2012 - Vitoria Brazil

Esporte Clube Vitoria is a Brazilian football team playing in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B. Founded in 1899, the team has been known as the Rubro-negro (Red and Black). The team jersey has  consisted of vertical or horizontal red and black stripes, since the team changed from white and black to the current red and black in 1901.

As seen on Uni-Watch July 7 - Vitoria is again wearing a white and black striped jersey. The white stripes will be changed to red as the team's fans donate blood. The more blood donations received, the faster the white stripes get converted back to red. An excellent promotional program involving the fan base with the team while working for a great cause!

New England Revolution - Diego Fagundez : 2012

July 8, 2012 - Diego Fagundez bobblehead Night

The New England Revolution are giving away a limited number of Diego Fagundez bobbleheads when the Revs face off against the NY Red Bull...

Fagundez, F - #14, joined the Revolution in 2011. To date has played in 12 regular season games with 4 goals and 1 assist. born in Uruguay, Fagundez moved to Massachusetts when he was 5 years old. In 2009 Fagundez joined the NE Revolution Academy. 2010 the Revs signed Fagundez making him their first home-grown player. he made his professional debut onApril 26, 2011 in the Rev's 3-2 victory over DC United in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament...

2012 Olympics - Kellogg's

 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes back panel featuring 8 US Olympian cards. The cards use the theme "From Great Starts Come Great Things". The card backs tell how each of these athletes got their start. The cards measure about 2.25 x 2.75 inches..

The Juan Agudelo - USMNT - the back of the card  gives Agudelo's start as "Soccer was all I grew up around. Everyone in Colombia had so much passion for it and it was all I would do after school for five or six hours. I came to the United States when I was eight and started getting serious about soccer at eleven."

It is a shame the US Men's National Team did not qualify for the 2012 Olympics. I understand the choice of Agudelo as an up and coming talent, but there are so many others from the women's team who are going and from the men's team who have participated in past olympics...

The athletes featured are Dwight Phillips - track & field, Summer Sanders - swimming, Jordyn Wieber - gumnastics, Kerri Walsh -volleyball, Michael Landers - table tennis, Rebecca Soni - swimming and Casey Tibbs - Paralympic track...

Howler - Soccer Magazine

Howler is a new magazine about soccer. It's a big glossy publication that will come out four times a year with distinctive, original writing about American and international soccer, as well as some of the most striking art and design you'll find in  any publication being made today...http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/quraishi/howler-a-magazine-about-soccer-0?ref=NewsJun1412&utm_campaign=Jun14&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

Howler is being funded through Kickstarter until June 29 to raise funds for the publication of the magazine. One of the gifts for donating are Wayne Rooney or Clint Dempsey paper dolls.  Rooney is shown above as it was on the Kickstarter site. Since I have made a donation I look forward to receiving  both paper dolls and will publish the Clint Dempsey paper doll when I receive it.

Check it out and make a donation before June 29!

1996 Olympics - First Day Covers

Claudio Reyna - 1996 Olympics

I attended a comic book show today and had one of the artists, Ken Branch, whose specialty is sports portraits and superheroes, to draw a picture of Claudio Reyna on a 1996 Olympic first day cover.  The 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, Ga, USA, with the US Women's team taking the gold over China, while the men's competition saw Nigeria taking the gold medal over Argentina. The US men's team would finish third in group competition and not advance to the quarter finals.

Claudio Reyna participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona and the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Ga...

Mia Hamm - 1996 Olympics

Drawn by artist Joe Orsak, this cover features Mia Hamm, who played for the US Women's National team from 1987-2004. Hamm participated for the US in three Olympic tournaments: Atlanta 1996 (Gold), Sydney 2000 (Silver) and Athens 2004 (Gold).

FIFA World Cup: China 1991 (1st), Sweden 1995 (3rd), USA 1999 (1st), USA 2003 (3rd)

FIFA World Player of the Year (Women) 2001, 2002

US National Soccer Hall of Fame 2007

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 2006

Texas Sports Hall of Fame 2008

posted 2012.11.21

Tommy from the Rugrat comic - drawn by comic strip artist Gary Fields 2013.03.30 Asbury Park Comic Con, Asbury Park, NJ.  I decided to have some fun with this by having Tommy play soccer on the cover, inspired by the Olympic soccer matches..
posted 2013.03.30

Houston Dynamo

Forever Orange

Fans of the Houston Dynamo can now get personalized plates through MyPlate.com.

W-League - DC United Women

The W-League started play in 1995 providing a professional outlet for top female athletes. In 2000 the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) formed, playing it's first season in 2001 and it's final in 2003. In 2007 the Women's Professional Soccer league was formed to again provide an outlet for top female athletes, but only lasted until the 2012 season. Through all this turmoil of trying to keep a top professional women's league intact, the W-league continues to provide an outlet for professional and college athletes, who wish to maintain their amateur status. This past weekend while my son was at the Potomac Memorial Day Tournament at the Maryland Soccerplex. The facility was promoting the DC United Women, with the above postcard, as members of the W-League, who play their games at the Maryland Soccerplex stadium.

Quote of the weekend: Player kicks ball out of bounds and yells "My bad". His father responds "We know you don't have to tell us!"

2011 - Clint Dempsey - Topps Authentics

Barclays Premier League and Topps Authentics teamed up during the 2011-2012 season to produce a 50 card set, which was given away in a series of 10 numbered packs. Barclays Ticket Office provided the chance for fans to win a pair of tickets to a Barclays premier League match or a pack of Barclays Topps Authentics trading cards. Fans could enter the Barclays website and generate a code to enter or request a receipt from any Barclays ATM and text the code located on the back. Fans could enter and win every 90 minutes. The contest is now officially ended.

