British artist Damien Hirst teams up with Supreme to collaborate on a skate deck. The deck utilizes his iconic graphic Spot paintings that depict rows of randomly-colored circles. The collaboration will see a series of five different decks being released alongside a Box Logo t-shirt that’s also been designed by Hirst.

Officially available in-store on November 19th and online on the 23rd. Japan can expect to see this in-store on the 21st.

I’ve been eyeing bikes for a minute now, but it wasn’t until this past Summer that I finally jumped in and copped one. Two things I knew in all the years of searching for a bike: 1. I wanted a 24 – 26″ bike and 2. I wanted a BMX style. I ended up copping a We The People (WTP) 24″ Avenue Cruiser that’s so sick, the shit is a head turner. I’ve been periodically checking the WTP site to see what updates they had for 2010 and well I found that they released their catalogue for complete builds. Every model went under heavy cosmetic change in terms of color combinations and such. The Jusitce, Versus, Trust and Zodiac look the sickest in my books, these aren’t all the color combos as you’ll see if you download the catalog, these are the primary and then there’s a secondary, with the exception of the Avenue 24″, which I have to admit this years model doesn’t look as nice as last years. Download the catalog here.

Kiks Tyo collaborating with Fly, China’s premier skate shop, to help celebrate their 10th Anniversary with this limited Yuko Ishida skate deck.

The bottom of the deck features Yuko wearing a pair of China exclusive Fly Milk Blazer SB’s and both Fly & Kiks Tyo logo hits. The top features a vivid spilled milk motif with the famously illustrated “missing person” style milk box depicting Fly’s founder Jeff Han.

The deck is available now for pre-order over at Kiks Tyo for $102 USD.

Kiks Tyo

Nelson Mandela celebrates South Africa’s winning bid to host in 2010

With only 230 days left until the World Cup finals begin in South Africa, the qualification round is coming to a close as the fate of Nations is being determined.

In order to win an invitation to compete in the finals tournament, countries are separated by geographic location to vie in round-robin format to attempt to gain the highest number of points within their set groups.

South Africa, which is the host country for the Cup games, wins an automatic bid.

“Babes of World Cup” Photo Galleries are always popular.

Other Qualifying groups are as follows:

Africa: 53 nations compete to submit 5 teams other than South Africa.
- Ivory Coast
- Ghana
-Qualifying matches still remain, but Cameroon, Tunisia, and Algeria are looking like winners.

Asia: 43 nations compete to submit up to 5 teams. 4 are guaranteed; 1 will face the Oceanic winner for the 5th possible spot
-Australia
-North Korea
-South Korea
-Japan
-Bahrain will face New Zealand for the fifth spot

Europe: 53 Nations compete to submit 13 teams
-Denmark
-Germany
-Netherlands
-Slovakia
-Switzerland
-England
-Spain
-Italy
-Serbia
-The last 4 spots will be determined by playoff matches Ireland V France, Portugal V Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece-Ukraine, Russia-Slovenia

North America, Central America, and the Caribbean: 35 nations compete to submit up to 4 teams. 3 are guaranteed; 1 will face the South American playoff winner for the 4th possible spot
-United States
-Mexico
-Honduras
-Costa Rica will face Uruguay for the fourth spot

Oceania: 10 nations compete to submit up to 1 team.
-New Zealand will face Bahrain for the spot

South America: 10 nations compete to submit up to 5 teams.  4 are guaranteed; 1 will face the CONCACAF playoffs winner for the 5th possible spot.
-Brazil
-Argentina
-Chile
-Paraguay
-Uruguay will face Costa Rica for the 5th spot.

Play begins June 11th with the Final being held July 11th in Johannesburg.

South Africa has been preparing their grounds for the influx of millions of football fanatics.

Head to FIFA for all the information you need to get hooked in.  All national shirts should go on sale around late April/early May for those who want to wear their support.

If Ireland qualify by defeating France, I’m going to have some decisions to make.  Ireland, England, and the USA…with England standing the best chance.

And to take home the Cup?  I think we’re in for some amazing football and serious competition but Spain are my prediction to steal the cup from defending champions Italy.

