Wynalda is the MAN Written by: John Mayes There were three people at that now famous interview: Eric Wynalda, Christian Franek, and me. Wynalda was the Man. I know there are several questions people want answered, but before I do, I have a few things I want to say. Before I met Eric Wynalda for the first time that night, I believed the negative things people said about him, like he was arrogant or he was cocky. I also was under the impression that he was so self-centered that he was not a people person. Isn’t it funny how you get these pre-conceived notions about someone who you have only heard about, and then when you actually meet them, those notions are shattered? I quickly realized that Eric Wynalda is not cocky, he is not arrogant, and he is not self-centered; but, he IS a people person, and he is a very cool guy. What I saw in Eric was a guy who is passionate about his favorite sport; he is passionate about everything that is U.S. Soccer, from the U.S. National teams, to the MLS, to the USL, and all the way down to the youth soccer programs. Eric just wants his sport to succeed in the States, and he has thought a lot about how that can be accomplished. It is for these reasons that this interview will go down as one of the best interviews in the annals of American soccer. Eric told it like it was. He told it how he saw it. I can tell you that Eric was every bit as passionate during the interview as it reads (with one exception referenced below). This is a man who has put a lot of thought into how to improve soccer in our country, and he expressed some of those thoughts to us that night in Tampa. Unless you have been under a rock for the past two weeks, you know that this interview has ignited the American soccer community. There is a buzz now that has been missing since WC’02. Thanks Eric! People should laud Eric Wynalda for this interview. He should be applauded for his frankness. The focus for the TRUE soccer fan must be on the 99% of the interview that was the substance of what Eric said. It should not be on the three-second, sarcastic comment about Rome that was never meant to be taken literally. (Let the 80% of people that Eric said “don’t know what ‘it’ is” focus on that. Truthfully, the only good thing to come out of that comment is the national attention the interview got as a result of it.) Rome knows Wynalda, and Rome knew, or should have known, that Wynalda was speaking in jest; it was a tongue in cheek comment that would not be taken literally by anyone, except perhaps by someone with insecurities. Rome, in his usual way, kicked Wynalda when he knew ESPN had Wynalda by the balls. But I beg my fellow soccer fans, do not let this sideshow for the other 80% get in the way of the rest of this epic interview. At this point, I would like to address a couple of things. First, I am truly sorry that ESPN chose to suspend and fine Eric when he stood up to Rome. I wish it never happened. Actually, I’m even sorrier that ESPN doesn’t pay the same “respect” to Rome as they did to Wynalda. We all know Rome deserves it, but this is for another article. Suffice it to say that in this corporate world, ESPN did what other single-minded corporations do…bow to the “almighty dollar.” Regardless, I have to believe that as much as this hurt him, Eric is a team player and cares about his sport so much that he will gladly take a one game suspension and a fine for the advancement of our game…and advancing the game is exactly what his interview did. (Collecting a donation to repay Wynalda’s fine sounds noble, but he would probably be happier if we matched his fine with a donation to his favorite charity. If you’re interested, e-mail me; then we’ll decide what to do.) Next, Eric knew he was being recorded through every part of the interview that was published. The recorder was literally in his face the whole time. He did not once say to strike his comments, to erase any portion of the recording, or to not publish any of the recording. When he told us to turn off the recorder, we did exactly that and the interview was over. We actually had conversations with Eric before and after the interview, and Christian did not publish anything Eric told us when the recorder was off. Eric knows this is true, but I believe his feet are being held to the fire right now by ESPN and he is merely reciting the company line. I decline to comment further on this matter except to say that Christian has the recording to prove it. It is truly unfortunate that there are people in the media that have completely looked past the true substance of this interview, and instead, have focused on a statement that took up only a few seconds of a twenty-five minute interview. If Eric was allowed to talk about it, I bet this would be one of the things that bothers him the most. I truly believe that it is the people who have focused on that one statement, who are the same 80% that “don’t know what ‘it’ is.” Before I get to the people like Andrea Canales who have attacked the interview, who have attacked the credibility of Christian Franek, and who have attacked Christian personally, you should know that I spoke to a friend of mine about all of this. He is a former