EPISODE #05: Bobby Moffat & the 1970s NASL Dallas Tornado

Former Dallas Tornado defensive stalwart Bobby Moffat (The Basic Soccer Guide) joins Tim Hanlon to reminisce about life in the 1970s North American Soccer League, and how his commitment to nurturing the game’s grass roots in the Metroplex became the envy of US soccer enthusiasts during a tenuous decade for the sport. Moffat recounts how not-so-glamorous off-the-field jobs helped him and most of his teammates make ends meet; how Dallas’ 1971 marathon overtime-riddled championship season helped usher in needed tie-breaking into NASL games; how the Tornado became the last-minute exhibition foil for Pele’s 1975 New York Cosmos national TV debut (despite having played a league match 1,800 miles away in San Antonio the night before); and why the NASL “lost the plot” when it came to capitalizing on the indoor game.

The Basic Soccer Guide -  buy book here

EPISODE #02: Sports Executive Andy Crossley & the WPS Boston Breakers

Fellow defunct pro sports enthusiast (Fun While It Lasted, Minor League Paper) and former Boston Breakers General Manager Andy Crossley joins Tim Hanlon to discuss his rollicking ride on the Women’s Professional Soccer league roller coaster in the late 2000s, and why the second major attempt at professionalizing the women’s game in the US fell apart after just three seasons.  Crossley recounts why Harvard’s archaic on-campus football stadium became the oddly natural choice for Breakers home games, the moment when he first recognized the WPS business model was doomed, how an Internet telephone entrepreneur’s obsession with the US Women’s National team hastened the league’s demise, and why he doesn’t expect any Christmas cards from Hope Solo anytime soon.

Minor League Paper (eBay store) - browse and buy here