Whew. The U.S.A. Mens' National Team qualified for the 2022 World Cup Qatar. Not qualifying following a failure to do so in 2018 would have sent a shock wave thru U.S.S.F. Soccer House on the near south side here in Chicago. What likely collected everybody's eyeballs was that Canada qualified for the first time since 1986. CONCACAF could get a fourth nation in the Finals if Costa Rica defeat New Zealand in the FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Play-Off on 13 or 14 June in Doha, Qatar.
Not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup was a blip on the soccer vista in the U.S.A. Other famous soccer-playing nations have had blips as well. The time which perhaps some of you recall is that England somehow failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup here in the U.S.A. Just qualifying for the World Cup sporadically leads to dreadful performances in the Finals itself. Think Greece in 1994, France in 2006, or that of every Asian nation in 2006 & 2010.
These soccer pages have been extant on the World-Wide Web since the 20th Century. But I would have been accused of being a “Pollyanna” had I predicted things which happened, especially in 2014. ["Someday, the City of Chicago will open up Soldier Field for spectators to watch the U.S.A. Mens' World Cup Soccer Team on a big television screen."]
While I wasn't paying a lot of attention, indoor soccer transformed itself again. The franchises formerly in the Major Indoor Soccer League {III} integrated themselves into the Major Arena Soccer League. Chicago's entry in this league is known as the MUSTANGS.
I have tweaked my indoor soccer results & statistics pages. Everything should be reconnected with its correct base name. If I missed one somewhere, please contact me.
As for Major League Soccer; I am moderately neutral. I lack the emotional connection to the Chicago FIRE. I want them to do well; but their winning or losing is not going to keep me awake at night. The major reason I do not attend their home games is because I do not motor to Soldier Field. I take transit. When out-&-about, I almost always carry a black leather satchel containing my Windows® 8.1 x64 laptop computer. The security setup at Soldier Field is not going to allow me to carry that inside.
I almost always completely capitalize the nicknames of soccer clubs. Formally assigning a nickname to a club is a North American custom, although many international clubs have colloquial nicknames [e.g.: Arsenal (ENG)]. Even when a club are defunct, whenever I write about them, I completely capitalize their nickname (and I use plural nouns & verbs).
I have been involved with soccer as an enthusiast since 1978. For all but 20 months {February 1981 - October 1982, when I lived in Southern California}, I have been in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Beginning in April 1983, I began a streak of attending Chicago STING home games which went uninterrupted until the franchise "suspended operations" in June 1988. [That's right: The STING have still not officially gone defunct. Because if they did, Lee B. Stern would be unable to prevent any other corporation from using the nickname "Chicago STING".] There were three exceptions: I boycotted the STING's match v. Team America during the 1983 ChicagoFest at Soldier Field for political reasons. I was in New York City on a data processing job assignment and missed a weeknight indoor game (v. Tulsa) in March 1984. Because I would not spend any money on a game when someone whom I loathed (and continue to loathe) was the post-game ‘attraction’(!?), I did not attend the indoor match on 31 December 1984.
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a soccer "purist". I respect people's preferences for one discipline of soccer vis-a-vis another.
To revert to my index screen, click on this segment.