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McBride and the bigger picture

Started by pettyfog, September 04, 2010, 03:10:14 PM

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pettyfog

Because it doesnt really fit into Fulham fan tribute and I aint gonna write it twice so here's what I said on the Crew MB:
McBride deserves better from us..
Quote... and I suspect he'll get it - in 2011.

First, there's no better sign of a dedicated soccer fan than every perceived slight of his team, no matter the reason or circumstance, results in a lasting grudge.

In that spirit. I take this RARE occasion to strongly disagree with Bill Archer.

I didn't become a Crew follower because of Brian, I knew diddly about him.. but it was obvious after watching a season's worth of games in 96 that his talent was separate and apart from the other players.
and it was because of him that I became interested in player/team/fan dynamics.

I signed up on the MB's of all the teams he played for, first off: Preston where I was delighted to find the fans accepted him quickly with the caveat they wanted to see what he could do for them. I told them best as I could that he would give it his all on the field and they wouldn't be disappointed.

It only took those few games for the PNE fans to be convinced.

Later, on Bluekipper, it was a different story, though only the Moyes skeptics panned him from the outset. We all know it only took a few games there for most to be turned around.

At Fulham there was a tougher attitude to overcome. IIRC Fulham had an American GM at the time they snatched him at the last minute. I told them how he played and that they would never accuse him of not giving it everything. It took several seasons for McBride to "learn how the game was properly played", of course. Meaning - for the Fulham managers to learn how to best use him. I laughed quietly at the thought McBride had to do more than make slight adjustments to be effective, when the truth was that it was Cookie Coleman with the lack of vision.

It's important, though to use the same perspective as a follower that you would want as a player. When McBride declared it quits at Fulham I was no more surprised than when he retired from the US team. For everything there is a season and he saw the turning points as they came. No ego-driven clinging on for Brian McBride. I told FFC fans he would either play for Chicago or he wouldn't play at all. Again I was correct, not because I knew him intimately or was inside his head, but because I recognized his character from 50,000 feet.

Playing the game wasnt the most important thing to Brian, especially after he started his adult life by having a family. Living around his home and preparing for a civilian career was most important. Playing soccer when he came back was second. Except on the field. We can be grateful that the Fire coaches didnt know any better how to really use him than many of his previous bosses. But we can't really complain as very few of us thought the Crew did at the time of the Great Malaise, either.

Several things about McBride tell who he is. When a fan of his current team encountered him on the streets or in a public place they often came on the MB and gushed how approachable and considerate he was. Happened here, happened in Liverpool, happened in London.
You never read gossip about how Brian dissed another player or his Manager.

Or much about his bloody physical encounters. Including that with de Rossi. He accepted all that as part of the game.

So while McBride might feel a little annoyance at some Crew fans calling him 'McJudas', he wont lose any sleep over it. And I'm thinking that after a moratorium, of short length, all Crew fans will again recognize him as the jewel we once had.

For those who suggest that McBride is not done with soccer, I am going to make my next prediction: Don't bet on it. At least dont bet on seeing him on the pitch supervising a professional team.

There's more to life than footy and that's a big reason he wanted to live in his hometown. If there's a connection with the sport, I think it will be through other avenues.

I WOULD like to see Brian given a THIRD key to the city of Columbus at some time in the future but as we know, memories die quick and if Lamar Hunt was never given the key once for all he did for us, aint gonna happen to a less influential guy.
But I'll bet that our team management will try to arrange something. in a year or two.

And we can forget all about the bitter taste of seeing him in Red.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Now on to the NEXT Crew legend.

I nominate Steve Lenhart. He's much the same but different, of course. What counts is the fire in the belly for the game. And he keeps getting better.
Stevie, see if Brian can give you some tips.. next year, of course.

Added:
heh..

You COULD subtitle this:

"I ain't a' skeered of Bill Archer!"

{That's a BigSoccer reference joke}
Evidently some may well be.  But Bill knows if I comment on everything he writes it would mostly be dittos or 'What Bill said'  Always has been that way. One big reason I went to FulhamUSA to comment on various and sundries.

duffbeer

Cant believe Crew fans called him McJudas - there's not a bad bone in his body . . . or a bad titanium plate for that matter.

Nice write up 'fog.   I'm skeptical about him coaching also, at least anywhere but Chicago, but we shall see, and can always hope.

RidgeRider

Good piece Fog. Enjoyed that very much.


