| The White House might wake up to Mike Allen of Politico, but the soccer world in the United States, at least those in the know, go to du Nord for a zeroed in view of what’s going on in the game.
From the MLS to Europe, Mr. McGuire crunches it all down, and always finds that well reasoned article you never would have found on your own. What stands out though about du Nord is you can tell he cares about the soccer players who play the game well and with heart. Those are the soccer players he wants to succeed. 1) What’s your nickname or what do your friends call you? I am known as Bruce by most everyone, not even a last name really, although I like mine, McGuire, quite a bit. Some of my crew call me Brucio, which I enjoy. 2) What’s your regular 9 to 5 job? Every now and again we see you at a sort of cubicle listing to Danzig or the like. I am an executive administrator in a small department at the University of Minnesota. I like to shoot video and photos in that space because of the natural light. And I do most of those clips during a lunch break or after hours. 3) Did you play soccer growing up? If so, what position? I did play, but we didn’t have the set up that kids do now. It was small time. While most people start at forward and move back during their career, I went the opposite, beginning at centerback, then midfield, and last target striker. In my mind I am Valderama. 4) Who is your favorite player in the world of soccer? Ronaldo, hands down. And not that pretty boy from Portugal either. 5) What player do you hate? My least favorite guy happens to be on my favorite European team – Marco Materazzi of Inter Milan. He is a diving, flopping, whining, cheap shot. On the other hand, I bet he and I would have a great time hanging out if we ever met. As a matter of fact, I will go on the record as saying I would very much like to meet Marco. 6) You’re an avid follower of the D2 team in Minnesota, The Stars, is that league more exciting than the MLS? Better fans? Nah. You can’t compare the quality and money involved. It’s a lot of fun having a home team to support though. I feel that if you don’t support your local team, then you aren’t a true fan of the sport. It bugs me when I go to national team games, and people don’t support their local squad. I usually start lecturing at that point, and no one wants to hear that. But please, everyone, support your local team. Around here, we have the cleverest fans I have ever encountered in soccer. Amazingly smart people who can sing songs they made up on the spot with really funny & original lyrics. Plus we have adopted a no cursing policy that makes it all feel a lot less vulgar, resulting it everyone being waaaaaaay more creative. That’s not to say we’re not mean when we have to be. Three examples: (to the tune of Frere Jacques) -Or- (To the tune of the Adams Family) -And- Recently St Louis came to town, and someone made a big beautiful banner that read “AARP salutes Steve Ralston”, even using the real AARP logo. Brilliant! 7) How long does it take you to create a Dunord post? Do you plan ahead or is it all in one fell swoop? I spend 3-4 hours a day on it, total. But I don’t just create one post at a time, it’s a constant rolling thing. Stuff for the next one or two entries are already prepared when the latest one is posted. It’s a never ending ride. 8) What were your goals going into starting the blog? I have never really been goal orientated. I just started doing it, word spread, and people like it. End of story. 9) How long have you had a beard? Do you keep things in it? It started in the late 80’s and it just gets bigger with each decade. And yes I always keep food in there. I have a couple of old friends around the country with some truly extraordinary beards that make me jealous. 10) Who is your favorite musical artist and what’s your favorite album? We could talk about this one for hours and hours. Picking one is nearly impossible, but I will tell you the record that changed my life from being a normal small town kid into someone dying to find out what might be out in the bigger world, and that was “Horses” by Patti Smith. Wow! What a terrifying and exhilarating sound to a kid who had been listening to Van Halen & Boston only moments before. The lyrics alone scared and titillated me like nothing in my life ever had before. And when I saw a picture of Patti and her band I was stunned that they looked just like me and my friends – t-shirts, jeans, long hair – no rock star look at all. But then, that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface on my love of music. 11) Will the United States beat England? My only hope is that we don’t get embarrassed at the World Cup again. I don’t know if I can take another ’98 and ’06. Those are painful memories. Seriously. 12) Do you have World Cup fever? Beyond. It’s like World Cup Swine Flu. An all consuming obsession. 13) You’re a genius at pulling the best soccer articles together, what do you look for? The best writers are what I want to read personally. And then the people with the best and freshest information come next. And finally, I love it when they tie culture to the soccer, giving us that local flavor that you can only get by being there – food, politics, landscape, language, etc etc. Love it. 14) What will soccer in the United States look like in ten years? Based on the past 30 years, I don’t have the vaguest idea what lies ahead, but its going to be different, which should make it really interesting to be a soccer fan in America. 15) What is your favorite movie and TV show? My favorite movie is Lawrence of Arabia, followed by Spinal Tap, followed by Le Samourai. And my current favorite TV show is The Hills, my all time favorite show is Beverly Hillbillies. |