…why you are getting so excited over this:
What’s wrong with me? Why do I keep blogging about this controversy? But that ripped-off goal still rankles:
The reason why one blown call (and lets face it when it comes down to the scheme of things that’s all it is, a blown call) by a ref in a sport you don’t care about is that deep down you get the feeling that thanks to our friends on the left relentless campaign accusing us of torture, murder, environmental crimes, war crimes, the insistence on the constitution meaning what it says, etc… you have the idea in the back of your head, as did I that for the ref, this was the chance to show take those no good Americans down a peg.
It likely isn’t that, refs blow calls in all type of sports. If the ref came out and handled it the same way that things were handled in Detroit this year it would be a different story, and it would drop, but people are so fanatical over this stuff worldwide that they can’t just let it go.
As for your second question:
If anybody can suggest a good, red-blooded, all-American reason to care about this World Cup stuff, please let me know. I might need an excuse, if I ever actually start to care.
It is because of the American style of play, it is distinctly American, to wit lets compare:
Today Italy (the reigning champions, ranked 5th in the world) played New Zealand (ranked 78th, just behind Wales and just ahead of Albania) and only managed to tie them despite an incredible disparity in shots on goal (25-3), Corner Kicks (this is a kick from the corner allowing basically a free centering pass) 15-0. Italy only managed a tie and that tying goal came on a Penalty Kick (that was called). As the game neared it’s end the announcers were going on about how well New Zealand did and how they were waiting for time to expire and stalling to preserve the tie.
During the US game the total attitude was different. Americans down 2-0 at the half weren’t content to just try to get a goal to change the Goals ratio, they weren’t even content to finish with a tie and get the point. They were playing to WIN! They kept attacking, knowing that there was a risk of a successful counterattack.
To them the purpose of the game wasn’t to play it safe, the purpose was to WIN, win on the field, to finish the game ahead and they kept pressing refusing to settle, refusing to play it safe in that distinctly American way.
This is why America IS. Millions of people from around the world refused to play it safe, they left everything they had to go to a new world, to a new culture to try to make it for themselves. The odds didn’t matter, the language didn’t matter. They didn’t expect the culture to change for them, their dream wasn’t to become hyphenated Americans , their dream was to become Americans.
It’s ironic. The very traits of this particular American team are traits that conservatives love, and liberals despise. You are being drawn in Stacy because these guys play like AMERICANS! I’m sure if soccer wasn’t considered “chic”, “international” and “cosmopolitan” the left would dump this team like a hot potato. And if we get to the later rounds, there will be more that a few commentators suggesting that it’s good that the US gets eliminated because it means so much less to us.
That a load of *&#)! I want the US team to win because it is the US team. It’s not my sport but it’s my country and my team and it represent US and it doing it in a way that appeals to me and apparently Stacy to you.
Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog 
I want the US to win, but I can’t stand to watch it. Those vuvuzela things drive me to the point of distraction. I have to leave the room when the kids have it on.
[…] Because he links me, that’s why.UPDATE II: Our friend suggests this video:UPDATE III: Linked by Da Tech Guy. var addthis_append_data='false';var addthis_language='en';var addthis_options='twitter, digg, […]
they sound like a swarm of bees don’t they?
Oh, it’s terrible! Then the Florida Marlins passed out 15,000 of them at a game this weekend. They must be insane. The players wore earplugs.
I’ll still root for the US as long as I can turn down the sound.
Happy Fathers Day!
Even if the USA team wins it all (I sincerely hope so), America will continue to generally perceive soccer as a quasi-sport for those who really do not wish to compete. Unlike our US team, pretty much the rest of the soccer playing world considers diving, acting, and generally childish whining to be “part of the game”.
As you stated, Americans love competition. Repeatedly watching soccer players moderately contacted across the thigh or hip, only to react by clutching their head and writhing violently on the ground, will not sit well with Americans. This is x2 when the same said player immediately jumps up and joins the play after his theatrics earn the opposing team a yellow card.
High level soccer showcases phenomenal athleticism. It should be more popular here than it is. Until FIFA clamps down on the softies and cheaters — and the coaches who encourage it –soccer will not attain proper recognition in the USA.
Don’t hold your breath.
[…] to Serve”… By datechguy …likely this will be one of the few times this will be true: Americans love competition. Repeatedly watching soccer players moderately contacted across the […]
The “America plays to win” thing is just not true as an explanation. What you’re noting is just a function of the varying expectations and talent levels among the various soccer nations and tactical decisions related to them (helped considerably by the fact that draws are possible in soccer).
First of all, in the Italy-NZ game, yes, New Zealand was hoping to hang on for a tie (and the announcers pulling for the underdog). But Italy was just as desperately playing to get a second goal and win. It’s not because Italians are one type of person and New Zealanders another, but because Italy is *supposed* to crush New Zealand in soccer, in the same sense that Notre Dame is *supposed* to crush Navy at American football (look at the Middies’ reaction to their 40-year-streak-breaking win and the irish reaction to any of those 40 wins if you don’t think there’s no “expectations” dynamic in American sport). A tie is a “win” of a kind for New Zealand in a way it is not for Italy, like going the distance being a victory for Rocky Balboa in a way it wasn’t for Apollo Creed. And if Italy and New Zealand were playing rugby or cricket, you’d see the reverse dynamic — the Italians trying to keep it close and low-scoring and maybe get a tie out of a game in which they’re expected to get stomped. You don’t get national characteristics out of any of this.
As for the US … it was playing to win against Slovenia, because it expected to win. But look at the game against England — both how the US played it and the aftermath reaction to the tie, both by the players on the field and the US press. The NY Post had the tabloid head (“US beats England 1-1” IIRC).
[…] This is consistent with what I wrote before: Asked about the earlier disallowed goal, a glory-drenched Donovan responded, and I paraphrase: […]
i dont play soccer because its fun, i play it because of the passion for the game, because without it there is nothing and it is like a headache when you cant play. Soccer isnt just my sport it is my way of life and my passion!