.cross.wired.mind.

I know I have been hard on my Yanks (that’s the US Men’s National Soccer Team) but in truth the effort at this World Cup was better than I gave them credit for while in the throes of agony after we left the tournament.  Columnist Andrew Rogers puts it all into perspective.

I am not the only one who thinks that Landon Donovan has become a crappy player because he did not stay in Europe.

Donovan — and any soccer player worth his golden spikes — needs pressure to evolve. Pressure makes diamonds, busts pipes and turns soccer players into big-game stars. The World’s best players, be they European or South American, live a life of continuous pressure to perform.

bingo.

The US lost to Ghana 2-1.  It was 1-0 in Ghana’s favor when Damarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey combine for a beautiful goal.  Then moments later the #*^$(@& ref calls Gooch for a foul in our box.  No matter how many times I watch that replay I cannot see what he was calling.  Ghana converts and all of the momentum the US had built dissipates.

But, I will not blame the ref.

No.  There is enough blame to go around.  First and foremost the players.  We have no true team leader.  There is no American version of Roy Keane calling his team to task when they slip.  We have no heart.  Then there is Landon Donovan.  He gave up a chance to compete for a place in a European club side to get a guaranteed starting spot on an MLS team here in the States.  It shows.  His form has done nothing but drop over the last few years.  On the pitch today he looked like crap.  No club outside of the MLS will touch him now, and that’s too bad because he needs to fight for a roster spot if he wants to play at the highest level

Then there is Bruce Almighty.  I love his ability to put a team together.  He is and always will be a great coach but he really blew it this time.  His team lacked an edge.  He was overly cautious.  He is too loyal to players who have worked hard for him over the years.  We needed a hungry team and it wasn’t there.  The coach needs to step up when the team lacks the hunger to compete.  Should Bruce Areana return as the US coach?  I think so but I would not be surprised if he doesn’t.  He is a proven winner except for the place it counts most - at the World Cup.  His record there is 1-3-2 in group play and a tight win in the 2002 round of 16.  That is not a good record.  Sure we do not have the skill of the top tier sides but we are often a better team than most.  Not this time.

The ref.  Refereeing decisions are critical in most sports but in soccer they can change a game in a heartbeat.  Claudio Reyna is fouled as he is stripped of the ball.  Nothing called - goal scored.  Gooch fights for a ball in the box and a PK is called.  Sure, we should have come back from both but when the ref is calling everything against you then how can you play with any passion.  How can you make an aggressive challenge for the ball if such an action is routinely punished?

I’ll make a bold prediction - more than one team will lose a round of 16 match because of overzealous or lackadaisical officiating.

Well, time to go back to my heritage and cheer on the Azzuri. 

Italia!  Italia!  Italia!

The US faces Ghana in a make or break match at the World Cup in Germany 24 hours from now.

I am already nervous.

Heck, after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Italy I was already nervous about US v Ghana.  1990 was a thrill just because we were there.  1994 was exciting because we made it to the round of 16.  1998 was simply painful as we imploded on and off the field.  2002 was a thrill ride from the very first match.  2006 has been all about nerves.  Will we repeat our performance of 2002 or whimper out like 1998.  All indications point to something in between.  We took a point from the toughest opponent in our group and we stand a good chance of taking 3 points from Ghana.  If that happens and Italy beat the Czechs then we are through … to face BRASIL in the round of 16.  Its 1994 all over again.

Do you ever stop and listen to sports fans talk about the teams they follow? 

I do. 

My co-workers talk about all kinds of sports … by all kinds I mean baseball, football, and basketball.  When my co-workers talk about the teams they love - Phillies, Eagles, and 76ers - I often hear these teams referred to as “they”. 

Here is a typical conversation head at my office:

The Phillies stank last night.
They sure did.
Why do they stink so much.
Well they lack heart, skill, intelligence…
Yada yada yada.

Now compare that to the conversations heard at pubs and cafes the world over (even here in the USA) when futbol fans gather.

