US Against The World

God Bless Landon Donovan (not pictured).

Never in my life did I think on ONE tv screen I'd have an England-Slovenia game where I was PRAYING for a Slovenia goal, and on the other, I'd watch the US go toe-to-toe with Algeria.

But that was the situation on Wednesday.

The US was in one of those "win or get help" situations, and help wasn't coming.

The 90th minute arrived and I was standing next to Joe Zigacki, the voice of the Miami Hurricanes.

Joe said to me, Dukie, that may be a LOONNNNG flight home.

Then its flashed on ESPN: 4 minutes of extra time.
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During the minute before Donovan's goal, I was working myself into a frenzy of rage.

Earlier in the game, Clint Dempsey scored a goal for the US, but it once again, was wiped off the board.

A BS off-sides call was the culprit this time.

Sure, the US blew chances, but how deflating must that have been for Bob Bradley's bunch?

I said to myself, F this sport.

Really.

For whatever reason, be it political, economic, jealousy, that we're new to the sport...

American goals don't count.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

For whatever reason, we couldn't get a break and it makes the rest of the world delighted that we can't.

I thought to myself, how can I emotionally invest in sport, where my team legitimately doesn't have a chance to win? To make it even more personal, that's my country.

F that.

If the US doesn't score here, I'm done with it...
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I didn't even get the word "it" into my brain, before a frenzy of joy and elation.

Landon Donovan did what elite players are supposed to do in crucial situations, he found a way to win.

As the Americans formed a dogpile on the side of the pitch, I felt myself well up with unbridled jingoism.

You know what rest of the world??? You don't want the US to do well at soccer? Tough **it.

We're coming to beat you at your own game.

American imperialism on the pitch and in your face.
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So there you have it soccer, you almost lost me and then won me over BIG TIME in the span of about 90 minutes.

Honestly, I don't really care about the typical soccer questions... Will soccer ever catch on in the US and blah blah blah...

What I do care about is *THIS* US team.

They overcame horrible officials, slow starts, uneven defense, the vuvuzelas, and the hatred of the world, and won their group for the first time since 1930.

Bring on Ghana Saturday.

I believe.