Podcast appearances and mentions of steve sampson

As I talked to Steve Sampson, I was very much reminded of the coaches of my youth in the 80s and 90s. I smirked nostalgically as I heard words like: accountability, preparation, and culture.If you Google Steve Sampson, of the first 10 articles you see, 9 will be about one event he experienced - a moment where he was coaching the US National Team, prepping for the 1998 World Cup, and was faced with an impossible off-the-field situation. He handled it in his way, grounded in his own set of values, which he summarized in that clichéd/old school but very true idea of: can you look yourself in the mirror? His decision was hugely unpopular. His career and reputation suffered tremendously, but as he says both then and now, he sleeps just fine at night. He talks a lot about that incident with me and how it impacted him. In his words, 'that's the most I've ever talked about that'. And he humbled me by casually adding that, 'he felt in good hands'. Of course, there is much more to the man than this single moment. And I hope you enjoy hearing from the man himself: the life and philosophies of 'el profe' , Steve Sampson. EP: 025 - Steve Sampson Thanks for listening! We appreciate your support. If you love SoccerPod, please consider supporting us through our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/soccerpodBy subscribing to our Patreon, you get behind-the-scenes content, discounts on merchandise and the opportunity to submit questions for future guests. Connect with us on social:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soccer.pod/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soccerpodTwitter: https://twitter.com/SoccerPod1YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soccerPod-go5vx

Christian Life Church Mt. Prospect IL

Christian Life Church Mt. Prospect IL

Thank you for listening. You can connect with us here www.facebook.com/riverchurchal | www.riverchurchalabama.org Have a blessed day

daryl merrill.info stevesampsonministries.org

Christian Life Church Mount Prospect, IL

Christian Life Church Mount Prospect, IL

Christian Life Church Mount Prospect, IL

Steve Sampson 4 Ways to Love God   Join us Sundays at 10AM CST to watch LIVE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ1GilGLqY67b1ukF_g9jQ   Partner with us: http://www.christchurchsemo.org/give   Connect with us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/christchurchsemo https://www.instagram.com/christchurchsemo

darylmerrill.com stevesampsonministries.org

Connect with the Sampson's here https://www.stevesampsonministries.org/All our links in one place: https://linktr.ee/glcjemisonDownload The GLC App https://get.theapp.co/mssr

Connect with the Sampson's here https://www.stevesampsonministries.org/All our links in one place: https://linktr.ee/glcjemisonDownload The GLC App https://get.theapp.co/mssr

Steve Sampson Going to a New Level in 2024   Join us Sundays at 10AM CST to watch LIVE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ1GilGLqY67b1ukF_g9jQ   Partner with us: http://www.christchurchsemo.org/give   Connect with us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/christchurchsemo https://www.instagram.com/christchurchsemo

'There's A River In You' from Rev. Steve Sampson. River Church Tuscaloosa, AL. Thank you for listening. You can connect with us here www.facebook.com/riverchurchal | www.riverchurchalabama.org Have a blessed day

darylmerrill.com stevesampsonministries.org

darylmerrill.info stevesampsonministries.org

Subscribe now to the Christian Life Church podcast for messages of hope, encouragement, and inspiration!

Radames "Rod" Lafaurie enters his 12th year as the Occidental College men's soccer team's head coach.A former soccer standout at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif. he contributed to two CIF championships teams.  As a club player, he guided his teams to two Coast Soccer League Premier titles and two Surf Cup Super Group tournament wins before he continued his soccer career at Cal State University, Northridge, a Division I member of the Big West.  During his four-year career, Lafaurie amassed the record for most wins as a goalkeeper in program history, helping the team to perennial top-25 national rankings while consistently participating in the post-season play.  Lafaurie was named the 2003 Cal State Northridge Male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the Matadors as well as a Second Team All-Big West member.After capping off his collegiate career, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and Communications in 2005, Lafaurie went on to train with the Los Angeles Galaxy as a reserve for a season under Steve Sampson and followed up with a two-year stint in the Premier Development League (PDL).  Simultaneously, while playing professional soccer, Lafaurie completed master's degree coursework in History from CSUN in 2007.Called one of the finest up and coming coaches in the country, he works with the Region IV Olympic Development Program as a staff coach and previously as a Nevada ODP Head Coach for the Boys Program. Rod currently holds a United States Soccer Federation "A" coaching license and United Soccer Coaches Premier License. Rod also serves as the Academy Director at LA Surf in charge of all elite programing for the largest club in greater Los Angeles.  Rod and his wife Graziella live in La Crescenta with their son and daughter.You can also find more Richard Listens content on Instagram (@RichardListens), Facebook (@Richard Listens), and RichardListens.com. Support the show (http://patreon.com/RichardlistensSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/richardlistens/donations

