And so explain to me if there were any sort of ego battles there or if there were any sort of turf building or turf grabbing things that you guys had to overcome.

yeah so a couple of practical things that we had to overcome like you said um you know whether it's latin not having done it before um you know even rebecca not having done a uh a men's world cup um but also it's the tournament but it is fox doing it too and none of the other three had worked for fox and every Every broadcaster does it differently.

Yeah, there's some constants.

And Rebecca's a pro, like you said, so she is able to adjust.

But that adjustment period happens on air.

I mean, you can rehearse till you're blue in the face.

But once that red light turns on, now it's for real.

something that's been uh... something rolling around in my head here and i'm trying to get a sense uh... and so i'm asking everybody that i can get uh... to to answer this question about what is a american style of of broadcasting do you think we have a an american style of soccer broadcasting is it been formed yet what do you think

Give me your favorite recruiting story from that time.

[lip smacks] So, you know, I grew up in the '70s and '80s, you know, with, uh, you know, Bubble Yum and MTV and Slurpees and, you know, that was kind of my life.

I grew up, uh, in the suburbs of Detroit, so it was, like, you know, the Red Wings and Little Caesars and that [laughs] and that kind of stuff.

Um, I grew up playing more hockey than, uh, than soccer, uh, because it's, it's the law, uh, in, uh, in Michigan.

And I really gravitated to soccer because of the international aspect of it.

I, I was always in awe and fascinated by the fact that when I went out on my sidewalk in front of my house and I was juggling my soccer ball, that there was a young kid on the other side of the world who I had nothing in common with except this, and this is what the thread was.

I also loved the autonomy of soccer, where the whistle blows and you're left to your own devices relative to a lot of other sports out there.

You not talking for a month and a half seems impossible.

[laughs]

And so we are, you know, we are subject to all of the [laughs] feelings and the emotions and the ups and downs of any type of human being in an emotionally charged type of s- s- situation.

You can feel when the, the tide has turned, and you have that sinking feeling.

Uh, when, when England let the first goal in, eh, you could've said, "Okay, well, you know, it happens.

Whatever.

They came back.

It's still a very good team," and then move on.

Yes.

What happened in between that?

Yeah, so it's the hope that kills you, right? And you start off and, oh my goodness, this is something special.

And I think it's justified and fair for all of us, including myself, to feel like this was going to be something special.

And in many points, it was.

And so we're in this situation where the last game... you picked your worst day to play your worst game.

And that's what's going to leave a taste in everybody's mouth, especially after all the good stuff.

And I can scream and yell and talk about in totality and all the wonderful things that happened.

Well, you

Yeah.

Not just won, but won on our sh- our, our shores.

Uh, and it, to your point that we just talked about, it was there.

It was in the palm of their hand.

And, you know, it's one thing, like I said, if they got their ass kicked all game, but they go up one-nothing.

They are controlling the game.

They have possession of the game.

Um, but two, it can't get worse.

Yeah

... and inject that into the team.

And I think that that translated even in this, uh, in this tournament.

But let's be honest, the guy's being paid $6 million a year to do the things that we haven't seen before.

We have been to a round of 16.

It was to win this particular game.

And in that moment, his team chose the worst possible moment to play the worst possible game.

What did you make of the deflection and the pushback on anybody that criticized Pulisic?

And I can't imagine there's many of them, at all, that go home with anything short of overwhelming positivity.

Yeah, and, you know, the, the people coming from abroad, that's, that's been wonderful.

I'm glad they've had a awesome time.

I'm glad it's all been safe.

Knock on wood it continues to happen.

But what's, what's been interesting is to see Americans who experience this incredible surprise at, "Oh, this is how great America is." A- and again, this m- well, maybe you haven't been looking in the right places or haven't been listening to the right people when it comes to that.

And again, it, it's on our watch that we have kind of created this generation that doesn't look at it as The greatest experiment in terms of success that's ever happened, and I gotta feel the greatest country in the world.

