By Jon Levy, Writing from Gainesville, Florida
It’s not uncommon that we, here at The Yanks Are Coming try and point you in the direction of other quality soccer writing, because despite the fact that we are the most important blog of all time, good writing does exist outside of the TYAC world. But enough of that, this isn’t one of those posts! This is a self indulgent holiday season post where we’re going to look back on what we did right here dammit! 2010 was a huge year for U.S. Soccer, and a huge year for us. So gather the visiting members of your extended family who know about footy around the computer, settle in with a spiked hot cocoa, and spread the Yanks love with some of my favorites from this past year.
My 2010 TYAC Picks By Writer:
Neil W. Blackmon – Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Ryan Giggs
I know Neil had some really socially conscious and excellently written posts this year; but this is about my favorite of his writings. Call me a cold hearted egotist, but I like it better when he uses his Master of Fine Arts degree and mutant literary powers to make me laugh than to make me aware of important stuff. This one does the trick, and he still makes great points, because, yknow, he’s Neil.
Raf Crowley – US Soccer: 4-4-2?s And Heartbreak
Raf is our top tactical mind here at TYAC, but as he often does, he covered far more than tactics in this post-World Cup exit piece. I had to text Raf right away before even finishing reading this post to tell him how into it I was. If you’re the one person who hasn’t read Raf’s case for the 4-4-3, then get on that right away, but this was my personal Rafman favorite for 2010.
Puck – Puck’s Friday Happy Hour: Sports Faux Pas Edition
Picking my favorite Puck’s Friday Happy Hour was like trying pick my favorite child, or, more appropriately to my life, trying to pick my favorite beer. Okay, wrong again, it was like trying to pick Puck’s favorite beer, and the only choices are PBR and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Puck’s most recent Friday Happy Hour pronounces one of my favorite Yanks dead, so I obviously couldn’t pick that one. I thought about picking the time I subbed in on Puck’s Friday Happy Hour out of spite, but decided not to be quite so petty and opted for one of my favorites. It hails from July, weighs in at 1,175 words, starts with a typo and ends with busty Asians! Enjoy!
Dru Boyer – Trading Free Throws for Free Kicks
Everything that our man Dru writes is hilarious. FACT. By the way, that’s what Neil Blackmon does in actual real life conversation when arguing with someone who may or may not be less informed than him on an issue. Example? Sure. “Phil Jagielka is the greatest English defender since Bobby Moore. FACT.” I think he’s already dropped the “FACT” bomb a couple times in our running debate on the NFL potential of SEC wide receivers Julio Jones and Alshon Jeffery. Anyway, back to the man and matter at hand! Dru Boyer’s Yanks Abroad posts always brighten up my week, but I had to hand it to him for having fun with the American basketball squad in casting them in cleats and shorts of a more reasonable length. The man with the desert dry sense of humor always delivers. Seriously, search him on the site. Oh and Neil, I’ll see you in Canton at Julio’s Hall of Fame induction.
Dan Seco – Dear Mr. Moyes, Can I Be One Of Your Boys?
As our loyal readers know by now, our very own Chancellor Seco handles his business behind the scenes at TYAC, but every once in a while he drops back in for a quick one-off Yanks post, written in his own inimitable style. This one was my favorite, because we were provided with one word (and a headline) on which EPL team Dan was picking in the wake of our “Pick Dan an EPL Team” contest, and a slew of prose on Dan’s escapades in New Orleans! Get ‘em Seco (Seceaux?)!
Sean McElroy – What Now For US Soccer? Easy. Be Champions.
Sean’s post was the most recent one to make my list, and it’s definitely my favorite of his. He calls for U.S. Soccer to shake off the negativity after the 2022 Qatar snub, and does so in a decidedly inspiring and most kickass manner! And as an added holiday collector’s edition bonus, this post now comes complete with a comment from one of our best comment writers, Maxwell! I want to party with these dudes!
Guy Bailey's marvelous History of the World Cup Series included a memorable piece on the great one-- Diego Maradona.
Guy Bailey – History Of The World Cup (1986)
Each edition of Guy’s History Of The World Cup had its own charm, taught me something I didn’t know (or plenty of things I didn’t know), and entertained me to the last. Picking one out of the bunch was a task, but the “Maradona World Cup” piece was exceptional, read and enjoy. You can’t start a post with a picture of a LEGO Maradona using the “Hand of God” and have it not be awesome. Another highlight of Guy’s history pieces for me was the constant ribbing he gave the brash Scottish squads through the years. You’d think he was English or something.
Jamie Clary – Going Out On A High Note
Definitively my favorite from Professor Clary! This autobiographical piece documents Jamie’s Favre-esque struggle with age, responsibility, and the game he loves. That sounded like the inside of a decent book’s dust jacket didn’t it?! Jamie’s also our resident staff book reviewer by the by, how ya like that segue?
Jon Levy (Me) – As for me, just search “Jon Levy” on the site and see what comes up. It’ll probably be pretty good stuff, and it will certainly be really really ridiculously good looking.
Happy Holidays!
Jon Levy is Co-Founder and Associate Editor of The Yanks Are Coming. He can be reached at jon@yanksarecoming.com and you can follow him on Twitter at @TYAC_Jon.