Steve Sampson The Need for Understanding   Join us Sundays at 10AM CST to watch LIVE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ1GilGLqY67b1ukF_g9jQ   Partner with us: http://www.christchurchsemo.org/give   Connect with us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/christchurchsemo https://www.instagram.com/christchurchsemo

Thank you for listening. You can connect with us here www.facebook.com/riverchurchal | www.riverchurchalabama.org Have a blessed day

darylmerrill.info

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Steve Sampson has done it all. Head coach of the USMNT and Costa Rica. Winner of the double, MLS Cup, and US Open Cup with the LA Galaxy, and champion of the NCAA with Santa Clara. Sampson has just spent the last month in the center of the soccer universe, Qatar. He joins the Bear and the Ball and shares his thoughts on the World Cup in Qatar, the USMNT program, and what it will take for the United States to produce its own Messi or Mpbabe. This interview is a must for any serious fan of the beautiful game.

Former USMNT Coach Steve Sampson visits to look back at World Cup 2022 & Jessamyn McIntyre shares memories of Coach Mike Leach. Thanks to all my partners: Dr. Daniel Lapidus & Larry Ackerman, Dr. Brad Kurgis of Kurgis Dermatology, California Fresh Markets, The SLO Wellness Center, Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa, Joy of Shell Beach,  Michael Moore Sports Recovery, and Gymnazo.

Steve Sampson Increase Your Level of Expectation   Join us Sundays at 10AM CST to watch LIVE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@christchurchoftheheartland6877   Partner with us: http://www.ccoth.org/give   Connect with us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/christchurchoftheheartland https://www.instagram.com/christchurchoftheheartland

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In the third episode of the Conflict Management Technique Series, Warden Dawson and guest Dr. Steve Sampson look at some practical skills that can help us bring down the intensity of a situation, if not avoid it altogether.  These skills are quite simple but are often overlooked, ignored, or treated lightly.Copyright 2022.  National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO), Aaron Dawson, The Shakedown Podcast.  All Rights Reserved.  DISCLAIMER:This podcast may not be distributed without written permission by NIJO.  The information contained herein shall not be construed as legal advice.  Listeners should always consult legal counsel to determine how the laws of their individual jurisdiction affect the application of these materials and guidelines to their individual circumstances.

Warden Dawson is joined by Dr. Steve Sampson to discuss his upcoming book and subsequent training.  Conflict is a part of life and can be either good or bad.  Warden Dawson and Dr. Sampson discuss some of the facts and causes of conflict that each of us bring to the table within ourselves.Copyright 2022.  National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO), Aaron Dawson, The Shakedown Podcast.  All Rights Reserved.  DISCLAIMER:This podcast may not be distributed without written permission by NIJO.  The information contained herein shall not be construed as legal advice.  Listeners should always consult legal counsel to determine how the laws of their individual jurisdiction affect the application of these materials and guidelines to their individual circumstances.

Steve Sampson 05/08/2022 by Christ The Rock Fellowship

darylmerrill.com stevesampson.org

darylmerrill.com stevesampson.org

'Growth' from Rev. Steve Sampson River Church Tuscaloosa, AL. Thank you for listening. You can connect with us here www.facebook.com/riverchurchal | www.riverchurchalabama.org Have a blessed day!

Estados Unidos derrotó a Canadá para asegurar el primer lugar del Grupo B. El equipo de Fútbol de Primera con Nico Cantor, Daniel Chapela, Steve Sampson, Javier Castrilli, Rosa Sánchez y Jesús Eduardo Acosta analizan un nuevo triunfo de la selección de las barras y las estrellas

Episode #13 is brought to you by these Bronco Talk Supporters!  Title Sponsor  - Wild Horse's 4x4 www.wildhorses4x4.com - Bronco parts sold by Bronco people!  www.painlessperformance.com - It's time to swap out that old brittle wiring? Painless has you covered!  www.UPcarparts.com - United Pacific Industries is more than just awesome LED lighting  - check them out!  www.vintageair.com - Vintage has you covered from the Early Broncos to the Second Gens now - they make an AC kit for you and your Bronco.  Steve Sampson has led a life dedicated to Early Broncos from the Early Bronco Registry, to hosting the 5 year Bronco Anniversary Events to contributing to Bronco Driver Magazine with the Horsing Around segment!  Thank you for your dedication, passion and service to the Ford Bronco Community - Fo BroCo!  Email - earlybroncoregistry@gmail.com Website - www.earlybronco.com Stroppe 50th -  2021stroppereunion@gmail.com www.carlisleevents.com  

Imagine training with Brazil during the 1994 World Cup alongside the likes of Dunga, Romário, Bebeto, Cafu and a 17 year old by the name of Ronaldo. Imagine being coached by US soccer icons Bruce Arena and Steve Sampson. Imagine coaching David Beckham and Landon Donovan when Becks first came to MLS in 2007. Imagine being the middle man between Ruud Gullit and Alexi Lalas working in the front office. Paul Bravo has done it all and has the stories to prove it. Strap in and enjoy!

