Maybe We Can Play This Game Too?!
Germany is always the villain. It was in World War II (obviously), World War I (less-obviously), and in our only realistic shot at winning the world cup (the antithesis of obviously). We all forget now, since the US was a finalist in some contrived "Confederations Cup", but the US team reached its apex in 2002, a wonderful tournament in South Korea and Japan. Playing in what was the wee hours of the morning at home, the US National team actually captivated a nation for the monthlong tournament, brilliantly beating traditional powers (Mexico, Portugal), and ending in a beautiful and controversial quarterfinal against Germany, the perfect villian. Soccer would never be the same in the US. Today, one can watch the UEFA Champions League on Fox Sports Net, watch English Premier League matches on ESPN, watch the UEFA European Cup on ABC, and every single kick of the World Cup live. All that is due to the valiant effort of the forgotten great team, the first team to make soccer matter in the USA, and the team that made every fan think, "Hey, maybe we can play this game too?"
There were little expectations preceding the 2002 World Cup for the US team. Coupled that with the fact the games were taking place an 18 hour plane ride away, and airing live at 2 AM and 5 AM, there was no buzz. Finally, to finish off the triumvarite of suck that was eminent before the tournament, the USA was placed in easily the second most diffucult group, with an able Polan team, pre-tournament Giants Portugal and host South Korea (and hosts almost always play better than expected; witness: the USA in 1994 when an awful US team actually was able to not suck). To say the US team was forgotten and pushed far down into the sports scene would be like saying that Brazilians can play soccer. It was obvious the US, who had never really done anything, and failed to score a single goal in the 1998 World Cup, would just be round 1 fodder.
That all changed on June 5, 2002 in Suwon Stadium, when the US took the pitch against the bookmakers second pre-tournament favorite Portugal. What followed was a resounding match that probably lit the soccer explosion that has occured in the years since (I'll explain later). The US scored in the fourth minute on a power-drilled shot by John O'Brien (who? exactly). Scored on a flukish redirection that slipped by Portuguese goalkeeper Vitor Baia, and the US somehow led 2-0 thirty five minutes in. At this point, it was around 3 AM in America, and really everyone was asleep. A beatiful header by hero Brian McBride six minutes later, and the USA led 3-0 against a dominant Portuguese unit. The thousands of US fans drowned out their much louder, better represented Portuguese brethren in Suwon Stadium. The US were not only shocking Portugal, but dominating them. The US hung on valiantly as every bit of liquid talent the Portuguese team could exert they did to score two goals to close to within 3-2, but got no further. Around 4:20 AM in New York, the American's landed the first haymaker in a wild, wild World Cup, beating Portugal and finally showing the world that the American's were not some country devoid of football talent, but a team that might actually be able to play.
The US beats Portugal, indirectly creating the soccer wave.
Hours later, millions of Americans woke up and found out the same thing, "We beat a Europe team in Soccer?". Americans are fickle sorts when it comes to soccer. America demands the best from its sports, and because the MLS is far from the best, no one cares much about soccer. At all. It is regarded as some French game played by lithe, slender Europeans and girl-men not macho enough to toss around a pigskin. Suddenly, the US team was good enough to beat Portugal. They were good. This was not the Columbus Crew beating the Cheyenne Bulls (just to prove how pointless MLS is, there is no team called the Cheyenne Bulls, but if I hadn't said anything I'm not sure anyone would have noticed). This was our country beating a soccer-crazed one. The World Cup is the best sporting event on the planet, and finally the US was invited to the party, and not as the nominal court jester, as a real party-picipant.
The US followed that up with a tie against host South Korea, an outcome not so shocking but incredibly important. And, of course, the game was on in the wee hours of the morning, but this time poeople tuned in. Viewership doubled. Americans cared. There was a chance the US team would win, and at least a certainty Landon, Brian, Claudio and the boys would be competitive. The US team was worthy of staying up (or getting up, as the 11 year old me did) at 3 AM to watch them play soccer. The outcome was actually a slight dissapointment, considering the US just beat Portugal, but helped everything. Entering the final match, the US knew that if South Korea beat Portugal, the US would make the knockout round. Of course, if they beat Poland the US could actually win the group, and made the Korea game meaningless in their respective view, but sport in the United States is never easy, nothing is meaningless. Within 5 minutes the Polish team was up 2-0, and millions of Americans did something that signaled just how important and invested they were into the World Cup. Instead of screaming at themselves for believing in their soccer team and switching it off and going back to bed, they switched channels, to the Portugal - Korea game. The US team made people care enough about the game that they not only watched the US team, but watched other games that effected the US team. It was the second level. The US game became secondary, the US fate was more important. Millions of fans cheered when Park Ji-Sung scored in the 70th minute to break a scoreless tie and give Korea a 1-0 lead. Now, Korea was 20 minutes away from winning, and the US 20 minutes away from a round of 16 date with..... Mexico. Korea held on, and the North American turf war was set.