That was a trampoline.

Uh, how do you gauge it so far? What, what part of the cup has surpassed your expectations, and what are you still wait and see mode on?

Um, well, first off, good morning.

Thank you.

Uh, we are knee-deep into this now.

Um, okay, so a couple of things have, I, I guess, surprised me.

The speed in which this World Cup has been embraced by America, um, not that it wouldn't have happened, just, again, the speed in which it happened, I think that's been huge.

Um, I think, you know, on the field, some of the amazing things that we have seen, whether it's, you know, debutants having really, really good performances, uh, whether it's the stars showing up on a consistent basis, and as you know, that doesn't always happen, and yet they are bringing it day after day after day.

America's not winning the World Cup." Landon Donovan said, "Why not? They gotta play their best games ever." What does Alexi Lalas say?

But before we get into that quickly, have you been blown away by how awesome the reaction from foreigners has been who have come to the U.S. for the World Cup and how much they're loving it here?

yeah uh clay and buck by the way uh wonderful to see you you look wonderful um i am a long time listener and uh supporter and fan of the show um yeah look it's it's it's wonderful and you know i i want to praise both you guys for pointing out the fact that oftentimes in order to appreciate something you have you have to kind of look at through other people's lenses and i think we're seeing that on a consistent basis with people coming here for the world cup and just being amazed and awed and excited and surprised at what America actually is relative to the perception that they may have.

And I think hopefully by the end of this World Cup, maybe we as Americans have a greater appreciation for what we are.

So thank you for highlighting that and championing that when it comes to what's going on.

And I think sports in general do that, and certainly a World Cup given its international, you know, the international part of it, I think it does a really good job of doing that.

And we're seeing it on a consistent basis every single day.

What would you say to them?

You know, dinosaurs become extinct.

What do you make of Balogun, his talent? Um, did you expect this?

Well, so first off, let's talk about the dual nationals.

That's something that's been in play now for a long time from the, the US perspective, and all teams, and there's almost a, uh, you know, a college recruiting type of thing, where you have to go out there and you have to, you know, put out your, your best foot, or, and, and a- and appeal to players that have multiple options here.

And you also have to be careful that it's not a, a mercenary type of thing, and I don- I don't think that that's the case at all when it comes to Balogun.

But he als- also looked at his opportunities, and I think US soccer sold him on, "This is where you're going to get opportunities, not just to play, but to be part of something." And, you know, the, the, the interesting [laughs] you know, all these different characters kind of coming together mirrors our society, mir- mirrors our culture and our, and our country, and ultimately working together.

But there was a recruiting cr- uh, uh, process.

There continues to be a recruiting process.

But that's what it feels like to me.

You're a big part of it, but the success, it's really catching on across the country.

yeah so you know we started out talking about you know your father and his involvement in the old nasl and for your listeners that you know aren't necessarily into soccer the nasl was an old league in the united states and it came and went as was the case with a lot of leagues so you know our past is littered with teams and leagues that unfortunately have folded and there was this wild west and then this kind of barren wasteland after the demise of the nasl And for those that may remember back in the 1900s, when I was running around in 1994, the U.S. hosted the Men's World Cup.

And off of that, two years later, we were brought to market basically a new version of an American Soccer League in the form of MLS.

As the saying goes, you've come a long way, baby.

And I could not have imagined back in 1996 when myself and a bunch of other guys actually returned from different places.

I was playing over in Italy to start this league in the proverbial league of our own that we had talked about in the back of buses and bars and everywhere else.

Then 30 years on, we would be, like I said, going into our 30th year.

But soccer, everybody's moving the whole time.

Um, what does this mean now for group play with the expansion of, of what it means or doesn't mean now to make it through your group?

Yeah, so I think the, the idea is...

Well, the idea in terms of the problems that are going to arise, um, is that you're gonna have less quality within the group stage.

