The International Fixture

From Highlander to Survivor to Newark

I guess not all reality television is bad. There's a nice story in today's Star-Ledger about Ethan Zohn, a former pro soccer player who took his winnings from Survivor and started a non-profit to use soccer to help battle AIDS in Africa.

Before competing on Survivor, Zohn played for Highlanders FC   in Zimbabwe (where, according to Wikipedia, Andrew Shue of the ultra-wholesome and uplifting soccer film Gracie also once played). There, Zohn saw first hand the ravages of AIDS sweeping through Africa.

He spent some of that time playing pickup soccer with local children in the parking lot of a hospital. After the game, he wondered why a group of kids would choose a hospital parking lot to hang out in.

"A nurse told me they were AIDS patients," he said.

So Zohn started Grassroot Soccer United to raise money to fight the disease and raise awareness in Africa. He was also involved in the aforementioned exhibition game in Manhattan a few weeks ago.

The Ledger produced a nice short video on Zohn's stunt of trying to dribble a soccer ball from Boston to DC to raise money for GSU. It's a hoot to see kids dribbling down empty Newark streets. Zohn was joined by members of the NJ Ironmen (which is now apparently part of something called the Xtreme Soccer League).

The story on him and his organization is worth a look when you have a few minutes.

- Tom Meagher

Best wishes from a legend

This weekend, we went down the Jersey Shore for the first time and stayed with some friends. We got assigned to sleep in our friend's little brother's room. I thought the accommodations were great even before I noticed this little gem sitting in a glass box in the corner.

This is officially the closest I've ever come to seeing Pele or visiting Brazil for that matter. Still, it made my weekend (well, that an Man. Utd's loss at Liverpool that we enjoyed at the very hospitable D'arcy's Tavern).

- Tom Meagher

You've got to start somewhere

While the eyes of most soccer fans around the world are on the latest round of World Cup qualifiers today, for some futbol enthusiasts--particularly American high school students--this time of year has an added significance.

In many parts of the country, high school soccer starts in early September (can anyone tell me why this has traditionally been the case in America? Why not spring?). The Record and Herald News sports staffs have been compiling top 25 lists of the area's best boys and girls soccer squads. The list covers Bergen, Passaic and parts of Morris County (I believe). The best boys team, as chosen by our sage sports scribes, is Ramapo. The best girls are at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township. Both are Bergen County powerhouses.

But as an added service to readers, the Herald News over the past 10 days has run individual stories on each of the top 10 teams in Passaic County. A couple of Bergen County teams snuck into the list, but if you're curious, here's how they shook out.

Boys Soccer:
1. Clifton
2. Wayne Valley
3. Passaic
4. DePaul
5. Passaic Tech
6. Passaic Valley
7. Wayne Hills
8. West Milford
9. Pompton Lakes
10. Wallington

Girls soccer:
1. Clifton
2. Wayne Valley
3. DePaul
4. Lakeland
5. Wayne Hills
6. Rutherford
7. Eastern Christian
8. Pompton Lakes
9. West Milford
10. Hawthorne

For anyone who has observed Passaic County sports, it should be no surprise that the high school with ties to national team players for three teams in two nations should be the top in the county. With some luck and tenacity, Clifton's girls could also beat even the Immaculate Heart Blue Eagles. The Lady Mustangs will get their shot early, with their season opener will be at IHA on Friday. Think they can pull it off?

As an added bonus question: what three Clifton natives did I refer to in the previous paragraph who have gone on to international success?

How excited are you about local soccer seasons kicking off? Do you really need to watch England versus Croatia when you have DePaul at Wayne Valley Friday night?

- Tom Meagher

True story

As if the world needed any more evidence that soccer can be a sickness, here's one more piece to add to the pile.

Last night, I had this incredibly vivid dream. Somehow, Bob Bradley had discovered me and called me up to the senior national team for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Guatemala. It's still unclear how exactly he found this 32-year-old middling midfielder who failed to score a single goal in 18 games last season in a co-ed pick-up league in Brooklyn. But suffice it to say, Bob saw a speck of talent here and thought I could bring something unique to the squad.

So I flew down to Guatemala City, and it's about a half-hour before kickoff, and I realized I had forgotten my cleats and shinguards. I imagine in real-life there's probably an equipment manager who handles this for the men's national team, but it seemed perfectly logical in my dream that I would be expected to bring my own. Obviously, I was incredibly embarrassed by this gaffe, particularly since I had to wait for my mother to fly down with my shoes. The clock ticked. I was sweating bullets. Thankfully, at that point, I woke up, sparing myself the humiliation of trying to play in my stocking feet.

It's probably a bad idea to share one's dreams on a soccer blog, but I thought this one was funny. It could have been worse, right? It could have been Pia Sundhage calling me up to play against Brazil tomorrow.

- Tom Meagher

Now that the pesky Olympics are over for the men...

We can finally turn our attention to something truly important Wednesday night: some serious qualifying for the World Cup that officially kicks off in South Africa in barely 22 months.

Even as the ladies remain in Beijing and prepare to face Brazil Thursday morning, the men will be in Guatemala City for CONCACAF qualifying. The game kicks off at 10 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.

Which game are you more excited about: the Olympics' gold medal game or the men's WCQ? Where do you plan to watch each game?

- Tom Meagher