Striker's secrets

September 5, 2015 10:56 AM

Have you ever been cornered and asked, “So, what do you do?” Or maybe, “What’s your major?” Sometimes, it can be tough be explain. Everyone thinks they know what a pro athlete does. But do we really know? We asked MLS All-Star Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes to explain his job without any cliches. What You Don’t Know About: Being a Striker
posted by josher71 (16 comments total)

This was really fascinating. Thank you!
posted by KathrynT at 11:22 AM on September 5, 2015 [3 favorites]

What You Don’t Know About: Being a Striker

Literally everything! So this is interesting, and I could probably use similar articles for other positions.
posted by asperity at 11:23 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

What You Don’t Know About: Being a Striker

He never got over that drinking problem.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:27 AM on September 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

> This was really fascinating. Thank you!

Exactly what I came here to say!
posted by languagehat at 11:43 AM on September 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

That right there is a hint at why I never made the Varsity team in high school.
posted by Grandysaur at 11:44 AM on September 5, 2015

One thing most world class one-touch strikers have is that uncanny ability to get in the right place and in the right time. They don't even need to be very tall - Radamel Falcao is just 5'10 and scored a number of incredible headers because he managed to squeeze that crucial half-meter between him and a defender just in time to get on the ball. After his knee injury, he looks way slower trying to find those gaps, and of course, production decreased.

In high school and college, I would think, Just don’t mess up out there. Don’t embarrass yourself. I eventually learned there is no room for this type of thinking.
Also in this chapter: Why Is England So Terrible in International Shootouts No Really Are They Doing It On Purpose
posted by lmfsilva at 11:50 AM on September 5, 2015 [3 favorites]

Do one for TV producer and let me use it for free please!
posted by Navelgazer at 12:45 PM on September 5, 2015

This is great, thanks for posting! Man, it is abundantly clear that even though I played soccer growing up, and still play in a weekend rec league, the pros are playing a very different game than I am.
posted by Bunny Boneyology at 1:12 PM on September 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Stop saying sports are chess.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:20 PM on September 5, 2015

The Jack Nicklaus anecdote was particularly telling in regards to great professional players and the rest of us. "I've never three-putted......"
posted by kuanes at 2:36 PM on September 5, 2015

Wolfdog has a point. Most sports are actually chessboxing.
posted by cardioid at 2:40 PM on September 5, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wondolowski's talking about manipulating his opponents into taking weak defensive positions on the field to allow for a stronger attack. The analogy focuses on a particular detail that his job and chess have in common and once the point is made, he drops it.

So it's totally valid. He's not making the usual sweeping statement that since his sport requires strategy and chess requires strategy, they're very similar.
posted by ardgedee at 5:05 PM on September 5, 2015

I normally scoff at "What you don't know about..." headlines but I didn't know (a) what a striker was or (b) what MLS stood for or (c) whether this was about a real sport or some kind of Quidditch thing.

So I guess I learned something!
posted by mmoncur at 8:08 PM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

The best goals in the history of football (low res)

moar goals (warning cheezy music)
posted by lalochezia at 1:35 AM on September 6, 2015

"Football is like chess, but without the dice."
--Lucas Podolski
posted by librosegretti at 5:27 AM on September 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

This is quite extraordinary. Thanks for sharing.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:20 AM on September 6, 2015 [1 favorite]