Year End Navel-Gazing

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

Because in a previous life I was an indie rock boy, and in the current life am a writer of fictions both long and short, I am doubly doomed to participation in that dubious sport of would-be-champions known as navel-gazing. It is with both a touch of horror and a hint of shame, but with the faintest hope of some sort of transcendent relevance, that I present to you, Dear Reader, the Fullback Files Top 5 Tags for 2007 (cough, choke, sputter! sheesh, I think I just puked in my mouth a little.)

So what is this blog about anyway?

1. MLS (136) - Alright, I'll accept that. I do follow a number of leagues worldwide, but none with quite the attention and passion invested in our own little homegrown competition.
   
2. DC United (84) - Well, duh! Vamos United!
3. US National Team (32) - But that's actually a misleading figure since it took me a while to settle on a single tag for the Nats. Thus, you can add USMNT (24 posts, Rank 7) and US Soccer (13 posts, Rank 24) for a total of 69 posts, though some posts were probably labelled with two or three of those tags, and US Soccer will be sticking around for use with the USSF and whatever harebrained schemes they're cooking up lately. Whatever, the Nats come in at a comfortable #3 regardless.
4. Match Recap (29) - The only thing surprising here is that I only have 29 matches with detailed recaps. Strange, I would have thought there were more. Ah well, something to shoot for in 2008 I suppose.
5. Tickle v Tackle (29) - The benefits of being a regular weekly column not tied to a league come shining through. In fact, look for the latest TvT to go up sometime in the next couple of days.

Okay, mister. I've got the what, but what about the who?

1. David Beckham (21) - Aw crud, I knew this post was a mistake. The shame! The horror! The hype! Alright, alright, His Majesty, Lord of the Galaxy was the biggest story to hit MLS, and soccer in the States in general, last year. So sue me for paying attention and being current! Now pardon me while I gargle with hydrochloric acid to get that nasty, spicy taste out of my mouth.
   
2. (Tie) Jaime Moreno (14) & Luciano Emilio (14) - Meet the new boss--he doesn't much resemble the old boss, saving for the goal-scoring and all. The Godfather of Goals may be winding down, but he's still a classy player and representative of the club, while Emilio has just embarked on his goal-bagging career for United. Long may he reign!
3. Landon Donovan (13) - Captain Kissypants had quite the year, from the ridiculous penalty ritual juju of the Gold Cup, to being eclipsed by arguably the biggest name in the game, and finally to a media standoff with the Arch Franchise Destroyer, Alexi Lalas.
   
4. (Tie) Bob Bradley (12) & Freddy Adu (12) - Bob wasn't a particularly popular choice to lead the US program, but he's done a pretty decent job so far, given the limitations. And young Freddy finally made the jump to Europe after a good showing at the U-20 World Cup. In a couple of appearances for the senior side in the later half of the year, the kid once given the kiss of death as the "savior" of American soccer showed that he may finally be coming into his own at the tender age of 18. Bone scan!
   
5. (Honorable Mention) Ben Olsen (11) - We should really stop at Bradley and Adu seeing as how there was a tie up there in the #2 spot, but how can you deny the living, breathing Black-and-Red heart and wily, bearded soul of DC United? I certainly can't.

Jesus, but that's a great subtitle. Check it out: "Fullback Files: The Wily, Bearded Soul of American Soccer Blogging". Dammit, and I just installed that shiny new banner up top and down-sized the subtitle position. Crap, maybe the A-Team schtick in the bio section could make way. Hmm, time to ponder kicking the old fogey with the 2007 sash to the curb and letting that creepy little baby take over the reins.

Welcome to 2008, my friends! March is a long way off, but at least draft day is right around the corner, and you can be sure that the Fullback Files is primed and ready to pontificate on anything or anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across its filthy, scarf-strewn, wine-soaked path. And away we go!