Biden & Beasley Walk into a Bar

It’s one of the most random encounters in soccer history. This week, we uncover the strange reason Joe Biden owes USMNT legend DaMarcus Beasley a drink. It felt fitting after this weekend’s news. Plus, we revisit the first-ever MLS All-Star Match, unveil our upcoming Give&Go game night, and much more.

This week’s stories:

• ⭐ The First All-Star Game

• 🃏 Game Night

• 🍻 Biden & Beasley Walk into a Bar

• 🏜️ The Loyal Legacy Book

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

OUR HISTORY
The First All-Star Game

It was peak American soccer. Jorge Campos as goalkeeper/forward, a thrilling doubleheader in a packed football stadium, and ‘90s icons at the height of their powers.

In that inaugural All-Star Game, the Eastern Conference team snatched the win at the death, and Carlos Valderrama grabbed MVP honors. To make things even better, fans were then treated to a game between Brazil and FIFA Rest of the World All-Stars. This latter fixture featured Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura, who’s still playing pro today at 57, and Roberto Carlos, who scored just his second goal ever for Brazil that day. Unreal.

If you think this was the first All-Star game in American soccer history, though, you’d be mistaken. That tradition is actually well over a hundred years old, and may even pre-date the classic baseball All-Star games from the early 20th century. But that’s a deeper dive for another week 👀.

Keep all of this in mind when you tune into the MLS All-Star Game tomorrow.

ENTERTAINMENT
Game Night

By now, you’ve hopefully had the chance to try our soccer card drinking game. Things have moved fast since reaching our Kickstarter goal a couple of months back, and now we’re ready to host our first Give&Go Game Night.

Come join us this Friday at the Football Boutique in Los Angeles for a night of pizza, limited-run merch, drinks — and of course — playing Give&Go.

RSVP for free right here.

COVER STORY
Biden & Beasley Walk into a Bar

It was May 2010, and the USMNT was visiting the White House ahead of the World Cup in South Africa. The team snapped some quick photos with Obama, Clinton, and Biden, and then they promptly headed for their bus to leave. It was all routine until there. Clinton and Obama had already made their exit, but Biden was still hanging around.

Before they knew it, he was leading the whole squad through an impromptu tour of the West Wing. They cycled through the Oval Office, the Roosevelt Room, and the VP's office before he decided to give them a parting gift.

Biden pulled out a gold-and-blue vice presidential challenge coin for each member of the delegation and told them of a special tradition he’d have to uphold in the future.

“He told the story about what the coin means,” mentioned Beasley a few years later. The tradition, which started at military bars, stated that “if you put the coin in front of a higher rank, they have to buy you a drink.”

Beasley didn’t think much of it, of course, since he never thought he’d be in a position to act on it. Still, he kept the coin for good luck and stuffed it in his bag.

The coin sat among his toiletries for four years, and it followed Beasley all the way to Brazil in 2014, where he became the first and only US man to play in four different World Cups.

After a sensational victory against Ghana in the opening game, Biden happened to enter the USMNT locker room.

Shocked, Beasley frantically dug through his bag and pulled out the coin. Biden seemed overjoyed.

They shared a quick word, and before leaving, he said, “Hey man, any time you want to collect, I owe you!”

These days, Beasley is still not sure how he’s gonna collect that drink he’s owed. With Biden no longer seeking reelection this year, maybe they can figure something out in their schedules.

After the bombshell news on Sunday, it’s probably as good a time as any to look at Biden’s long history with soccer.

GIFT
The Loyal Legacy Book

A free gift for all those who stayed loyal over the years. San Diego Loyal Chairman, Andrew Vassiliadis, had a special announcement to make last night, and it was a wholesome one. On a local San Diego pod no less.

Over the past few months, Andrew has worked with GLORY to create something that will immortalize the club forever. Expanding on the mag that they collaborated on recently, Andrew and GLORY will be releasing a gorgeous, 350-page, hard-bound book filled with incredible photography, stats, and editorials chronicling the club’s life. Above all, it’s a way to thank the fans for everything they did for the club during its existence.

There will be 619 copies available, and Andrew will be giving 300 of those away in person on Friday at Stone Brewing - Libert Station in San Diego. If you’re not in the area, don’t worry, you can still get the book for free. 

You’ll only have to pay $10 for shipping, and Andrew will match those funds and donate them to a charity in the San Diego community.

It’s a brilliant initiative that reflects everything that’s good about our soccer in North America. Keep an eye on the SD Loyal socials for more details and for an official announcement coming soon. You can check out a sneak peek of the book here. 

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Let us know why you think so — we’ll highlight your best answers next week.

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Olympics: Here we go. The first real test for this young USWNT. Make sure to check out these watch parties in DC if you’re around. The first one is on Thursday.

Futbol W: A few weeks ago, Sebi Salazar wore a CLUBELEVEN kit live on ESPN, and I started tuning in quite religiously during Copa as a result. Now, Sebi and Ali Krieger just announced they will be launching a brand new show focused on women’s soccer. The show debuts tonight at 9:30 pm ET.

A New Addition: The Minnesota Super Cup is making moves. They just announced a women’s bracket for 2025.

Acquisitions: Time to update those subscriptions. The EFL Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao Cup, and Bristol Streets Motors Trophy matches are all headed to Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.

Trivia Champs: Fresh off lifting the Icarus Cup, a few of us headed to New York last Thursday and won soccer trivia night at the DIRECTV Champions Lounge. Shout out to Kyros and Colleen for an incredible performance and for adding more silverware to our cabinet. We also got a brand new Barça jersey as a prize. Very neat.

FREE SPEECH
Leagues Cup Censorship

It’s not a good look. Mexican journalist Luis Castillo reported yesterday that participating players or teams who criticize the tournament will be fined $25,000. Crazy.

The Leagues Cup came under heavy scrutiny last summer, and it received even more hate from fans across the country after a majority of MLS teams decided to drop out of the historic US Open Cup citing “schedule congestion.”

Yesterday, a few MLS supporters’ groups reaffirmed their vow to boycott the tournament. We’ll see how everything unfolds.

WORLD AFFAIRS
NWSL vs Liga MX Femenil

This could blossom into a beautiful tradition. Pitting two of North America’s top women’s soccer leagues is a brilliant idea, and it will only help grow the game in both countries if done right.

The inaugural Summer Cup kicked off this weekend, and it was almost a sweep for all the NWSL teams. The only Mexican team that managed to earn points was Tigres.

The group stage will run through the end of this month, so there will be plenty of matches to catch over the next seven days. My money is on Orlando winning it all.

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you who you thought was most responsible for the Copa America Final fiasco. Here are some of your answers:

• “Hard Rock Stadium. The whole sh** was insane.” - RC

• “The fans who didn’t have tickets and felt they had the right to storm the gates and trash the stadium. Ridiculous!” - KB

In the poll, “CONMEBOL” won with 56% of the vote. Up next was “Hard Rock Stadium” with 21% of the vote. There is plenty of blame to go around. Hopefully, we don’t underestimate these types of matches come World Cup time.

UP NEXT
Summer Friendlies

Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back in! European teams will be kicking off their USA summer tours this week, and we couldn’t be more excited. Some of the biggest stars of the game landing on our shores once more.

As always, we’ll be working to bring you closer to the action from around the country. You can follow our coverage here.

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Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo