On this podcast episode, our host, Jason, and Adam Belz (of The Scuffed Soccer Podcast) had a lengthy chat about the US Men’s National Team, what’s to come with the World Cup, and how Belz’s passion for and connection to the game influence his coverage of the team. A lot of our conversation was recalling different moments and games over the past 5-7 years.
Belz shared with us that he and Greg Valasquez founded the Scuffed Soccer Podcast after the Men’s National Team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. The loss was devastating for many of the team’s fans, and rather than focusing on that, they decided to start the podcast so that they could be, “excited about the future instead of instead of wallowing in the sorrow of the present.” From there, the podcast has just grown. Today there are more than 300 episodes for listeners to enjoy.
We asked him if he’d share a bit with us about the focus of their approach on the podcast now. We wondered if it was more analytical, more storytelling, or something else. Belz replied that, really, there were two aspects to their podcast.
First, there are roster episodes; Belz and Valasquez consider the roster and react to it, and also analyze who should be on the next roster. The second main aspect to the podcast are the game recaps where they discuss the most recent games—this tends to be their largest listening audience. Both of these types of episodes are substantive. Valasquez and Belz bring their expertise and analysis to the rosters and recaps episodes.
On Mondays, Belz, along with two other cohosts, does Monday reviews, and those episodes have a looser format. Asked to describe them, Belz said, “We go through the performances over the last week of all the US Men’s National Team, eligible players who are even in the picture for being on a roster... but it’s much more casual. There’s a lot more joking around.”
Regarding the podcast, Belz’s shared that the most rewarding aspect has been the building up of the community—“it’s built from the ground up.” Belz also discussed some podcasts he listens to that offer similar approaches, such as Diaspora United with Courtney Stith and André Carlisle.
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