Topps has produced a quality set of cards, which features one American play, Clint Dempsey. Dempsey played for the New England Revolution in the MLS from 2004-2007, moving to Fulham in 2007 where he has become a mainstay. Dempsey is also a member of the US National Team, playing in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, 2006 World Cup, 2010 World Cup.

The only disappointment to the set, is the exclusion of Tim Howard.

2012 - Rampone Commemorative cup

Jersey Mike's Sub shops have teamed up with Women's US National Soccer Team captain Christie Rampone to offer a series of videos teaching basic soccer skills.

Currently the most capped active female player in the world and the most decorated with honors that include a World Cup Championship and 2 Olympic Gold medals.

A new video is offered each week through July 2, 2012 offering tips on: dribbling, speed dribbling, shielding, push pass, instep pass, receiving pass inside of foot, receiving pass outside of foot, shooting inside of foot, shooting instep and block tackle. Rampone also offers a link by way of her site.

Jersey Mike's also offers a commemorative cup, that features the likeness of Christie Rampone...

2012 Topps Olympians

2012 Topps Olympics Team & Hopefuls

2012.05.02 - Topps has released a series of cards honoring US brightest Olympians and hopefuls, with a 100 card base set. The base set includes US Women's Soccer team members Hope Solo (card# 50), Kelly O'Hara (card# 61) Carli Lloyd (card# 83) Alex Morgan (card# 90) and Abby Wambach (card#93).

The base set utilizes a stylized photo on a backdrop of the American flag. The set includes variations featuring gold, silver or bronze foil. The Alex Morgan shows a bronze foil variation, the Hope Solo card shown is a silver foil variety.

The set includes autograph cards, uniform relics and patch cards. An example of the Juan Aguelo autograph card is shown. The men's team did not qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and Agudelo is the only men's team member in the set. The autograph cards have the autograph on a sticker that is added to the card, placed within a thin white frame. Other autographs in the set include Hope Solo, Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach...

Relic cards to be updated when scans are available...

Jerseys

2012 MLS All-Star Game jersey

Adidas and Major League Soccer announced that the 2012 All-Star Game jersey will feature the AT&T  micoach professional soccer team tracking system. The system, built into the jersey, will allow the coaches with real time performance, including on-field player position, power output, speed, distance covered, GPS heat mapping, etc...

Adidas had previously introduced a system that was inserted a micoach speed-cell that can be inserted into a players shoes to record a variety of data. these innovations are expected to assist the coach on evaluating a players impact on the game...

The Minnesota Stars FC, of the NASL, announced their away jersey will feature numbers that have photos of their supporters' group. Each number uses a different crowd scene from the team's playoff run in 2011, as Minnesota celebrated the best fans in the NASL...

2012-2013 Olympique Lyonnais

It's not American soccer, but it had to be seen to be believed. Olmpique Lyonnais of the French Ligue 1, has introduced a 3-D design from Adidas, which was worn on April 28 for the first time during their French Cup final. So break out those 3-D red and blue glasses to watch Olympique Lyonnais...

2012 - Thierry Henry - NY Red Bull

New York Red Bull is running a promotion with the purchase of a 4pack of Red Bull

Exclusive Invitation

To Join New York's Stampede

2 tickets and 2 team scarves for $50

visit www.newyorkredbulls.com

enter code: (found inside packages of Red Bull)

to receive your exclusive invitation & join New York's stampede!

offer valid March 1, 2012 until end of 2012 season.

The outside of the package features a color photo of Thierry Henry below his facsimile signature,

with the same photo printed in blue inside the package

Pele - bicycle kick

Pele's iconic bicycle kick in Morumbi Stadium, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The 2006 documentary and companion book "Once in a Lifetime" about the Cosmos soccer club featured the Pele bicycle kick under the heading "Goals, Greed, Girls". Telling the story of the NY Cosmos, founded in 1971 and dissolved in 1985, and how they brought soccer to the USA through the heroics of it's international stars, Pele, Giorgio Chingalia, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto.  although his silhouette is on the poster, Pele declined to be interviewed for the documentary.

Pearl Jam 20th Anniversary poster - for the Pearl Jam Twenty Tour (PJ20). Pearl Jam played in Morumbi Stadium, Sao Paulo, Brazil in November 2011.  Ames Bros. utilized the Pele kick as the focus of the pearl Jam poster. The poster also was available in a gold print variation.

Pele reproduced his famous kick in the movie Escape to Victory (Victory in North America), the story of an Allied prisoner of war soccer team playing against an elite German team in a German propaganda stunt. The Allied team would consist of Pele, Bobby Moore, Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Osvaldo Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna, Paul Van Himst, Mike Summerbee, John Wark, Hallvar Thoresen, along with several members of the Ipswich Town F.C.

Werner Roth portrayed the German team Captain and Max von Sydow the prison commandant. The movie was based on the 1962 Hungarian movie "Two Half Times in Hell" directed by Zoltan Fabri

LA Galaxians

2012 LA Galaxy wallpaper from their website. Several of the teams offer wallpapers, either with just the team logo, schedules and players. I love this from the Galaxy, it's not the expected. Brilliant!

Meet the 2012 Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls sent out a e-mail blast to "fans" - the first 200 people to purchase $50 worth of Red Bull soccer gear at the Adidas NY store will give you a chance to meet the team!

What a poor excuse for a marketing scheme...spend money on us the NY Red Bulls and maybe you can meet the team. Definitely a corporate decision, one more based on making a few bucks off the fans rather than truly garnering fan support for the team...