The life of a kicker in the NFL is rough. Apparently, it’s even worse for XFL kickers.
And we here at The18 are all for it.
Admittedly, we’re not paying much attention to the latest iteration of the XFL. More American football? Really? We’ll tune in for Gerard Pique’s girlfriend during the Super Bowl halftime show, but when it’s the D.C. Defenders and Seattle Dragons? Hard pass.
There’s obviously no official record for the fastest shot in soccer. It’d be convenient if a man with a radar gun had been sanctioned to sit at every match played since the beginning of time, but that was an oversight on FIFA’s end.
There are those who believe that kickers have no place in the game of American football. In fact, the revamped XFL is doing away entirely with the tedious extra-point process. But take one look at the last two Super Bowls and it’s obvious that the sport’s showpiece event often comes down to which placekicker sucks less.
Depending on your viewpoint, the 1990s-era MLS shootout was either a great quirk or an embarrassing experiment. Some prominent American players want to bring it back.
When Major League Soccer first burst trickled onto the scene in 1996, the powers that be were convinced Americans would never suffer such indignity as allowing a match to end in a draw. Eccentric MLS shootout rules were devised to ensure every game concluded with a winner.
What does it mean to dream about soccer?
The most popular sport in the world has inspired players and spectators alike with waking dreams of glory. One would expect thoughts of the beautiful game to seep into our dreams at night from time to time. Maybe it’s a good dream about winning the World Cup with Pelé and Maradona by your side; maybe it’s a bad dream about missing a penalty kick to lose the big game.
But what does a soccer dream mean?
On Monday, it was revealed that Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley would undergo surgery following a severe ankle injury suffered during the 2019 MLS Cup loss to the Seattle Sounders. Given the fact that it’d been 71 days since the final and with the club now reporting for preseason, news of Bradley being sidelined for approximately four months was met with confused anger throughout Toronto.
With the transfer ban on Chelsea lifted and the team’s recent struggles, the Blues have their eyes on acquiring new assets in the transfer window. But a vegan-only kiosk might be the greatest acquisition thus far.
On Tuesday, Chelsea hosted London-rival Arsenal and looked to bounce back after losing to Newcastle during the weekend. The Blues secured one measly point after playing the majority of the match with a man advantage courtesy of a David Luiz red card.
What a start to the 2020 Clausura season for Atlético San Luis. After battling to a 0-0 draw with perennial power Tigres at Estadio Universitario on opening day, Atlético San Luis defeated Cruz Azul 2-1 last Friday to place itself at the top of the table alongside Chivas and Pumas.
What’s more, Atlético San Luis used the victory to scout a potential new signing. In the 27th minute, Tunita made her appearance in front of an announced crowd of 21,670. They were all enthralled with what they saw.
I’ll never forget the buildup to Chipotle’s first restaurant in London. I was studying there at the time and the “COMING SOON” signage on Charing Cross Road would hit hard around lunchtime on a Saturday afternoon. A cohort of Americans would stand outside the scaffolding and strain to see inside the darkened edifice for any signs of that spar, industrial interior design coming together. It’s hard to tell how much progress is being made when the piping is always exposed.
“Variety is the spice of life,” someone once said before doing something obviously stupid and dangerous. But with danger and stupidity comes ingenuity and joy, and that’s the common thread that connects the majority of these bastardized forms of soccer. Here are 10 variants of the beautiful game that are strangely captivating.
#1. Eisfussball