And That's the Origin of That

In my never ending MLS research, I recently have discovered that searching the newsgroups is a great way to find out old information. Back in the day, before the internet was mainstream, the newsgroups were the best way to talk to other people online. Rec.sport.soccer was the place for soccer fans, and thanks to Google the archives can be easily searched. Here's some interesting stuff: Origin #1: New York's high expectations Newark Star-Ledger - 8/8/2006 "It's not going to be easy. I heard somebody call this thing a superclub at one time. Whatever drugs that person is taking I'd like to get a boatload of them. It sure makes you silly." -Bruce Arena London Times - 8/8/2005 "One of the things that I want to create here is for the Metrostars to emerge as the first superclub in the US." -Alexi Lalas (term first used in June 2005) New York Times - 11/17/1994 "We want to establish a club like AC Milan." -Charlie Stillitano 1994!! That's how long this crap has been going on for. No wonder fans expect so much (aside from the Cosmos), and therefore have been so disappointed. Origin #2: Awful Commentary Rec.sport.soccer (newsgroup) - 6/28/1998 ABC/ESPN: Hire British announcers - unlike those calling the matches now, they know the game and know that every minute of air time doesn't have to be filled with commentary or endless plugs for the "X Games". -Chris Paquette Rec.sport.soccer (newsgroup) - 6/1/1996 I know what you mean about the commentary. Sometimes the(y) miss fundimental things about the game that drive me crazy. -Daniel Burnett Rec.sport.soccer (newsgroup) - 5/26/1996 Basically, we could use some commentators who can capture the flow of the game, wherever they come from. -Stephen Brand Rec.sport.soccer (newsgroup) - 3/26/1995 Awful commentary.....I couldn't stand it. We need announcers like those that do the English League......someone who knows the game and who can present it in a way that's appealing to the non-soccer crowd, as well as us die-hard fans. -Phil Mackey Rec.sport.soccer (newsgroup) - 7/6/1994 One thing that stood out in this world cup has been the awful and sometimes disgusting commentary on ESPN and ABC. This is what happens when you let loose a bunch of jokers on an important event such as the World cup. It really made my blood boil and countless times I wished I knew spanish. ... Of course there is the routine crap about Meola's barber-dad, Bulgarian coach's son having testicle cancer and other facts from tabloids. They topped it off with onscreen interviews with players and their dads. Maybe it's a good idea to talk with their kids, wives and pets too. -Yusef Mehta (Actually, there is no origin here. It's like the universe; it appears that it's always been there)