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OT: Alexi Lalas on USWNT

newell138

newell138

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
35,779
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I wonder if Alexi Lalas reads the boards lol or maybe participates?!

“Don’t kill the messenger. This #USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances, & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”

 
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RUforlife

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The rest of the world has caught up with American women's soccer. Nobody cared about women's soccer but the US for the longest time, once the Europeans woke up and put some effort into it they took control of the sport. I don't expect American women's soccer to do that much going forward, they had their 15 minutes of fame.
 
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RUDiddy777

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Feb 26, 2015
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newell138 said:
I wonder if Alexi Lalas reads the boards lol or maybe participates?!

“Don’t kill the messenger. This #USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances, & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”

Click to expand...

Amazing how in an article about rapinoes response to Alexis comments…you only post Alexis Lalas more dated comments.
 
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e5fdny

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
113,736
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RUDiddy777 said:
Amazing how in an article about rapinoes response to Alexis comments…you only post Alexis Lalas more dated comments.
Click to expand...

RUDiddy777 said:
Not triggered. Just seems like you’re not terribly capable of thinking nor even reading the articles you post.
Click to expand...
Maybe because as a fellow Scarlet Knight that’s who some wanted to hear from?

That’s what was in the title of the thread and who the OP quoted in his post.
 
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mdk02

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Aug 18, 2011
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RUforlife said:
The rest of the world has caught up with American women's soccer. Nobody cared about women's soccer but the US for the longest time, once the Europeans woke up and put some effort into it they took control of the sport. I don't expect American women's soccer to do that much going forward, they had their 15 minutes of fame.
Click to expand...

Caught but not surpassed at this point. What's changed is the USWNT can't just show up and make the semifinals.
 
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RUPete

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The larger issue was highlighted by Carli Lloyd. We are failing at the youth levels and the pipeline is not developing the way it used to. That and the rest of the world is investing more in their women's teams. I think the people who get the most up in arms about the politics are the folks who get most up in arms about anything. They don't really follow the sport anyway. We have a segment of society that just enjoys being pissed off all the time (hello Rutgers board) and there's a cottage industry on social media that continues to feed it.
 
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RUDiddy777

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RUPete said:
The larger issue was highlighted by Carli Lloyd. We are failing at the youth levels and the pipeline is not developing the way it used to. That and the rest of the world is investing more in their women's teams. I think the people who get the most up in arms about the politics are the folks who get most up in arms about anything. They don't really follow the sport anyway. We have a segment of society that just enjoys being pissed off all the time (hello Rutgers board) and there's a cottage industry on social media that continues to feed it.
Click to expand...

Actually felt the full interview with Rapinoe was quite good and insightful.

For folks who don’t need to be spoon fed their outrage and told how they should think… full interview is here.

 
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RUforJERSEY

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Jul 29, 2001
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newell138 said:
I wonder if Alexi Lalas reads the boards lol or maybe participates?!

“Don’t kill the messenger. This #USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances, & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”

Click to expand...
And we know which portion of America that is. The shut up and dribble crowd that in the next sentence would gladly trumpet outrageous words from the likes of Ted Nugent or Kid Rock. Or to keep it in sports someone like Curt Schilling.
 
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T2Kplus20

T2Kplus20

Heisman
May 1, 2007
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newell138 said:
I wonder if Alexi Lalas reads the boards lol or maybe participates?!

“Don’t kill the messenger. This #USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances, & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”

Click to expand...
Alexi speaking the truth.
 
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vkj91

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ruinac said:
Lalas and Rapinoe are both polarizing.
Click to expand...
People don’t like Lalas’ honesty . Right or wrong he calls it like he sees it and isn’t afraid to criticize anyone involved with US soccer
 
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CollegeSenior

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vkj91

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RUDiddy777 said:
Actually felt the full interview with Rapinoe was quite good and insightful.

For folks who don’t need to be spoon fed their outrage and told how they should think… full interview is here.

Click to expand...
As expected she’s the victim. And anybody who criticizes her is just a Fox News crowd.

Yeah, it was really disappointing—and the speed with which those comments got into the atmosphere. Everybody on the right—and everybody who was using hateful language and these tropes—
 
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RUScrew85

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newell138 said:
I wonder if Alexi Lalas reads the boards lol or maybe participates?!

“Don’t kill the messenger. This #USWNT is polarizing. Politics, causes, stances, & behavior have made this team unlikeable to a portion of America. This team has built its brand and has derived its power from being the best/winning. If that goes away they risk becoming irrelevant.”

Click to expand...

Seems to me this team built it's brand on virtue signaling and bitching. Any association with excellence is ancient history.
 
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e5fdny

e5fdny

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RUforJERSEY said:
And we know which portion of America that is. The shut up and dribble crowd that in the next sentence would gladly trumpet outrageous words from the likes of Ted Nugent or Kid Rock. Or to keep it in sports someone like Curt Schilling.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily.

If you read the comments on Yahoo! and MSN and not just from the articles themselves you see it’s closer to this…

RUTGERS95 said:
I just love how they try and claim it's right wingers. I don't know of anyone that likes her or this team. The criticisms are well grounded
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Surprised more so to see it on MSN than the Yahoo! one.
 
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kupuna133

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I love it when a person who creates an entire identity around politicizing everything complains about being politicized.

My complaint with this USWNT wasn't their politics. It was that they lacked leadership and weren't prepared. Then when they advanced by the skin of their teeth, they carried on like a munckin team heading to the snack shack for their ice cream cones. They had the opportunity to realize they were lucky to advance and regroup as professionals. Instead they celebrated like they completed the mission.
 
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F

FoxRU

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Carli Lloyd’s most damning points (discussed on Lalas’s podcast) were also the most insightful:
-Starting in 2017-ish she noticed a general breakdown in the culture of the team. Examples:
-Senior players no showing for scheduled treatments
-Senior players treating support staff poorly/not being respectful of the work space
-Senior players complaining about work load; coaches capitulating to these complaints

There was more but these first hand accounts of Lloyd’s impressions of the changes she saw in her 15 plus year career on the USWNT are valuable insights. Further, I have not seen anyone come out and dispute these specific items. Having played sports through college these things matter and speak to problems of leadership/culture. To frame this as political pandering is itself political pandering. Carli was there. Alexi is commenting based on results and the data presented to him. He was criticized by CNN as not having been a good enough player to have the authority to critique the USWNT. That is such a garbage stance and so disingenuous. Not only is it an Ad Hominem attack it lacks any authority as much of his opinions are based on in depth discussions with arguably one of the top 3 USWNT players of all time who is only a few years retired.
 
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RuSnp

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FoxRU said:
Carli Lloyd’s most damning points (discussed on Lalas’s podcast) were also the most insightful:
-Starting in 2017-ish she noticed a general breakdown in the culture of the team. Examples:
-Senior players no showing for scheduled treatments
-Senior players treating support staff poorly/not being respectful of the work space
-Senior players complaining about work load; coaches capitulating to these complaints

There was more but these first hand accounts of Lloyd’s impressions of the changes she saw in her 15 plus year career on the USWNT are valuable insights. Further, I have not seen anyone come out and dispute these specific items. Having played sports through college these things matter and speak to problems of leadership/culture. To frame this as political pandering is itself political pandering. Carli was there. Alexi is commenting based on results and the data presented to him. He was criticized by CNN as not having been a good enough player to have the authority to critique the USWNT. That is such a garbage stance and so disingenuous. Not only is it an Ad Hominem attack it lacks any authority as much of his opinions are based on in depth discussions with arguably one of the top 3 USWNT players of all time who is only a few years retired.
Click to expand...
Did CNN folks really do that? That's not cool. He was the first American to sign for a Serie A team. He certainly wasn't a great star or anything but accomplishments like that lay the groundwork for the next generation.
 
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FoxRU

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RuSnp said:
Did CNN folks really do that? That's not cool. He was the first American to sign for a Serie A team. He certainly wasn't a great star or anything but accomplishments like that lay the groundwork for the next generation.
Click to expand...
Yep, using a graphic of Lalas’s career next to Rapinoe’s career. Lalas thought it was a spoof site but it was confirmed to be real.
 
