USA vs. Ghana

For the US to make it out of the first round, a couple of things had to line up in our favor. From two games, we were only able to muster 1 point. Ghana had done us a huge favor the previous week by providing probably the biggest upset to date in the tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2-0. The best scenario would have Italy beating the Czechs and the USA doing their part in beating Ghana in the last set of group matches. Any other scenarios would have involved goal differentials and calculations beyond my comprehension.

Like always, I got to the stadium early to avoid the crowds. Here's my first pic from my seat:

Today, I was pulling out all the stops. I had the UGA visor on. I bought an American flag...and wore it. I even flexed for the cameras, baby. I was feeling it.

Here again is the obligatory Kasey Keller warmup pic. He always walked onto the pitch to loud chants of "Ka-sey Kell-er!"

Once I was situated, I noticed the woman's jacket in front of me. Holy cow, it was like I was timewarped back to World Cup 1994. She was obviously a diehard, longtime fan and like me, was wearing something she thought would bring the team some good luck:

And here's the team warming up:

One of the things I've loved about the US fans is their signs. Here's one honoring the absent Pablo Mastroeni who was ineligible for the game on account of his red card from the Italy match. Pablo had a major lapse of judgment and tackled an Italian in our offensive third. Normally, you'd only see a foul like that when the opposite team was on attack. The sign of the match goes to the individual who created this sign that reads, "Free Pablo." It may be hard to make out in the photo.

Here are the starters warming up:

Typically, I'll throw up a picture of the field during the national anthems but this time, I have to make a comment. To date, I've heard a couple dozen national anthems being sung during opening ceremonies and every time I attended a US match, there was a very noticeable difference in how the opposing fans sung their anthem, and how the US fans sung theirs. I know we as Americans love our national anthem, but never was it clearer than when it was sung at US matches. It seemed as though the entire stadium was singing along.

And here's the kickoff:

If you follow soccer at any level of intensity, you know what happened.

I decided when I started this blog that I wasn't going to dissect the match. But one thing begs mentioning: the officiating. Captain America Claudio Reyna was taken down outside Keller's box, Ghana took advantage of a suspicious no-call, charged on Keller and scored the opening goal. Dempsey equalized a couple of minutes before halftime and the US was feeling the almost improbable was probable. Word was already spreading in the stands about Italy's 1-0 lead against the Czechs. The Italians were doing their part in getting the Americans to the knockout stage and the momentum on the field in Nürnberg was swinging in our direction. That is, until the German ref, known in the soccer world as one of the best, called a foul on Gooch while heading the ball out of Keller's box and pointed to the penalty line. We were in utter disbelief. The two players did not touch. Gooch simply headed the ball out and the Ghana player took a dive that convinced the ref to totally change the makeup of the match. Even from the stands it was clear that no contact was made, especially none that would warrant a foul.

I could only imagine the mood in the locker room at halftime. To our credit, we did almost everything we could during the second half against a team that employed every time wasting tactic in the book. A McBride header hit the post. An Onyewu header cleared the top post by inches. What hurt the most was that a ref's call decided the outcome and you can do very little to beat a ref.

It was over. We lost. A run to the quarterfinals would not be repeated and US fans, who spent thousands of dollars getting to Germany, came away having witnessed only 2 US goals, one of which found it's way into the goal off an Italian boot.

The progress we made this time around didn't manifest on the field, but rather in the stands. This World Cup saw the emergence of the the US fan. Never before had so many Americans traveled abroad to see their team play in a World Cup. It was great being a part of soccer history.

So now what? More soccer. I've got MLS Direct Kick and the Atlanta Silverbacks are underway in their new digs (RE/MAX Greater Atlanta Stadium). And then there's that other form of football that starts early September in Athens.

Here's the USMNT showing their appreciation one last time. See you guys in 2010: