And like a low rated television sitcom we are back from hiatus just in time to be the only new episodes shown in the summer…
Monday Weigh In: Still at 205.5 pounds but I have to consider that a bit of an accomplishment given the events of the past two weeks. There was a bachelor party weekend in there (where you can’t really try to pull the whole “I’m on a diet” routine) and I basically missed a week of exercise due to slightly spraining my ankle doing that highly treacherous exercise known as “walking”. Seriously, you know how they always say before starting an exercise program how you should check in with your physician? Well, if I did that mine would recommend that I wear full body armor at all times. Good news is that I stayed at a constant weight and my goal of being under 200 pounds by August is still reachable though I will literally have to hustle to make it.
Well, since the US is out of the World Cup and we no longer have to care about soccer for another four years I figured that I would give my opinion on the team’s performance. Yes, I will watch the rest of the World Cup because I do find it interesting and I can still cheer for the Dutch, which is the team to watch if you don’t actually like soccer because a) they play the coolest version of the game and b) you can get a contact high just by looking at their fans. But our focus was on the US and it is now time to cast blame or cheer depending on how one looks at it.
On the most basic level the US did precisely what I thought they would do: make it to the knockout round and lose in the first round. It makes sense since we are one of the 16 best teams in the world but not one of the top eight. Except that everything that happened on the way there seemed to be completely unlike the typical American squad that it leaves you elated and disappointed at the same time.
We tied with England in a game that we could have lost (if England’s goalie hadn’t flubbed Dempsey’s shot) or won (if Altidore’s shot off the post was an inch to the right). In the end it was the result that I had been hoping for. We should have beaten Slovenia and if it wasn’t for a crap call we would have. And while we outplayed Algeria the entire game it still took a miracle play unlike any that I had ever seen to send us into the second round. We won the group, which I did not expect and legitimately could have won every game.
The US still has a huge weakness (which came back to haunt us against Ghana) in that we start off incredibly slow and have a weak defense in front of a good goalie. We always seem to start from behind. The amazing thing, and what I am most proud of this team for, is the fact that they fought back in every game and never really quit fighting. In the past the US would get down a goal and you could see that their will to win was gone. Now we know we can come back from two goal deficits. Makes for a huge change in attitude.
And while I predicted a loss in the group of 16 I was expecting it to come against Germany. In fact, when I started to look at the brackets I could see us in the semi finals. We were a better team than Ghana and I’m confident we could beat Uruguay as well. It is more of a lost opportunity than anything else. It was probably the easiest road to the semis that this team will ever see.
In the end I guess I will say that I am happy for how the team played. They showed grit and determination and made people care about the squad and the World Cup, which is a huge boost. I remember 12 years ago following the World Cup and the only other person in the office who was following it with me was someone who was born in Poland. Now we have entire office conversations about the game. They went farther than Italy and France (and looked much better than either team) and went as far as England, Mexico and either Spain or Portugal. Not a bad run. If only we had some freaking defense.
The five random CDs for last week (never got posted):
1) Jack Johnson “On and On”
2) Cowboy Mouth “Mouthing Off Live and More”
3) Wilco “Summerteeth”
4) Allison Moorer “Show”
5) Marshall Crenshaw “I Suffered for my Art, Now It’s Your Turn”
And the five random CDs for this week:
1) Steve Earle “I Feel Alright”
2) Continental Drifters “Continental Drifters”
3) The Frames “For the Birds”
4) U2 “Boy”
5) John Hiatt “The Best of John Hiatt”
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