Last fall, Atlanta was one of our Starting XI of US Soccertowns. As it prepares to host games in the World Cup, Tom and Kirk take a look at how preparations are going in the literal home of US Soccer.

Then we re-broadcast the Atlanta section from that Starting XI episode, so tourists (and natives) can get a quick hit of the long history of soccer in the Dirty South. It's only ten minutes, so maybe Mauricio Pochettino can find time to learn about the country he has the privilege of representing this summer. Just a friendly suggestion!

Special thanks to Atlanta historian Patrick Sullivan.

Also credit to Atlanta soccer writer Doug Roberson: https://soccerwithdoug.substack.com/

Tucked in the middle of Newark, New Jersey is a small school called St. Benedict's Prep that has had a huge impact on high school soccer. For 40 years the Gray Bees have been the most dominant soccer program in the country...and one of the most dominant high school programs, in any sport, ever.

How have they done it? Players like Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, and Gregg Berhalter helped. So have gifted international student-athletes. But maintaining excellence year after year, with the country's biggest target on their backs? That takes tennis balls.

This week, we dive inside the Gray Bees' hive.

Peep! It's halftime at AN AMERICAN GAME, and we’re in the locker room making "tactical adjustments" (getting ice packs strapped to our bodies while guzzling ibuprofen and Gatorade.) So let's go over to the studio where Alexi- haha, no, where Tom and Kirk give a quick preview of next week's episode, a fun fact about themselves, and a very dignified request to like and/or subscribe to the show if you like and/or don't want to miss it.

It's one click. You can do it. See you next week!

What has steamships, chloroform, and the King of Romania? This episode of An American Game, about the US National Team's incredible performance in the first World Cup, hosted by Uruguay in 1930. Tom and Kirk take us back to that tough and talented team, who wore the Stars and Stripes and showed the world that diversity is our strength--and that the United States is not afraid to change hotels if the first one doesn't feel right. Also, we use the word "worsted" for the third straight show. That’s not easy!

Quick: what's the oldest trophy in American sports? Wrong. In Episode 2 of An American Game, Tom and Kirk tell the story of the AFA Cup, first given out 140 years ago (before the Stanley Cup) and, for decades, the top prize in American soccer. But then the Tiffany-designed trophy disappeared -- dropped out of the historical record, along with so much of US soccer. Fortunately, like Indiana Jones in an SUV, Tom tracked it down.

If you want to see some of what we’re talking about (and what actors we look like) check out the video version: https://youtu.be/oyv5OHn22Bo

How did a bullet change the course of American soccer? In the first of a new series about the long, colorful, and mostly-forgotten history of US soccer, Tom McCabe and Kirk Rudell--old friends, college teammates, soccer obsessives--join forces to tell the story of Thomas "Bullets" Cahill, the 'Father of American Soccer.' They follow Cahill from his tough St. Louis childhood in a patch of Irish immigrants; to wheeling and dealing across the country, sometimes at knifepoint, building what we now think of as US soccer; all the way to the royal box of the King of Sweden with the first US National Team. And they solve the century-old mystery of how he got his nickname (hint: it's actually pretty literal.) 

Want to see some of what we’re talking about? Video is here: https://youtu.be/djN50Ins9tA

A new series from the makers of the documentary SOCCERTOWN, USA about the long and colorful history of American soccer. Tom and Kirk are old friends and former teammates who share a belief that the United States is a soccer nation, and they're going to prove it, one story at a time. Fortunately, Tom is a leading scholar of American soccer and Kirk is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter, so it’s real history that’s fun to listen to.

"History rhymes" is a thing we say a lot, paraphrasing Mark Twain who was also probably thinking about soccer. With the threat of a boycott hanging over this summer's World Cup, we go back 47 years to when the U.S. Men’s Soccer Team qualified for the Moscow Olympics... and then had to stay home. 

It's another ugly collision of sports and politics, with Iran again playing a major role. Rhymes! It's also an excuse for Tom and Kirk to break out their Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan impressions. To paraphrase the Olympic Creed: "The most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to nail the impression but to make your dad stop the car and tell you to cut it out."

In 2028, when USL Premier launches, the United States will have a Division One pro soccer league at the top of a promotion-relegation pyramid. Sexy!

But we're in 2026, when a potential players' strike threatens the entire USL season. Not sexy!

Tom and Kirk look at USL's place in the US soccer landscape--at the intersection of small town dreams and big business--and, with the help of a wooden duck, explore how that tension makes it the most "American" pro soccer league. For better and, possibly, for worse.

In 2018, when the United States, Mexico, and Canada were selected to co-host this year’s World Cup, it sounded like fun: three friendly democracies throwing the world's biggest soccer party.

LOL. LMAO, even. 

To kick off Season 2 of AAG, Tom and Kirk take a look at our (longer than you think) soccer history with our northern and southern neighbors and put some color back on what’s become a pretty crude, black-and-white picture. Because despite all the recent division, we’re actually more connected than ever. And that's something to root for this summer!

