More verbal goal scoring

Have come to really like the michael davies and roger bennet blog/podcast on espn through this cup, and found another good one today. this summed up a few things:

"When did I last feel this bad about a loss? England's 1990 semifinal defeat to Germany, perhaps?

But I am not talking about England's 4-1 battering. It was the U.S.'s ouster that left me devastated this weekend. England's failure was, regrettably, all too predictable. We are a nation that has long mistaken fame for skill. But the U.S. team created a sense of endeavor, nobility and optimism -- all too rare a commodity in sports and rarer still in American soccer. We will always have Landon's goal, a totemic symbol that will be played and replayed, even as we debate how or whether America's fascination for the big-event nature of the World Cup will translate into a more lasting passion for the sport of football itself."

all from some englishmen too... god, miss this team still.

Goodbye Harties

Now, just replace "Horses" with "Harties" and you're in business. Some final thoughts:

We will miss RSA, as scary and dodgy as it can be. We will miss Harties despite its electrical fence and echoes of apartheid and Anglo-Dutch repression. We will miss the moment in the supermarket when South Africa scored their second goal against France and everyone, black, white, American, Afrikaner, went ballistic with joy. Beyond all the guardhouses and running of red lights and poverty and fear, there is hope here. The people were wonderful and we were better for having met them.

Thanks to Noah, in a plagiarist but no less meaningful echoing previous posts. This would not have been possible without his planning and administrative voice. We can be disasters. So can Noah. On this trip, we remained confused and disoriented and he was well-versed, aware and prepared, all amidst the churn of thousands of words of journalistic copy everyday. Like the end of a public television broadcast, he gives full meaning to, "This was made possible by ...;" So we offer our thanks and continued admiration.

We will miss this US team. My teller at the bank today was from Ghana. He looked me in the eye and said, "It was joy to see Ghana win but it was sad to see USA go. They had real heart." Then he opened a credit card for me. I told him that Ghana's win was good for Africa but nonetheless crushing for us. He shook my hand and said, "We have so much here; we will be back." This statement was tough to read but reflected just how much "we" this US team engendered here. I don't know who he'll be rooting for in four years but, we will be back, hearts still full. See you in Brazil.

It's Over ... It's Never Over

Echoing Andrew's post from last evening, the World Cup is over for us, it continues for others and it is certainly alive in our hearts. This has been an amazing journey and one that perhaps has only further laid the foundation of Americans who travel, a wonderful group of friends, and forever loyalty to the Red, White and Blue.

The emotions are complex. Luckily, we were not England, blown off the world stage by a hated rival. But then again, these are the same arguments people use to reduce all First World suffering; "Remember, there are starving children in Africa ...," turned to, "Hey, you could be England, France, Italy, Ireland, etc." Well, last night was uniquely and especially miserable, but fear is also the heart of love.

There is no glory without pain and no cheer without misery. Hopefully US fans can remember these facts and this team. We were not disgraced; we just lost. We will be in Brazil in 2014. We will continue to love these team and all these people. This was a wonderful ride. Thank you South Africa, all our friends, all the strangers we met and shared time with and all the football fans the world over. To everyone here and those carried in our hearts, our thanks, our commitment and our promise to return. USAmerica.

A beautiful email from Tom

Dudes,

Couldn't figure out how to get on the gustrowharties.blogspot. You probably won't get this email till after the game, but I just wanted to send what collective footballing luck I can summon from the banks of the Ohio (more than you'd think) on to the match today. Although Forsythe and I didn't make it this time, we're more than there in spirit--dying a thousand deaths with each cross bar clanged, and screaming volley shanked (seriously Jerry may have broken my ribs with his bear claws after lando's goal). Whatever happens, you're doing us more than proud (by the by, I am continually amazed by the sheer volume of prose Noah has churned out on Goal.com while in that vortex of fandom--I'm also amazed by how (relatively) healthy you guys still look).

It's go time. Reverse curse the Black Star.

America. -T

In Which We Briefly Enjoy Nature

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out :: USA vs. Ghana

In 2006 we walked from the stadium after a shocking defeat to Ghana. This has been well documented in the past; no one spoke for three on-foot miles. It was living in chains. It was horrifying. We were shell-shocked. We had all spent our entire financial holdings on the trip and hadn't even seen the $6,000 bill for totaling a car. It was an ugly '06 June. Fast-forward four years and it's a slightly different cast of characters with some major additions and some major (emotional) absences. This time we generated an enclave in South Africa, survived a death sentence against Slovenia and experienced a divine Landon Donovan goal against Algeria. It's 2010 and we're drawn against Ghana again and we promise, we swear, we're going to give our very sporting souls in the breach tomorrow.

