Monday, June 18, 2007

Mas Galaxy

"Mas Galaxy" is actually a radio show about the team on KLAA AM 830, but I'm also referring to my second Galaxy article in Spanish, a reaction piece after the Real game. It provides a bit "mas" info on the G's.

Mas y mas.

Makes me think of Kinky's song.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where are the Latinos on the Galaxy squad?

This article is very ironic.

A.C. said...

Yes, almost as ironic as the fact that Landon Donovan, Alexi Lalas, Joe Cannon, Chris Albright and Xavier Abel all speak Spanish and promote the game to the Spanish-speaking public.

Heck, David Beckham speaks Spanish, though he's a little shy about it.

Anonymous said...

In response to a.c.

Thank you for convincing me to buy Galaxy season tickets. Now that I know all the aforementioned speak Spanish and the Hispanic community is well represented.

In all seriousness, the lack of Latinos on their team is alarming considering Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities and one of the most Latino cities in the world.

The implication some folks make is that Lalas and co. have shut their doors on any Latino talent. Whether this is unfounded or not is not for me to decide.

The lack of a single player of Mexican descent is curious considering Lalas' comments and Landon's comments about their hatred for Mexico. It may be showmanship on their part but it reflects poorly that a last place has no room for Latinos. This is not unfair commentary for an emergin league attempting to sway a large Hispanic population in the US. Hence, the Univision, Telefutura deal.

A.C. said...

Perhaps I don't worry like you do because I'm privy to more info, like the fact that the Galaxy offered Jared Borgetti a contract earlier this year.

Plus, I know that Landon was referring to the Mexican team when he spoke of his hatred, not the country itself. Others have twisted that.

I also know that when the Galaxy has signed players based more on ethnicity than on the team's needs, it hasn't helped the team at all.

Or the player, either.

A.C. said...

The lack of Mexicans, by the way, is league-wide. It has a lot to do with the country having a thriving league of its own. They can pay their players more, and they do.

A.C. said...

Finally, I guess what you're saying is that is doesn't matter if members of the Galaxy respect the Hispanic community enough to learn and speak the language, you only care about their blood ties to the community, not how much they reach out to the culture and the people.

That's right, Univision and Telefutura should dump all their announcers who speak Spanish but aren't Mexican. Who needs those Argentines?

Anonymous said...

Your criticims of my commentary are unfounded.

You omit the fact that US Soccer and MLS historically have done a disservice to US Soccer as a whole, by failing to cultivate and integrate Latinos into the system and ultimately the player pool. Sunil Gulati, wisely, and to his credit, has addressed this issue and should be applauded for doing so given the lack of results; both nurturing extremely talented players and the lack of trophies to show for.

Second, Landon Donavon if anything is a polarizing figure whether some folks like it or not and he did himself a major disservice by urinating in the Jalisco Stadium and then trying to justify it, rather than apologizing. LD's commentary speaks for itself. He fuels the fire with his comments.

I woud also like to add that the Galaxy are the least Latino represented team in all of MLS. This is fact,the roster are there to examine. People can interpret that however they want.

The fact they speak Spanish should be applauded. That is great. I do not think it's wise to justify their attempt to sign a token player past his prime. As a fan of US Soccer I would like to see younger players break through of all ethnities into the starting lineups. It seems the Galaxy promote this in theory but in application omit Latin players. The defacto conclusion is that they leave that to Chivas USA or other MLS teams. KC Wizards even field a more Latin team. For a city of LA's stature this is an oddity.

I can rattle off names of US born players who would given anything to play with the Galaxy squad and who are qualified and of Latin descent. As you mention the Mexican league is strong but this is no excuse for a league that can handle to financial signing of a King Beckham.

Please don't insult my intelligence with we're all American speech. Discrimination still exists in US Soccer, and MLS and there are some great initiative that are trying to address this. And please do not try to pit Argentineans against Mexicans that is insulting. I root for all good players but can't help to feel warm and fuzzy inside to see cinderella players finally get their well deserved shot at glory.

Last, I may add that my favorite club in the EPL is Fulham and I fully support all Americans abroad.

A.C. said...

No, I'm not taking your blanket criticisms of MLS and U.S. Soccer as being Latino-unfriendly just because Gulati is making a move to improve that.

You're omitting the fact that the player you mention as past his prime has kept Mexico in their latest competition. You say you want more Latinos on the Galaxy, and when I specifically mention one they attempted to sign, you dismiss that as token.

Hispanic players have been a big part of the Galaxy for a long time - a rather coincidental shortage at present is turned into some big agenda by you, and you tie that into how other people view Landon and turn that into a conspiracy theory.

Of course I think that U.S. soccer can do more to integrate Latino players. I've written on the topic before and it's a joke for you to imply that I'm a shill for the Galaxy.

But it's been a two-way street in many ways, because some Latinos have shunned MLS and other U.S. development routes. Both groups will have to work together to improve the situation.

Players of any ethnicity will ebb and flow on any team. Chivas USA, for example, has gotten proportionally less Hispanic every year of its existence. Houston has no Hispanic players at present, and they play in Texas. They have a lot of Hispanic support, though, because, shockingly, fans are drawn to good teams.

You're working an agenda here, as evidenced by the fact that your first comment had nothing to do with my Galaxy article other than that you implied that a team with no Latinos has no right to get media coverage in Spanish.

Anonymous said...

There should be a Latin player on the Galaxy, no question.