The Jersey Benchwarmer's Guide to Sports

HARRISON - A lot has changed since May 16.  Specifically in the soccer world, the FIFA World Cup took over North America and by all metrics, it was an incredible success. For most casual soccer fans, their perception of the sport changed drastically.  Over the past few years, the attendance numbers at Sports Illustrated Stadium have varied depending on who was playing on the field. In the case of Red Bull New York (6-7-4, 22 points), it’s been a mixed bag. Saturday, however, the stadium was lively and the post-World Cup boom appeared to bring in more fans than usual.  It helps that Red Bull are running a program called “First Match on Us” in an effort to bring new fans to the stadium.  Playing in their second match since returning from the extended break, Red Bull wanted to get back to their winning ways quickly. Following a disastrous 3-1 away loss to the Philadelphia Union Wednesday night, the results had to be better against Charlotte FC (7-6-4, 25 points). ...

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been, by all accounts, a smashing success here in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  Despite a chaotic lead up to the event, the tournament has smashed everyone’s expectations and then some. For foreigners, they have experienced a culture shock for the ages. On the other side, casual American viewers have been amazed by the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.  Just looking at the television ratings from FOX and Telemundo, the numbers have been huge. The final combined viewing number for the United States men’s national team’s (USMNT) Round of 16 match vs Belgium ended up being 50.1 million viewers . Truly, an insane number to imagine.  Unfortunately, the USMNT lost 4-1 and the aftermath has been rough. One thing that has been talked about since last Monday’s defeat were the words uttered by FOX Sports’ play-by-play announcer, John Strong, near the end of the match. “If you’ve enjoyed what you’re seeing, well, support your local team,...

KANSAS CITY, KS - Have you ever been to America’s Heartland? In the span of two years in the early 2010s, I traveled to Kansas and Nebraska to see my uncle. As someone who was born and raised in New Jersey, it was a literal culture shock.  Now of course if I were to ever live in that area, I would fit right in given that I am a massive college football fan. I’ve seen Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium on a busy Saturday afternoon, but never Kansas’ home field, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.  Speaking of the Jayhawks, do you recall the time in 2024 when they played some non-conference home contests at Children’s Mercy Park? Known as Sporting Park today, Kansas Football played two games there while their stadium was getting renovated. I’m sure their friends Sporting Kansas City didn’t mind.  Hey, speaking of Sporting KC (3-9-2, 11 pts), they faced Red Bull New York (6-5-4, 22 pts) in a clash of two original 96 teams on Saturday night. For New York, they finished the first po...

Red Bull New York, or the New York Red Bulls to some still, have had quite the start to 2026. Currently sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 5-5-4 record, good for 19 points, the general opinion on the club has been mixed.  One minute, everyone is praising the stellar play of the youngsters like Julian Zakrzewski Hall and Adri Mehmeti. The next minute, the supporters think that the sky is falling.  As someone who was covering Red Bull up until earlier this month, my opinions kept swaying and I felt convinced by the fans to align with them. But, after a few weeks where I was watching as a fan and not as a reporter, I still believe that the team can be great.  Since their loss to FC Dallas, Red Bull have rattled off three fine results in league play. This includes two victories against Chicago Fire FC and the Columbus Crew, but also a frustrating draw to rivals New York City FC last Saturday. Again, for the doomsday fans on Twitter/X, this team is not bad. Obvious...