/top-6. Expectations for the rest of the year. Champions League. It was good to be back in the saddle.

A family emergency took priority over the usual Rooster and the Devil episode but I couldn't leave y'all high and dry. Thanks for listening. We'll be back up and running next week if things go to plan here.

Longtime friend and Vicksburg (Michigan) Soccer alum Matt Woodhams joins the poddy this week. The boys attempt to nurture his budding appreciation for soccer as he becomes disenchanted with the NFL.

This is the fun part. We take a test to figure out what team would be the best fit for him in terms of support. Then we take a drive down memory lane with him as he and the Devil reminisce about their long faded soccer careers.

 

Josh Guesman from the Corner of the Galaxy podcast and blog comes into the devil's lair to talk about what it's like covering the LA Galaxy as a reporter. 

He gives us a glimpse into press coverage from MLS, what Zlatan is like as a person, how the MLS has grown since he started covering it in 2009, and where he thinks it's going in the next 10 years. We also ponder about what the LA Galaxy would look like if David Beckham never came. Then hop over to the El Traffico to talk about the new, exciting rivalry in LA. 

I'd also like to say that this man has a silky smooth radio voice and is a delight to listen to. 

Moussa Dembele, we love you. I'm sorry that I missed your prime. 

We discuss the current state of Tottenham and Manchester United. Leicester City and how good they look. Pulisic's hat trick and Chelsea. Sergino Dest and why it's exciting that he selected USMNT. We also admit that GGG hasn't yet had the full squad in place because of injuries (Adams and Weah). We ponder about whether being a USMNT fan is honestly worth it. Then other stuff.

I also talk about my overactive bladder...you're welcome.

I implore to listen to my attempt at rapping like Slim Shady at the end of the episode.

Noah Perkins and I have been internet friends for a long time. We don't want to brag or anything, but we're kind of big deals in Japan. We co-wrote a column called "Mike and Perk" for the (now defunct) #2 NBA magazine in all of Japan (HOOP Japan).

Noah has watched from a distance as I have abandoned the sport I once loved and ran away with my new mistress; soccer. He explains why he continues to love the game of basketball with the exception of the NBA. He also tells a great story about how a former Patriots linebacker (Tully Banta Cain) broke his back in a pick-up game of basketball. 

We then get into which NFL players would make excellent soccer players and decided that Calvin Johnson would have been an incredible goalkeeper.

Oh to be 24. Our guy @nicodegallo (I love his handle) is just a delightful man to converse with. He tells us all about his experience with a press pass at the International Champions Cup games. He regales us with stories about how cool the Arsenal players are in person. Yuck.

Then we talk about his beloved Man City and their amazing depth. The odd losses early in the season. What it's like to play down an early goal. Then a dive into the USMNT dungeon. And of course; delightful champions league banter. Eventually we talk about his favorite local squad and his experience at their playoff game (Philadelphia Union). It was wonderful. 

Brad, the main Rooster, also tacked on ten minutes at the end here. I won't listen to it until I hear it on the air so not sure what he ranted about. He did end with Harry Kane rant, which I heard while recording the song, and he sounded angry. We'll see. 

Have you ever wanted to jump inside the devil's mind for a full hour? Here's your chance. 

This man didn't stop talking for 56 straight minutes. It was organized, thorough, and fun. He wrote an outline and switched up the topics to keep it fun.

The episode covers USMNT, Manchester United, the Devil's favorite movies, the Devil's top 5 games ever attended (any sport), a thoughtful monologue on referees, VAR, and the way we treat them. Just so much more. It honestly might be my favorite rooster and the devil episode. I hope you like it.

We tasked our #1 fan, Bryan Helder, to come up with 10 questions for us to answer about the Premier League. During this process, you find out which of the boys is left in the stone age in terms of the boxer/brief conversation. Then the episode dips and dives with delightful conversation that touches all parts of the soccersphere, even "Major League" Soccer.