How can we make the United States fall in love with soccer? Buy your friends a beer and watch as a lifelong love affair with the beautiful game begins.
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Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Friday's night wina against Jamaica wasn't just a massive step toward the United States men's national team's qualification for the World Cup. It was also a massive step forward for us at the Free Beer Movement.
In partnership with the U.S. soccer supporters group, the American Outlaws, we hosted the "National Beer Outreach Day". In more than 55 AO chapter bars, all across America, the FBM philosophy was in full-effect. Huge paid tabs, two-for-one deals, steep drink discounts, and, of course, straight-up free beer was flowing like....errrr.... wine... for these supporters of the USMNT.
The goal, as always, is to use the power of a free beer to lure newbies to the sport, and in this case, help build support for not only the Nats, but the American Outlaws organization. Already the national team's largest supporters group NBOD was also a membership drive for AO as current members brought unaffliated fans or newbies to get them to join in the excitment of the journey to Brazil in 2014.
The American Outlaws and FBM promoted the event via social media and asked members and guest to Tweet using the hashtag #PourItForward
Thanks to everyone who did their part to make FBM/@americanoutlaws first-ever National Beer Outreach Day a huge success! #PourItForward
— Free Beer Movement (@FreeBeerMovemnt) June 8, 2013
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
At the Free Beer Movement we aren't content with just helping "build American soccer one beer at a time". We're also focused on doing more with our organization.
That means using the power of suds for social change.
On Wednesday, May 29th we're hosting "Good Brews, Social Change" (link to RSVP on Facebook) in FBM HQ's Austin, Texas at Hops and Grain Craft Brewery. Hops and Grain is one of Austin's best breweries and they've got a World Beer Cup Gold Medal to prove it (for their flagship "Alt-eration" a German alt beer).
"Good Brews, Social Change" is being held to benefit the Homeless World Cup, a global organization that serves over 250,000 players in over 70 countries. The founder of the Homeless World Cup, Mel Young, is in Austin to be the keynote speaker at the North American Society for Sport Management and before that speech we're hosting him at Hops and Grain for a meet-and-greet.
From 5pm to 9pm a $20 donation will get you in the door, a Hops and Grain pint glass (for you to keep), and five pours of any of their great beers on tap.
Plus you get to mingle with us.... and Mel, too.
And don't worry we'll have the U.S. men's game versus Belgium on somewhere, too.
We hope you'll join us for our first philianthropic effort (minus all the soccer and beer Kickstarter projects we've funded!) and use the power of beer and soccer for even more good.
For just $44 you can get two tickets and two FREE BEERS for next Wednesday's (May 8th, 7pm ET) match against the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion Houston Dynamo.
That's a great deal, and in the spirit of the FBM philosophy.
Even better, though? We're giving away two of the FBM-esque packages for Wednesday's game.
Yup, that's FREE BEER and FREE TICKETS for you and a friend! Why not make it an epic FBM night and bring a newbie and show 'em what American soccer is all about?
Entering the contest is simple. Just tweet at us the following:
"Hey @FreeBeerMovemnt... I want free tickets and free beer from @DCUnited! #FBMDC"
Want a second chance to enter? Like us on Facebook and comment on the D.C. United ticket post.
It's that simple!
A great contest, great American soccer, and a chance to practice the Free Beer Movement in action!
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Soccer newbies demand you buy them a beer.
This Sunday is "National Beer Day," the unofficial holiday in which Americans celebrate the return of delicious beer and spirits to the nation's bars and stores with the end of Prohibition in 1933.
Millions of Americans lined up at their local bars, pubs, and taverns ("New Beer's Eve") awaiting this moment when at twelve midnight they could drink again without fear of their suds confiscated or their speak-easys shut down. Happy days were here again. (In fact, 4,207 liquor licenses were issued in Milwaukee alone on April 7th!)
To celebrate the resurrection of beer drinking in the United States we are encouraging each American soccer fan to exercise that Constitutional right to drink beer and do it this weekend at a soccer game with a soccer newbie.
Celebrate "National Beer Day" by making this weekend "National Free Beer Movement Weekend".
Without the repeal of the 18th Amendment we wouldn't have delicious, delicious beer. And without said beer we wouldn't have the greatest motivator in the world to build American soccer.
This weekend when you're attending a Major League Soccer game or a North American Soccer League game or a USL PRO game or any live game... bring a friend. When you're watching English Premier League match Saturday and Sunday mornings.... bring a co-worker. When you're pulling up a seat to any soccer game that's live on on TV anywhere in this great nation or from anywhere in the world.... save a seat for a family member.
All of these people, in all of these situations, are potential soccer fans and they just need the proper setting, the proper education, and the proper brew, all provided by you, for them to be exposed to the wonderful world of soccer.
This is the perfect weekend to participate. All across Europe there are matches that will make-or-break title contenders and games that will decide the survival of other clubs. And, of course, in our domestic league, the love of our life, the MLS season (and the NASL is kicking off) is in full swing. First Kick has come and gone, but the newness of the season is still alive. Every team is still alive and optimism still reigns supreme.
There are tailgates galore to grab a brew, bars abound ready to fill your pint, and fridges fully stocked to host a gang so why not bring a few new fresh faces along and expose them to the beautiful game?
We want your to share your beers and buds with us. Share the beers you're drinking across the country and the friends that you're introducing soccer to with us.
Tweet or Facebook us with your photos of FBM in action this weekend, National Free Beer Movement Weekend 2013.
Cheers!
Historical Note: For many beer nerds, December 5th is the ultimate Prohibition-ending holiday called "Repeal Day" in honor of the final necessary 2/3rds of states (Utah, of all places) ratifying the 21st Amendment. For the Free Beer Movement we're going with this day to honor when President Franklin D. Rooesvelt signed Cullin-Harrison Act became law, official ending the failed Prohibition experiment and allowing beer and other alcohol to flow freely again. Also, since this date falls during the MLS season it makes even more sense.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
It's probably no surprise that many American soccer fans are not only lovers of beer, but lovers of homebrewed beer. It should also come as no surprise that many Major League Soccer supporters groups host their own home brew competitions each year. The one that the Portland Timber's supporters, the Timber's Army has put on, officially or unofficially, since 2009 in certainly one of the more high-profile ones. In years past local craft brewers have made small batches of each winner's beer in several categories.
Beginning last year the Timber's beer sponsor Widmer Brother's Brewing Company, stepped forward to help judge and then brew the winner of one of the categories. For any home brewer going from nano-batches to a major breweries industrial brewing system would be quite the experience.
Just last month Widmer Brother's released "Green & Gold" Kolsch the creation of Timber's Army long-time member Abram Goldman-Armstrong. We had a chance to speak with Abe by phone to ask him about his history with TA, Portland as a beer and soccer town, and, of course, his winning brew.
Goldman-Armstrong in front of his own visage. Photo Credit: OregonLive.com
Free Beer Movement: What’s your history with soccer in Portland and the Timbers Army?
Abe: I started out going to my first Timbers match in 1988 with my parents. It was a Timbers reunion match. When the Timber came back in 2001 I got season tickets in section 107 and, yeah, I’ve been a part of it ever since. I’ve been actively involved in the organization since.
With MLS moving in we kinda got a little more organized and put together the Independent Supporters Trust know as the 107st. I was on the interim board of that and then I was elected to the initial board and the re-elected to the most recent board.
Along with that I edit and publish “The Whipsaw”, the Timbers Army fan-zine, now in our fourth year of that.
I’m involved in all different aspects. It’s definitely a major focus in my life.
FBM: What does it mean to be to be a supporter of the Timbers and what does it means to support a local club? What is it like to have live, local soccer in Portland week-in-and-week-out?
Abe: It’s really fantastic. The atmosphere at a Timbers match can’t really be matched in North America. Having a local team is really key. Going to a pub watching World Cup is fantastic or even if you have a good crowd watching EPL or other foreign matches, but soccer support here in Cascadia has really brought it to the next level.
When you go to a match here in Cascadia, whether you’re in Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver you’re going to find it’s more that a spectator sport. You’re there, you’re participating. We’ve always tried really hard in the Timbers Army to be engaging and engage the team. We’re willing the team to win and that’s really a key part of a local team.
You can be passionate about soccer, but you miss out on that day-to-day, when you go to a match, that shared energy. You just have to lose yourself to the crowd. You’re all there and it’s really pretty amazing.
FBM: How long have you been home brewing? What is it about having local craft beer with your local team?
Abe: I’ve been home brewing since I was 17 years old so about 17 years in total now. It’s really a big part of my life. I also write about beer. I’m really engaged in the brewing community here.
Beer is really interwoven into the Timbers Army here. I probably say hi to fifteen different brewers at a Timbers game. We live and breathe beer here as much as we live and breathe soccer. We have more breweries than any other city in the world. It really is a part of our fabric in Oregon. I think that’s something that’s a natural fit. Beer and watching soccer go hand-in-hand.
The whole beer community is really passionate about Timbers. And the Timbers Army is passionate about beer. It works out pretty well.
On our bus trip to Seattle we had about 20 different breweries sponsoring each bus. So each bus has its own Oregon brewery on it. Small, independent, local breweries that are really passionate about the team and willing to donate kegs. It’s not just that we’ve got beer on the bus, but it’s “we got local beer on the bus and here’s the brewer sitting on the bus going to the game and yelling at the referee with us for the full ninety minutes”.
I think we’re really lucky here in Cascadia to have a really vibrant brewing culture. It makes it that much more of a community to have local craft beer. And we have local craft beer in the stadium, too. Something that’s really important to who we are and how we operate.
FBM: Discuss the Timbers Army home brew contest and how long Widmer’s been a part of it.
Abe: 2013 will be our four year for the Timbers Army Home Brew Competition. It started as a fairly informal affair and actually home brewing competitions were outlawed for a year so because of some weird law. So in 2010 we didn’t have any judging and we said, “well we’re going to all show up and tailgate” and did that. We decided to just go ahead and that just had a people’s choice award.
In 2011 we had a more formal competition again. All the beers were judged blind by a range of judges, some of them nationally ranked. We partnered with a couple of local breweries that year. The Lompoc brewed the winner, and the runner-up was brewed by by McMenamins, and the third place winner was brewed by Hop Works. That year I placed third with a Northwest-style Red Ale.
Anyhow in 2012 we had the competition again at Lompoc and Widmer had approach us to brew the winner. We basically split the competition in half. There was the “Full 90” which Widmer was going to brew; something that you could drink for a full match, something that was under 6 percent alcohol and something that wasn’t going to blow your face off with hops. It was a good fit.
Lompac brewed the winner of the “Pride of Cascadia” category which included IPAs, Cascadian Dark Ales, Imperial IPAs, and Northwest Red Ales.
In the “Full 90” category there was some pretty stiff competition, but the judges (Widmer sent down four of their brewers to help out) settled on a kolsch that I had brewed. And that’s how that all came about here.
FBM: Why did you decide to go with a kolsch? Tell us a little about the ingredients you used. Describe the taste and the flavor and how it best represents your passion for the Timbers and your passion for craft beer.
Abe: Kolsch, as you probably know, is a style that originate in Cologne, Germany. It's a top fermented beer. It's an ale, but generally brewed with all pilsner malts. Very light. Very, very pale ale. So pale you wouldn't call it a pale. It's very golden-straw in color. It's basically like a lager except for the yeast strain that is used. It's a style that I really fell in love with when I went to Cologne during the 2006 World Cup. I went around to a few of the local brewpubs and it (the kolsch style) really made an impression on me. It's a style that I've been pretty much brewing every summer since then.
It's a style that is pretty different than the stuff I normally brew, but it's worked its way into my rotation of beers that I brew. In this case I used a different yeast strain that I have never used before, a "kolsch-two" from White Labs here in Mount Hood. I used an organic pilsner malt from British Columbia and I used Hallertaur hops that I grew in my own backyard.
It ended up being the palest and brightest beer I ever brewed. I was really happy with it.
I was really honored that it won.
FBM: Being at Widmer, was that kind of a Willy Wonka experience for you?
Abe: It was pretty interesting. I brew on a ten-gallon system at home and even Widmer's test batches were brewed using a ten barrel-system so 310 gallons, but they stepped it up to their 250-barrel brew house and that's 7,750 gallons for one batch.
It was pretty unreal. I've been brewing for seventeen years and that was brewing more beer in one batch that I had in my entire life.
It was a good experience. I think I learned a lot about the practicalities of brewing on that kind of system. You can't do exactly what you want when it comes to availability of ingredients.
When I had to scale up the batch to brew at Widmer we had to make a number of changes; we obviously couldn't use the hops I grew from home (they ended up using Alchemy, Mt. Hood, and Hallertaur hops), the yeast strain I used was only seasonally available, and we ended up using Widmer's base two-row malt. We brewed three test batches before the big batch at the brewery and none of those were quite right. It was great to see that when we brewed it on the big system is was much closer to the original beer that the previous attempts.
That was pretty exciting.
VIDEO - Abram talks about his winning beer:
Note: All other photos courtesy of Widmer Brother's Brewing press release.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Our #CheersToSoccer contest with "Beertography" and "The Beautiful Gear" has run its course and we received some amazing entries of your beer and soccer photography skills. It was hard to pick our favorites with so many quality pics, but we were able to narrow it down to our "first division" and "second division" winners. Sorry everyone... no pro/rel here either. Those in the top flight will be honored with our adidas "Pints Up!" shirt and the second tier will get a FBM sticker pack.
Thanks for everyone who submitted. This certainly won't be the last photography contest we roll with so keep on with the #CheersToSoccer everytime you're got a match in front of you and a cold one in your hand.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The United States men's national team walks into Estadio Azteca tonight with a huge momentum boost from Friday's "snow-pocalypse" match against Costa Rica.
You were probably looking for a beer to drink during with the last game and we failed you because we were too busy tailgating in Denver to order our team of monkeys to bang one out on the ol' typewriter. You can have this one though... it's still cold.
When one thinks of Mexico and beer they're stuck with very few choices that don't conjure up images of college spring break "Save Water, Drink Beer" Coronas on the beach and the inevitable hangover that accompanies indulging in such things. A beer like that is certainly to be avoided not only because it's terrible (unless buried in a michelada) and, well, it's Mexican and this is exactly the wrong time to be supporting Mexico.
So why not try and beat the Mexicans at their own game? Tonight when you're tuning into another late Michael Orzco Fiscal winner you should be holding onto Ska Brewing Company's "Mexican Logger" lager. It's craft in a can and it kicks Corona, Dos XX, Pacifico, or other light lager right in the can.
Additionally it's from Durango, Colorado. Colorado. USMNT fans have some happy memories of that place if my short-term memory serves me right. Granted it's a six hour jaunt to Denver and the site of Friday's whitewash of the Ticos, but they're all buried in the same snow up there so it should be just as inspiring.
A bit of saaz hops to top it all off and a Mexican caricature that looks more like the Landon Donovan lottery commercial "Mexican" that any El Tri fan I've ever met and there's your Ska "Mexican Logger" and our brew recommendation for this crucial Hex match.
And something, something about chopping down Mexico.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
See how many Free Beer Movement scarves you can spot in this piece about the United States supporters group, the American Outlaws.
This was a segment during Fox Soccer's "Goals on Sunday" after the Liverpool-Manchester City match.
For those who have never seen FBM Founder Dan that's him wearing his other "hat", a Waldo one, for his other "job", helping run the Austin chapter of AO.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Here we are on the edge of 2013. The final stage of World Cup Qualifying on the horizon, a post-David Beckham Major League Soccer, and what is sure to be another explosive year for craft beer. So much to look forward to.
How about one, quick look back at 2012? U.S. Soccer chose their male and female athletes of the year, MLS has run down their top stories, A Football Report published their "Best Writing of 2012" (which we're proud to have been named to!), and every beer writer under the sun has released their "best beers" lists (although not us... maybe...).
Who, then, personifies the Free Beer Movement? Who has worked tirelessly in 2012 to further American soccer through the power of beer?
No sooner had Frankie left the game did he enter the belly of the beast again. His retirement announcement was just a precursor to joining his old club, the Columbus Crew as their "brand ambassador", helping to build American soccer from the front office instead on the field. True to form, Hejduk toasted his new job and drank a Guinness from the podium.
Hejduk was a guest on a Philadelphia radio soccer show where, asked (cornered?) by host Richard McGovern, Frankie declared his allegiance to FBM.
Our courtship continued and we sent Hejduk a little FBM care package (sans actual beer, unfortunately). Hejduk was gracious of the efforts.
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For 2013, hopefully, Crew Stadium hosts one of the Hexagonal matches and FBM can travel and allign our forces personally (rather than digitally) to use the power of the brew to build American soccer further. Truly his efforts are worthy of a lifetime achievement award, but, for now, he'll have to settle for this modest accomplishment.
Raise a pint for our 2012 "FBM Person of the Year" Frankie Hejduk!
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
We've partnered with the American soccer blog, Wrong Side of the Pond, to help promote and contribute to their "American Soccer Pub Atlas" project. Certainly there are several listings out there (some pay-for-play and others, incomplete), but WSOTP's project is grassroots, crowd-sourced, and more specific than any other out there today.
Want soccer fans across the United States to be able to find soccer-safe-zones? Places where newbies can be introduced into the American soccer wild? Find a pub on the map for yourself and your newbies. Your local watering hole not on there? Contribute to the map as well.
All of this can be found on Free Beer Movement's "Resources" page. Not only do we have the Pub Atlas, but loads of other beer and soccer links for every FBMer from newbie to expert.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The Major League Soccer playoffs begin tonight. The race for the MLS Cup starts tonight with the Houston Dynamo facing the Chicago Fire at 8pm CT on ESPN. The two Eastern Conference foes will play to earn the right to battle Sporting KC in the semi-finals as apart of the new American playoff system unveiled last year.
With playoff fever reaching fever pitch why not get a little office pool going to heighten the stakes? Your workplace is full of potential soccer newbies and there's nothing like a little water-cooler-match-day banter to peak up interest.
Just think of it like March Madness where even the non-basketball fans get swept up in the spirit of competition (even if there's not a lot of mascots to choose from) with a healty wager.
Practice what you preach all-season by continuing to use the FBM Philosophy. At the FBM's place of work we're offering a six-pack to the bracket winner.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The Free Beer Movement is an idea. The idea that of all the things that will help propel American soccer forward and into the mainstream consciousness of this nation; free beer is the answer.
There can be dollar hot dog night, ladies night, youth club afternoons, but maybe, just maybe it's simpler than that. Maybe it's just a bit sillier than that.
Maybe all it will take is for one person to extend the offer of a free beer or two or three to a friend, family member, or co-worker to take in a soccer match from the comforts of one's home, the familiar surroundings of your favorite bar, or the excitement of seeing it for real at the stadium.
"Build American soccer, one beer it a time." That's our motto. Simple. Silly. Smart? Sure.
But the idea of the Free Beer Movement is only a strong as the people that believe it that idea. We've seen in the last year thousands of people visiting the website, hundreds of "fans" on Facebook, and hundred of other "followers" on Twitter. We've been covered by both local and national media alike. That's all well and good, but it's the people that make the Movement.
An idea is only a strong as the evidence that one has to support it.
The Free Beer Movement is a grassroots movement. The Free Beer Movement is you. We're only as strong as the people that subscribe to the idea that beer is the best way to lure Americans to the sport of soccer.
That's why we're asking you, the backbone of the Free Beer Movement, the people that are doing the work to "build American soccer, one beer at a time" to share your stories (and pictures) of the Movement in action.
You don't have to be a modern-day Hemingway with your words or have the photographer's eye of Ansel Adams to support the idea of the Free Beer Movement.
But without your stories and your photos as the supporting evidence that the Free Beer Movement is "what it will take" to push American soccer to the next level we're just a guy with a website and an a hope.
You've been to U.S. National Team qualifiers, lived and died by the Nats during the World Cup, you've crowded bars and parking lots across the nation to support your local Major League Soccer or other local teams, you've put a few extra beers in the fridge and invited friends over to catch a game. This is where the Free Beer Movement lives.The idea of the Free Beer Movement is in many of us whether you know it or are actively trying or not.
The stories, the places, the people are all incredible elements of the Free Beer Movement in action and we'd love to hear from you. And for your words or pictures we'd like to offer each and every person who submits something one of our Free Beer Movement stickers (just like the crest on the site). It's not much, but it's our way of saying "thank you" to the people that are making the Free Beer Movement apart of this great American soccer world.
If the Free Beer Movement is going to continue the phenomenal growth we seen in it's first year we need those faithful to the idea of it to help.
Please send an e-mail to freebeermovement@gmail(dot)com with your stories (no matter how long or short) and/or pictures of the Free Beer Movement in action.
We thank you all for your efforts no matter if you've brought one or one hundred people closer to soccer in America.
Contributed By Zach Slaton
My mom deserves a lot of credit for fostering my love of playing sports. She ferried me around to every practice, camp, game, and tournament and cheered me on as I learned how to play baseball and basketball as a kid. She’s a saint for doing it, especially considering my father was out commanding a submarine for six months of every year until I was eighteen. She was a single mom in every sense of the word except income.
When it comes to watching live sports, my father deserves all of the credit. My earliest memories of watching sports with my father were as a four or five year old when every Sunday evening in Westerly, Rhode Island was filled with football on the television and pizza for dinner. That meal was almost exclusively reserved for Sunday nights, and the wonderful taste of pepperoni or combination pies will forever be tied to watching the NFL.
Around that same time in my life my father took me to my first live sporting event. It was a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, and for a little kid like me it was made all the more memorable because we took the train to and from Boston. As fate would have it we would get to the city early, so my father took me to a science museum to kill time. That day, sometime in the year 1985, I was introduced to the novelty of a mouse and a color computer screen. Thus, one might say my love for live sports and computers was born on that fateful day in Boston. I have my father to thank for it.
Dad continued to stoke my love for live sports as we moved south due to his job, driving from Charleston, SC to Atlanta, GA to see an awful Atlanta Falcons team get beaten badly. It didn’t matter; I loved every minute of it, as it was my first live NFL game. By the early 1990’s we’d move to Orlando, Florida and I got my first true hometown team via the Orlando Magic. Dad would wait in line for hours when discounted tickets would go on sale at the navy base, but he’d always consult me ahead of time as to the priority of which opposing teams we’d like to see. He and I would attend several Magic games a year, one Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, go to the 1992 Citrus Bowl to see his alma mater win, and even go to an Arena Football League game. We’d leave Orlando in 1994 as my dad would be stationed in Bremerton, WA (across Puget Sound from Seattle), a place my parents have now lived for 18 years. He’s been a Seahawks season ticket holder since 1999 and a Mariner’s quarter season ticket holder through last year, occasionally taking me with him or tossing me both of his tickets to any game he couldn’t attend. My father has been integral to my love for live sports.
My father leads an unglamorous yet generous life. He volunteers at Rotary or Hospice when he’s not at work. When not volunteering he’s working on his 40 year deferred gratification (his words) – the boat he and my mom finally purchased a few years ago. He got his first new car when he was fifty-four years old, and he can’t understand why anyone would pay a premium to wear a piece of clothing with a logo on it. As he says, “You just paid someone for the privilege of advertising their product.” The concept of buying a replica jersey is anathema to him, especially when it has commercial sponsors on it. My father has always been in tune with “traditional American sports”, having played American football in high school and softball throughout a good bit of his adult life. To say he’s a little suspicious of soccer’s rise in the American sports landscape is an understatement, and with his busy schedule he has little time to watch the multitude of domestic and overseas games now available to American fans. He’s always resisted fads, and to him the sport’s rising popularity may just be another one that will eventually die out.
Nevertheless, the Sounders FC being in their fourth year in MLS and increasing capacity at their stadium to more than 38,000 attendees per match started to turn his skepticism. As silly as it sounds I am also pretty sure the small success of my work appearing on Forbes.com confirmed some of the sport’s legitimacy to him. At the beginning of the season I made a deal. Give us – it really is “us” when it comes to a Sounders match – a chance. “I will buy the ticket, and I’ll even buy the beer. One match. If you don’t like it, you never have to go again. But give us one chance.” The Free Beer Movement mantra sealed the deal like it has for so many other sales jobs to American soccer skeptics. I bought the tickets, dad blocked out his calendar on September 8th, and we then had six months to wait until embarking on the grand experiment of testing dad’s tolerance for soccer.
I came over to my parents’ house with my two daughters the night before the match and then commuted over to Seattle with my father the next day. I eased him into the match day experience by appealing to his Seahawk game day traditions. This meant grabbing lunch and a few beers at a downtown bar prior to the match, albeit with a bit of a soccer twist. We left the house at 8:45, dropped off the girls with a friend, and piled onto a 9:45 AM ferry with other Sounders fans. The number of rave green clad fans, colors the Sounders share with the Seattle Seahawks, made my dad feel a little bit more at home as this was a scene he was used to seeing prior to every Seahawks game. Soon the ferry docked in Seattle, and we were off for the short hike to Fado, a local Irish pub that caters to Seattle’s soccer-inclined drinkers. Warm enough to sit outside, my father and I followed yet another Free Beer Movement maxim (“Local Soccer, Local Beer”) and ordered a few Mac & Jack’s African Ambers. A shot of Jameson, another African Amber, and a lunch later we were off with another 38,932 fans to Century Link Field.
Cheers to You!
As we got to the stadium we realized that we had been very lucky to get seats in a section that would remain seated during most of the game. This helped my father enjoy the game day experience given he’s had a hip and knee replaced, and I suspect his experience would have not been nearly as positive if we had been in a standing section. My father surveyed the stadium as we found our seats. Being used to the packed houses at Seahawks games, he made a joke about the tarps that cover the third deck. He also mentioned how subdued the crowd was during introductions and in the normal run of play, as he was used to the noisy din of football games that had made Century Link Field the home of the most opposition false start penalties in the NFL. His adjustment to a very different crowd was taking place.
My father paid far more attention to the action on the pitch once the match got going. Having last played soccer himself as an intramural sport while at UCLA in the mid-1960’s (think pre-Total Football), he was used to a kick-and-rush style of play. The tiki-taka, pass-and-buildup-through-midfield approach now commonly found throughout the modern game was very foreign to him. Such an approach initially looked like a bunch of wasted movement to him that didn’t result in many attacks on the opposition goal, and the Sounders’ ineffectiveness for the first quarter of the game didn’t help convince my father of the strategy’s wisdom. The Sounders were down 1-0 by the eighth minute, with my father turning to me and saying, “You can’t score a goal if you don’t put the ball in the opposition’s end of the field!”
Dad would get his wish when the Sounders finally broke through in the twenty-ninth minute. Attacking our end of the field, they pushed forward and earned a free kick from a foul on Steve Zakuani. Christian Tiffert lined up a perfect free kick that Eddie Johnson was able to head home. Century Link Field exploded, my dad and I high-fived, but it felt like it was a lucky goal (later replays would show Johnson’s header was perfectly placed on the turf to bounce under the goal keeper’s arm). The Sounders attack would build throughout the rest of the first half, with my father picking up on the fact that the Sounders were sending much of their attack down the right hand side of the field via Tiffert and Johnson. He was picking up on the tactical aspect of the game very quickly and seemed to be enjoying himself.
Soon enough halftime was upon us. Soccer is first about the play on the pitch, but a close second is its traditions. The tradition of 100+-year-old clubs, traditions in club colors, traditions in the rivalries, and even tradition in match day rituals. All of these traditions serve to build stronger bonds amongst the supporters and help make soccer unique in a sea of sports choices. A simple tradition I maintain with a number of my match day friends is what we call “Tecate Halftime”. One of those friends started this tradition during the club’s inaugural MLS season in 2009 when a vendor named “Taco Ma’s” sold Tecate. After that first season they inexplicably replaced the beer with a rotating choice of American beers, yet continued to sell Mexican food. Out of spite we still call it “Tecate Halftime”. With my dad in tow we hiked down the side of the stadium to meet up with my friends, get my father another free beer, and discuss the first half’s action. First Sounders FC match, and he was immediately introduced to one of our longstanding traditions.
A quick fifteen-minute break for beer and friends saw us return to our seats just after the kickoff of the second half. The crowd could feel a second goal was inevitable as the Sounders continued to poke and probe their way through the opposition defense. If Nick Hornby was right in Fever Pitch that one of the best ways to generate a truly memorable soccer experience is to have one’s favorite team win after being behind earlier in the match, then it is doubly true when the winner comes just before the end of the match. Such a result was in store for us when Eddie Johnson won the game for the Sounders off a header in the 89th minute from an absolutely beautiful Fredy Montero cross. The stadium erupted, I did a happy dance, and when I spun around my father was on his feet to high five me again. Looking me in the eye as he nodded, my father’s unspoken words were, “Now that was well deserved!” His mild enjoyment throughout the match had finally boiled over, with excitement breaking through his normally reserved demeanor. The Sounders would hold on for the 2-1 win, making my father’s first Sounders FC experience just like mine nearly three years earlier.
The rest of the day was uneventful. There was the hike back to the ferry, one more beer at the dock for good measure, and an hour-long ferry ride home. My father stood on the bow of the boat for that entire ride back to Bremerton, looking out over Puget Sound with a sense of contentment on his face.
I spent the rest of the weekend with my parents, with both of them being busy with other things much of Sunday. After dinner on Sunday night I packed up my car, and got my daughters ready to head back to their mom’s for another week of school while I faced an hour-and-a-half drive back to Seattle. My dad held me up for a minute and said,
“Hey, Zach, I had fun yesterday. I could see us doing that again next season.”
He had gently expressed his thanks earlier in the weekend, but that was gratitude for paying for the ticket and beer. This was more about the experience, and after taking me to so many sporting events earlier in life I felt I had begun to return the favor.
My father has always been supportive of my endeavors, including my more-than-two-year effort to write about this sport I’ve come to love so much. That Saturday afternoon he was exposed to my writings’ inspirations. We’ll go to another match again next year and share in the joy that is live soccer. He will probably insist on paying for his own ticket, but I will continue to insist on picking up the beer. It’s my way of saying thanks for inspiring a sporting life well lived.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The Bohemians are a first-year United Soccer League Professional Developmental League team from Baltimore. Their partnership with their local brewery, National Bohemian, and iconic, Maryland-centric jerseys made a big splash across the American soccer Inter-Web-Blogo-sphere. Free Beer Movement got in touch with them and a few months later our first club-sponsored "Free Beer Movement Night" was born. On June 16th, alongside "Throwback Night" (where the Bohemains will honor their American soccer history by wearing NASL-era Baltimore Bays jerseys), the Bohemians will play in front of fans fueled by $2 beers (OK, so not "free", but close!
By Joe Tirabassi / Director of Marketing & Media Relations, Baltimore Bohemians
To have something that you can call your own, something that is so indelibly ingrained in that fabric of your being that no one else can claim it - that's something special. In Baltimore, amongst elongated O's, a predilection for blue crabs and the work of David Simon ("The Wire"), we have an alcoholic beverage known simply as "Natty Boh."
It was a major coup for us to get National Bohemian on board with the team. Nothing says "Baltimore" like Boh - it's omnipresent here. There's a giant, neon Mr. Boh that sits atop the old brewery, welcoming you to the east side. It's the only beer that should be served with our state's chosen crustacean.
There's the dog collars, tattoos, t-shirts and hats that Baltimoreans proudly display Mr. Boh. Whatever it is about the one-eyed man staring back at us that has this effect on Baltimoreans, outsiders won't really ever "get" it. It's a pretty unassuming beer that is drastically underpriced, so what's there to get so excited about? Well, frankly, it's ours.
It's the beer your father and his father drank. Ice cold, it's a revelation. And it's only sold here - you're never going to see someone in LA gripping a Boh at the beach.
I guess in a way, that's why we started this team - we want something we can call our own. We're not D.C. We're not Philly. We're not Barcelona and we're not Manchester.
We're Baltimore, and we're proud of it. A Bohemian is someone who operates outside of convention - someone who doesn't follow the norm. Someone who attempts to break the mold. We are Bohemians, and we're proud of that too.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The Baltimore Bohemians will honor the 45th anniversary of the Baltimore Bays with “Throwback Night” on Saturday June 16 during their match against the Westchester Flames.
The Bohemians, one of the newest editions to the USL Premier Development League, will wear retro gold and red kits modeled after the Bays’ original uniforms. The club is offering $2 National Bohemian drafts for this special match. The Bays were owned by Jerold Hoffberger, president of the National Brewing Company – the same company that originally manufactured Baltimore’s beloved beer.
The match is being presented in conjunction with the Free Beer Movement, an organization that attempts to convert non-soccer fans to love the beautiful game, one beer at a time.
Baltimore native and former Bays defender Joe Speca will kick out the first ball. Speca was one of only three American-born players in the NPSL at its inception in 1967 and played two seasons with his hometown club in both the NPSL and NASL. In addition to starring for the Bays, Speca also spent time at Baltimore St. Gerard’s and Baltimore Pompei, with whom he reached the final of the U.S. Open Cup in 1957. Speca was also a member of the U.S. National Team, joining the team during the 1959 Pan-American Games and World Cup qualification matches in 1960, in addition to other friendly matches.
Tickets for the 7:00pm match are available at baltimorebohemians.com or by calling 443.980.BOHS.
Crew legend Frankie Hejduk today announced his retirement from professional soccer, following a stellar 16-year career in which he captained the club to the MLS Cup 2008 championship and represented the United States at two World Cups and two Olympics. Simultaneously, the Crew announced that he will join the front office as brand ambassador, a newly created role in which he will promote the Crew through a variety of methods, interacting with all aspects of the organization for the purpose of raising awareness, supporting business development initiatives and generating excitement for the club.
“I want to thank my family and all of my teammates, trainers, equipment managers, front office staffers, coaches and fans for making my life that much more special, both on and off the field,” Hejduk said. “We all share a special bond that’s tough to explain to anyone outside that circle, but the memories we share and the good times we had will never be forgotten or matched. Now I look forward to continuing my association with the Crew and helping to grow the sport of soccer.”
