Version 2.0 of the BPFC Crest t-shirt is now available. This design has been a work in the progress, as many things are. We were big fans of the first crest, but as things evolve, we have wanted our Crest to evolve as well. I’ll be honest, and I might be biased, but I am a huge fan of the new Crest. The filled in ball in the middle works particularly well with the laurel crest and seems to fill the space a bit better than it did before. But that’s just my opinion. I’ll leave each of you to your own opinions.

I was having a conversation with a friend  over the weekend, and the infamous Eurosport catalogue got brought up. If you are, or were, anything like me, the arrival of this famed catalogue held some sort of magical power.

This might be hard for some of you cats to imagine, but for a long time (even after the Internet was holding things down), Europsort was the only source of the latest and greatest gear for soccer geeks like me. Finding the Eurosport catalogue in the mailbox was like finding a treasure chest of everything that I wanted to cop. Boots, jerseys, training gear, bags, accessories…this was my Willy Wonka Factory and I wanted all of it.

The thing is, the arrival of the Eurosport Catalogue represented one of those simple things in life. A collection of everything that a kid could want and dream of, interspersed with photos of the players that they idolized. Hard to imagine the mailman dropping off anything more exciting (hold off on the jokes here). You always knew the catalogue would arrive at some point, you just never knew when. So its arrival always made my day and kept me busy marking off item after item that I was trying to figure out a way to get my hands on.

Things may have changed a bit since these days. Everything you want is a click away, and that is an amazing thing. As much as I embrace the Internet, I’ll always have an affinity for printed material. Be that magazines, books or catalogues…and even more so when it is filled with all the latest soccer equipment I could possibly imagine. I have no idea if there is a future for physical catalogues, but every once in awhile it’s good to look back and remember.

As most of you who visit this site and The Original Winger know, a lot of what I talk about is the culture and lifestyle of American soccer. For a while now I have wanted to start a project that explores the culture of soccer in the US, but from a strictly visual medium. A digital lookbook of the vast soccer culture that is taking place throughout the United States.

Even though the sport faces some difficult challenges here in the US, it has not only survived but continues to flourish. And that is because of the fans around the country that are involved and participate with the sport on a daily basis. So I’m going to be starting a new photo project on The Original Winger that explores the culture of the sport around the country. From rec leagues, to fans watching games in pubs, pickup games on the beach, fans tailgating, post work matches behind a building, abandoned soccer fields, professional games, etc. All of this, and much more, makes up the soccer culture here in the US and I want to document it via photographs and share it here and on TOW. I’ll be taking lots of pictures, and sharing them, but I can’t capture what all of you see and do in your daily soccer lives. So I’m going to ask for your help.

Send in pictures that you take that are soccer related / inspired and we’ll make sure and get them posted. If you can send a little info like when the picture was taken, where, and any other relevant info that would be great. This is going to be kind of like a digital quilt that is made up of images from soccer fans around the country. At least that is my hope.

I’ll go ahead and get this started. I wanted the first picture to be something that had some meaning to me. The goal you see in this picture is from the field at the elementary school I went to when I first moved to Los Angeles as a kid. Nothing about it has changed since I went to school there. There is still no net and the grass is usually overgrown with weeds. But it didn’t matter. I learned a lot about soccer at a young age on this field and it still has a special place for me. Every once in awhile I’ll drive by it and there is a new generation of young soccer players practicing on it and I can’t help but wonder where the sport will be in this country when they grow up.

Location: Golden Springs Elementary School

Date: 2009

Growing up in LA in the 80’s, and being completely devoted to soccer, you would have thought that the LA Aztecs would have been a team that we were all hip to on some level. The team was around until 1981, so their history and legacy should have been something that all of us young bucks were aware of. Sadly this wasn’t the case.

The LA Aztecs played in the NASL from 1974-81, featured players such as George Best and Johan Cruyff and at one time or another were owned by Sir Elton John and Alan Rothenberg. They eventually were compared to the New York Cosmos, although their successes on the field and in the stands never compared to their east coast counterparts.

Before the celebrity owners and world class players, the LA Aztecs joined the NASL in 1974 and played their home games at East LA College with average attendance of around 5,000. This rookie season for the Aztecs proved to be their most successful, as they did one of the most difficult things to do in sports, and they won the NASL Championship in their inaugural season. With that in mind, we are happy to release the 35th anniversary LA Aztecs Bumpy Pitch t-shirt.

LA Aztecs 35th Anniversary T-Shirt

This shirt pays tribute to that LA Aztecs team and their single NASL title. 35 years after winning this championship, we are tilting our hat and paying tribute to the Aztecs, their accomplishments and their impact on soccer in the United States. I for one can’t wait to see where soccer is at in the United States 35 years from now.

I jumped on a flight this morning, headed to Salt Lake City so I could catch the US v El Salvador WCQ tonight. This was my first time seeing a game at Rio Tinto Stadium and it’s a great place to watch a game. Little issue with a certain stadium steward, but a little bit more on that later. This cat in the picture was hanging with the American Outlaws post game, celebrating the win, and his scarf just summed up everything.  This was a huge win for the US tonight, especially with the other results that took place today. Anyway, hit the jump for some pictures from the game.

This hat is so instantly recognizable and so undoubtedly patriotic.

On the lookout for the “U” and “A”

El Salvador’s fans were out pretty heavy in numbers. I honestly didn’t think there would be as many at this game as there were.

Some pre-game festivities.

The view looking out from the stadium…

So before I go in the stadium I ask if it’s ok to take my camera inside. I know this can be an issue sometimes without a credential. I ask about six different people who are scanning tickets, checking bags, have on those yellow Event Staff shirts, etc. Everyone gives me the thumbs up and says have fun. As soon as I get about 12 aisles from my seat, BOOM…”sir, you can’t have that camera in here.” So I tell them I asked numerous staff and everyone said it was cool. Nope, this lady wasn’t having it. So she calls in her friend for backup or reinforcements or something. Now they are both telling me I can’t have my camera inside the stadium and that it should be confiscated. Whoa! Slow down! You ain’t confiscating jack…so I say let me take this back to the car.  Nope, that is not an option either. After some debate, I’m told that I just have to hold my camera and that if I use it they are going to confiscate it on the spot and kick me out. So not wanting to make a scene, or let somebody ruin my night and my excitement for the game, I fall back and don’t get any pictures of the game other than the one below.

With the result secure (congrats boys!), I wanted to take some shots of folks celebrating the win outside the stadium. Lots of singing, drinking and high fiving. Good times!

This cat had on an old Soviet Union jersey, and American flag cape and was in full voice celebrating the US win.

Congrats to the US team on the win. Congrats to RSL and the city on a beautiful soccer stadium  and here is to a big win against Trinidad and Tobago!

Bumpy Pitch and subsequently The Original Winger has always been an experiment. One that we are committed to, but an experiment nonetheless. We started all of this because we believed that there was a deep connection to the sport that transcended what took place on the field. That there was a vibrant, and very real culture and lifestyle that the sport represented. It might have been under served, but we felt it existed and we wanted to be the first to tap into it.  We’ve taken our knocks from people along the way. Asking why we didn’t offer gear that could be worn on the field, why we didn’t make soccer balls, jerseys, etc…you name it, we have been questioned about it. We were told that if we didn’t produce “real” soccer items, that we were on our own.

The criticism from soccer retailers and die hards was hard to deal with. Knowing that the powers that be were not interested in the lifestyle and culture sides of the sport weighed heavy on us, but there are times when you can’t listen to what everyone else has to say. So we stayed the course, and did things our way.  But the culture is alive and vibrant, and all of you that visit this site, share your thoughts, cop a shirt, etc, show that the soccer culture is not only alive but growing. Sometimes the doubters weigh heavily, but we technically need them.

Funny thing is that these same folks are starting to reverse their stance and come around. They realize that the culture is strong, that a genuine lifestyle exists and they want a piece of it. And the reason why is that folks like you believe in it and represent it on the reg.

So I want to thank all of you. For being open minded and realizing that we can help build the sport in a slightly different, but equally as important manner. The future of the sport looks good in the ole USofA, and the reason why is because we have all stuck with it and shunned the haters. So here’s to the future. It will look very different than it was when we were all coming up. But that’s the best part. We all have the ability to effect what the sport will look like in the US for years to come. That was the original idea behind this “experiment” and we’re excited to see how it all plays out. And we’re very thankful and appreciative for all of your support and involvement along the way. Here’s to the future!