Listen at 2000AD.com - 2000ad.com/podcast Listen on Spotify - bit.do/thrillcastspotify Subscribe on iTunes - bit.do/thrillcastitunes Welcome to the thirty-eighth of The Lockdown Tapes as The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast continues to broadcast the joys of Thrill-power during the COVID-19 pandemic! Got a theme or interview you’d like to hear? Let us know at thrillcast@2000AD.com With his pop art sensibilities, and use of photo references and bold colours, Steve Sampson's work was a regular fixture of the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD in the 1990s; starting with Brit-Cit Babes and then creating a significant body of work on the Judge Anderson series, Sampson's style had both fans and detractors. The Thrill-Cast talks to him about his life and career, from ditching art college to illustrating for men's magazines, from working in a sheet metal factory to moving into the video games industry. The Thrill-Cast is increasing its broadcasts during this difficult time, so make sure you’re keeping yourselves and your loved ones safe – and stay tuned for more from the Galaxy’s Greatest Podcast! The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast is the award-winning podcast that takes you behind-the-scenes at the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! As well as interviewing top creators and famous fans, we bring you announcements, competitions, and much more! You can subscribe to the Thrill-Cast on your favourite podcast app, iTunes and Spotify, you can listen now at 2000AD.com/podcast or you can watch at youtube.com/2000ADonline

Rev. Steve Sampson | 6Sep2020 River Church Tuscaloosa, AL. Thank you for listening. You can connect with us here www.facebook.com/riverchurchal | www.riverchurchalabama.org Have a blessed day! Podcast Production by Paraclete Media Group www.facebook.com/paracletemediagroup

On this, the very first episode, Daryl interviews Steve Sampson about hearing the voice of God and what God is saying for 2020. You can connect with Steve at stevesampson.org. You can connect with Daryl at darylmerrill.com.

Connect with Rev. Steve Sampson here http://www.stevesampson.org/ Thank you for listening. You can connect with us here www.facebook.com/riverchurchal | www.riverchurchalabama.org Have a blessed day! Podcast Production by Paraclete Media Group www.facebook.com/paracletemediagroup

Connect with Rev. Steve Sampson here http://www.stevesampson.org/ Thank you for listening. Like our Facebook page to stay connected www.facebook.com/glcjemison We broadcast every Sunday morning starting at approximately 10:30 A.M. CST on Facebook Live. Our podcast is a RSS feed through SoundCloud. If you prefer the SoundCloud app you can find us there as well @glcjemison If you would like to sew into Grace Life Church you can do so here. www.glcjemison.org/giving/ If you enjoy the message please leave us a review on iTunes as it helps to reach more people. More information about us can be found here www.glcjemison.org God Bless You! Podcast Production by Paraclete Media Group www.facebook.com/paracletemediagroup www.instagram.com/paracletemedia

