The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick

The New York Post’s New York Islanders beat writer Ethan Sears joins me— fresh from the Olympics, and back on the road covering the Islanders—- to discuss the gold-medal-winning US Men’s Hockey Team, and the odds for the USMNT this summer. Follow Ethan’s coverage for the Post here , and on X here . Thanks for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick! This post is public so feel free to share it. Thi...

* The big picture: was Copa America a success? * Quick recap of the US performance— Bolivia, Panama, Uruguay, out * Gregg Berhalter * How the players performed. Weighing in on: ‘are these guys as good as we thought they were?’ discourse * The wisdom of Tim Ream. Issues of depth & comfort * The next coach: who should it be? * Copa America chaos. Kyle talks about being at the Uruguay vs Colombia sem...

Jon is writing daily about Copa América over on Getting CONCACAFed . We recorded this Wednesday morning, before Mexico lost 1-0 to Venezuela and Jamaica lost 3-1 to Ecuador. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. * The public ( and players ) vs journalist rankings ✍️ * Jesse Marsch’s t...

Henry Bushnell is a soccer and feature writer for Yahoo Sports, doing amazing work covering soccer in the US at all levels. Henry was exceptionally generous with his time as we discussed MLS, Messi, the US Open Cup, USMNT and USWNT for over an hour. This was recorded on Friday the 19th so some of the references may be slightly dated. I was on the road in the rust belt last week for some non-soccer...

Philly Union, through the years * Covering Philly Union from the ground floor in 2010 * Proselytizing the sport * When people started paying attention * Jim Curtin’s impact (with the team since 2013, first as an assistant, Curtin’s now the second-longest tenured manager in Major League Soccer) * Assessing the Union’s early 2024 season * When the Union hit their ceiling * Can this team win a trophy...

Thank you for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick. This post is public so feel free to share it. This week started with a third consecutive Nations League trophy for the USMNT on Sunday night. A few days later, the US Women dropped their 23-player SheBelieves Cup roster —their last roster preceding the final set of games before Emma Hayes is officially in charge of this team. To talk about both...

The US Olympic squad beat Guinea 3-0 in Girona, Spain last week (goals from Harriel , Busio and Gomez ), then drew Olympic hosts France 2-2 in Montbéliard on Monday (goals from Yow and Cowell ). With just four months to go before the summer games, Brain Sciaretta re-joins the pod for a chat about the results, the evolving roster, and expectations in France: * the emergence of Griffin Yow ( his goa...

The gang is heading to Nashville for USMNT camp, with a trip to play Germany in Connecticut in between. We begin by picking Kyle’s brain on some big-picture USMNT topics. Then we delve into the 23 guys called in for this October roster. Intro… * Hartford, Connecticut foliage report * North Carolina foliage report * Naked lady climbing electrical wires in Winston-Salem * How Kyle got into soccer jo...

Alex Windley joins the pod to discuss the biggest news this week…. or ever…. in Major League soccer. Lionel Messi is moving to Inter Miami! Friends, we are in for an interesting year. Alex is Miami born and raised, and covers Inter Miami for 90 min football, Bleacher Report and The Heron Outlet. You can follow Alex on twitter here to stay connected as she tracks Miami’s momentous changes, and Mess...

Ryan Tolmich, American soccer correspondent for GOAL, is back on the pod! Ryan’s last visit featured a long, cathartic debrief attempting to make sense of the US performance at the World Cup in Qatar. 5 months later…. we reflect on everything that’s happened since. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free o...

Swan-pod regular- The Philadelphia Inquirer’s own Jonathan Tannenwald- is back once more. We talk about the new USMNT roster , B.J. Callaghan, the upcoming Nations League games in Las Vegas, Americans overseas, and Philadelphia Union. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Intro banter...

Brian Sciaretta writes about American soccer for American Soccer Now and Soccer America. You may also recognize him from the radio, or for his reliably sound takes on the youths of American soccerdom. With two games under their built (USA 1- Ecuador 0 ; USA 3 - Fiji 0) and one final group stage match…. happening imminently this Friday afternoon (vs Slovakia, 2 PM ET), Brian joins me to discuss the...

Tomorrow evening, LAFC hosts Philly Union in leg 2 of Concacaf Champions League. Max Bretos— voice of LAFC & announcer for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV— joins for a quick check-in to discuss the big match and a few other prescient topics: * LAFC v Philly in the CCL semi-final * MLS v Liga MX in the final * Cherundolo— USMNT coach? * LAFC’s early club success * Covering MLS for Apple TV * Biggest sh...

Philly played excellent in their Champions League re-match of last year’s MLS Cup Final this week, but came away with a 1-1 draw. Jon Tannenwald returns to break down the match and discuss Philly’s lingering CCL chances. The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. If you missed it, preview...

LA Galaxy sit 2nd to last in the Western Conference of MLS. With 3 total points and zero wins so far, they have time to turn their season around, but what will it take? The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I am joined by Alex Kozela of the Joie Galactique substack to discuss: * where...

A wind-ranging, somewhat philosophical conversation with one the most knowledgeable and enjoyable writers in the US soccer-world press box. Charles is a freelance writer contributing to MLSSoccer.com and USSoccerPlayers.com, and a former Peace Corps volunteer living in Grenada. Drawing on that knowledge- so perfectly aligned to the looming Nations League match that USMNT will play in Grenada- we d...

Jonathan Tannenwald has just returned to Philadelphia— fresh from a tour of Florida, Tennessee, and Texas, where he infiltrated Philly Union’s preseason and then trailed USWNT through the SheBelieves Cup. In his one free afternoon before the Philadelphia Union embark on their new season, I cornered him, and made him come on The Swan Dive. We discuss: Philly Union, USMNT * So, the Union are really...

Thank you for reading The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick. This post is public so feel free to share it. I’ve been digging into my audio archives from life on the road, and linked a lot of exclusive clips in this episode. For clarity, I’ve listed them below with details on the timing and context: 0:00: Audio from Elland Road. LUFC v Manchester City. December 28, 2022. 4:19: MOT Audio from Elland Road....

This is an interview with Tim Ream, conducted via Zoom in Doha, Qatar, a few days ahead of the World Cup 2022. Lots of stuff packed into this episode, Tim was very generous with his time. Team dynamics, fame, life in England, perceptions of Americans in football, and lots more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...