June 17, 2002, in the hallowed city of Jeonju, the Americans took on the Mexicans for the right to play traditional power Germany. But no one cared about Germany, it was all about gearing up for the equivalent of a Canada-US hockey match. It was North America on North America, it was neighbor-on-neighbor. And just like beating the Canadians at their own game, the US had a chance to beat their pitiless brother at their own game. It really was the perfect storm for the sport. The Americans were finally good, and not only were people invested for that reason, but also for the fact that it was Mexico. It meant something to beat Mexico, to knock them out, to claim North American supremacy. Brian McBride scored in the eighth minute, and Landon Donovan in the 65th, and the US defense stifled the Mexican attack. The US had claimed Mexico's scalp, hung it next to Portugal's and had the opportunity to beat the Germans, the ultimate villian.
Maybe it is because Germany is such a polarizing opponent, for reasons stretching back to World War II, but it is more likely that it was because the US was actually good, and American's love greatness, but the US nation-over was excited for a soccer, was pumped and ready to go, and ultimately was devastated in defeat. After a great wide-open game, Michael Ballack's header past Brad Friedel stood as the only goal in the match. However, that was the smallest of the issues. There was controversy abound when an obvious hand-ball, one that was done right on the goalmouth stopping what would have been the game tying goal, was not called. The US was furious, the Germans were elated, the game was put under a suspicious cloud and the sport had changed forever. Torsten Frings, the hand-perpetrator, was placed right below Hitler and Chamberlain as German heroes (there is quite a gap between Hitler and Chamberlain, let alone Hitler and Frings), as the man who killed America's shot at glory, and more importantly America's shot at giving the world the ultimate middle finger, winning a tournament that it cared little about before it started. But the outrage that was born out of the no-call underlied a more important development, that soccer at its highest form mattered. It's the "Oh well" test, of whether a loss elicits outrage, or an "oh well." This wasn't, "Oh well... we'll just return to life as normal" loss, this was an infuriating loss. Sports can cause infuriation when they are important, when the sting of defeat hurts more than the spoils of victory a sport has reached a high, high level and international soccer did right then and then, because maybe the US team was good enough.
Maybe it is because Germany is such a polarizing opponent, for reasons stretching back to World War II, but it is more likely that it was because the US was actually good, and American's love greatness, but the US nation-over was excited for a soccer, was pumped and ready to go, and ultimately was devastated in defeat. After a great wide-open game, Michael Ballack's header past Brad Friedel stood as the only goal in the match. However, that was the smallest of the issues. There was controversy abound when an obvious hand-ball, one that was done right on the goalmouth stopping what would have been the game tying goal, was not called. The US was furious, the Germans were elated, the game was put under a suspicious cloud and the sport had changed forever. Torsten Frings, the hand-perpetrator, was placed right below Hitler and Chamberlain as German heroes (there is quite a gap between Hitler and Chamberlain, let alone Hitler and Frings), as the man who killed America's shot at glory, and more importantly America's shot at giving the world the ultimate middle finger, winning a tournament that it cared little about before it started. But the outrage that was born out of the no-call underlied a more important development, that soccer at its highest form mattered. It's the "Oh well" test, of whether a loss elicits outrage, or an "oh well." This wasn't, "Oh well... we'll just return to life as normal" loss, this was an infuriating loss. Sports can cause infuriation when they are important, when the sting of defeat hurts more than the spoils of victory a sport has reached a high, high level and international soccer did right then and then, because maybe the US team was good enough.
The US plays Germany close in an exciting match highlighted by a controversial no-call handball.
Soccer still has not taken off domestically for the reason that Americans need greatness. The MLS is a second-rate league with second-rate players. In Europe live the real stars, with the real talent, the Ronaldo's, Messi's Kaka's, Zidane's. Americans don't want to watch the DC United and Real Salt Lake. No, they want excellence, and in this lies the proof that soccer has arrived to some degree. The European Cup, a Europe-only version of the world cup played during the even year in-between world cups (2004, 2008, etc) and the UEFA Champions League, the tournament between the best club teams in Europe, are routinely watched by four and five times more people than the MLS cup. These are not minor ratings. The Champions League final, considering it aired at 2:30 PM in midday, got a very good rating. Americans like soccer, just not our soccer. They like the English Premier League, the Champions League, the EuroCup and are in unfettered love with the World Cup (as evidenced by the 2006 tournament that drew 26 million for the final between France and Italy). Hell, America even watched the third-rate Confederations Cup, which is the international soccer equivalent of the preseason NIT in college basketball, utterly meaningless. There is a soccer revolution underway, and it will only increase, and Brian McBride, Landon Donovan, Clint Mathis, Claudio Reyna, Pablo Mastroeni, Brad Freidel, Anthona Sennah and Bruce Arena are the causes, because it was them who allowed us to say "you know what, maybe we can play this game."
