See you in Pretoria? Cape Town? Johannesburg?

FIFA reports that a worldwide frenzy ensued when the first phase of ticketing for World Cup South Africa 2010 began on Friday. The FIFA website received applications from 128 countries for a total of 216,975 tickets on the first day of the online ticket sale. In the first phase of ticketing, soccer fans around the world will apply to receive tickets through a random selection drawing that will take place after the application period. Ticket applications must be submitted by midnight on March 31. Here at the Kickers, we are studying the ticketing process, trying to find ways to beat the system, and vying for time off during the 2010 regular season to take South African vacations. Are you caught up in the frenzy yet?

Whether you have the World Cup fever or you have yet to catch the bug, check out this cool World Cup blog we found: http://www.worldcupblog.org/

This website compiles 34 different blogs that are reporting daily on every detail of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. News is divided by continent and country, and if that is too much to sift through, the search function is pretty good.

We Are the Champions

Surprising us yet again, the Kickers Indoor team took the division lead last week in their last regular season game against the Winchester Impact. The Kickers were down 5-1 at half time as Winchester prepared to secure its spot at #1 for regular season play. In a fast-paced turnaround, the Kickers scored twelve (yes, 12!) goals in the second half to Winchester's two. Final score: 13-7 and the Kickers are the regular season champs of the Mid-Atlantic Division. While it was an incredible team effort, the second half scoring kings are pictured above. Luke Vercollone tallied four goals; Chris Green and Andy McIntosh each scored three.

And it's not over yet!

The Kickers will host the Winchester Impact in post-season play to determine the official Champion of the PASL Mid-Atlantic Division. Cheer them on to victory on Friday, February 27th at 8:30 PM at SCOR. It is sure to be an action-packed game that you won't want to miss.

Order tickets in advance for $5.00 each!

Kickers Talent Search 2009

The Richmond Kickers held their annual combine this weekend to search for the next Dwayne de Rosario or Clyde Simms. Both of these players' talents were identified at Kickers Pro open tryouts, and both went on from Kickers contracts to play for the MLS. Dozens of players came out this year for their chance to Join the Club. No announcements have been made yet, but stay tuned to RichmondKickers.com for the latest news and roster updates.


Calling all college students: the search is on for the next Evan Morris! Evan joined the Kickers as an operations intern during the 2006 season before being promoted to Implementation Manager in April 2007. He is now the Director of Ticket Sales for the Richmond Kickers pro team. You too could work for the pro team, and the first step is applying for a summer internship with the Kickers. The deadline for applications is this Friday, February 20th.

Think you have what it takes? See the Kickers Internship Page for details.

USA Wins!

The U.S. Men's National Team beat Mexico tonight in Columbus, Ohio, with a final score of 2-0. Michael Bradley scored both goals, one at the end of the first half and another at the end of the second.

In the 41st minute, a DaMarcus Beasley corner kick found Donovan, who sent a header in the direction of Onyewu. Onyewu took a header towards the goal, and the shot was denied by goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Bradley caught the rebound and put the ball in the net to end the first half on a high note for the U.S. During the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half, Bradley scored again for the U.S. from a Donovan assist. Overall, the U.S. played a good possession game, and while Mexico created some good chances, they were not able to follow through. The U.S. win was well-deserved.

The Kickers have sent several players to MLS and the U.S. national team, and we are searching for our next big star. The 2009 Richmond Kickers Combine takes place this weekend - are you the next Dwayne De Rosario or Clyde Simms? Find out how to register for the tryouts at RichmondKickers.com: Do you have what it takes? Former Kickers players who have represented the U.S. on the men's national team include Clyde Simms, Bryan Namoff, Brian Carroll, and Ted Gillen. You could be next!

If you are more a fan than a player, check out the
2009 Pro Schedule, just released today!

Kickers Indoor Team Full of Surprises

Fans were happy they stayed through the deadlocked third quarter last night, when the Kickers Indoor team took on the Maryland Tigers. Kickers scorekeepers couldn't keep up with the action when the Tigers scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and the Kickers fired back with a goal by Stuart Bertsch. Determined to break the tie, Kickers players Chris Green, Matt Cooper, Andy Macintosh, and Luke Vercollone each tallied a goal for the home team during the last seven minutes of play. The Kickers Indoor team surprised us again with the heroic comeback that resulted in a 7-4 final score. Read the full game report here: Five Goals in Four Minutes

Another way the Kickers Indoor team continues to surprise and delight the Kickers staff is through the review of the game photos. Action shots of this team do not always reveal poster-worthy pictures, but they often generate great "Write the Caption" contests.

Like this photo from December in which Richmond Kickers and Virginia Legacy players momentarily transform the match into an epic martial arts battle. . .

Photo by Suz Kitsteiner 2008

Our initial thought for the caption was "Everybody was Kung Fu fighting. . ."
Got any better ideas?

Free Stuff for Fans

The giveaway item for Saturday's game just came in! We've never before been so happy to see the mail man. Kitchen 64 has been generous enough to give free water bottles to the first 200 fans in the door. They are really nice and while we are tempted to keep them for ourselves, we are happy to give them away this weekend to our valued fans. Stop by the table at the entrance to the bubble at SCOR to pick up your free water bottle!





The generosity of Kitchen 64 inspired us to pay it forward to the fans a little more this week. Join us for Family Night this Saturday and bring the whole family for only ten dollars! You must have this coupon to purchase tickets at the reduced price: http://www.richmondkickers.com/docs/home/FamilyNightCoupon.pdf


The Kickers Indoor team takes on the Maryland Tigers this weekend in the battle for a spot in the PASL Premier playoffs. The action happens Saturday, February 7 at 7:00 PM at SCOR. See you at the game!

The Other Game of Football

Here we are on Superbowl Sunday, and while most of the U.S. is preparing to watch the big game, we're pondering how the beautiful game of soccer has impacted American football over the years. The NFL placekicker comes immediately to mind, with "soccer-style" kickers replacing most all of the "conventional" kickers in the NFL.

The first soccer-style placekicker in the NFL was Pete Gogolak, who joined the Buffalo Bills in 1964. Pete approached the ball differently from the conventional kickers. He took a diagonal approach to the football and struck it with his instep; conventional kickers took a straight-on approach and struck the ball with their toes. The soccer-style approach produced more accurate kicks, and any soccer player can tell you why. Striking the ball with a larger, flatter surface leaves less room for error, and the soccer-style kick is now pretty standard in the NFL.

When you watch the big game today, keep an eye on the style of Pittsburgh placekicker Jeff Reed and Arizona placekicker Neil Rackers. Did you know. . . both Reed and Rackers led their high school soccer teams to state championships? Reed was a captain of his soccer team at East Mecklenburg H.S. in Charlotte, NC and Rackers led his soccer team to consecutive state titles at Aquinas-Mercy H.S. in St. Louis, MO.

The Kickers hope you have a safe and happy Superbowl XLIII.