It's impossible to exactly explain the events after Donovan scored 48 hours ago, but it is useful to know where it led. We collapsed into joy in the moment knowing full well what it meant. In the velocity of the World Cup, it gave us one more game, another three days to grow our scraggly facial hair and another chance to silence critics, prove we travel and get ourselves (nay!), our team towards the promised land.

Tomorrow, against a familiar foe, against a team that reduced me to tears when Dempsey drilled the net in '06, we have a chance for greatness and a chance to think about changing our flights and trying to stay here to the end. We are on an absolutely miraculous run and one that we don't want to end. Don't look down, USA. We've run off the cliff and we swear up and down that we can walk on air. Or, at the very least, we refuse to walk home from this stadium. America, find your Delaware River, find your last fortitude, find your passport, locate Trenton and attack. You are Americans and goddammit, you are free.

The Video You've Been Waiting For

USA - Algeria from Andrew Silver on Vimeo.

Video Diary - Tue 6/22

Hey Algeria - Go Fuck Yourself
(and for the record, now I'm drinking)

The Tres Faces Of Nathaniel Purinton

Emotion


Emotion


Emotion

Turns out I'm not the only one filming Jeremy...

Day 7 Recap

ARG-KOR. Caught the end of this game via ESPN radio while flying to San Francisco. Thank wi-fi in airplanes. Argentina has awoken. Goals are being scored. Just imagine if Messi gets in the action. This team is getting scarier.

NIG-GRE. Listened to this one on the radio in the air too. Greece got feisty. Nigeria is in trouble. I really don't see an African team getting to the QF.

MEX-FRA. Caught this one on my iPhone. Greece picked up the win after a ridiculous play that led to a red card for Nigeria. Go greeks.

Pool leader: Noah. Because I didn't make picks today. Damnit.

"Andrew Gets a Jersey" or "Cotton and Weird"

Day 5 Recap

NZL-SVK. Watched in my apartment. Exciting game between minnows. New Zealand's sweet header goal in extra time was wonderful. I love soccer.

CIV-POR. Watched in my apartment. Missed the second half, but saw a great rip by Ronaldo in the first half that hit the woodwork. Glad that Drogba made a second half appearance. I really like that guy. I also enjoy their orange uniforms.

BRA-PRK. Watched the first half in my apartment and the second half at Rebar in a weird theater with old minivan bench seats as chairs. Brazil's first goal was such an impossible angle that it was the goalie's fault. The second goal was just amazing. The North Korean goal was exciting. Brazil looked really good.

Pool leader: Andrew (again).

Brazil-North Korea at Rebar

Awkwardly quiet, but the stadium seating and excellent beer (can't remember the name, but it's from the oldest brewery in the world) made this ok.

Day 3 Recap

ALG-SLO. Watached at home. Here's my thoughts on this. It should have been a tie. The goal was weak (as was ours of course). But these two teams are both battle tested in a way we are not. We haven't had a win-or-go-home since Ghana in 2006. (I'm discounting any Gold Cup type events and the Spain/Brazil games in the Confed Cup because we were just happy to be there at that point.) Algeria and Slovenia have both won two-leg playoffs in the last year, and they were underdogs in both cases. We need 6 points from these two games - well, at least 3 from Slovenia to start - and I think Slovenia is going to be harder to handle than we expect.

GHA-SRB. Watched at home. Not much to say about this one. I wasn't really paying attention/didn't really care. But I'm impressed that Essien-less Ghana pulled out a win.

GER-AUS. Watched at home. Let's concede that the Aussies are a mess, but that was still pretty impressive. Ze Germans are ridiculously consistent in World Cups, have less pressure than normal, and if Podolski/Klose/Schweinstaggerrrrr are on, Germany is scary. I also feel like I'm supposed to hate Germany, but I don't.

Pool leader: Noah (it's like he does this for a living or something).

Jersey Tracking 2.0

A medium, home Jay Demerit jersey left North Carolina on Friday at 8pm, made it to Louisville, Kentucky in about three hours where it spent Friday night, no doubt concerned about my whereabouts. On Saturday morning at 6:15am, it left Louisville and hasn't been heard from since. We'll assume that a dedicated (and by this I mean committed and solo) UPS agent currently has this package under his arm and is sprinting toward the New York City area. You have until Tuesday. World Soccer Shop enjoys the drama.

Happy Birthday Jeremy

The World Cup is Better than Everything Everywhere