Roots fans it’s game day! Roots host Orange County SC at the iconic Oakland Coliseum at 5:00 p.m., which will also be broadcast on ESPN+ and KTVU Plus. The Roots are celebrating Kids Night Out, and I will be there with my family and, commensurately, not actually watching the game for twice the cost! Today is, of course, also No Kings 3. The No Kings time was also when I’d planned to write this post, which is why it will be brief.
I made this, which is earnest and cringe, but also kinda fun:
Orange County’s Form
County have mustered about 1 total xG in three matches this season, making their 1-2-0 record pretty good value. Their defense has been stout, although its early in the season to assess the quality of their opposition to date.
Roots’ Form
A frustrating end to what was, for 80 minutes, one of the most fun Roots performance in recent memory. Roots ran over Phoenix and if not for some heroics from the Rising keeper, would have been up 4-0 and had the game saafely to bed when the defensive changes and substitutions utterly neutered the Roots’ attacking threat late. Those changes were Roots undoing, and conceding two late goals on half chances cost the Roots two points.
Is the World Better or Worse Since the Last Match?
Well, probably staying about the same, which is to say, utterly garbage. Last week I mentioned that the US was discussing deploying ground troops. If I’d written this article when I normally do, on Friday night, I’d have said that was still hypothetical. Overnight, it broke that the US has sent something like 3500 troops of some kind presumably to at least threaten that ground invasion, if not actually commence it. Great! I don’t feel like this administration of evil fools is prepared for drone footage snuff films of US marines trending on TikTok, but we might find out, huh?!
I am going to be down at No Kings this afternoon with my Wide Awakes flag. I’ve twice recently seen this passage from Terry Pratchett about kings, on Bluesky but also in the afterward to Rrobert Jackson Bennett’s second Ana & Din novel (a series I am recommending to anyone who will listen):
It seemed to be a chronic disease. It was as if even the most intelligent person had this little blank spot in their heads where someone had written: “Kings. What a good idea.” Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees.
Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay.
Bennett talks in his afterward (citing that passsage) about how 21st Century fantasy has a lot of “royalty behaving badly” as a driver of the plot, and even when presented critically (as in Game of Thrones), presents royalty as a default. Disney, of course, also an all-time terrible offender in the “Kings, what a good idea,” field.
I take “No Kings” as a threat, in the small-r republican tradition. Monarchy is illegitimate. Government without the consent of the governed is illegitimate. Trump is trying to rule without the consent of the governed. He is illegitimate. We will beat him. And then by god we better fucking punish him and his lackeys.
Match Predictions
Bloom
I am not optimistic about Roots’ attack without Wilson and still (I assume) missing Valot. I think it is early in the season for the Roots’ attack, as good as it has been, to adapt to changed shape or personnel. The one potential upside is that Orange County will not have film on whatever Roots decide to run out.
I don’t think Orange County’s offense has shown much to be concerned about this season, but Roots have also conceded to some pretty nothing chances, so despite my general bullishness on the Roots this season, I’m projecting 1-1.
Aaron
The Roots will have to make a lot of changes to cope with injuries and international-football related absences. However they line up, this will not look much like what we’ve seen so far. It’ll probably mean some herky-jerky football. But I still think this Roots squad is primed to blow Orange County out of the water. We’re still running out the best attacker in the game, and the two best midfielders, and maybe the two best defenders. 3-0 Roots
Jon
There are bound to be some changes without Peter Wilson or Mark Fisher, so the options up top could be Jackson Kiil, Danny Trejo, or Wolfgang Prentice. I wouldn’t mind seeing Kiil getting a chance, given he’s looked pretty good and sizeable as a striker. But, like Luis de Guzman mentioned in his article, perhaps it’s time for a twin-striker approach with Trejo/Wolfy. I’m sticking with my RootsPod guess of a 1-nil Roots win.