Just.
That was exhausting.
400 minutes of gameplay and the USA only held the lead for 2 of those. In fact, we can even tack on 270 minutes from the 2006 World Cup for additional enervation.
And it showed in the final overtime against Ghana. The players looked physically and emotionally drained from having to play constant catch-up. As exhilarating as the victory against Algeria was, I can't help but wonder how the USA would have played if those two stolen goals had counted.
For the past three World Cups, it has felt like we have not only had to compete against superior teams but against the referees as well.
2002: Torsten Frings's handball at the Germany goal line denying an equalizer.
2006: Haminu Draman's mugging of Claudio Reyna which resulted in a goal and a sprained medial collateral ligament for Reyna. Stephen Appiah's dive for a game winning penalty kick.
2010: Where to begin.
I might consider patching together some sort of conspiracy theory, if only the rest of the officiating for this World Cup wasn't equally incompetent.
At least we lost the 2010 rematch against Ghana by ourselves. I like Bradley, but starting Clark and Findley were fatal errors. And what a squandered opportunity with Uruguay as the only obstacle in the way of the Semifinals. Now we have to look forward to a World Cup hosted by Brazil and potentially 6 South American squads.
Finally, I am tired of the patronizing attitude that the announcers have displayed in portraying African teams as the underdogs, particularly with the constant display of the "Only 2 [now 3] African teams have advanced to the Quarterfinals" fact.
Newsflash: CAF has a better World Cup record than CONCACAF (and arguably AFC/Oceania as well).
Since the modern World Cup format was established in 1986, CAF has sent 3 teams to the Quarterfinals. CONCACAF has only sent 2: one of those was when Mexico hosted the Cup and the other was when USA and Mexico played each other in the round of 16. America did get third place once -- in 1930, when only 13 teams played and even then it was a retroactive ranking.
Yes, it is a shame that South Africa has the misfortune of being the first host country to not advance beyond the group stage, but that could have easily been the USA if not for a tragic Columbian own goal.
Surely the greatest sign of respect you can show for an opponent is hatred. I loathe Brazil and I pray every South American team is eliminated in the group stage in 2014.
Hopefully, when the next World Cup is hosted in Africa, we can root for that same result as well.
400 minutes of gameplay and the USA only held the lead for 2 of those. In fact, we can even tack on 270 minutes from the 2006 World Cup for additional enervation.
And it showed in the final overtime against Ghana. The players looked physically and emotionally drained from having to play constant catch-up. As exhilarating as the victory against Algeria was, I can't help but wonder how the USA would have played if those two stolen goals had counted.
For the past three World Cups, it has felt like we have not only had to compete against superior teams but against the referees as well.
2002: Torsten Frings's handball at the Germany goal line denying an equalizer.
2006: Haminu Draman's mugging of Claudio Reyna which resulted in a goal and a sprained medial collateral ligament for Reyna. Stephen Appiah's dive for a game winning penalty kick.
2010: Where to begin.
I might consider patching together some sort of conspiracy theory, if only the rest of the officiating for this World Cup wasn't equally incompetent.
At least we lost the 2010 rematch against Ghana by ourselves. I like Bradley, but starting Clark and Findley were fatal errors. And what a squandered opportunity with Uruguay as the only obstacle in the way of the Semifinals. Now we have to look forward to a World Cup hosted by Brazil and potentially 6 South American squads.
Finally, I am tired of the patronizing attitude that the announcers have displayed in portraying African teams as the underdogs, particularly with the constant display of the "Only 2 [now 3] African teams have advanced to the Quarterfinals" fact.
Newsflash: CAF has a better World Cup record than CONCACAF (and arguably AFC/Oceania as well).
Since the modern World Cup format was established in 1986, CAF has sent 3 teams to the Quarterfinals. CONCACAF has only sent 2: one of those was when Mexico hosted the Cup and the other was when USA and Mexico played each other in the round of 16. America did get third place once -- in 1930, when only 13 teams played and even then it was a retroactive ranking.
Yes, it is a shame that South Africa has the misfortune of being the first host country to not advance beyond the group stage, but that could have easily been the USA if not for a tragic Columbian own goal.
Surely the greatest sign of respect you can show for an opponent is hatred. I loathe Brazil and I pray every South American team is eliminated in the group stage in 2014.
Hopefully, when the next World Cup is hosted in Africa, we can root for that same result as well.
posted by d l wright at 7/01/2010 06:44:00 AM
2 Comments:
And then Brazil lost.
Suarez's handball might be second favorite moment in World Cup history. Just awesome. Rewind a minute to see Ghana dive once again to earn that free kick. Karma.
And Brazil out? This Quarterfinals is working out perfectly.
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