Hot slice of man Fabio Cannavaro lifts the cup for Italy in 2006

Who is excited?  Get in the mood by remembering some of these great goals from 2006 with a little help from the Arcade Fire:

Football scarves have been popular among fans of the sport since first appearing in the stadiums of England in the early 1900s.  The trend spread quickly throughout the world and holding scarves up in support of their chosen club is now a tradition with many fans.

The faithful show their pride for the Mighty Glasgow Celtic in Parkhead

Fans of Aussie Rules Football also adopted scarves as part of their standard gear;  and between the impassioned reputations of supporters from both sports, the footie scarf has come to represent a little bit of toughness and attitude.

So Official now offers a non-partisan way to cop the look.  You can capture the aura of the footie scarf without having to worry about unexpectedly getting into it with a fan from an opposing club or having to deal with people like myself who expect you to be a die-hard if you’re wearing a scarf around town.

The scarves retail at $27.50 and come in a variety of colors.

So get a scarf from Official to keep you warm this winter- but maybe think of picking up something representing your country before World Cup next Summer.  The US Men qualified earlier this week.  Sorry, Canadian readers, we won’t be seeing you in South Africa for 2010;  but hey- ice hockey scarves could be the next big thing.

This past Summer, my love for the BMX was re-ignited when I copped my We The People 24″ BMX Cruiser, the bike is absolutely smooth. Here’s an extremely rare collaboration between Swedish design company Sson and boutique sneaker brand Jim Rickey, together they’ve released a sick bike simply called 016. The bike takes on a minimal approach, white with black grips, brakes, wheels and seat with key highlights (gold stem and sprocket). With only 10 of these bikes made worldwide, if you want one, you best to roll to the nearest Jim Rickey retailer to cop one.

Source: Freshness

The Selby just recently wrapped a shoot campaign with Nike 6.0 and they’ve posted a bunch of the images on their website, essentially a sample of his favorites. In a quick message he writes that he “traveled to Tahiti, Georgia, Florida, NJ and Brooklyn to shoot some of Nike 6.0’s top athletes in their environments.” The results as you can see are pretty dope. Check out a few of the pictures below, but to see the rest of his favorites head on over to www.theselby.com.

I noticed a lot of our NSFW material leaves little for the readers who appreciate the mens.  Usually I find a man posing nude more comical than beautiful but there is a collection of photos which I think mixes art and eroticism to create something very interesting: the Annual Dieux du Stade calendar.

“Dieux du Stade” translates to “Gods of the Stadium” and is a mix of nude and semi-nude black-and-white photos of the Stade Français, a Parisian rugby squad.
However, in the past few years, these calendars which see proceeds go to various charities have seen players from a few other rugby clubs featured.

All 2010 work comes from photographer Tony Duran and the cover features Englishman James Haskell. And for US $41, you can pre-order your collection of 47 photos.

As 2010 photos seem to be on lockdown, here are some from previous years which will give you an idea of what will be included.

For those wanting full monty view, google “Sean Lamont Dieux du Stade.” Good Lord.

Two snaps, a twist, and a kiss.  Enjoy.

The Standard continues to impress by aligning themselves with great partners and coming out with some dope shit. The latest is a collaboration project with bike manufacturer PK Ripper to produce a beautiful looking fixed gear bike. For those that don’t know what a fixed gear bike, basically you can’t coast on these as the pedals are always in motion when the bike in moving. While I’ve seen a ton of people ride these joints brakeless, this one in particular comes with brakes. The bike has some great details on it, the matte black paint, small gold logo on seat tube and an anodized gold front rim. Overall a beautiful looking bike that will run you $1,250. Available now in The Standards’ online shop.

1.  Darren Bent’s Twitter Rage

The Background on this one:  Tottenham striker Darren Bent wanted a transfer to Sunderland.  And just when it looked like things were all set for his move, things came to a halt and in the meantime, bids from other clubs like Hull City started coming in.  Well, D-Bent grew slightly impatient and let off steam through his Twitter account:

“Seriously getting p***** off now,” followed by “Why can’t anything be simple. It’s so frustrating hanging round doing jack s***.”
A few hours later, Bent decided he had more to say.
“Sunderland are not the problem in the slightest.”
“Do I wanna go Hull City NO. Do I wanna go stoke NO do I wanna go sunderland YES so stop f****** around levy.”

