Disappointing

I'm not going to begin to analyze the US - England match as this sort of journalism is not my strength. You will find more qualified and intelligent reports of the match in the New York Times and elsewhere. I will however say I am disappointed, for several reasons. Our national team has improved greatly over the years since we first returned to the World Cup after a 40 year absence. They have improved enough and our fans are sophisticated enough now to be disappointed with a draw against England. This is not 1990 with Bob Gansler managing our side and his "that's all right boys" attitude towards success and failure. From my perspective in the second tier of the American end (first half), it was a fairly evenly played match; the Americans had as many chances on goal as the English. We made a horrible defensive blunder in the opening minutes, but never stopped chasing first the equalizer and then the winning goal, which sadly never came.

I was disappointed with the stadium. Not for the design or age or that is was located deep in the wilderness. I was disappointed with the fully integrated fan blocks. This I will blame on FIFA, not South Africa. When it comes to football I believe in full apartheid. Opposing fans should be separated. I am not the CEO of Adidas or Coca Cola sitting in the first tier on the midfield line. I buy the cheap seats behind the goal for two reasons: 1) they are cheap; 2) this is where the real fans are. There were almost as many English fans in our section as there were Americans. You all know that I love the English, especially their football. Manchester United is after all my favorite club. But on this particular day I felt a loathing for this nation I can only imagine our forefathers of the American revolution felt. It is their arrogance, that we-invented-this-game arrogance that inspired this rage in me. We all know their World Cup record before and since 1966. They are the great under-achievers of World Cup football. Along with our football the American fan has come a long way since the politely clapping days of 1990. We are a loud, colorful, feisty bunch. We stand and sing for 90 minutes. I suppose this surprised and infuriated the English, because they invented that too.

Anyway, all part of the game I suppose.