Play It & Be Dammed: NASL 1978- Philadelphia Fury @ Houston Hurricane: Highlights

Source:Play It & Be Dammed- the Philadelphia Fury and Houston Hurricane from 1978.

"Yes, this is longer than usual. And it's a Fury loss. But there's good reason. Lots of action in this one. It was Bob Rigby's debut as the Fury keeper. No Shep Messing commercial, but the "NASL Goal of the Week" featuring a pretty goal by Gerd Mueller of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. A few obscure Fury player sightings. And a two-goal performance (nearly three) by a special Fury veteran.

As always, these are from Betamax rips that Dave Brett Wasser (www.davebrett.com) did of recordings that my father did from home. Actually, compared to the other two, the camera footage is pretty good. You'll see.

If you like this, please join the Philadelphia fury fan page on Facebook." 

From Play It & Be Dammed

Outdoor soccer played indoors in the Houston Astrodome. 

If you are an American sports fan who likes offense and action and for defenses to actually be challenged and forced to play well in order to succeed, then I think you would've loved the NASL (North American Soccer League) because the clubs were encouraged to move the ball forward, to score, and actually try to win the game. 

The more goals you scored in the game and the better point differential that you had between your opponents, the more your wins were worth in the standings. And the more close losses that you had in the standings, that was better for you, then if you were blown and didn't even scored when you lost. So in the NASL, soccer looked like an American sport which is why the league was fairly popular in the 1970s. Especially considering soccer has never been a strong American professional sport.