His last message was directed at Tottenham Chairman, Daniel Levy.  So basically this would be the equivalent of having a good interview from a new company, but not an offer yet, and in the meantime telling your current boss to stop f****** around.
Benty’s rage cost him £100,000 and his twitter account, which mysteriously went offline after the scandal broke.  But just this morning, Darren’s been seen at Sunderland, proud owner of a brand new red and white shirt so I guess his little strop paid off.

2. Speaking of hot heads, Portsmouth has a few.  Players David Nugent and Marc Wilson apparently got into a huge hotel brawl in Portugal after coming back wasted after a night out on the club scene.

The fist fight escalated when both parties tried to use makeshift weapons fashioned from metal clothes rails Prison yard style.  Their teammates stepped in and broke it up.  Nugent and Wilson were both fined two week’s wages and Nugent was shipped off to play for Stoke City next season so I guess there’s no need now for the two to hug it out.

3. Nereida Gellardo (Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex girlfriend who is a small step away from Mischa Barton level of insanity)

Girlfriend is just having a hard time letting go.  The relationship ended months ago when CR9 broke it off with his love of nine months via text message. Classy.
Things had subsided until this past weekend when C-Ron and Miss N had a run-in at a Spanish nightclub and she officially became “that girl.”  Nereida kept trying to approach Ronaldo, but he decided to ignore her completely until she upped the antics ante to the point that security stepped in and removed her from Ron’s path of vision. Ouch. We’ve all seen this one played out before but usually security isn’t involved.  Anyone who’s ever drunk texted an ex should have at least an ounce of sympathy.

4. Adrian Mutu pulls a Kate Moss

Back in 2004, Mutu (who was playing for Chelsea at the time), decided to go all Tony Montana and dip his nostrils into a mound of fresh cocaine.  I guess Smart Guy forgot footballers are drug tested pretty frequently and his test turned up positive.  Mutu was banned for 7 months and cut from the squad.
Now he’s at Italian Club Fiorentina and as far as we know, has literally kept his nose clean, but the sanctions are still rolling in as the 30 year old striker was ordered to pay up…to the tune of £15 million to his former club, Chelsea. Fair? Sure.  Chelsea had invested in this player and wouldn’t be able to use his services for 7 months.  The cost of replacement wasn’t cheap I’m sure.

5. Peter Ndlovu for pulling a Chris Brown

The more I learn about this guy, the more I think he’s a Maury Povich worthy hot mess.
The former Zimbabwe International has fathered five children with five different women, at least two of which ended up in a court ordered paternity test. But ok, we’ll try not to judge.
His issue this week is that he was arrested after he tried to beat down his current girlfriend, who is also pregnant with his child.
No need for this kind of drama- ever.  Take a cue from Cristiano Ronaldo and if a woman is driving you crazy, just let security handle it while you pretend to not see her.

1. AC Milan’s Rino Gattuso’s World Football Challenge Tour Reign of Terror

Exhibit A: Rino loses his temper in a “friendly” match V Club America

Exhibit B: Rino goes for the jugular in a bizarre tackle against Andriy Shevchenko in the MC Milan V Chelsea match at M&T stadium in Baltimore last Friday.

2. The City of Manchester’s Advertisement Space

Oh clever Manchester City and their Carlos Teves ads taking cheap shots at the Red side of town.

And of course United had their rebuttal.

I’d rather see animosity settled in the Derby and not on a billboard.  My guess: Teves doesn’t amount to much this next season and finds himself back in a hissy over playing time (Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Bellamy, Robinho, and Benjani are also forwards in Sky Blue this year) and Manchester’s basement bargain buy Micheal Owen continues on his scoring rampage.

3. Beck’s new BFF in the England shirt at LA Galaxy.
David Beckham got into it with ANOTHER LA Galaxy Supporter this week and the heated exchange culminated in a man in an England shirt apparently taking a cheap shot at Miss Victoria. The comment hasn’t been repeated but David, defending his wife, told reporters that it was “disgraceful.” What could it have been?

She’s painfully thin?
Her breasts look dodgy?
Her singing voice may not be that of an angel?
She spends a lot of money?
She’s probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer?

Cause really, what else can you say about her?
She doesn’t come off as a bitch, she hasn’t said anything publicly rude or cruel.
She seems like a good mother and loyal to a fault to her husband.
If anyone’s wang had come within 10 feet of Rebecca Loos’ lady bits, my work there would be done.
But she hung on for dear life.

Leave her out of your squabbles with her husband. Totally tacky.

4. Fernando Torres and Andriy Schevchenko’s barnets
Fug and fug.

Sheva is really starting to look like Patrick Swayze in the bit he did as a Chippendales dancer on Saturday night live.

5. The Chinese Footballer who wasn’t about to accept a red card.

As if dude was possessed by the spirit of Eric Cantona, he decided he wasn’t going to take sanctioning sitting down.

1. Wasn’t Alex rumored to be caught blowing rails off a club bouncer’s man bits just a few years ago?
2. Didn’t her husband just get in a fist fight over control on a CD player in a bar?

Yeah Alex, Liverpool is somewhat rough. And you fit right in.

I’m trying to get a few weekly football theme posts written and one that should be relatively easy is Football’s Hot Mess of the Week.
On the pitch, off the pitch, there’s a lot of madness surrounding the sport and every week killahbeez plans on capturing the crazy.
If you’ve got a hot mess story, hit me on my Twitter.

And now your hot messes of the week:

1. Artur Boruc (Goalkeeper for Celtic FC and Poland)

Still, something about him is kind of hot.
And I hate dedicating 30 minutes a day to straightening my hair.

Boruc plays hairdresser to his sister. Kind of weird.

Artur could do that for me while I surf the interwebs or play FIFA 03 becuase I don’t care about graphics. 03 is the last year I was any good at FIFA.

2. The LA Galaxy

So the fan who confronted D-Becks got a lifetime ban from Galaxy matches??
What a bitch move!
Anyone who is that intense about MLS football should be hailed as a star supporter.
LA Galaxy should be thankful that people care so deeply.
I’ll go see DC United if I get a free ticket. I can’t be bothered to take the metro 30 minutes most of the time even though Chris Pontius is a treat.
Oh but I will spend a couple thousand to be in Manchester’s City Centre to be among the masses for the Champions League final.
Spot the difference?
This dude should be given a ton of free Galaxy gear and box seats. He really gives a damn.

3. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool Captain and England midfielder)

Headed to court to face assault charges for attacking a man in a bar fight over…….wait for it….. control of the CD player.
Damn, Stevie. Seriously, what tune was so important that you couldn’t wait a minute? Oh please say it was something hilarious like Pussycat Dolls. I need to know.
Cause unless someone was playing iPod Nazi with 4 straight hours of Fredy Miler than I don’t think I’d get violent.
And even if someone was marathoning Fredy, I’d probably just drink more and more and go ape on the dancefloor.

Perhaps the greatest video of all time

4. Sven Goran Eriksson (former England and Mexico Manager, not regraded as very sharp; Has just signed on as Director of Nottingham County in England’s League 2 Division)

Notts County?
He is either an idiot or a genius.
I’m leaning towards the former.

5. Samir Nasri (Arsenal and France winger)

Adebayor Gone to Eastlands, Nasri with a broken leg before the season even begins…
Van Persie has some work ahead of him.

In 1882, in a cricket match which would change history at the Oval, Australia beat England for the first time on English soil.

The Sporting Times newspaper wrote an obituary satirically stating “English Cricket has died.  The body will be cremated and the Ashes will be taken to Australia.”

England’s next tour to Australia in 1883 continued the joke, with Australian women presenting the English side with a small terracotta urn as England had successfully completed it’s “Quest to regain the Ashes.”

And so the tradition began.  At least every 2 years since 1882, England and Australia have met in a 5 series Test, 2 innings per match, alternating host country.  And every two years people in both England and Australia band and bond together to take in the event.

The tiny terracotta urn, holding the Ashes of English Cricket

I’m a little bit jealous. I’m jealous that one sporting event so ingrained in history and rivalry and National pride that can bring about so much fun for spectators simply doesn’t exist for Americans.

