Author: Matthew Groff

  • Behind the Scenes Drama of the Super League

    Here is the New York Times story about how the Super League died. Stories of greed and hubris are as old as Greek drama.

    www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/sports/soccer/super-league-soccer.html

  • ODDS and ENDS – See, I Was Right

    “Odds and Ends” is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    First of all, I was right about the Super League. An Op-Ed in The New York Times pretty much said the same thing that I did, (At least I think so) and Five-Thirty Eight also had a Chat about it as well. The bottom line is that the Super League is Dead. Long Live The Super League!

    Pretty shocked that the writer of the Philip Roth biography is now being accused of sexual assault. Won’t be buying that book now.

    I am strangely finding myself interested in how the Knicks are doing. Though basketball is my family’s sport of choice, I have never been a big pro-basketball fan. But something about the team this year has me paying attention. Maybe it’s Rose, maybe it’s the better defense, maybe I like rooting for the underdog. Something.

    I know I am late to the game, but I have been following the Scott Rudin story. It broke at the start of April, and if you don’t know, Rudin is an Oscar and Tony winning producer who is an awful person to work for. He bullies people, screams at them, breaks stuff, throws tantrums, and, well, he’s an asshole. From the years of working at rehearsal studios, I have encountered many Rudin types; they asshole their way to success. Sadly, Rudin types aren’t created in a vacuum, they are enabled. Until the enablers are addressed as well, Rudin types will keep thriving in the entertainment world.

  • When I Heard the Verdict

    Yesterday, I took the kid to the park, which is a very normal thing for us to do. We were there for about a half hour when I got the news alert on my phone that the jury would return their verdict in the Chauvin trial in an hour. Well, I just stopped what I was doing, which was keeping an eye on the kid and writing in my journal, and started the watching the clock till 4:30. I kept scrolling through Twitter, which wasn’t the best idea, but I was sure that would be the place where I would get the news the fastest. I say that it wasn’t the best idea because every tenth post or so, there would be a really awfully racist comment about George Floyd. Then, after 5pm, the first tweet came through;

    Guilty

    Or my favorite;

    Guilty Guilty Guilty All Counts

    Nothing could be more simple or powerful to express exactly what the verdict meant.

    I did feel a huge release of the anxiety from the trial. We all know the history of this country, and we all know that justice and accountability haven’t always been present when the police are on trial. I really wanted to believe that we’d get it right this time, and I was nervous that we’d just repeat past mistakes.

    But we didn’t. And that is a step forward.

    And as me and the kid walked back from the park, the new reality started to sink in; we’re not done, this isn’t over. There is still much work ahead. We still need to march. We still need to demand reform and accountability from the police, but also the DA offices, and our elected officials. Reform isn’t easy, and it takes time, but that arc just bent a little closer to justice.

  • Super League Falling Apart

    The New York Times is now reporting that the Super League is coming apart. Looks like fans and politicians in the UK aren’t having it. Story link below…

    www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/sports/soccer/super-league-collapse.html

  • Europe’s Super League is a Mistake

    I have been following the Premier League for the past couple of years, and specifically supporting Tottenham Hotspur for the past three. I have watched them change mangers twice, get to the finals of the Champions League, got really annoyed when they didn’t re-sign Eriksen, got totally confused as to why Dele isn’t playing, and got really happy with the Kane/Son duo on the pitch. I even paid for Peacock so I could watch matches, and have tried to read up on the history of the team, so I at least have a bit of a knowledge to build off of.

    So, when the Super League was announced on Sunday, I had a resigned disappointment. Here is an explainer from the New York Times. Long story short, 12 of the biggest football clubs in Europe are forming a new league, and outside of these 12 teams making a whole lot of money, there really isn’t much benefit for anyone else. The Super League will kill off smaller clubs, actually eliminates competition, and just reeks of greed.

    And as an American, I just want to say, “Your welcome, European football fans!” Yup, we are great at greed and capitalism when it comes to ruining sports. I love baseball, but there is no mystery to that sport; whoever spends the most wins. Why don’t baseball clubs just announce how much they are planning on spending, and then the top 16 teams just play each other for the championship? It would cut out the pesky middle man, which is that boring summer season. There is no real competition during the baseball season, the playoffs is where all the action is, and money determines it.

    Which is what the Super League is. They have decided that their home leagues are meaningless, and having to deal with competition from smaller clubs is just getting in the way. The difference is in America, we still perpetrate the lie, while Europe is coming around to the truth; this isn’t about sports, it’s about making money.

    Again, you’re welcome Europe!