Red Bulls vs Montréal highlights

Calling a Red Bulls game in person for the first time since March 2020 was a blast on Saturday, made all the better by a thrilling finish in the thick of the MLS playoff race:

Watching the USMNT as a fan - again

I don’t really watch sports as a fan these days.

I’m first and foremost a parent, with young children we do not allow much screen time. I’m a husband, and my spouse is not into sports at all.

Other than games I call as a professional broadcaster, I rarely watch a full game straight through, even in research. I can find just enough time to get the starting lineups and formations, or 20 minutes here, maybe a half there. I can put a game on in the background while I type up notes. It never feels like there’s enough time to go around.

In the rare instances I do watch games I’m not researching, there’s always something else to focus on. One announcer is a friend – how is she doing? Those graphics look new. Since when does that company sponsor this sport? What’s happening on Twitter right now? I’m frustrated with these announcers; why am I not working this game? Is there a closer game I can watch?

But on Wednesday night, a 10:30pm ET kickoff meant everybody in my household was asleep, and I could choose to sit in a darkened, not-yet-set-up apartment and watch the US men’s national team in a pressure-packed World Cup qualifier.