Sure we have wonderful rivalries like the Red Sox and the Yankees, the Cowboys and the Redskins, but on a National level, those events are divisive. The last time I recall what seemed to be all of America gathered around their televisions cheering for a countryman in a sporting tournament was Michael Phelps.  And we, as a nation, certainly had Phelps Phever, and it was fun while it lasted.

But we’ve got nothing dating back to the 19th century.  We’ve got the World Cup, the Olympics, Lance Armstrong crushing the Tour de France for years, but interest is among niche groups.

In the 2002 World Cup, extremely Catholic nations Spain and Ireland clashed on a Sunday.  I remember hearing reports that Archbishops had granted their diocese a little lenience in Sunday Mass obligations.  I thought this was brilliant.  Shops close down, pubs get licenses to stay open all night, even religious leaders let people off the hook all so as a nation, people can collectively show pride and support in ways we simply don’t experience in the US.

Even when the nation has been hypnotized by epic feats like the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” hockey match between the US and Russia, or Phelps’ performance, or the US Women’s 1999 World Cup victory, the ties have been a one-off.  The victories have been sweet, they’ve even been historical, but they’re not part of an ongoing tradition that wins the interest of an entire nation.

Well, we can either challenge Canada to some sort of sporting tournament and start laying the foundation for our own form of the Ashes, or we can live vicariously through our friends across the pond and down under.

Canadian Beez team members and readers, the guantlet has been thrown.

English Victory in 2005 was reason for the entire country to celebrate

The event itself is magnificent, but imagine the victory party afterward.  America could use a little bit of that.  It seems the only time we come together is when crisis like September 11 hits. Sure, our last inauguration was great for many Americans, but to participate as a practicing Republican, one had to be a great losing sport, and simply celebrate Obama’s presidency as a tribute to a historical moment.  Imagine that feeling if shared by everyone, with all the same dramatic flair, recognized heroes, victories, losses, and camaraderie but without the stress and damage of war and politics.

The Ashes: An amazing tradition that would do any nation a world of good.

The third test in the five test series begins July 30 and with 1 draw, 1 England victory, and 3 tests remaining, the urn is still anyone’s.

Andrew Flintoff, Legend. He’s just announced his retirement from test cricket
but managed to take five wickets in the Ashes second test.

David Beckham’s return to Los Angeles from AC Milan hasn’t been one like the hero’s welcome he received when arriving at the Galaxy in 2007.  Fans at the Home Depot Center this week’s Galaxy V. AC Milan expo match turned on the midfielder and held up signs reading “Go Home, Fraud” and “Part time Player” and the jeering culminated with Beckham exciting an enraged fan who tried to jump over the stadium barrier, ending in his arrest. And his own teammate, Landon Donovan, has been very outspoken about Beckham’s lack of club commitment and ridiculous captaincy.

An upset crowd is nothing new to David Beckham.  After taking a cheap shot at an Argentinian defender in the 1998 World Cup, Beckham was sent off the pitch, leaving his country a 10-man side which ultimately lost to the England long-time South American rival.  He returned to his country to find newspapers ripping him to shreds and crowds at pubs around the country burning his likeness in effigy.

But as David Beckham’s crucial goals for England came tumbling in, all was forgotten and by 2002, he had gone from pariah to hero.

No matter which sport they follow, most children learn at  an early age:  Be loyal to your club, not to a player. And for that child who idolizes whichever player whose posters adorn his bedroom walls and whose shirt he wears while dreaming about growing up to become a professional athlete, it’s a heart breaking lesson when his favorite team member ends a contract and leaves the club, often amid a bit of controversy.

My love for Manchester United began in the first play of the 1990 FA Cup Final because I was mesmerized by the efforts of Mark Hughes.  19 years later, I’m still red through and through while Mark Hughes is now managing Manchester City. I still have respect for the man but to have affiliation with City is sacrilege.  Players with unwavering loyalty like Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard are few and far between, and only through their demonstrated commitment to their clubs should a supporter allow themselves to grow attached.

Club supporters see themselves as customers and therefore believe they have the right to express displeasure with the club or the country, or the player whose performance is causing a negative impact on that club or country.  To chastise players for mistakes made on the pitch is certainly common.  And to forgive players for game winning performances is certainly common as well.  Arsenal fans booed Emmanuel Eboue last season for perceived poor performance but the noise subsided as Eboue kept his head down and continued with his business of scoring goals.  Garreth Barry had to face the music at Villa Park after he publicly declaring he wanted a transfer to Liverpool.  And Carlos Teves is should probably prepare himself for a verbal slaughtering at the Manchester Derby this season after moving across the city from one enemy camp to another.  It’s all part of the game.

In Beckham’s case the fans are upset because the MLS season began in March.  Beckham, who had been on loan during the off season to play at AC Milan, vocalized his desire to stay on in Italy on a permanent transfer.  AC Milan did not want to pay the Galaxy’s asking price, so a deal was worked which allowed Beckham to stay until mid July when he would return to Los Angeles and finish the 2009 MLS Season.

Alright, fair dues Galaxy fans.  He should certainly be stripped of his captaincy.  He shouldn’t be the recipient of some kind of welcome parade.  But the man has been off at a world class club honing his skills so that he can still compete in the World Cup 2010 with England and he’s brought back a new level of fitness and experience to Los Angeles.  But here he is, in a Galaxy shirt playing AGAINST AC Milan, and setting up both Galaxy goals of the night.

Because, sports fans, even when you think a player is completely loyal, you just never know.  John “Mr Chelsea” Terry is currently involved in a very public courtship by Manchester City.  I don’t believe he’ll end up in a sky blue shirt next season but the fact that Terry hasn’t even addressed his fans to state otherwise shows that almost anyone these days can be bought for a certain price.  For 2 years before he finally shipped off to Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo had been speaking of his dream to play in Spain.  In my opinion as long as he was with United, and he was scoring goals for United, then I didn’t really care what he said in interviews.  And I thank him for his years of service and 80 million quid contribution to Sir Alex’s war chest and say hasta la vista, Twinkle Toes.

Fans should take a good hard look in a hyprocrit’s mirror before talking about fair-weather loyalty. Because I assure you that  in 3 weeks, Beckham will be off the LA Riots Squad hit list and back in everybody’s good graces.  And so it goes….

Somewhere, Eric Cantona just called David Beckham a complete wuss.

Skateboarders rejoice. Nike is offering their latest Nike SB film, Debacle, as a free download for a limited time. For the next four days to be exact. This skate video is one of the first skate videos to be fully shot in high definition and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS. The film features Daryl Angel, Justin Brock, Grant Taylor and David Clark to name a few. Head on over to here to download the film now.

For this week’s Fitted Fridays, I’d like to continue the DMV love and shed the spotlight on Palace5ive’s lastest 59Fifty.  Two colorways are available taking inspiration from the Washington Nationals jerseys repping both home and away team jerseys.  I’m not a big baseball fanatic, but I can appreciate the deviation from the teal and black colorway that Palace5ive colorway is normally associated with.  Stop by P5 if you’re in the U Street corridor and see for yourself.

Image Source: Palace5ive

For those of us that have owned or currently own a ping pong table, you’ll know how space consuming they are.  Even if the table can fold in half and be rolled to a corner, the sight is still an eye sore.  If this is your dilemma, Tobias Franzel’s Ping Pong Door alleviates that.  Though not standard sized, I’m certain a 2 on 2 match can still be quite entertaining.  And once your match or mini tourney is over, simply fold the table back up.

Image Source: Toxel

Since its inception in 1997, RoboCup has served as an exhibit in advances in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

The Search and Rescue program included setting actual fires in designated areas of the RoboCup building in Graz to allow engineers to fully  demonstrate abilities of their creations.

And the Soccer portion of the Symposium is used as a way to add a bit of fun and excitement to humanoid demonstrations

.

Maybe RoboCup ranks with a Trekkie convention on the Geek Scale but I’m fascinated.  It looks like a lot of fun.

For More Information, visit the RoboCup Website

This year one of the greatest basketball players to have played in our time will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That player, is of course, Michael Jordan. To commemorate this special occasion, Gatorade has unveiled three new “Championship” flavours as well as 6 different collector bottles.

