I am not an avid sports fan though I enjoy the camaraderie and excitement that comes with each season. The World Cup has taken my friends, my office, and pretty much everyone I know by storm. It’s like friendly war — and may the best man win. It’s the only time liberals allow themselves to scream “USA!” without feeling bad about it. Ahh, was that a low blow? Anyway, watching the US v. Algeria game this week was rough. Of course it was on every screen in our office and even I was getting pissed about the bad calls and unfairness (it seemed) towards our team. But then, 91 minutes in, everything changed. Landon Donovan scored and that was it. We went crazy — everyone loved everyone and America radiated a second of pure glory. Is it dramatic? Yeah. But so what? Politics and war and fear and anger can disappear in a moment of victory like this — it’s magic.
Also, this excerpt from the WSJ touches on my feelings about this particular game:
Remember June 23, 2010: the day the lame old “Soccer is Boring” argument finally died in the U.S.
If you weren’t completely, utterly thrilled, exhausted and satisfied by Wednesday’s 1-0 Team USA World Cup thriller over Algeria, you’re a lifeless sports corpse. You are banned from all future U.S. World Cup matches and hereby ordered to spend the rest of the season watching the moribund Baltimore Orioles, eating cold oatmeal in a Slanket.
Watch the world embrace our win in this amazing video — and get ready to hug a stranger when we do it again on Saturday: