Oh yeah… when this was first planned out we knew that this is going to be a fun trip, some of the BP and TOW crew shot out to NY for the Grassroot Soccer Charity Event, some well deserved down time, a little bit of marketing and t-shirt slangin’ and all in all there definitely was a happy ending!

Ok, so there are a lot of pictures that I wanted to throw up here so I’m just dropping them on you after the jump with commentary… enjoy the ride.. (more…)

Numero uno is FIFA’s president Joseph Blatter, and they give a great quote from Sepp:

“FIFA is like the United Nations but it has more members and is more powerful”

Six of the top ten most powerful global figures have soccer ties including Becks clocking in at No. 5, Roman Abramovic at No. 6, and Cristiano at 7. Herbert Hanier the president of Adidas is No. 4 and Michel Platini UEFA president is 8. Click on this link for the slideshow and complete coverage from Business Week.

photo. getty images

I.Shouldve.Played.Soccer

Courtesy of the FC Dallas Blog:

“While the team is back on the training field in Frisco, ten members of our front office management staff flew out to Chicago on Tuesday evening to attend the 2008 MLS Business Summit. MLS headquarters organizes this event, bringing League office executives together with execs from all 14 teams for two days of meetings, presentations, and interactive breakout sessions to discuss all matters of our business.

This morning, the entire group - we’re told there are about 200 people here from all the teams and the league office - will gather for a general session where MLS Commissioner Don Garber will speak…”

Image via HBO

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. AA recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags.

Not classy…

Image via Myfriendscallmenikkos

I’m no economist, but it is no secret that the economy (and not just here in the US) is in a world of hurt. With people keeping an eye on their pennies, pounds and euros just a little bit closer, how will this effect the world’s game? Well, according to Arsenal Chariman Peter Hill-Wood, even the players are going to be affected by the credit crunch.

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I had been hearing little nuggets of rumors about this one the last few days, but now it sounds like it actually might be happening. According to Premiership Latest,  Chelsea have launched a bid to bring Fernando Torres to Stamford Bridge and are willing to apy £85million, or roughly $170 million! WTF! $140 million for Cristian, $170 million for Torres…are you serious? The services of one player can’t possibly be worth that. Just the fact that numberes like this are being tossed around blows my mind. I seriously question how the sport can sustain itself when money like thi sis being tossed around.

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I once had a boss who told me that one of the best things you can do is to surround yourself with really smart people and empower them to do what they are best at. That has always stuck with me and I think it is pretty good advice. As the evolution and growth of what we are doing continues, we are finding this saying to becoming more and more relevant. It is actually what brought us to the building in the picture. The last couple weeks we have found ourselves in some pretty interesting meetings, and this was one more of those. Even though some of the meetings have seemingly nothing to do with one another, on some level they are all interconnected. As they say, one thing leads to another, which leads to another…

Interesting times for sure…

I started reading this book, “Sneaker Wars”, last night and I haven’t been able to put it down. Barbara Smit takes an in depth look at the feud and rivalry between adidas and PUMA and how they changed the business of sport forever. For those that don’t know, adidas and PUMA were founded by feuding brothers from a small German town. Imagine that, two of the world’s biggest sporting companies started by brothers because they couldn’t get along. This book goes in to depth about what caused their feud, how the businesses grew and some incredibly shady dealings that took place to build these brands and the business of sports. A lot of the book focuses on soccer and how adidas and PUMA helped to change the sport both on and off the field. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

We all know India used to be a British colony, as was America at one time. India was ran by the British for awhile, and nowthe Indians are turning to business once again to take something decidedly British from the British (and Americans in this case). Ford Motor Company which owned Jaguar and Land Rover has sold both brands to Tata Motors which is the largest automobile company in India. This is somewhat ironic as two classic British companies have been owned now by two former British colonies. Tata Group which owns Tata Motors also owns Tetley Tea, a British Tea company. What’s next?

With news that Oscar de laHoya and his Golden Boy Promotions are buying a 25% stake in the Houston Dynamo, it seems to me that there would be more talk and coverage of this.  This has the potential to be huge for MLS and for the game in the US for a number of reasons. First off, De la Hoya is a hugely successful athlete both in and out of the ring. He might not be a soccer guy, but he was able to leverage his success as an athlete into that of a businessman, and for soccer players in this country, that is an important example of what can be done. In a league that has had just a handful of owners over the years, the continued influx of new owners with new ideas is incredibly important. The fact that De la Hoya is Latino only makes this even better. In a country with such a large and growing Latino population, capturing this audience and turning them into MLS fans will ensure growth of the league and sport going forward.  I hope that Oscar devotes time, energy and resources to making this a successful situation for the Dynamo and their fans. Hopefully his clout, celebrity and relationships will help Houston get their stadium deal done soon. I believe 100% that this is further evidence of the soccer’s continued growth here in the US  and I think the future is looking.

Anybody have any thoughts on what this will mean to MLS and soccer?