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RUPete

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
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FoxRU said:
Carli Lloyd’s most damning points (discussed on Lalas’s podcast) were also the most insightful:
-Starting in 2017-ish she noticed a general breakdown in the culture of the team. Examples:
-Senior players no showing for scheduled treatments
-Senior players treating support staff poorly/not being respectful of the work space
-Senior players complaining about work load; coaches capitulating to these complaints

There was more but these first hand accounts of Lloyd’s impressions of the changes she saw in her 15 plus year career on the USWNT are valuable insights. Further, I have not seen anyone come out and dispute these specific items. Having played sports through college these things matter and speak to problems of leadership/culture. To frame this as political pandering is itself political pandering. Carli was there. Alexi is commenting based on results and the data presented to him. He was criticized by CNN as not having been a good enough player to have the authority to critique the USWNT. That is such a garbage stance and so disingenuous. Not only is it an Ad Hominem attack it lacks any authority as much of his opinions are based on in depth discussions with arguably one of the top 3 USWNT players of all time who is only a few years retired.
Click to expand...
Her comments support the point that it's not really about politics. The political stances of a few players seem to have little to do with the decline. It's a systemic issue that you have seen with other national teams from time to time.

For example, I am half German and have rooted for that team in WC play since the late 1970s. I can't believe how far they have fallen from excellence, but it's never just one thing and there have to be larger systemic issues.

Linking the decline to a few outspoken players and some ill advised goal celebrations is silly - not saying you're doing that, just commenting on the initial post and article link.
 
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FoxRU

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RUPete said:
Her comments support the point that it's not really about politics. The political stances of a few players seem to have little to do with the decline. It's a systemic issue that you have seen with other national teams from time to time.

For example, I am half German and have rooted for that team in WC play since the late 1970s. I can't believe how far they have fallen from excellence, but it's never just one thing and there have to be larger systemic issues.

Linking the decline to a few outspoken players and some ill advised goal celebrations is silly - not saying you're doing that, just commenting on the initial post and article link.
Click to expand...
Lalas said some of the players politics were polarizing to many fans. Lloyd gave clear examples of leadership and internal issues with the culture/and to a lesser extent work ethic. They both acknowledged poor results amongst age group teams and the rest of the world putting more emphasis on the women’s game. Neither said the losses were because of any players political stance. Interestingly Lindsey Horan just said that the team collectively/players individually weren’t properly prepared for the tournament. She implied that players weren’t held accountable by coaches. My impression of her words were that some of the players didn’t train that hard and the coaches let it slide. Her interview is on one of the former USWNT women’s players podcasts. I am not aware of any credible analyst who blamed the losses on goal celebrations or specific political stances. Lalas and Lloyd certainly did not blame either of those things. BTW, my father was born in Germany. Prost.
 
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RUtrumpet92_rivals498139

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Dismissing criticism because the critic didn't play the sport at level X is just dumb.

Todd Haley never even played high school football. He just coached the Chiefs to another Super Bowl title. Joe Gibbs never played college or pro football. He won three Super Bowls.
 
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RUPete

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Lalas has every right to speak his mind. World Cup starter, All-American, played for a national championship at RU. He is paid to give his opinion and he does a good job doing so.
 
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RUPete

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Feb 5, 2003
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FoxRU said:
Lalas said some of the players politics were polarizing to many fans. Lloyd gave clear examples of leadership and internal issues with the culture/and to a lesser extent work ethic. They both acknowledged poor results amongst age group teams and the rest of the world putting more emphasis on the women’s game. Neither said the losses were because of any players political stance. Interestingly Lindsey Horan just said that the team collectively/players individually weren’t properly prepared for the tournament. She implied that players weren’t held accountable by coaches. My impression of her words were that some of the players didn’t train that hard and the coaches let it slide. Her interview is on one of the former USWNT women’s players podcasts. I am not aware of any credible analyst who blamed the losses on goal celebrations or specific political stances. Lalas and Lloyd certainly did not blame either of those things. BTW, my father was born in Germany. Prost.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Personally, I don't feel it's polarizing because I don't really care or place too much weight on athletes' political stances. I either agree or disagree and move on. But there are folks that latch onto every nugget out there about Rapinoe, LeBron or CK and constantly express their outrage over it. It's wasted energy.
 
