Topic: 2009 USA World Cup Team Announcement

[insidefoos]

After a voting process that took several weeks to complete, we can now inroduce the 2009 United States World Cup teams that will compete at the ITSF World Cup of Table Soccer in Nantes, France this January 8-11.

Team USA is looking to redeem itself after finishing a dissapointing 5th at the 2006 event in Hamburg, Germany and will look to some of the biggest names in the sport to try and bring the World Cup title back to the USA. Tornado World Champions Tony Spredeman, Dave Gummeson, Tracy McMillin and Cindy Head lead a strong American contingency into battle, with this year's event featuring both men's and women's teams.

Team captains will be voted on this week by the individual team members and will be announced on the foosball.com forum later this week.


2009 UNITED STATES WORLD CUP TEAMS:


HEAD COACH: Bruce Nardoci
ASSISTANT COACH: Pat Ryan

MEN'S WORLD CUP TEAM
Tony Spredeman
Tom Yore
Ryan Moore
Dave Gummeson
Tracy McMillin
Bob Diaz
Rob Mares
Adrian Zamora

Subs:
Blake Robertson
John Zoller

WOMEN'S WORLD CUP TEAM
Cindy Head
Stayce Fowler
Tiffany Moore
Dusty Bambenek
Shelly Langley
Lotus Chesborough

Subs:
Kathy Brainard
Melissa Kegg

[foozkillah]

Interesting,

Where are the youth members?  There also seems to be a missing American there, the one with the sole Euro dubs title?  Perhaps he played too much Warrior foos and disqualified himself?  Or perhaps he just couldn't go?  Or he's playing for Greece?  Is there a list of US ITSF members who voted young William off the US team?

Or will there be a separately named World Championships team at the same venue, where it was supposed to be held concurrently after the cancellation of South Africa?

Perhaps with the price of gas being the only bright spot in this new economic world, the team could drive over to Nantes, instead of fly.

[gitablok]

Instead of speculating, why not just ask Billy himself.

[Bless em]

Does Blake not count as a youth member?

[foozkillah]

Good idea GitaB.  But I have to wait for Phil's FBBoard.Net site to to come back on in full, so I could post the question to Ms PaPz.  I don't recall him on this site or on Foosworld.com, but I'd have to check. It's probably for a very mundane reason like scheduling or finances or something, and I'm sure he could fill us all in on his side, but I'd still like to know what the US ITSF explanation was.  Maybe Billy had a rash or something?  You never know when that horrible shaving accident gits ya 

[foozkillah]

Gita,
In addition, I'd also like to hear bout the USA youth team, or the disposition of the World Cup vs World Championships bandied about for months before they were combined to become the Nantes Cup.  Especially since it was Billy who asked last month on FBB if anyone knew anything on the upcoming Worlds in Nantes. After "several weeks" of ITSF meetings, I believe quite a few from this side of the pond would be interested in the parameters & criteria for a US National Team to represent Valley-Brunswick, & the rather slight question of why one of the most experienced Americans in international competition was left out.  If InsideFoos is kind enough clarify valid questions on this national announcement from a reliable national source within the thread, then that should be fair enough.

[gitablok]

I would have to check with Jim to be sure but it is my understanding that Blake is  the only junior who is available to go. We are talking about a trip that is on the other side of world and it takes a little bit to make a trip like that.

As far as Billy being left off the team, he was not, I know this for a fact. As a matter of fact, Billy received the most votes to be on the team. This is why I say you need to ask Billy. It's my guess because of discussions I have had with him is that he is just sick and tired of the ITSF  and its dealings and what has been happening in the world of foos lately and just didn't want to go. Just my opinion. After Rico, Billy is definitely the best on all of the tables and this is why he received the most votes to be on the team, but it seems he just didn't want to go.

[foozkillah]

I would have to check with Jim to be sure but it is my understanding that Blake is  the only junior who is available to go. We are talking about a trip that is on the other side of world and it takes a little bit to make a trip like that.  As far as Billy being left off the team, he was not, I know this for a fact. As a matter of fact, Billy received the most votes to be on the team. This is why I say you need to ask Billy. It's my guess because of discussions I have had with him is that he is just sick and tired of the ITSF  and its dealings and what has been happening in the world of foos lately and just didn't want to go. Just my opinion. After Rico, Billy is definitely the best on all of the tables and this is why he received the most votes to be on the team, but it seems he just didn't want to go.

I hear ya.  I also now understand that Todd's not going either, despite his enviable situation of years playing with Rico.  Too bad ...  Billy and he could've probably been the one real US team that can be put up with any national doubles team, on ANY table.  Not that they wouldn't have been great with the others, or that the others might not be able to put up some threat, but nothing could really have equalled their combined experience as a viable world-challenging team.

There is something terrible going on, whatever it may be, perhaps the ITSF-USA, economics, timing, flight seating, or whatnot, when the two most experienced and proven international foosers in the nation just decide not to go?  Billy would be right about the terrible state of US or world foos.

