25
Jun
2010
VIDEO: America suddenly cares about soccer!
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. Read the rest of this entry »
13
Jun
2010
It’s time for the “other” football
England goalkeeper Robert Green makes the biggest mistake of his life in allowing Clint Dempsey's shot to get by him in yesterday's World Cup match (Photo: Elise Amendola/AP, via Boston.com)
In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few days, the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Friday, and there’s been no shortage of exciting action in the host country of South Africa this weekend. Yesterday in group play, the US played England to a 1-1 draw, helped greatly by goalkeeper error (see banner photo). And earlier today, Ghana scored a 1-0 victory over Serbia, marking the first win for an African team in the first World Cup hosted on African soil. Needless to say, the energy around Johannesburg is unreal right now.
While “soccer” (as it’s known here) has never really caught on at the pro level in the states, pretty much everyone has played the sport as a kid, and you simply can’t deny that the World Cup brings together fans from around the globe like no other event, save possibly the Olympics. So, apologies if this offends any American football purists out there, but for the next month, much of our attention will be focused on the “other” football being played in South Africa.
Don’t worry, we’ll be keeping an eye on NFL mini-camps for any exciting news … just be sure to let us know when Favre decides whether he’s playing or not.
