Ouch...That One Hurt -Which is a Good Thing

It usually takes me a few days after a tough loss to write a post. That's a bad habit, I know - but there you are. The US losing to Ghana left me almost as disappointed as the Arsenal loss to Birmingham (although not as disgusted) - and that, I think, is a good sign.

I could break down the match and talk about the areas where we were poor - how Ghana took advantage of the lanes between our full backs and center backs, how Altidore couldn't finish anything to save his life - or even run to save it (anybody else notice his lack of speed?). I could talk about how tired we looked after having only two days off or how Bradley needs to choose his squad better so he doesn't have to sub at the 31st minute limiting his options for late in the game. But I'm not. Well, not into great detail, I mean. Instead, I want to write about the upside of disappointment.

At the World Cup in 2006, the USA crashed out in the group stage and in last place to boot. And I didn't watch, nor did I care. I didn't want to admit that the US soccer squad just were not up to par with the rest of the world. And to be frank, I didn't want to be laughed at by my football fan colleagues for rooting for a team that most Americans, and most people on the planet, didn't care about. No one I knew was shocked at the poor results.

This time around was a different story. I had teams/nations I followed in the Cup due to them having Arsenal players on them. But my favorite team was the one that belonged to my nation. I went out of my way to look up our US players and learned about them, and I tried to teach you (my five readers) about them as well. And the more I knew, the more personal the team felt to me. And all of a sudden, I wanted them to do well. I wanted them to do well because the USA gaining legitimacy in the world arena would help soccer overall. I wanted them to do well because I discovered that many play for European clubs I am familiar with...and because I saw how hard they worked as a squad with only a few well known faces. I saw how cohesive they were and how they had each other's backs. In short, I wanted them to do well because I became invested and thought they deserved it.

And then came the tie with England. We won thanks to a gaffe by a goalie, but I was excited to see the creativity and determination. Then there was the tie against Slovenia and the injury time winner against Algeria. What a cracker of a game that was. And everyone became excited. We could get to the quarter finals, I was sure of it. I wasn't sure that we could go farther, so I knew I was being realistic. But I had hope. I tried to spread the excitement and that hope to friends, family, and even strangers who I overheard talking about the World Cup. Yes. I was a bit obsessed about it.

Game day against Ghana brought enthusiasm and anticipation as I watched with one of my brothers in Indiana, texted my newly converted fan- of- a- brother in Las Vegas, and made sure my parents were watching. I was, in short, a bundle of nerves. The match started, and my stomach dropped at that early goal. Not again! But then calmness came as I remembered how good we were at equalizing. How we didn't give up. Hope rose once more as I saw Dempsey again and again fight to create something...and then he got fouled in the box. Donovan made the penalty shot. And we were back in it.

You know the rest. Overtime came and we played with tired legs. I watched as Ghana once again exploited the lanes between our back four and scored. And we were done. Ghana played keep-a-way and ran down the clock. Sigh.

The question is...what happens now? The fervor that swept US soccer and non-soccer fans alike will prove to be permanent or temporary (my little brother texted me after the game blaming me for getting him excited about a sport he never really paid any attention to before now). Coach Bradley may stay on or get fired. And the players? Donovan is supposedly getting courted by the EPL team Manchester City and Dempsey will probably go back to England for pre-season with Fulham. I'm not sure about the rest.

Me? I get to go back to writing about my beloved Arsenal. Pre-season starts for us soon. Back to the familiar excitement rooting for familiar players. But you know...the USA plays Brazil on August 10th for some sort of international friendly. Hmmm...I might just have to watch that.