On June 15, 1998, the U.S. men’s national team was waiting to kick off their first World Cup game. The players warmed up in the tunnel before taking the field at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. Their German opponents were waiting there as well. Of the three games the Americans were set to play, this first one was expected to be the hardest. Germany was (and still is) one of best national teams on the planet. The U.S. team was hoping for a tie, to stay in the running for the tournament’s next round. Striker Eric Wynalda had played professionally in Germany, and he knew how good these guys were. “I knew Olaf Thon and Kohler. Christian Wörns. Those guys were laughing at me. And I'll never forget Kohler saying, ‘Got no chance. It's one against three.’ I think I just responded, ‘I know. You're right.’” Specifically, the Germans were laughing at the American’s team’s new on-field formation, the 3-6-1. As implemented by U.S. coach Steve Sampson, the strategy called for three defenders, six midfielders and just one striker to carry the scoring burden. Wynalda was that lonely striker, whose only company would be three intimidating German defenders. This 3-6-1 was rarely used in international soccer. It relies heavily on youth and speed. It requires players to be well-drilled in their roles and understand each other’s positions. When the 3-6-1 works, the formation is fast and lethal. But when it doesn’t, it can destroy the team almost before kick-off. Most important: A complex strategy change requires buy-in from players, something that was in short supply on Sampson’s roster. Lest we forget: The team’s veterans were on the bench, the newbies were on the field, and everyone had been going stir-crazy in a secluded chateau. So it wasn’t surprising that early on, in the 9th minute, the Germans took the lead with a corner kick. And in the 65th minute, they stole another goal. The Americans were outclassed and they were learning it in the worst way possible. Try as they might, the Americans couldn’t redeem the score. After 90 minutes, the game ended at 2-0. Yet the loss gave the embittered veterans the opportunity they wanted: an opening to vent. Even though the U.S. team was still in the running for the trophy, some players went straight to the media. Alexi Lalas blamed the chateau: "We were isolated in the middle of France, then plopped down in the middle of Paris where it's like a circus." Roy Wegerle lambasted the 3-6-1, saying it was "twice the work and half the help.” Eric Wynalda blamed the inexperienced starters. "You could tell some of us were playing for the first time in a World Cup," he told the LA Times’ Mike Penner. Tab Ramos criticized Sampson’s decision to bench veterans Lalas, Balboa and Agoos. He told the Washington Post: “Obviously, you don't have to agree, and I don't.” Weeks of the team’s internal grumbling, sniping and bad blood was now making headlines back home. Not only had the team lost their first game on the world stage, but they’d also lost their unity. How could they pull it together in time for their next two games against Iran and Yugoslavia? In each case, they had a chance of winning. But the team had become its own worst enemy.

What do you do after you’ve just crashed and burned in a World Cup? That’s what the entire 1998 U.S. men’s national team was asking themselves, including the coach. The day after the team lost to Yugoslavia in its third and final World Cup game, Steve Sampson told the Washington Post that he wanted to remain head coach and that he wouldn’t let a few disgruntled players dictate his future. He even threatened to fine players who had aired their grievances in the press.   But Sampson was smart enough to know he was headed for the exit. His boss, U.S. Soccer Federation president Alan Rothenberg, asked Steve to meet him for breakfast in Paris first thing Monday. Sampson remembers: “I offered my resignation because I felt it was the right thing to do because I had lost three games in a world championship. I didn't want Alan to feel as if he needed to fire me. Before he could get it out of his mouth, I offered to him to resign from the national team." An autographed U.S. national team jersey from the 1998 World Cup. Most of the players returned to the U.S., eager to forget the painful losses in France. But for Frankie Hejduk, the end of the World Cup marked a new beginning. He was actually kind of -- elated. Amid all the drama swirling around the U.S. national team, Hejduk and his agent negotiated a contract to play with Bayer Leverkusen, a top-flight German team. This California surfer and reluctant soccer star was headed to the big time in Europe. (Soccer Digest, November 1998) “It's crazy how that works out, right?” Hejduk remarks to Roger Bennett in American Fiasco. “It ended up changing my life in probably the best way ever because I wouldn't be here with you, doing interviews, I wouldn't be fishing. I wouldn't be hitting golf balls off my back deck.” Hejduk’s excitement, of course, was the exception. Most of the team returned to the U.S., eager to forget their humiliating defeat in France. More than anything, 1998 was supposed to be the year that this group of guys, playing this game, finally won over the great uncaring American audience to establish the game they loved as a truly major league sport. Roger Bennett with former U.S. national team defender Marcelo Balboa at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver, home of the Colorado Rapids. Balboa spent most of his MLS career with the Rapids and is a coach with the team’s development academy.     “The boys had blown it. We had really lost of lot of respect from the world and internationally,” says striker Eric Wynalda. “Not until Brandi Chastain saved it in 1999, did we have a good feeling about the sport.” That was the year Chastain won the World Cup for the U.S. women’s team in a dramatic penalty shootout. Soccer was once again breakfast table conversation, because Chastain and Mia Hamm were plastered all over Wheaties boxes.   It’s been 20 years since the men finished last at the World Cup. The petty grievances, the outsized vanities and the rank embarrassment have mostly faded away. Since then, soccer has arrived in the United States. Dozens of leagues are broadcast on American television. EA Sports FIFA isn’t just a best-selling video game; it’s an educational tool that is introducing generations to the rules, teams and stars of the sport. International icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi regularly poll in Americans’ top ten favorite sports heroes, outranking their N.F.L., M.L.B. and N.B.A. counterparts. This past season, 72,000 fans packed a stadium in Atlanta and set a Major League Soccer attendance record. The two previous records were held by, wait for it, Atlanta. And today, though Americans were embarrassed that the U.S. men failed to even qualify for the 2018 World Cup, worry not. The U.S. Women will — let’s pray — redeem us once again at the 2019 World Cup. After all, they’ve won three World Cups to date. As for the men’s team, hope still burns in the hearts of American soccer evangelists and 1998 survivors like Hank Steinbrecher. “We're Americans,” Steinbrecher tells Roger in the final moments of the podcast. “Let's climb Everest. Let's go to the moon. Let's cure cancer. Go for it. Let's win a World Cup.”  

