A little match in Jo'Burg

So, I watched a soccer match today and it was fun. Well, it was actually pretty stressful for 15 minutes, then depressing for 20 minutes, then uplifting for 5, then really depressing for another 5. This was followed by 15 minutes of confusion and anger and more confusion and more anger. Then 3 minutes of yelling and 1 solid minute of jumping around and more yelling and slapping the #10 on my Donovan shirt (he's the man). Then, a solid 35 minutes of angst - mucho grande angst my friends. Oh then another minute or two of yelling and jumping and falling into a table and knocking over beers and yelling and jumping. And cheering, much cheering. Yes, there was that time where there was another 3 seconds of more of that... followed by 10 minutes of cursing and wondering. Then, it was over and I was confused as to how to feel about all of those emotions. I decided, in the end, that it was fun.

Let's set the scene at Slainte pub in Fells Point (Uncle Den!) in Baltimore, MD. I got there at about 7:45 and it was already buzzing and getting full. We saw some German fans and they were confident. Then I saw a Spanish referee handing out yellow cards like it was Christmas. Let me tell you, he's a merry man because he kept giving them out. However, he gave a German a red card and no one really wants to get a red card. After that, the Serbians scored, a German missed a penalty (never happens), and the Serbians won. That opened up our brother-sister group and started conversations such as "well, maybe finishing second in our group is better now that Germany lost" which was followed up by "but I don't want to face Argentina in the quarterfinals." I was listening to all of this and I got a little concerned. We're the USoA, we're not allowed to speculate on whom we would like to face in the quarterfinals when we've only played one group match.

So, the match started and me and my 12 friends (and the rest of a very full bar, plus the local CBS affiliate) started to watch. We never looked comfortable in the first phase of the match - it all seemed haphazard and without much control. Then the Slovenia dagger through the heart. It was a great shot by our Slovenian friend - quite unstoppable and probably the best goal from distance in the tournament thus far. It literally took us 20 minutes to do anything of note which was quite disappointing. I don't think Slovenia sucks, but we're better than them and we should have not have struggled that much. Did we even have possession until the 35th minute?

Anyway, the free kick from Torres was dangerous and well struck - the handball by Findley's head capped a set of pressure and then LD almost scored off a nice build up from Findley and Dempsey. Things were looking good for the first time all match. Then, in one minute's time, we forgot how to either a) run an offside trap or b) mark and it cost us big time. Talk about a slap in the face coupled with a kick in the teeth and a punch in the gut. I wanted to go home and watch the rest by myself (unless you call Landshark beer a friend, I did want to watch with Landshark as well.)

At half-time, Slainte resembled a crowded red, white, and blue morgue. It was depressing and full of much anger. It was a tough place to be. Thankfully we have the aforementioned Landon Donovan who the the game by the scruff of it's neck and pile-drove a ball into the top of the net and gave us all some hope. He must have hit that ball 165 MPH from 6 yards out. As Uncle Den said, I don't think that option was one any of us were considering. I will say that the closer he got, the more likely it seemed that he was going to have to shoot, but I never thought he would put it where he eventually did.

Anyway, we had possession and chances throughout the half and I felt a goal was coming at some point. However, time was running out and we were running low on thoughts. Then LD played a long ball to Jozy who expertly played the ball into the path of Michael Bradley who did oh so well by finishing with the sole of his foot and sending Slainte into raptures. We lost a lot of beer in that celebration and a chair was lost (possibly broken as well.) No seemed to mind about the beer or the chair since it was now 2-2 and thoughts of winning creeped into the minds of many. I will admit that one of my first thoughts was, "oh boy, we are quite open at the back right now". We only had 3 defenders on the field at that point, so I think my concern was legitimate. However, we were still in the ascendency and we had the free kick that was turned into a goal which was cruelly taken away from us and then the game ended. I can't remember anything from the last 8 minutes, so I can't write anything about it.

At first, I thought they called offside because that's what the graphic said on the TV and well, imagine my anger when I saw the highlight and saw that there was nothing close to offside. I texted a friend who was watching at home and he said that a foul had been called. I did not see a foul, I have yet to see a foul, and I doubt I'll ever see a foul. In the end, it might not better for us in terms of group play, but it's very unfortunate that one of the greatest moments in US soccer history was taken from us. I was in an electric mood and ready to celebrate as were the hundreds at the bar. It would have been awesome, it would have been the best bar atmosphere I have ever been in, and I would have remembered it forever. Oh well, maybe we'll win a quarterfinal and none of this will have mattered.

So, that was the best game of the tournament thus far - it featured goals, controversy, balls to the wall play, a great fightback, an underdog performing very well, and some quality and memorable plays. I'm glad the US was a part of it. I'm glad we got a result and I'm glad we have all to play for on Wednesday morning.