Nov 28, 2019
Welcome to the new revamped of "The Free Kick"! In this episode Todd gives you an introduction of himself and why he decided to start a revamp of the podcast in which he'll be covering the Philadelphia Union!
"July 1, 2006 is the day I got HOOKED on soccer. Now, many people have no reason to remember that date, well of course if you’re an England fan you'll remember it well... I remember sitting in my basement during my families Fourth of July party and someone had decided to put on the World Cup. England were facing Portugal in the Quarter-Finals which I remember not knowing a single player on either team, but the first name I heard the commentator say was "David Beckham". I remember the commentator talking about Beckham playing in his glory days for Manchester United, and in that moment I decided England and Manchester United were the teams I would start following. I decided to give MLS a go in 2007 once David Beckham got his move to LA Galaxy. I remember watching 6 or 7 games and decided "Nope this is enough, I'm never watching another MLS game again, the pace is too slow, the level of play is so different comparing it to the Premier League." Fast forward 10 years and my attitude towards MLS was softened. Instead of trying to compare MLS to European soccer, since you truly cannot, I focused on how the game was played. I was pleasantly surprised at how much the league had changed, definitely for the better. Having found a new passion to give more time to MLS, it felt necessary to find a local team to support, and being from Maryland it left me either DC United or Philadelphia Union, choosing the later. Many people have asked me "Oh, why don't you support DC United, you live in Maryland"? It's quite simple really, millage wise I live closer to DC, but time wise I live closer to Philadelphia. So, it was a matter of if I ever decide to go to a MLS game in person, which team will take me the least bit of time to travel to? Philadelphia was the answer. So, after the disappointing lose to NYCFC in the 2018 playoffs I decided I MUST go to games in person, and boy did I go to games in 2019! I missed only two games at Talon Energy Stadium. I had a absolute BLAST witnessing the FIRST playoff win in team history, the come back against NYRB, the bloodbath against Atlanta United and LAFC, it was just a fantastic season. I became season a season ticket member along with my sister for the 2020 season and I look forward to meeting so many fans at the games!!"
Social Media:
Twitter: @FreeKickPod
Instagram: @FreeKickPod
Facebook: @FreeKickPod