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VIDEO: America suddenly cares about soccer!

By ArtieFufkin

Once again, if you haven’t been paying attention to the 2010 FIFA World Cup … what are you waiting for??? Wednesday’s 1-0 USA victory over Algeria, sealed by Landon Donovan’s 91st minute score, was without a doubt the biggest moment in US soccer history.  And as the video above illustrates, Donovan’s goal brought together US fans from all over the world unlike any sporting event in recent history.  Tomorrow’s round of 16 match vs Ghana (2:30pm ET) will be the biggest game the US have ever played on the world stage (except for maybe their quarter final appearance in 2002).  So, uh, now would be a good time to tune in.

Let’s face it – if you don’t get goosebumps watching this video, you a) don’t have a pulse b) hate sports or c) are Algerian.  I personally love the guy at 3:22, and the clip gets extra points for using the inspirational montage music from the film Rudy.

But as you watch these fans going mental for a sport that barely makes a blip on the national radar at the professional level, it’s remarkable to think that just moments prior, the sport of soccer was teetering perilously close to losing American fans for good. Had that Algeria game ended in a 0-0 draw, with the US failing to advance to the next round, soccer as a viewer sport would have never recovered in the states. As it stands, there are going to be a lot of kids born this year in California named Landon.

And even if you choose to cynically dismiss this sudden swell of national interest in USA soccer as fleeting patriotic pride, tomorrow’s game is going to be another historical moment in US sports.  So set up your flip cams and be sure to record your reactions to whatever happens for posterity.

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