Known for his tireless work rate, Hejduk was one of the most recognizable and dynamic players in Major League Soccer for 12 seasons, including three with the Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996-98) and one with the LA Galaxy (2011). Over the course of his storied career in Black & Gold (2003-10), Hejduk was a part of four major trophies – the MLS Cup title and three Supporters’ Shields (2004, 2008, 2009) – while becoming one of the most popular figures in club history.
He won a second MLS Cup with the Galaxy in 2011 and was on 1996 and 2011 Supporters’ Shield winning teams with Tampa Bay and LA, respectively.
Did we mention that he also took a slap to the face for America? A Mexican assistant coach, Francisco Paco Ramírez, took umbrage with the U.S. team after another "dos a cero" at Crew Stadium in 2009 and Hejduk was the recipient of one wuss-tap from Ramiriez. We couldn't confirm whether or not Hejduk slowly wiped his lip and checked his hand for blood while then offering a cold, steely gaze that would later give Ramirez so many nightmares he would later be committed to a mental institution in Verazcruz.
Frankie Hejduk is a true patriot, party animal, and epically cool soccer player. And while "brand ambassador" for the Columbus Crew sounds alright we feel as though he's got a different "brand" that his lifestyle syngerizes with even better.
The Crew can have Frankie to hawk their season tickets, sign soccer balls, and vend beer, but we've got beer pong tournaments, brewery tours, kegstands at tailgates, and beer bongs on the backs of bald eagles.
Frankie Hejduk leads the fans at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Doesn't that look sweet?
When we started the FBM back in 2009 Frankie's inclusion as our spokesperson seemed like a pipe dream, but like our mother says in those motivation Hallmark cards she sends us and what our stuffed animals on our bed tells us in high, squicky voices that sound pretty much like our own.... we can do anything if we set our minds to it.
Mr. Hejduk.... we will not rest until you hoist the FBM scarf high and join us in a celebratory beer when we too announce you as our "brand beer-bassador".
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Soccer newbies demand you buy them a beer
This Saturday is "National Beer Day,"the unofficial holiday in which Americans celebrate the return of delicious beer and spirits to the nation's bars and stores with the end of Prohibition in 1933.
Millions of Americans lined up at their local bars, pubs, and taverns ("New Beer's Eve") awaiting this moment when at twelve midnight they could drink again without fear of their suds confiscated or their speak-easys shut down. Happy days were here again. (In fact, 4,207 liquor licenses were issued in Milwaukee alone on April 7th!)
To celebrate the resurrection of beer drinking in the United States we are encouraging each American soccer fan to exercise that Constitutional right to drink beer and do it this weekend at a soccer game with a soccer newbie.
Celebrate "National Beer Day" by making this weekend "National Free Beer Movement Weekend".
Without the repeal of the 18th Amendment we wouldn't have delicious, delicious beer. And without said beer we wouldn't have the greatest motivator in the world to build American soccer.
This weekend when you're attending a Major League Soccer game... bring a friend. When you're watching English Premier League match Saturday and Sunday mornings.... bring a co-worker. When you're pulling up a seat to any soccer game that's live on on TV anywhere in this great nation or from anywhere in the world.... save a seat for a family member.
All of these people, in all of these situations, are potential soccer fans and they just need the proper setting, the proper education, and the proper brew, all provided by you, for them to be exposed to the wonderful world of soccer.
This is the perfect weekend to participate. All across Europe there are matches that will make-or-break title contenders and games that will decide the survival of other clubs. And, of course, in our domestic league, the love of our life, the MLS season (and the NASL is kicking off) is in full swing. First Kick has come and gone, but the newness of the season is still alive. Every team is still alive and optimism still reigns supreme.
There are tailgates galore to grab a brew, bars abound ready to fill your pint, and fridges fully stocked to host a gang so why not bring a few new fresh faces along and expose them to the beautiful game?
We want your to share your beers and buds with us. Share the beers you're drinking across the country and the friends that you're introducing soccer to with us.
Tweet or Facebook us with your photos of FBM in action this weekend, National Free Beer Movement Weekend 2012.
Cheers!
Historical Note: For many beer nerds, December 5th is the ultimate Prohibition-ending holiday called "Repeal Day" in honor of the final necessary 2/3rds of states (Utah, of all places) ratifying the 21st Amendment. For the Free Beer Movement we're going with this day to honor when President Franklin D. Rooesvelt signed Cullin-Harrison Act became law, official ending the failed Prohibition experiment and allowing beer and other alcohol to flow freely again. Also, since this date falls during the MLS season it makes even more sense.
Get the NEW Free Beer Movement "Pint Glass" shirt! Only from Objectivo.com
Celebrate "National Beer Day" by making this weekend "National Free Beer Movement Weekend".
The whole beer community is really passionate about Timbers. And the Timbers Army is passionate about beer. It works out pretty well.
FBM: Why did you decide to go with a kolsch? Tell us a little about the ingredients you used. Describe the taste and the flavor and how it best represents your passion for the Timbers and your passion for craft beer.
It was a major coup for us to get 
