God, Country, Soccer

What does it mean to be an American soccer fan? Where are your loyalties? Who do you root for? I have all these questions in my head and most lay dormant while I watch and cheer for my Rapids, USA men’s national team, and many “Yanks Abroad.” But when CONCACAF Champions League happens, all those thoughts and questions come flooding back to the front of my mind. Most recently, while watching Seattle vs. Santos Laguna one question kept coming to my head; who are the #MLS4RSL folks rooting for in this game. (You know who those people are, the type that only gets their info from MLSsoccer.com, defender of all things Don Garber, the one who boastfully brags at the MLS All-Start team’s “success”, the one…etc.) It seems quite simple at first glance, “duh, Seattle is in MLS, and therefore, American.” But is it that simple? Seattle had only 3 starters that are American. Santos had 1 (Herculez Gomez). Is it worth putting your club allegiance on hold to root for another MLS club to do well when ...

Herculez Gomez has found great success playing for Puebla in Mexico's Primera Division. So much so that over the weekend he found himself in contention for the scoring title. That was until the referee remembered that Herculez, although being Latino of Mexican descent, is also an internationally capped American. Now, most people when they hear the words conspiracy curl their nose and stop reading. But conspiracy, corruption and collusion are all in play in Mexico, especially when it comes to soccer. Here's where the conspiracy theory comes in. In the second to last game of the season, Herculez scored his second goal of the game against Cruz Azul in the 37th minute bringing him into a tie for the "Golden Boot" with Chivas de Guadalajara's Javier "El Chicharito" Hernandez. Chicharito as you remember was sold a couple of weeks ago to Manchester United and left immediately, leaving his goal scoring lead at 10. When Herculez scored his tenth on the season...