Okay? And that the group stage is kind of just going to become, you know, a, a fait accompli and, and, and the teams are always going to go through, and there's gonna be less competition.

Um, I get it.

I understand.

I don't want a diluted version of the World Cup, or any tournament for, for that matter.

[laughs] Like, I don't know if this is an anti-American thing, which I can certainly understand, and, and in some places even I'm like, "Hey, that might be a little justified." But some of the complaints early on, and again, people like to complain, it's kind of the default setting, um, this isn't even close to being as challenging as some other places that have hosted this event.

Sure

... obviously gonna be a focal point.

Uh, and I think he's well on his way to becoming the best male American soccer player in history, and he's gonna have to star.

Now, he's not a, a vocal leader.

He's not a big personality, nor does he need to be.

Uh, yes, there'll be a lot of attention on him, but it's because of what he does on the field, and that's all I c- all I care about.

You know, some larger personalities that I think America's gonna kind of gravitate to are a guy Weston McKennie out of Texas, now plays over in Italy for, uh, Juventus.

Mm-hmm

To me, I thought that was important.

Yeah.

You hit the nail on the head.

I mean, this is a evolution, if you will, when it comes to the way that we play.

Now, I'm not saying in the past we haven't had possession, but again, this is against a German team, uh, that's, you know, c- one of the elites in the world, and we're pinging it around.

And this comes with time, and I think it, it doesn't always, like you say, equate to goals or winning, but there is an association with possession as to a maturity and an evolution.

And so I think when-- You can't just have possession, right? Possession with purpose they talk about oftentimes.

What do you believe we need from Pulisic in terms of production?

To me, I thought that was important.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.

I mean, this is a evolution, if you will, when it comes to the way that we played.

Now, I'm not saying in the past we haven't had possession, but again, this is against a German team, uh, that's, you know, q- one of the elites in the world, and we're pinging it around.

And this comes with time, and I think it, it doesn't always, like you say, equate to goals or winning, but there is an association with possession as to a maturity and an evolution.

And so I think when-- you can't just have possession, right? Possession with purpose they talk about oftentimes.

And I think the other day against Germany, there was possession with purpose, and it resulted, like you said, in a lot of opportunities, uh, a lot of goal-scoring chances.

What do you believe we need from Pulisic in terms of production?

Where do the points come from?

Goal.

What points? Yeah, so look, America doesn't give a crap how this US team plays.

They just care if they win, OK? Being romantic is a direct path to us going out of the tournament, OK? And dying on principle and dying on that hill is not going to work for a team like the United States.

It's different when you're talking about a team like Spain or someone like that, where they can afford to be romantic because of the players that they have.

This is a team that, yes, we can evolve and we can do things that we haven't done in the past, but we can't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Right now we have someone like Flo Balogun who is up top and Ricardo Pepe.

uh last thing you've said and obviously people saw you on the mass singer and you know you said something interesting i wrote this down here you said that soccer and music share the same energy um can you explain that to me walk me through that a Well, first off, I've always considered myself a performer,

D- did it, did it feel the same way for you is that I know it's a friendly, but it mattered?

It did.

It, it, it mattered in terms of the shot in the arm that you're talking about because, you know, let's be honest, there's, there's some angst out there and some understandable, you know, consternation about this team and what it is going to do.

And so to see this type of performance individually, yes, Christian Pulisic scoring goals.

I, I wasn't worried because I think he is at his most comfortable with this national team, so but it was nice to see him actually get on the score sheet.

Uh, obviously a goal, an assist, play well.

It was a weird game because Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach, changed 10 guys at halftime.

Do you view them as the favorite? How do you see this?

But they don't know each other as well as you guys did.

Yeah.

I mean, we trained for two years, basically as a, a club team, trained every single day.

We c- we can't do that in today's, in the today's world.

Um, a- and if you want, you know, a graphic [laughs] illustration of that, uh, this weekend, Summer of '94, the documentary, you'll be able to see it on Fox, uh, it, it lays out that whole story.