And after all the hatemail and flames back and forth between then-sponsoring Michael Smith and the supporters of the other youth players, none of them are available?  I can understand but only commiserate if their parents suddenly cannot foot expenses or the time to chaperone their children, because of the world recession.  I guess this will be a sad holiday season and 2009 for foosers, along with the rest of the world.

[PatRyan]

I would have to check with Jim to be sure but it is my understanding that Blake is  the only junior who is available to go. We are talking about a trip that is on the other side of world and it takes a little bit to make a trip like that.

There are other Juniors who qualified to go to France and represent the US in the World Championship Junior events.  All of the names of the Qualifiers are posted in the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Thread.  But, here are the Juniors that have qualified to represent the US.

Junior Doubles US National Champions
Blake Robertson and Midori Kimura

Junior Doubles Wild Card qualifiers (by winning the Junior Doubles at the Tornado Worlds)
Keoni Park and Valery Vasquez

Junior Singles US National Champion
Blake Robertson

Winner of Junior Singles at the Tornado Worlds (Automatic Qualifier through the ITSF)
Keoni Park

Junior Singles Wildcard qualifier (by coming in second at the Tornado Worlds)
Austin Smith

That is a good group of Junior players who should represent the US well. 

Pat Ryan

[thebodygroove]

I would have to check with Jim to be sure but it is my understanding that Blake is  the only junior who is available to go. We are talking about a trip that is on the other side of world and it takes a little bit to make a trip like that.

As far as Billy being left off the team, he was not, I know this for a fact. As a matter of fact, Billy received the most votes to be on the team. This is why I say you need to ask Billy. It's my guess because of discussions I have had with him is that he is just sick and tired of the ITSF  and its dealings and what has been happening in the world of foos lately and just didn't want to go. Just my opinion. After Rico, Billy is definitely the best on all of the tables and this is why he received the most votes to be on the team, but it seems he just didn't want to go.

Sad. Very sad.

[gitablok]

Thanks Pat, I was gonna post a similar reply remembering that it was two tourneys and reference to your other post but I kept getting a server error message this morning.

The other comment I had was that IMO that Billy was right about US foos of which I had been stating for two years which is what basically got me kicked of the other board. But the USTSF is starting to turn US foos around.

Billy and I disagree on world foos however. He may just see these two tourneys as "just" tourneys but they are part of a global explosion in foos across the pond. 20 to 30 countries show up and are recognized as such to compete in matches in which a few years ago didn't even exist. Some of the leagues overseas rival small cities with numbers almost up to 10,000 players. They are experiencing the boom that the US had in the 70's.

I only wish more people could travel to see what is happening over there, it's incredible.

There the player, sponsers , and the manufacturer all come together.

And that's I disagree with Billy on world foos.

[foozkillah]

.... The other comment I had was that IMO that Billy was right about US foos of which I had been stating for two years which is what basically got me kicked of the other board. But the USTSF is starting to turn US foos around.
Billy and I disagree on world foos however. He may just see these two tourneys as "just" tourneys but they are part of a global explosion in foos across the pond. 20 to 30 countries show up and are recognized as such to compete in matches in which a few years ago didn't even exist. Some of the leagues overseas rival small cities with numbers almost up to 10,000 players. They are experiencing the boom that the US had in the 70's.
I only wish more people could travel to see what is happening over there, it's incredible.
There the player, sponsers , and the manufacturer all come together.
And that's I disagree with Billy on world foos. 

If that is true, and with recession affecting the rest of the world even more so, doubly and triply, then that boom is headed for an even harder and more painful bust.  They're just as human, and I refuse to believe they will avoid the scandals, the tax-evasion investigations, the embezzlements, and outright skulduggery that stopped the foosball boom here, stateside, at the end of the 70's.

Manufacturers there will probably consolidate as they did here, leaving one or two dominant manufacturers as the demand for luxury and leisure products (ie foosball, billiards, going to bars, eating out, even a drive in the country) peters out for the next two years or more.  Former Iron Curtain Europe, and Asia may not be that far ahead yet with getting used to a Western standard of living and leisure, and their growth will probably save them.  Europe's and South America's foos booms, however, will probably burn.  Their countries will and already are beginning to cut back savagely on luxury and leisure.  Just check BBC, DIT, and Latin TV.

Should be interesting to see who comes out of those markets as the dominant force for the next 20 years.  We know what happened here.  TS to Tornado-Dynamo to Valley to Brunswick.

Unless of course one believes that foosball and other luxury/leisure goods will dominate and overturn this world crisis, in and of itself.  Then obviously another part of the luxury/leisure goods market, the use of banned/controlled/illicit mind altering hallucinogenic substances is the real dominant market that never wavered.

[gitablok]

Sorry foozk, but you just don't get it. Maybe I shouldn't have used the word boom.

When I say boom overseas it's due to now the countries have really become separate entities and are now coming together in one place to compete as such. Their boom is their willing to show and represent their respective countries in competition. They have always had players which is what we don't have. They have promotion, we don't.