“Gatorade and Michael Jordan share one of the most prominent and enduring partnerships in sports. From his early years at E.A. Laney High School to his days sinking title-winning shots for the North Carolina Tar Heels and Chicago Bulls to his current roles with the NBA’ Charlotte Bobcats and Michael Jordan Motorsports, Gatorade has fueled Jordan’s career, and these collectible bottles celebrate the “G moments” that make him one of the most iconic figures in all of sports.” – Gatorade

These collector bottles will start to hit store shelves starting next week for a limited time, so be sure to cop all 6 bottles for your collection.

Every few years an event occurs which causes an increase in football chatter in the United States.

And every few years those invested in the American “soccer” community wonder if this event will be the catalyst which will finally push the sport to the forefront of the country’s attention.

In 1993, the MLS was formed, giving the US it’s own “soccer” league.  In 1994, the US hosted the World Cup and coverage of the matches was extensive.  In 2002, the men reached the World Cup Quarter-finals only to be knocked out in a 0-1 loss to Germany.  The women’s team won the 1999 world cup in a dramatic round of penalties against China resulting in Brandi Chastain’s epic shirtless celebration. And in 2007, David Beckham arrived on American soil, causing a media circus.  And for a few months following each feat, America caught soccer fever, leaving many people to believe that “soccer had finally arrived.”

And now the US Men have progressed beyond Italy and Egypt to reach the semi final of the FIFA Confederations Cup in which they defeated Spain in a 2-0 stunning upset this afternoon and again, people are starting to take notice.

My opinion is this: American interest in football will continue to climb, but only at a slow, steady pace.

1. Individual players are getting better.

The pool of raw talent in America has always been vast but experience was lacking.  However, more players are opting to sign for clubs outside the US.  Currently, only 5 American players are employed by clubs in the MLS while all others have gone to play in leagues recognized as being of a higher grade.  Clint Dempsey is playing for Fulham, Tim Howard for Everton, Jonathan Spector for West Ham, Jozy Altidore for Villarreal, Brad Guzan for Aston Villa, and so on.

2. The Melting Pot concept.

Communities of people who have emigrated from countries where football is religion have continued to grow in population and these people are bringing their culture and their love of the beautiful game with them.

3. Access.

Until 1997, when Fox Sports World launched, Americans had very little access to actually watching matches, especially foreign league matches.  Now with Fox Soccer Channel, Gol TV, ESPN 360, and satellite channels from all over the world widely available, spectatorship is fairly convenient.  Just this week ESPN announced its purchase of English Premiership matches previously aired by Setanta, possibly furthering access for American viewers.

4. America has some good looking lads.

Sex sells.  And although David Beckham has undoubtedly displayed footballing ability throughout the course of his career, he would never have reached his current level of popularity without his attractiveness.  Asking two 13 year old girls who Franck Ribery is would most certainly yield a response of confusion; but I’m fairly positive they would be able to pick Golden Balls out of a lineup.  And so it certainly doesn’t hurt to tie the faces of Benny Feilhaber, Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Spector, Heath Pearce, Charlie Davies, or Jay DeMerit to the greater sum of the US National team.  In essence, the USA is pretty stacked in the sex appeal department.

5. They come up big.  And everybody loves the Underdog.

A 2-0 win over Spain is incredible.  Only the truly faithful thought this lot would be able to pull anything off against the likes of Xabi Alonso, Fabregas, Xavi, Torres, Villa, Pique, Puyol, Ramos, Casillas…..Spain is a World Class side and defending European Cup champions.  When the rest of the world is expecting a thrashing and the US pulls a shocking upset,  they generate a lot of excitement world wide.

6. Time allows for tradition.

As pockets of Americans really have cultivated the beginnings of football related traditions domestically, these customs will continue to develop over time and football culture in the US will flourish.

Will football ever be a main-stream sport in the US?  I think not for at least the next 30 years.  But perhaps there will be that one event which will actually be that catalyst, that one incredible occurrence which catapults “soccer” to the foreground of American sports.  Perhaps  US men will go far in the World Cup in 2010.  The Confederations Cup is considered a “warm up” to the tournament and the boys have made it all the way to the final.

They will play the winner of tomorrow’s semifinal between South Africa and Brazil for the Confederation Cup Championship on Sunday, June 28th at 2:25 PM Eastern Time.