And you-

So you play in group stage.

There's groups of four.

But they don't know each other as well as you guys did.

Yeah.

I mean, we trained for two years basically as a, a club team, trained every single day.

We c- we can't do that in today's, in the today's world.

Um, a- and if you want, you know, a graphic [laughs] illustration of that, uh, this weekend, Summer of '94, the documentary, you'll be able to see it on Fox.

Uh, it, it lays out that whole story.

So you-

So you play in group stage.

And more or less focusing on this general period of time, I'm talking like 70s, 80s, 90s.

Yeah, so I think from a war movie, it's not going to rank very high.

And again, we talked about how we're looking at it through the lens of a completely changed film scape, if you will, when it comes to how wars are depicted.

But I still think there are plenty of other war movies that would blow this one out of the water when it comes to sports movies.

And in that time, I think because it was unique and because it was different and involved a sport, especially and I'm looking at it again from American perspective, I think it would be up there for everyone.

Like I said, the impact that it made on the sports culture and what was to come with, you know, the World Cups and men's and women's soccer and just the culture that kind of grew out of soccer.

So it was kind of like that first moment of realization that, hey, this isn't just something that's, again, just completely niche and underrated.

For those out there, including myself, who have an underdeveloped appreciation for the sport, what are some things that we could be doing now to better acquaint ourselves with the sport and its history before

You tell me, Alexi, does it, does it matter?

Well, greetings, Colin.

Uh, yeah, yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head here.

There's nothing better than a World Cup except one thing, and that is a home World Cup.

And there is a magic.

And if you are able to harness that, then man, you can do things that people don't believe that you can do.

When it comes to this, uh, when it comes to this summer, obviously we're hosting with our friends to the north, Canada, our friends to the south, Mexico, but the majority of the games are going to be here in the United States.

What, what has elevated them?

Does it, does it matter?

Well, greetings, Colin.

Uh, yeah, yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head here.

There's nothing better than a World Cup except one thing, and that is a home World Cup.

And there is a magic, and if you are able to harness that, then man, you can do things that people don't believe that you can do.

When it comes to this, uh, when it comes to this summer, obviously we're hosting with our friends to the north, Canada, our friends to the south, Mexico, but the majority of the games are going to be here in the United States.

And from a US perspective, I mean, there's a lot of synergy.

I- it- it's, what, what has elevated them?

How do you fix it?

Well, listen, uh, you and I are from a previous generation back in the, uh, last century, in the 1900s, when a lot of kids grew up playing multiple sports.

That ship has sailed.

Specialization is a thing.

And listen, I, I, I would love nothing more than every man, woman, and child in the United States were to be able to play free soccer or free sports in, in general.

But that's, that's not what the situation here is.

Because it comes back to the big question, and whether it's up on Capitol Hill, uh, or down at the, uh, the, the local town is, who's going to pay for the free stuff? And what was interesting is, what we don't want to do, I think, is vilify the men and women that work in the industry, that work not just in soccer, but in sports out there and make a living.

What do we do about those prices, Alexi?

You do?

I think that we should be proud and loud about calling it soccer.

We should lean into it.

And I think it makes us look at times weak or capitulating to change what is historically football here in the United States.

It's not a problem.

Don't ever apologize for calling it soccer, and that's what I would tell President Trump or anybody else out there.

But he's also a very smart man.

But first, on those two games, your thoughts.

But first, on those two games, your thoughts.

So when the, when Group D, which is what the US is going to be in, and keep in mind that there are 12 groups of four in the World Cup, and it's round robin in group play, so you'll play three games.

And then the best, uh, the top two teams from your group go out, and then potentially a, uh, best third place teams.

But listen, when I saw this group, I started to compare it in history.

I'm an old guy.

I started to compare it to all the other groups the US has had in previous World Cups.

I cannot for the life of me find another group that's even close in terms of, um, salivating for opportunity here.

Uh, and, and you have told me that you think the team's playing a lot better.