You say luxury and leisure good...I say typical American attitude. It is a different culture there. Over there it is a way of life. They play for the sport of the game because to them it is a sport. While in Saint Vincent Italy at the Multi table World Championships, there were tables that sat out on the street in the weather for people to play on. You would never see that here anywhere. It's not some silly bar game to them. Their lust for the game is not tied to the hip with the economy like it is here.

Belgium is one of those countries that have almost 10,000 players of which maybe only 20 or so play internationally. Do you see my point now. Foos is a way of life for them, it's a luxury for us. There are also table manufacturers that exist that could care less about the ITSF because they enjoy such numbers of play on their table and will continue to do so regardless of the economy because the table is indigenous to the people in that region.

There was also no real consolidation here with table manufacturers. When one table fell out of favor, the next one just took its place. The only thing close was when Valley, who owned Tornado at the time, acquired Dynamo but the Dynamo table was long out of favor before this happened. Now if Warrior decides to acquire Tornado or if Brunswick decides to acquire Warrior, that will be a real consolidation of manufacturers. Because of the reasons in the above paragraph, doubtful you will see that happen in Europe.

I grew up as an athlete playing everything I could. Being a tennis player was a luxury because I needed a racket, proper attire, balls, a tennis court, and the transportation to get to the court. On the other hand, to play basketball all we needed was a ball, any kind of ball, a piece of plywood for a backboard, sometimes not even that, and a bicycle rim, and tree or light pole and it was on 24/7.

Here, foosball is me playing tennis. Over there foosball is me playing basketball. There will always be a ton of foos in Europe, it's just the culture of things.

[foozkillah]

Gita,

I spent my junior high and a couple of years over there, in merry ole for my afs and later with a ton of friends from merry ole in the low countries and Germany, Switzerland and the Scandinavias.  And I've kept in touch with them, and many of them are foosers.

I completely agree with you about the fact that they have good promotion over there, which is their biggest advantage, and I don't disagree with you at all in the fact that there are many highly dedicated players over there, but I disagree with you in the state of their makers AND their promotions.  Their major manufacturers are one by one (Lehmacher and John L's Jupiters are good examples) turning to China and the Pacific Rim as costs go up, and they are just as prone to consolidation as any other corporations.  Just as manufacturers here will do if they haven't done so, already.  If not, they will die.  And PTY's, PLC's, and LLC's over there are just as rabid, especially with the ECC standardization, to buy each other up and US corps, as those here.

Loyalty, despite the price? Lehmacher's made the P4P for years, but didn't blink and started importing their new table, the TecBall, made in China just like the Legend/Medalist and Fireball and others.  And yes, there is now a curious competition for dominance between the Lehmacher ITSF-certified P4P's and Lehmacher's own new TecBall, which has already made inroads and have already had their first "world" championships that our own promoter, Mark Winker, attended this summer.  Of course the quality and brand-recognition on the side of locally-made French, German, and Belgian, etc. tables, are an advantage, but they are slowly but surely getting beaten down by Asian inroads.  Euro-made tables and their makers' fortunes are just as fragile as any over here.

You speak as if the world recession can shut down million dollar LPGA tournaments, cut international AND land travel by 20-30%, shrink just about all economies around the world,  make people severely austere and concentrate spending on necessities, but won't affect international foosball over in Europe?  Who's not getting it?  OK, don't call it luxury-leisure, call it breathing if you wish, but they will burn and simmer down, just like we are, just like the rest of the world.  Unless you believe MORE and MORE Europeans will be plunking down the equivalent of $800 to $1500 for tables than over here, because they're not losing their *sses like the rest of the world are ?

[gitablok]

First of all you're overcomplicating things. Foosers don't care where a table is made as long as it plays well. All of the tables you mentioned play well. I know because I have played them all, this year as a matter of fact.

And sorry, the manufacturers are not as fragile there as they are here. Here there is only one real tournament table which is trying the get back the loyalty it once enjoyed. Another is standing only right now on three legs because its tour right now is based on a home model table which has yet to prove itself. A coin is said to be slated for the future but until then.... .

You missed my point. The Bonzini has players that play nothing else. Their worlds had 600 plus in attendance , in Italy, the Roberto sport has players that play nothing else, Denmark and the Netherlands play on their own table, in Belgium, they have players that play only on the Jupiter. They play regardless of the economy, they are not there to buy tables, they are there to play. For the reasons stated above, no manufacturer is about to fold or consolidate, they are growing as evident with the Tecball and P4p.

They also don't have to travel thousands of miles, the countries are on top of each other. It was amazing to watch several players at the Garlando worlds camping outside of the arena for a week instead of paying for hotel rooms.

Oh yeah, by the way, the p4p is not an ITSF sanctioned table, the Tecball is.

Like I said, you missed my point. My point was even if the ITSF folded tomorrow, foos would still be strong in Europe, it's ingrained in their culture. Hell in Denmark they have a foos club that stays open 24/7. That's right, it does not close. Anything like that here, HELL NO. And never will be.

And tell Winker I'll see him in Nantes.