fulltime, professional sport journalist and current college professor who has had more than 2,000 newspaper and magazine articles, columns and Internet blogs published through major media outlets and now does academic research on the evolving medium of online sport journalism. He has agreed to do a short piece that will be posted soon on this site. The piece will cover the ethics in journalism as they relate to this interview. Andrea Canales is one of the people who attacked Christian, and the sole basis for her criticism was an unnamed source at an unnamed magazine. I don’t know who the source is, but I do know that the magazine she is talking about is a little publication called 90:00 Soccer Magazine. You see, Christian and I decided before the US/Ecuador match that we would e-mail different publications telling them that we were going to the match as fans. We asked each publication if they would sign off on our press credential request form. I tried to get my local newspaper to sign off on my credential request and Christian wrote to 90:00. My local newspaper declined my request, so we were surprised when Ryan ZumMullen, editor of the new “Pulse” section in 90:00, e-mailed Christian back stating that he could put Ryan down as the editor on the credential request. That is where Canales and her “source” have misled the public, and we have all the e-mails to prove it, Adam Spangler. What I did not know coming into this is that you don’t just get press credentials issued by U.S. Soccer for a USMNT match. If you want press credentials, you have to get an editor of a publication to sign off on the request. U.S. Soccer then decides if it will issue credentials. U.S. Soccer issued the press credentials to Christian, but that is not where it ends. U.S. Soccer informed Christian that the credentials were available for him to pick-up at Will Call at Raymond James Stadium, but Christian never picked them up. Isn’t it a bit humorous that Andrea, a freelance writer, was criticizing Christian for the exact thing she has probably (well…hopefully) done on a number of occasions? Christian was issued credentials, Christian got an interview in a manner completely unrelated to the credentials, and Christian offered the interview to 90:00. It is important to know that Christian was not being paid by 90:00 for the trip to Tampa. Honestly, I didn’t think he could reasonably expect remuneration for anything he did, although it would have been a nice bonus for him. 90:00 declined to publish the interview in their next issue. Christian offered the interview to www.FulhamUSA.com only after 90:00 declined to publish the interview in their next issue. We also have all the e-mails to prove this one, Adam. Finally, the interview was not obtained under false pretenses. We were all at MacDinton’s in Tampa for a charity event where several autographed jerseys and other soccer gear were auctioned off to benefit a local family. Eric was there as well, and he actually grabbed the bullhorn at one point to help drive up the bidding. Eric knew that Christian had come down to Tampa as a fan and was lucky enough to get credentials from 90:00. Eric also knew that whatever Christian wrote might not be used by 90:00. I don’t remember if Christian said that if 90:00 rejects the interview that it would be published on www.FulhamUSA.com, but it is certainly a logical deduction that the interview would be published somewhere, if not at 90:00. Christian never “duped” Eric into getting this interview, and this is another “fact” that Andrea, her “source,” and others have not stated correctly. I’ve addressed enough of this nonsense. Let’s get back to what this interview established more than anything else. Wynalda is the best thing that has happened to American soccer since the success of the USMNT in S.Korea/Japan. Wynalda has brought the passion back out in many of the American soccer fans that had become disillusioned about the state and direction of American soccer. Timing? Talk about timing! All this blew-up just days before Opening Day in the 2007 MLS season. What better free advertising could MLS get? I must say, I’d be curious to compare the ratings of Opening Day on ABC (which was Wynalda’s suspension), and last Thursday night’s match (which was Wynalda’s first of the season). I bet Thursday’s ratings were better, even though it did not start until 10:00 p.m. e.d.t. Also, it was great to hear Wynalda back in the booth. No offense Foudy, but I like Wynalda’s commentary much better. Unfortunately, I do not live close to an MLS team or USL team. However, I hereby propose to all those MLS and USL fans supporting your local club that a nice chant in honor of Wynalda may be in order. It would be even better if it was the same chant in every stadium. Here’s what I was thinking (to the tune of “The Farmer and the Dell”): Wynalda is the Man, Wynalda is the Man, He’ll take the axe, To tell the facts, Wynalda is the MAN.   (My good wife helped me with that chant, and I couldn’t have done it without her.) To read the famous "Beers with Wynalda" interview, please go to http://fulhamusa.com/print.php?sid=498 Click on "Services" link for T-Shirt sales. All rights reserved. April 16, 2007.