We’re back! Sort of. Season Two of AN AMERICAN GAME will be coming your way in February 2026, and we’ve got so many new stories to share about US soccer history that we’re burning one now. Hahaha that can’t possibly come back to bite us, right?

Anyway, think of this as a holiday gift, because it’s about one of our favorite holiday films: the movie that influenced some of our greatest players, coaches...and podcasters. We’re talking, of course, about the Stallone/Caine/Pelé classic, VICTORY, a.k.a. ESCAPE TO VICTORY. 

Give a listen to find out how it was made–and why we’re still talking about a movie that was, in 1981, less popular than Ringo Starr’s CAVEMAN.

If towns make a nation, we think our soccertowns make us a soccer nation. That’s kind of, like, our whole thing–it’s literally the name of the show. In our final episode of Season 1, we play a full 90 minutes (plus added time!) and dig into the deep roots of the game across the United States, from sea to shining sea. If you think we got our lineup wrong, let us know at: soccertownmedia@gmail.com

Or hit us up on Instagram @SoccertownMedia 

Or on Bluesky @soccertownmedia.bsky.social

Or write a song about it, Alexi.

And for more history:

S.A.S.H.: https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/

Washington State: https://history.wasoccerlegends.org/

Look, if it were up to Tom and Kirk they'd just play through but, you know, Wet-Bulb Temperature, FIFPRO Players' Union mandates, blah blah blah.

So while the team guzzles [ENERGY DRINK SPONSOR TK], enjoy this mini-episode where they follow up on some earlier stories, make a few (small) corrections, and chat a bit about a recurring character on AN AMERICAN GAME: Alexi Lalas.

Back next week to finish the game- er, season!

The US victory in the 1999 Women’s World Cup has been called “a tsunami hitting the shore” for women’s soccer in the United States. But the seismic activity that started that wave goes way back to the 19th century. (Surprised? You must be new here.) Tom and Kirk track the long line of women’s soccer that led to an under-appreciated quake: the formation of the very first US Women’s National Team, the 85ers, whose wild week at a tournament in Italy 40 years ago laid the foundation for one of the most dominant programs in American sports. OOSA!

Also, we give a shout-out to a member of the women’s national team pool from the 90s, whose daughter, a standout soccer player in Los Angeles, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a few years ago. The family has started a foundation dedicated to raising awareness about pediatric cancer, advocating for research and funding, and supporting other kids facing similar challenges. The women's soccer community, including the 99ers, have rallied around them--and so can you.

Check out what they’re doing:

Zoe’s Goal: https://zoesgoal.org/

Some of our greatest writers have been goalkeepers. Unfortunately, none were available for this episode, so Tom and Kirk dug out their Goalkeepers’ Union cards to celebrate the one position where the United States has produced world class soccer talent for 140 years–and will continue to if US Soccer listens to this episode. So stop asking, “What if our best athletes played soccer?” and get to know legends like Briana Scurry and Stan “The International Man” Chesney.

Tartan Army, assemble!

Grab your Walker's shortbread and Laphroaig and listen to a tale of your ancestors, who traveled over the ocean to the United States and Canada... as many of you will this summer for the World Cup (if world events and FIFA prices allow.)

This is a story of the Scotch Professors, who brought the pass-and-move version of football around the world and helped make it the Global Game. And it's a tribute to the United States' greatest Scotch Professor: Archie Stark, who was once called the Babe Ruth of American soccer. Ye cannae wait, can ye?

MUSIC CREDIT: 

Song: Nomadic Sunset
Composer: Alexander Nakarada
Website: https://creatorchords.com/
License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

In Season One, Seattle made our Starting XI of US Soccertowns (Portland, we've read your comments, and we are very sorry.)

As the Emerald City prepares to host the 2026 World Cup, we're re-airing last fall’s segment on Seattle soccer history—but first we have the latest on how the city feels about FIFA, ferries...and that scheduled Iran game.

Washington State Legends of Soccer: https://wasoccerlegends.org/

From: Bank of America

To: Tom and Kirk

Subject: Pre-World Cup screening of SOCCERTOWN, USA

And so an adventure began: an invitation to meet up in New Jersey for a screening of our award-winning 2019 documentary, followed by a panel with Tab Ramos, John Harkes, and Tony Meola, whose story we told.

Which led to this adventure: our first unscripted episode, where we talk about an incredible night with legends of US soccer, as well as some other highlights from our trip--like catching up with another legend of US soccer, Bob Bradley, right before we got a little buzzed on a new beer with our name on it. Oh, we also tell you what's wrong with the current US Men's National Team.

And all in less than 25 minutes! Strap in, because we're going off-road. 

EPISODE LINKS:

"SOCCERTOWN, USA" MOVIE: https://www.soccertownmedia.com/video

VARITAGE BREW WORKS: https://www.varitagebeer.com/

SIHANA CAFE: https://sihanacafe.com/

KEEPERS BAR & RESTAURANT: https://www.keepers-nj.com/

SOCCER POST-KEARNY: https://soccerpostkearny.com/