All we are saying is give the World Cup a chance

First appeared on June 22nd, 2010
in The Lebanon Reporter

What to get Dad for Father’s Day. We’ve all struggled with it. And now that Father’s Day has passed we can thankfully wait another 364 days before worrying about it again. Whether it be another bad tie, a set of tools so complete he wouldn’t need them all unless he was single handedly rebuilding New Orleans or perhaps a polo doomed to the fate of being inhaled by the 800 pound monster living in his closet (otherwise known as the pile of polos he no longer wears), Father’s Day gifts are tough.


But how many can say what Michael Bradley of USA soccer can say? Bradley’s goal at the 83 minute mark of Friday’s World Cup match against Slovenia not only tied the score 2-2, but likely saved his father (Team USA manager Bob Bradley ) from one of the most embarrassing losses in U.S. soccer history. Happy Father’s Day indeed.

If you’d have told me I’d be writing about soccer again, I’d say that was about as likely as the Friendly City putting together a video to try and lure LeBron away from Cleveland. To be clear, I’m not a soccer guy. I don’t understand the strategy, don’t know many of the rules (and by many here I mean all of them) and, outside of a high school P.E. class, I’ve never really played it. All that may have changed Friday as I, along with 5.2 million other viewers, tuned in to watch Team USA take on upstart Slovenia.

For the second straight match the Americans fought their way out of a hole. Down 2-0 at the half, Team USA was against the ropes and could do nothing but hope Slovenia would suffer a Dustin Johnson like meltdown.

In the world of soccer a 2 nil deficit feels insurmountable. And considering the match up pitted the largest and smallest nations in the World Cup against each other; you had the recipe for great drama. Here’s the part where the United States, led by poster boy Landon Donovan, mounts a historic comeback.

“My guess is there’s not many teams in this tournament that could have done what we did… And that is what the American spirit is about,” Donovan said afterwards, “…I’m sure people back home are proud of that.”

Now back to me. For one day I understood soccer and, despite not having a few spare Euro’s in my pocket and wanting to drink beer with my breakfast, I knew what it meant to be a real footballer.

Now for some straightforward analysis. The U.S. must win Wednesday against Algeria to ensure a chance at moving on. And, while the U.S. has made a habit of falling behind, the good news here is Algeria is yet to score in the tournament so falling behind should prove difficult.

Unfortunately to this point it would seem the World Cup has struggled to gain traction in the states. But there is hope. Considering Americans relish athletes who act conceited and spoiled because they make us feel better about ourselves, Team France losing touch with reality over the weekend may help garner some fans.

A power struggle between a player and his coach has sent the entire French nation into a freefall and forced President Nicolas Sarcozy to dispatch a personal envoy. Yes indeed, Team France’s sudden disfunctionality makes the Lohan family look a lot like the Brady Bunch.

It’s simple now. If the Americans win Wednesday they move on. If they don’t, their chances become slim. But the real point here is, soccer fan or not, give the World Cup a chance.