Who Ate All the Fries is an American fan blog produced by writer/photographer Jay Hipps and a number of other contributors regarding the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
"We've come a long way as fans since the U.S. qualified for the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year hiatus," says Hipps. "We're a growing soccer culture so we're still at a stage where we're learning a lot from fans in other countries, but we're also beginning to express ourselves in ways that are uniquely American. The idea of the site is to give voice to that, to show the world that we get it."
The site's name, "Who Ate All the Fries," is a take-off on a well-known English soccer chant that is usually directed at members of the opposing team who do not, shall we say, exhibit the amazing levels of fitness that soccer players are typically known for. The traditional chant is this:
Who ate all the pies?
Who ate all the pies?
You fat bastard!
You fat bastard!
You ate all the pies.**
"We don't have pies in the U.S., at least not the kind they have in Britain," Hipps says. "So we're asking, rhetorically, 'would you like fries with that?'"
Hipps, 42, worked as a writer and editor for a number of now-defunct web sites that covered the sport in the U.S., including SoccerSpot.com and internetSoccer.com. He was one of a handful of American writers who covered the U.S. at the 1999 Confederations Cup in Mexico and also covered the MLS San Jose Clash/Earthquakes for many years. He is one of the founding members of Soccer Silicon Valley, a grassroots organization working with MLS and the Oakland A's dedicated to building a permanent home for soccer in the San Francisco Bay Area. He can be reached here.
Other contributors include:
Bill Quigley lives in Chicago, where he saw his first live soccer match while serving as a volunteer at USA '94. He currently is the Editor and Publisher of The Fire Alarm, which covers the Chicago soccer scene for the Matchnight network. Bill can be reached by email here.
Bill Fetty is an observer of the world's game from a remote locationÉ otherwise known as Columbia, SC. He has written in some form or another for several websites including uslfans.com (at the time, a-league.com), sams-army.com, and the Travelers Guide to American Soccer. Contrary to popular belief, he did not eat all the fries, pies, or chicken fingers although he may or may not have drunk your beer but that was only after being offered some. He's kinda like a vampire that way. He can only drink your beer if invited in. After that, you take your chances. His involvement with the site may or may not be the result of a bet won or lost. He can be contacted at fcfetty@yahoo.com or at your local brauhaus.
Miss Charlie lives in Dallas, Texas and has traveled to numerous World Cup Qualifiers over the years and went to WC98 in France. She founded the popular YanksInGermany Yahoo group in 2002, which is used for travel planning and activities surrounding fans of the USA at the World Cup in Germany.
In addition to being the father of 16-month-old twin boys, which takes a lot of time, Mark Wheeler runs Major Fantasy League Soccer, an online MLS fantasy league which is now in its 11th season. Mark is also one of the founders of Sam's Army, the USA's largest and oldest supporters' group.
**English soccer fans are not known for their subtlety.