(Part 3) Top products from r/MLS

Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer -- The book for the novice soccer fan. It explains how one can get caught up in the sport even if they deride it or have no history with it. Amazon: After covering the American sports scene for fifteen years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world—the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, “It was like childhood, with beer.”

The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer -- Be warned this book can be mistaken as a blunt object. One of the most global histories I've ever read. If you like information about how world soccer got to where it is now, I highly recommend this book. Amazon: In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.

Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer -- Amazon: From the league’s formation in 1993 to the David Beckham era, this book reveals all the action on and off the pitch: the politics, the lawsuits, the management of its teams, and the savvy business deals that helped MLS rebound. It also revels in the big personalities of its stars, the grace of its utility players, and the obstacles the league faces in meeting its long-range goals.

Corner Offices & Corner Kicks -- Amazon: The Bethlehem Steel soccer team of 1907-30 and the New York Cosmos of 1971-85 were very much alike in a number of ways beyond their status as the two greatest soccer teams the United States has ever produced. The most important way that they are alike is that both were owned by major corporations, which is the exception in professional sports, and both experienced the benefits and the pitfalls of corporate ownership. Here are the stories of these two teams, and in particular the roller-coaster rides that their ownership situations sent them on.

The story behind that dates back to before the Nordecke section was formed. Each of the three groups were in different parts of the stadium: HSH was in the old north end, La Turbina was much smaller and was in the NE corner sometimes and Crew Union was in 103 on the east endline.

When the stage was built prior to the 2008 season the groups met and decided it would be worth a shot to stand together in the NE corner of the stadium. There's a whole chapter on Crew supporters in Steve Sirk's book about the 2008 season that has a lot more history including old groups like The Contractors, NorthEnders and V-Army.

To expand on the three groups, as Metelteeth said:

Crew Supporters Union Oldest group of the bunch having been the remains of what was once V-Army. Also tends to be more young professional, but has a wide range of ages overall. Does a lot of fundraising for MidOhio Foodbank as part of it's not-for-profit status. Hosts large tailgates prematch. Known for throwing large parties like the Crew-Newcastle Supporters party last week.

La Turbina Amarilla (The Yellow Turbine) is largely latino. Mostly El Salvadorians and Mexicans with a healthy dose of other nationalities including a growing number of caucasians who just enjoy the drumming aspect of the group.

Hudson Street Hooligans Have a private club/bar owned by original members of the group where members go pre and post match. The "edgiest" of the three groups. Draws a lot of it's membership from Ohio State students.

There have been speed bumps here and there, but for the most part the groups get along well on match days. The largest chunk of the Nordecke is possibly independents who don't have a group affiliation.

Big Bill of Chicago is basically a companion volume to Lords of the Levee -- by the same authors and covering the period under mayor Big Bill Thompson. Also rollicking good fun.

For more recent history, see Boss by Mike Royko -- an eviscerating portrait of the Richard Daley administration.

All three of these books, you'll note, are the works of journalists rather than academic historians, which means they're captivating and engaging stories by people who write with a joy and a sharpness you don't typically find among more academic works.

Not a history, but Devil in the White City is an excellent novel set in Chicago at the time of the World's Fair.

As for histories, Distant Corners and Soccer in a Football World constitute the definitive history of the sport in North America.

Very cool that you're doing this. I did a cross-country trip of Canada and the US this past summer with soccer as a secondary reason, and was able to hit up a few Copa America Centenario games (Chicago, Philly, and Foxborough) and MLS games (Montreal, Vancouver, and Columbus.) Happy to provide any help if you want. I would also check out this book (https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Care-Never-Get-Back/dp/0802123767) if you have the time. It's about a man who planned a road trip to see all 30 baseball stadiums in 30 days. Its humor helped me a lot when I was feeling overwhelmed by the road

Help Jeff recover from this setback by buying his children's books centered on sports stories: 1) Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick; 2) Cavaliers win 2016 NBA title; 3) 2016 Chicago Cubs; and 4) Crimson Tide. Bonus book: NASA sending men to the moon.

Jeff Attinella: Husband, father, sports warrior, 2-time MLS Cup runner-up, Timber, and author.

Great post.

Colin Jose is another resources although he's more into the statistics (tables) versus explaining a narrative: http://thisiscosmoscountry.com/?p=1346

http://www.amazon.com/American-Soccer-League-Colin-Jose/dp/0810834294

http://www.amazon.com/Colin-Jose/e/B001K80UCE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1/191-5369569-6802463

Wangerin should be read with an open, critical mind. It is a good book, and you should consider his perspective as an American and that the pre NASL work focuses primarily on the east coast.

For example in the Pacific NW historically there may have been more British influence too (Columbia District/Oregon Territory/54-40 or Fight dynamic before the US swallowed it up to the 49th parallel). From the 1800-1900's there was more Scottish influence and leagues around the Puget Sound of rugby and association codes (those regional leagues not worth really discussing other than St Louis because they'd play for the US Open Cup). What other areas, or parts of the conversation were missed in the review of newspaper articles? What biases did/do newspapers (the mainstream/popular media of the time) have? With questions like this in mind, Wangerin is a good starting point.

Remember history is written by the victors, and it is a story.

There is a fantastic coffee table book of the greatest NY Post headlines called, "Headless Body in Topless Bar"

The puns are fully owned by the Post and Daily News. They're so painful most of the time!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061340715/

https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Story-Indian-Premier-League/dp/0670088730

I absolutely love this book! It literally goes, step by step, into how the IPL was even conceptualized, how it was created, hurdle after hurdle that had to be gone through, and then even events that occurred after what could happen/should happen in the future.

The World Is A Ball: The Joy, Madness, and Meaning of Soccer
A great read about the life and worldwide travels of a soccer journalist.

A good place to start is reading Phil West's book The United States of Soccer.

https://www.amazon.com/United-States-Soccer-American-Fandom/dp/1468312413

I've heard it said that the best way to fix corruption in FIFA is to ditch Addidas for Puma. Actually, he said it was probably the only way. The author of ... hang a sec ... Declan Hill

To add, there's a book/movie (with Shia LeBouf before he got weird) about an amateur winning the 1913 US Open

https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Game-Ever-Played-Francis/dp/0786888008

Also, keep in mind Bobby Jones never went pro and was the first to win the Quadralateral (precursor to the Grand Slam). He won the Open a couple of times.

Tony Romo has tried to make the Open a couple times, but has fallen short.

My Dad missed qualifying by one stroke at Baltusrol. That would've been cool

Vietnam veterans getting spit on has largely been debunked as a myth. Most people take it as true because Rambo said it in First Blood.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2000/05/drooling_on_the_vietnam_vets.html

There is a whole book about it. http://www.amazon.com/The-Spitting-Image-Memory-Vietnam/dp/0814751474

You definitely can.

Here you go.

more
http://www.amazon.com/Ajax-Barcelona-Cruyff-Frits-Barend/dp/0747543054
http://www.football-bible.com/soccer-info/total-football-strategy.html
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/may/23/germany-bust-boom-talent
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/das-reboot-raphael-honigstein/1121884184/2672593629999?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Paperbackshopus_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP23175&k_clickid=3x23175

Here. GL:HF /u/fingerblasters69