The U.S. men’s national team had done it. They’d qualified for the 1998 World Cup. Now it was time to find out which teams they would face. The World Cup draw determines the matchups for the tournament’s first round, the so-called group stage. Imagine the Powerball drawing on your local TV station, except this one is watched by half a billion people around the world. Instead of drawing lottery numbers, a high-ranking FIFA official plucks balls from a bowl. Each ball contains the name of a country. When its ball is drawn, that country is slotted into one of eight groups consisting of four national teams. In other words, three years of hard work, international travel and swaggering self-confidence can all be erased by three little plastic balls.   Hank Steinbrecher, who was then the secretary general of U.S. Soccer, attended the draw, which was held in an outdoor stadium in Marseilles on a chilly, windy December evening. “So the first ball we draw is Germany,” he explains. ”And I distinctly remember sitting in my seat, saying, ‘Oh great. We’ve had two wars with them. They’re only the best team in the damn world and we’re playing Germany to start out with!’ Next is Iran! ‘Oh great. They have our hostages. This is going to be a diplomatic nightmare.’” “Next one is Yugoslavia!” he continues.  “Which is a great team and we are currently bombing them. So I’m thinking, ‘This is going to be a whirlwind of warfare.’” Before facing these opponents in France, however, the U.S. team still had many challenges in the coming months. The players had to compete with each other to secure a spot on the final team roster. And coach Steve Sampson introduced a complex, new on-field formation, the 3-6-1, which changed everyone’s roles and prioritized speed and younger players. In turn, the team’s most veteran and high-profile players began to ride the bench. Meanwhile, a newcomer arrived with just weeks to go before the World Cup. David Regis hadn’t helped the U.S. team qualify for this World Cup. In fact, he wasn’t even a U.S. citizen: he was born in Martinique, a territory of France, and had been playing professionally in France and Germany. But Regis was married to an American and at the behest of Sampson, was racing to get his U.S. citizenship. While Regis was doing that, he was also competing for a starting position against the team’s beloved left back, Jeff Agoos. Agoos was no stranger to this gauntlet. He’d been cut from the World Cup team in 1994 at the last minute. He’d been so upset at the time that he burned his U.S. jersey in a fireplace. Fast forward four years, and Agoos feared he might once again be left behind. On June 2 -- just two days before the team was scheduled to depart for France -- Sampson finally submitted his World Cup roster to FIFA. Twenty two players would represent the U.S.A. at the 1998 World Cup, including both Agoos and Regis. But Regis would be starting and Agoos, the veteran, would be watching from the bench. Regis was elated and even teared up during the national anthem in his first World Cup game. But the team’s core of older players, who identified with Agoos and his plight, were none too pleased. A storm was brewing on the horizon.  

When the U.S. men’s national team departed JFK International Airport for France on June 5, 1998, many players assumed they were headed straight into the heart of World Cup action. Fourteen hours later, they arrived in the middle of nowhere. It’s common for elite national teams to train in isolation during the final days before the World Cup. Argentina was holed up in the town of L’Etrat, in the Loire Valley. The English were hiding out on a golf resort an hour west of Nantes. U.S. head coach Steve Sampson wanted the same thing for his players. “We were staying at the Chateau de Pizay, in one of the finest hotels in the world,” he tells Roger Bennett in episode 5 of American Fiasco. “We had a five-star chef preparing meals for these players. We had a magnificent training ground. France, Brazil and England all stayed there and I felt it was good enough for our national team.” However, the Chateau de Pizay was surrounded by 130 acres of beaujolais vineyards in Saint-Jean-d'Ardières, four hours away from Paris. Defender Marcelo Balboa remembers his frustration. “You're like, 'We're isolated up in a mountain, in a vineyard where I have to ride a bike into town 10 minutes just to get out and go do something.' We were like, 'Why are we being isolated? Why are we being secluded? Why are we being put by ourselves out here?'” Jeremy Schaap, then an ESPN reporter embedded with the team, explains: “Look, mostly these were guys who were expecting something out of the World Cup akin to what Olympic athletes get out of the Olympic Village.” “We wanted this to be ridiculously special for the players,” says Sampson. “It cost the Federation a lot more money than they anticipated.” But his players just couldn’t -- or wouldn’t -- hack it. In the Chateau, their gilded prison, the inmates were going a little batty. “It looked great from the outside,” remarks forward Eric Wynalda. But inside? “It was Hotel California, man, and we were inside those walls trying to figure out how we could just get through the next day.” Everyone had their way of coping. High-stakes poker games were popular. Midfielder Preki Radosavljevic soon amassed enough cash to fill a sock he slung over his shoulder. (“Most of it was mine,” notes Wynalda.) Once, press officer Jim Froslid saw a pot that was about half his salary. Needless to say, he didn’t join the game. Forward Brian McBride read the New Testament cover to cover for the first (and only) time. Midfielder Brian Maisonneuve told a reporter he was reading les pages jaunes … the yellow pages. Meanwhile, veteran midfielders Cobi Jones and Earnie Stewart were spotted having conversations with the local ducks. Each of these men, everyone on that team, had devoted his professional and personal life to this moment. They’d all made enormous sacrifices to be here, had beaten out every other American to make the squad, and then competed against each other to lock down starting roles. They’d desperately tried to impress their coach even when they did not understand what he wanted from them. They had lost their captain. And now, they felt they were losing their minds. On June 14th, 1998, the first kick-off was just a night away. Come morning, the U.S. would battle Germany on the football field. The whole world would be watching.

Fresh off their impressive showing at the Copa America tournament, the U.S. team was feeling ready to take on the world. Or, more specifically, the World Cup. That was coming up in 1998 and the players were primed to begin the qualification run. “We were a confident team,” remembers defender Marcelo Balboa. “When we walked out on the field, we knew that we could beat anybody in the world.” But exactly who would walk out on that field was the question nagging at every player. Even if the team qualified for the World Cup, not every player would make the final 22-man roster. Even fewer would get starting roles. The yearlong qualification process, thus, became a kind of ongoing audition for the World Cup roster, with Steve Sampson serving as casting director. And with his interim-coach days now behind him, he felt confident about making decisions, even bold ones that would not make everyone happy.   His first big move was to take the title of team captain away from the calm-under-pressure veteran Balboa and give it to the scrappy, tenacious Jersey boy, John Harkes. And this title didn’t come with “interim” before it. In fact, Harkes was known as “Captain for Life.” The change didn’t put Balboa in the best frame of mind for the march toward the World Cup. To make it, the U.S. would have to survive an initial round of six games and qualify for a second round of 10 games, dubbed the “Hex.” For players, this test is both physical and psychological. Stifling heat, waterlogged fields and in every city they traveled to — a stadium filled with people who truly hated them. Balboa remembers a dummy dressed in a U.S. national team uniform that was swung from the top tier of a stadium with a noose around its neck. Jeff Agoos says a bag of urine was probably the worst thing thrown at him — though the C batteries hurt, too. It was an added degree of difficulty for players who were battling other teams and trying to outshine one another for playing time. The next big move by Sampson as he started to whittle the team down was to bench the team’s highest-profile player, the closest thing it had to a star, Alexi Lalas. “It sucked,” says Lalas. “Because I felt that you dance with the ones that brung you.” But the players weren’t the only ones with jobs on the line. U.S. Soccer was already courting the Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz as a replacement for Sampson.   By November 1997, there were just three games to go in the “Hex” and the American position was tenuous. With doubt setting in, the team arrived in Mexico City for a crucial game, knowing the U.S. had never beaten or even tied Mexico on their home turf. Once inside The Estadio Azteca, the team would battle the triple threat of altitude, smog and the noise of 105,000 frenzied Mexican fans. The Americans played shorthanded after Jeff Agoos was sent off the field with an early red card. Yet, somehow, they tied, 0-0. Their performance was so impressive that the Mexican fans gave the American team a standing ovation as they left the field. That game proved to the team they could win anywhere in the world. Just one week after Mexico, the U.S. qualified for the 1998 World Cup in a shutout game against Canada. Cue: the celebration. The flowing champagne, giddy embraces and heartfelt speeches were all captured for posterity, including that moment Sampson threw an arm around his Captain for Life, John Harkes, and said to him, “Your third World Cup. Can you believe it?” But not all the players celebrating in the locker room that day would actually get to play at the 1998 World Cup. Some of the team’s most experienced veterans would go to France, but never set foot on the field. Others wouldn’t make it there at all, including, of all people, John Harkes. Just two months before the World Cup, the Captain for Life was captain no more.  

