Beyond POV-FS – Jozy Altidore on Extra Time Radio & Players are People Too at Waking the Red

I put up a post at Waking the Red in the past few weeks called Players are People Too, the first of a new series of columns, weekly is the plan, though hard to guarantee.

It was a gentle call that on the eve of the season, with the festivities about to commence, it should always be remembered, amongst the hustle and bustle of the campaign, that these players, coaches, and the like are all people too.

Fans can get overly involved in their team. It's expected, and for the large part, it's all good fun. Investing in your team is part of the magic of sport.

But sometimes things can go a little too far.

And when that happens, it is good to ground our criticisms, valid though they may be, in the realities of generally being nice to other people.

Further to that point, Jozy Altidore was on Extra Time Radio this past week and he expanded on a quote from earlier in the off-season, where he discussed a similar idea to the post at WTR.

“A lot of the times, as professional athletes, people forget that we're human, we have lives and we go through stuff, just like you do. You have your highs and your lows,” said Altidore.

“I had some highs and lows in my personal life that I had to go through, which is normal,” he continued. “That affected my profession, which is normal too... but it's not so forgiving in my line of work. I've overcome a lot of those things, it's made me a better person, a stronger person, and I'm allowed now to refocus back on what matters, which is my soccer.”

Every player, like every person, has their own way about them. And at risk of playing amateur psychologist, Altidore did have a little cloud over him last season, one which appears to have cleared.

His first interview back in Toronto exhibited a different beast: he was happy, smiling, jovial, and unshackled, as though a weight had been lifted off his back – Carbs man, they're evil (not really; and delicious by the way).

Unfortunately, a muscle injury looks to keep him out of the first match or two, but expect a different sort of Altidore to take the pitch for Toronto FC this season. Should be fun to watch.

First Person View – Midseason Friendlies should be Celebratory -- Part One - Why They Aren’t

    The concept of a midseason friendly is simple and admirable enough.

    Bring in a big club, a storied one, somebody the home fans and soccer-aficionados who do not regularly attend matches alike would be interested in seeing.

    Sure, use it as a marketing tool, but also a celebration of how far the game has come in this franchise’s short life.

    With nothing riding on the match, it should be a fun night out, and a chance to just enjoy the game without the stress of points on the line.

    How many times in the life of the average Torontonian does one get the chance to see Francesco Totti – a true legend of the game - live in action? Once, maybe twice?

    But clearly in Toronto, they have become sources of conflict, that vocal minority of Toronto fans, flinching like the spurned lovers that they are, are duly annoyed by these matches; the question is why?

POV-FS On The Road – England (Again) & Scotland – Days One & Two: Travel & Preparations

    It’s that time of year again.

    Hello and welcome to the introductory installment of the second annual POV-FS ‘On the Road’ World Football Tour. Yes, “World” is a little grand for another trip to the United Kingdom, but hey, you never know where these travels may take us in the future, so may as well think big.

    For now, while I dust up on my comprehension of other languages, these English speaking – more-or-less - nations will have to suffice.

    With the MLS season stretching further into the winter months and MLS Cup scheduled for the first of December, I decided it was wise to wait until the Christmas season – and its subsequent fixture pile-up – to plan this year’s tour.

    Last year’s voyage was immense fun, but the backlog of missed matches, a bulging PVR, and piles upon piles of reading that awaited my return is still being dealt with to this day, and so, the choice to travel when most other leagues went on their winter hiatus, and MLS entered its post-season torpor, made the most sense.

    Departing on the twenty-seventh of December and set to return on the eighth of January, we here at POV-FS began our journey.

Upon First Glance – Canada vs. Panama

    Last night in Toronto at BMO Field, Canada defeated Panama 1-0 on quickly taken free kick from Atiba Hutchinson after Simeon Jackson had been fouled on the right-side of the pitch. Hutchinson picked out Dwayne De Rosario, sharply placed onside in the six-yard box for a simple, but ever so important, finish into the unguarded net.

Random Video - On Top of the World

    There’s something about this song that just gets me - brings me back to being at an FC United match back in November.

Promotion Watch – Wilmington Hammerheads

    Sometimes it’s necessary to give the fans a little extra impetus to head out to the park.

Foresight – MLS Round 12 Weekend Preview

Four questions to be answered in this the twelfth weekend of MLS action.

From a Different Point of View – 1st Week of February Edition

Some Things You May Have Missed From the Last Week

First Person View – MLS: The Next Frontier – From Fans of a Club to Fans of the League

    With the playoff brackets decided and teams either in or out the important question becomes: How many fans of eliminated teams will tune into the playoffs?