HatterDon

'fog, upon reading that a second time, I was reminded of one thing that was pretty much unique to Brian McBride: he had to be the least selfish striker I've ever seen, as well as the one least likely to preen upon scoring. I'm pretty sure that he never scored a hattrick for Fulham [there was one match a few years ago where he scored twice in the first 8 or 9 minutes and then spent the rest of the day laying the ball off for people], or for the USA. Did he ever get more than two in a match for Columbus?
"As long as there is light, I will sing." -- Juana, la Cubana

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slow05

In a weird way being the least selfish striker  might have been McBrides biggest weakness as a player.  A lack of selfishness is not a bad trait but strikers need to be selfish at times.

pettyfog

#5
Quote from: HatterDon on September 04, 2010, 11:22:38 PM
'fog, upon reading that a second time, I was reminded of one thing that was pretty much unique to Brian McBride: he had to be the least selfish striker I've ever seen, as well as the one least likely to preen upon scoring. I'm pretty sure that he never scored a hattrick for Fulham [there was one match a few years ago where he scored twice in the first 8 or 9 minutes and then spent the rest of the day laying the ball off for people], or for the USA. Did he ever get more than two in a match for Columbus?

Ah, yeah, Don, and slow05, you nailed it.  Frankly, I dont know, a search doesnt turn it up, but knowing him and how he played I would rather doubt he ever went for a H/T.  In his role he would probably lay off till his strike partner scored. Same thing as he never accepted the Captain's armband while with the Crew.  Reference: check Stern John's immediate rise to high profile.  His stats were probably partly due to Brian's helping out.  To Forest's chagrin, I would think.

I gotta say I immediately got four BS attaboys for that piece, then the cynics started up.  It's amazing that some cant see the forest for the trees.
I got a reply about Schelotto being better, and that Lenhart couldn't hold a candle to McBride.  At the risk of being 'Crew Centric' {as if I care what you guys think}, the measure is: GBS is, without doubt, the greatest player to ever don a Crew shirt - with some competition from Brad Friedel allowing you would count GK's and one year service.  
But GBS came in a legend, he just continues to prove WHY he is.
In the early years, McBride was not even the consensus best player on the team. Some even thought Thomas Dooley {who I never cared for} was the best player on the Crew. Some thought it was Warzycha. That's why I mentioned Lenhart.  If you mixed Frankie Hejduk's and McBride's heart and playing style, you get Stevie Lenhart.

I think the 'McJudas' bunch have the wrong approach, maybe some of them dream of what it might have been like if GBS and Brian were paired.  That is pure hypothesis. No one can know if the Crew would even have kept GBS if Brian came back.  And frankly I didn't want him back.  You can't relive the past and everyone needs to move on.
If you watch McBride's press conference {http://chitv.neulion.com/mlsvp/console.jsp?catid=218&id=8329} you see exactly what makes and has made the man.  In it, he gives due credit to everyone who formed him as a man and a player, with special props to the Hunts {Crew owner Lamar Hunt} who he said gave him perspective on life as a pro.  Any fan of a Hunt owned team knows that's sometimes a curse as well as a blessing as they tended to keep players long after sell-by.  It's no accident so many ex-Crew stay around Columbus. OTOH, it keeps GBS here, too.
Note he put David Moyes up there, too.  No doubt in my mind that without Moyes trying him, Brian would never have been at Fulham. SOME players might have held a grudge that Moyes couldn't, or wouldnt, pony up the cash for him at Everton, not Brian.
Getting back to Fulham stuff, note he gives props to Cookie for helping him develop. I wouldn't have guessed that CC was that influential to him. Also on the Offal, some wag brought up CJ as 'better player' by stats. Misses the whole point. If CJ was that much better he'd be critical to the Fire. He isn't.  

And it aint about stats. It's about the man.  Brian McBride is the embodiment of a player being all he can be. And numbers do not tell the whole story.  We move on, while remembering the past and who and what put us where we are.


finnster01

Very nice set of posts there Mr Fog.

I just had a spare moment to open up my last issue of Sports Illustrated (Sept 13 edition) and on page 19 there is a very short piece that doesn't say very much but it also has a nice photo of McBride.

At least it is good to see he is getting enough attention to make it into SI and a photo on top
If you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts, you are most likely dead

pettyfog

#7
heh... Not the FIRST time he's had his mug -and more- in the pages of SI.

This was pretty chuckleworthy on the old 'Offal' and on the Crew MB as well.

SI's 'Swimsuit edition'.

AND, btw, here's a reminder of the 'olden days', form the Times, written just prior to a Chelski match:

Up for the fight
After fighting a life-threatening illness, American striker Brian McBride is ready for another battle as Fulham take on champions the dark side


PS: note the wording above and the wording as displayed on that page. I did a straight copy/paste. That's called an 'Easter Egg'. Haven't seen one in a while.