After the 1994 World Cup, officials from the U.S. Soccer Federation were basking in the glow of a job well done. They had played host to the planet’s biggest sporting event, set attendance records, turned a profit and set expectations high for the future of soccer in America. The U.S. men’s team didn’t win the World Cup. (Come on, let’s be real.) Still, coach Bora Milutinović helped the team advance to the elimination round, where the Americans died with honor at the hands of Brazil. The Serbian-born Milutinović was known as a hired gun who coaxed surprising results from unremarkable teams. When he departed in search of his next challenge, U.S. Soccer was left with a taste for victory and an eye on the 1998 World Cup. All they needed was the right coach.   Hank Steinbrecher, then the Federation’s secretary general, began an international search for a top-flight manager. And in an unusual move, the interim job was given to an American-bred assistant coach named Steve Sampson. At that time, America’s top soccer job had been dominated by foreign-born coaches with international experience. There was a mystique to foreign coaches that Americans revered. Plus, Sampson had only head-coached at the collegiate level; he’d never managed professional soccer players. But Steinbrecher has a good explanation for why he turned to Sampson:  “He was there.” Sampson took the job and ran with it. Unlike his predecessor who believed in a take-no-risks strategy, Sampson gave his players more freedom and instituted an aggressive, attack-minded strategy he called “forward-mindedness.”  It was all about “playing to win, as opposed to playing not to lose.” It was the American way. This new approach won him the loyalty of the players and the admiration of Steinbrecher, who liked the way Sampson infused on-field tactics with something more abstract: national identity. The team’s first big challenge was the U.S. Cup, where the Americans would play Colombia, Nigeria and their regional nemesis, Mexico. In their 35 face-offs since 1934, Mexico had won 31 times. Plus, the stadium in Washington, D.C., was packed with fans rooting for the away team. It didn’t take long for “forward-mindedness” to kick in. Just 174 seconds, in fact. The U.S. scored. And scored again. And again. And then in the second half, it scored again. Filled with what one player recalls as “joy and fearlessness,” the team — led by Steve Sampson — crushed its archnemesis. Within 15 weeks, the word “interim” was removed from Steve Sampson’s title.  

John Harkes was off the team. It didn’t make any sense. Harkes was practically born to play on the national team. He grew up in Kearny, N.J. -- nicknamed “Soccertown U.S.A.” -- where everyone he knew was the kids and grandkids of Scottish and Irish immigrants, and a love of soccer was in their DNA. “We played constantly,” remembers Harkes. “We got kicked off the baseball fields, we got kicked off the American football fields, we got the ball stolen by the police and then had to have our dads go down and get the ball back again so we could play again that night.” That non-stop playing paid off. Harkes was recruited by the University of Virginia and in his senior year, he quit college and joined the U.S. national soccer team. In 1990, the 23-year-old helped the team qualify for the World Cup for the first time in four long decades. He was so good that he got picked up by one of the oldest pro teams in England, Sheffield Wednesday. It was a tough initiation for the young American, but he found a way to prove himself: with a blast from 35 feet out that flew past one of England’s best goalkeepers of all time, a legend name Peter Shilton. It was Harkes’ way of saying, “Hey, Americans can do it.” But there was no time for celebrating. “Don’t get caught up in your emotions,” he told himself. “You’re an American. You’re trying to break in here. Get back to business.” Because professional soccer has an unforgiving, unsentimental culture. All that matters is the game.    By the time Harkes returned to the U.S. in 1996 to play for the shiny new Major League Soccer, he had become a legit international star – as well as one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful – and was named Captain for Life by team manager Steve Sampson. Harkes was funny, confident, well-liked and respected by his teammates. And he was Eric Wynalda’s best friend. They had been teammates for eight years and worked well together. Harkes could take the pressure off when Wynalda got too intense. They were partners in locker-room comedy and on the team bus did scenes from Dumb and Dumber or Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. But Steve Sampson didn’t always appreciate Harkes’ breezy personality. And on April 14, 1988, Sampson called a press conference and announced that John Harkes – the man who’d become arguably the centerpiece of American soccer – was off the team. The announcement shocked everyone – reporters, fans, players and Harkes himself: “I was just like, ‘Wow. I don’t understand.’” At the time, Sampson vaguely cited discipline and leadership issues. In American Fiasco, Sampson boils his decision down to three strikes -- only two of which were made public at the time of Harkes’ ouster.   Strike one: Sampson says Harkes, a midfielder used to playing at the center of it all, initially refused to move to left back during an exhibition match against Holland. (Harkes disputes this, saying he was merely reluctant.) Strike two: Two days later, Sampson says Harkes and other players went out on the town and trashed a hotel room. (Harkes also disputes this.) Strike three is a longer story. The last straw for Sampson involved allegations that Harkes was having an affair with another player’s wife. Upon hearing the news, Sampson says he knew immediately that he’d have to kick Harkes  off the team. “There were lines that you do not cross over. You don’t have an affair with another player’s wife." And it wasn’t just another player, but his best friend, Eric Wynalda. The story behind that third strike wasn’t made public for 12 years, until Wynalda himself revealed it on his soccer talk show, Fox Football Fone-in. He and co-host Nick Webster were discussing an English player being accused of having an affair with the ex-girlfriend of a teammate.  Webster said, “Well, you’ve had experience with this, Eric.” At that point, Wynalda explained to viewers, “there were allegations that John Harkes had been, had an inappropriate relationship with my wife and he was removed from the team for that reason.”    Sampson then broke his silence about the matter and spoke to reporters. “It was a relief, for me, because, finally, people heard the truth,” he says. (John Harkes declined to discuss allegations of an affair.) Many players were surprised to learn an off-field issue had subtracted Harkes’ on-field skills and leadership from the team. Alexi Lalas was angry. Had he known the reason at the time, he says he would have said, “I want him on my team because he’s a good soccer player. As a professional, I will forgive you a lot as long as you’re going to help me win.” Even Eric Wynalda was against Harkes getting sacked. “I thought that if I can handle it, Steve should have been able to handle it. Ripping John off that team was ripping the heart out of our team.” All these years later, Steve Sampson doesn’t regret his decision, but he’s learned an important life lesson from it: “That to be a principled man, always comes with consequences.”

A FANTASTIC HOUR ON THE REBIRTH OF A HISTORIC ARIZONA HOT SPIRNGS RESORT! Castle Hot Springs Resort dates back to 1896.  Many dignitaries such as Franklin D Roosevelt, The Wrigley's, Vanderbilts, and President John F Kennedy visited for the natural beauty, temperate winter weather, secluded location, dedicated to rest and vitality and the healing properties of the hot springs.   Now Castle Hot Springs Resort will be reborn as we talk with Steve Sampson of Westrock about the incredible history and updating the restoration opening October 2018.    

The Context of White Supremacy hosts the weekly Compensatory Call-In. We encourage non-white listeners to dial in with their codified concepts, new terms, observations, research findings, workplace problems or triumphs, and/or suggestions on how best to Replace White Supremacy With Justice ASAP. We'll use these sessions to hone our use of words as tools to reveal truth, neutralize White people. We'll examine news reports from the past seven days and - hopefully - promote a constructive dialog. #ANTIBLACKNESS Mercifully, 2016 cocludes. Gus T. Renegade anticipated this would be an atrocious 12 months on the plantation. The passing of Dr. Afeni Shakur, Gwen Ifill, Natalie Cole, Muhammad Ali, Prince, George Curry, Phife Dawg, Dr. Delbert Blair, Maurice White, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing and numerous others made for a year of crushing loss. However, White Supremacists don't pause for sorrow or Christmas. In fact, a White EMT worker, Steve Sampson, used the holiday season to concoct a lie about black hoodlums looting his presents. He was eventually arrested for making a false report. And when Whites weren't lying, they put in overtime to get black people in the theaters. Denzel Washington, Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer confiscated the silver screen with August Wilson's Fences and Hidden Figures - based on black female geniuses who worked for NASA and helped Whites invade space. Both features explicitly address Racism. But, the constructive value of both movies is questionable. Fences delivers a hefty heap of black disfunction, while Hidden Figures glorifies helping Whitefolks - with some of the very cast from the 2011 hit,The Help. #AnswersForMiriamCarey INVEST in The COWS - http://paypal.me/GusTRenegade CALL IN NUMBER: 641.715.3640 CODE 564943# The C.O.W.S. archives: http://tiny.cc/76f6p

In this Edition of Gol Bezan We interviewed Steve Sampson that led U.S. Men's National team in 1998. We wanted to get his thoughts on the historic match that happened between Iran and the United States.

We waited for Tuesday to record so we could watch the USMNT play Trinidad and Tobago, and was that ever a mistake. Jason, Adam, and Ben are back to talk about the USMNT and D.C. United, and we start by asking if there is any chance Jurgen Klinsmann is fired for what happened in the past two games (of course not). We break down what happened in the game against Trinidad and Tobago, ask whether the fire is still there for the players under Jurgen, and make wild comparisons to Steve Sampson. We then go into our D.C. United news roundup, and talk about the re-signings of Nick DeLeon and Alvaro Saborio, the sadness of Chris Rolfe cutting his hair, the PEPCO land swaps giving the District full control over the stadium site, and Jason Levien and Erick Thohir possibly investing in an NBA team. Finally, we go in depth on both playoff series that start this weekend without D.C. United, paying special attention to the New York Red Bulls versus the Columbus Crew. But, we also have some words about FC Dallas and the Portland Timbers, mostly asking Dallas to make up for the horribleness that was MLS Cup 2010. Give it a listen!