AN AMERICAN GAME

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. <

AN AMERICAN GAME is a sports podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 26 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts AN AMERICAN GAME, a sports show with 26 episodes published.

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  AN AMERICAN GAME

  Crabgrass Empire: How US Youth Soccer Got This Way...and How to Fix It

  Aug 19, 202634 min

  Welcome to Season 3 of An American Game. While enjoying their brief hiatus, Tom and Kirk heard lots of post-World Cup debate about what's wrong with American youth soccer, and they decided to kick off the new season by ending the debate. We've all got other stuff to do, right? So here it is: the Unified Theory of What's Wrong in US Youth Soccer, the Socio-Economic History That Made It This Way, and How It Can Get Better. Executive Producers/Hosts: Tom McCabe and Kirk Rudell Original music by Patrick White

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  Episode #15

  Added Time: World Cup Week 6, the Final Whistle

  Jul 21, 202618 minS2

  After six weeks of mostly good, some bad, and a little ugly, the World Cup ended. And so our Added Time series heads to the locker room, but not before we tie up a few narrative threads, anger a few more Argentinian fans, and weigh in on the next USMNT coach. (How do you say "Luis de la Fuente" in English? BJ Callaghan.) And don't think we forgot about Alexi...

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  Episode #14

  Added Time: World Cup Week 5

  Jul 16, 202630 minS2

  One step forward, one step back. That was the theme of the World Cup this week. As the tournament moved to its final rounds in the United States, it did what soccer does: reflect the larger American story. Tom and Kirk step into the narrative, from the semifinals, to whether Mauricio Pochettino should return as USMNT coach, to the power of the game to heal a community in Lewiston, Maine. Oh, and in a totally spontaneous tangent, they also explain how to fix US youth soccer. That would be a big step forward.

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  Episode #12

  Added Time: World Cup Week 3

  Jul 2, 202616 minS2

  As the United States continues to climb a World Cup mountain that was too steep for smaller soccer nations like Germany and the Netherlands, Tom and Kirk re-cap the Bosnia-Herzegovina win; tip our hats to the Iranian team; and, as we celebrate our melting pot national team on our country's 250th birthday, share other patriotic ideas like: "trans rights are human rights."

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  Episode #11

  Added Time: World Cup Week 2

  Jun 25, 202619 minS2

  It's only the second week of the World Cup, but we already have plenty of narrative. Kirk and Tom chop up the power of soft power, sweet vindication for US fans, and why the Pochettino "I brought futbol to the American barbarians" mythology is already way out of hand. Go, USA! Beat Türkiye!

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