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kupuna133

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FoxRU said:
Lalas said some of the players politics were polarizing to many fans. Lloyd gave clear examples of leadership and internal issues with the culture/and to a lesser extent work ethic. They both acknowledged poor results amongst age group teams and the rest of the world putting more emphasis on the women’s game. Neither said the losses were because of any players political stance. Interestingly Lindsey Horan just said that the team collectively/players individually weren’t properly prepared for the tournament. She implied that players weren’t held accountable by coaches. My impression of her words were that some of the players didn’t train that hard and the coaches let it slide. Her interview is on one of the former USWNT women’s players podcasts. I am not aware of any credible analyst who blamed the losses on goal celebrations or specific political stances. Lalas and Lloyd certainly did not blame either of those things. BTW, my father was born in Germany. Prost.
Click to expand...
When the Captain (Horan) comes out and says the team was not prepared and certain players didn't train well and lacked focus, pretty much what many people were shot down for in the World Cup thread, then you know the issue is systemic. There were cancerous members to this team. When you pair that with youth it is a recipe for disaster.
 
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RUDiddy777

Heisman
Feb 26, 2015
33,017
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113
vkj91 said:
As expected she’s the victim. And anybody who criticizes her is just a Fox News crowd.

Yeah, it was really disappointing—and the speed with which those comments got into the atmosphere. Everybody on the right—and everybody who was using hateful language and these tropes—
Click to expand...

Didnt read the article, huh?
 
e5fdny

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
113,736
52,406
102
FoxRU said:
Carli Lloyd’s most damning points (discussed on Lalas’s podcast) were also the most insightful:
-Starting in 2017-ish she noticed a general breakdown in the culture of the team. Examples:
-Senior players no showing for scheduled treatments
-Senior players treating support staff poorly/not being respectful of the work space
-Senior players complaining about work load; coaches capitulating to these complaints

There was more but these first hand accounts of Lloyd’s impressions of the changes she saw in her 15 plus year career on the USWNT are valuable insights. Further, I have not seen anyone come out and dispute these specific items. Having played sports through college these things matter and speak to problems of leadership/culture. To frame this as political pandering is itself political pandering. Carli was there. Alexi is commenting based on results and the data presented to him. He was criticized by CNN as not having been a good enough player to have the authority to critique the USWNT. That is such a garbage stance and so disingenuous. Not only is it an Ad Hominem attack it lacks any authority as much of his opinions are based on in depth discussions with arguably one of the top 3 USWNT players of all time who is only a few years retired.
Click to expand...
Unless you WIN (other things too, not just sports), sooner or later the BOLD is going to come back and bite you in the ***.

It should never be okay behavior, but in 2023 it’s certainly not going to fly. People notice and will talk.
 
newell138

newell138

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
35,779
45,412
112
RUPete said:
Her comments support the point that it's not really about politics. The political stances of a few players seem to have little to do with the decline. It's a systemic issue that you have seen with other national teams from time to time.

For example, I am half German and have rooted for that team in WC play since the late 1970s. I can't believe how far they have fallen from excellence, but it's never just one thing and there have to be larger systemic issues.

Linking the decline to a few outspoken players and some ill advised goal celebrations is silly - not saying you're doing that, just commenting on the initial post and article link.
Click to expand...

i think their decline was due to the age of the team. Look at the starters, most were in their mid 30s
 
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RUPete

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
26,846
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newell138 said:
i think their decline was due to the age of the team. Look at the starters, most were in their mid 30s
Click to expand...
That and a deteriorating pipeline. Spain was pretty young or at least some of their best players were. We may have run it back too many times, because there's no one ready step up.
 
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