Man, the Czechs tore us apart.
We got pasted, but Eddie Johnson did us proud.
If we don’t start playing with some passion it’ll be 1998 all over again.
We’ll pull it out.
etc., etc., etc.

Notice the difference?  This is one of the many reasons American’s don’t get the passion that flows the the world of footy fans.  A footy fan includes him or herself in the team whereas fans of American sports put themselves on the outside looking in.  Why is that?  Why do Americans get these puzzled looks on their face when they hear that Poland is still pissed at Germany for making them play on a water0logged pitch in 1974 thus negating the speed that the Poles were known for.  Why?  Because Americans think they are passionate about their sports but they do not live them.  In every game played between the US and Mexico for the next 100 years the Mexican team will always look back to their defeat at out hands in 2002.  It’s true!  As I mentioned in an earlier post - find a Mexican fan (though nearly anyone of Mexican descent) and tell him or her how sweet the US performance was in 2002 and get ready to dodge whatever hurled object the Mexican fan can reach.

Passion.  We think we have it.  We don’t.  Not to the same extent as the Brazilians, Mexicans, English, Germans, Italians, Togans, etc., etc., etc.

We confuse volume for passion.  We think that the louder we shout the more passion we have.

Go to a soccer match in any other part of the world and make sure the match is between local rivals (called a derby for those who are not soccer literate) and you will not be able to hear yourself think.  I am not talking about the noise generated by a typical NFL game.  I am talking about tens of thousands of people singing and chanting in unison … for 90 minutes straight … in temperature at or near freezing … in the rain … and their team is losing … badly.

That is passion.  Its we … not they.

The super secret project begins to reveal itself …

Sam’s Army is silent.  I walk back to work alone.  The US has lost 3-0 against the Czech Republic.  Yes, they are a better team than we are.  Yes, we played well below potential.  Yes, we lacked heart, leadership, and courage.  With the exception of Eddie Johnson we played a flat, passionless 90 minutes of painful football.

First game lost.  Italy looms on the horizon this Saturday.  If we are to have any hope we need three things - 4 points (1W and 1T), a better goal differential, and the Czech Republic to dominate the group.  And that assumes that a fire is lit and we play like I know we can.

Sam’s Army needs a spark.  Now is a time to put the pain aside and steel ourselves for the tests ahead of us.

Every 4 years the normal lives of BILLIONS of people halts.  People skip work.  Schools let out.  Factories close.  Streets empty.  Giant cities turn into ghost towns.  The Pope has even changed the schedule for Sunday services. 
Why?

If you have to ask then you are in the global minority. 
There are approximately 7 billion people on the planet.  According to reliable reports 6 billion of them will be consumed by watching the same event at the same time.

86% of the planet will be doing the same thing at the same time. 
Do you get that?  What am I talking about?

Futbol, calcio, votebal, fusbal, footy, football, soccer. 
The World Cup is almost upon us.  It starts tomorrow and I am so excited that I am literally shaking as I type this.  Most Americans do not get that, but the ranks of soccer heads are growing.  In 1990 I watched the World Cup on TNT.  They showed a few games and blasphemously added commercials during the run of play.  Very few people took note of the event and fewer watched.  In 1994 the World Cup came here and Americans were amazed at the spectacle.  A league was launched and our numbers grew.  In 1998 we tanked in France and still our ranks grew.  In 2002 we beat Mexico on our way to the quarter finals.  If you mention this fact to a Mexican (any Mexican) you had better run because you have thrown an insult far worse than any you could possibly imagine.  In 2002 more soccer heads were born.

Now, 16 years from my first World Cup things have changed here in the US.  We are finally discovering what the world has already known: 
The World Cup is the pinnacle of sports competition.  Superbowl you say?  The NCAAs?  The World Series?  Comparing any of these to the World Cup is like comparing a crop-duster to an F15.  No, I take that back its like the difference between the Wright Flyer and the Millennium Falcon.

America has no clue.  We are so arrogant that we thing an event watched by a few hundred million is a big deal. 
6 BILLION out of 7 BILLION people will watch the final match of the World Cup.

Think about that …