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Tuesday, 04 July 2006 13:58 |
| | Erik Rhyne |
BOONE ?? As I write this, the 2006 World Cup has been underway for just over a week. What a surprise to see the United States knocked out early!
Do not get me wrong; I??m a huge fan of the U.S. in any international event. I wanted to see our guys advance farther than they went in 2002.
However, I was not shocked to see them sent home with a 0-2-1 record this year.
In
any sport, Americans seem to be good if not great at it. The only sport
the rest of the world seems to have a leg up on us still, and possibly
will for a long time, is soccer.
We have gotten better in soccer, but I do not see Americans holding up the World Cup trophy any time soon.
I mean, look at this year. People were saying this was the best chance for the US to challenge for the title.
No one really believed they could win it, but this was supposed to be a giant step in that direction.
The lineup
boasted stars like Landon Donovan and DeMarcus Beasley. Some of these
guys have been together since they were teenagers as members of the
Under-17 soccer team.
The U.S. was also coming off its best showing in the World Cup. In
2002, a team no one predicted would do anything managed to make in to
the quarterfinals.
Not only a strong showing helped raise the predictions, but being
ranked number five in the world also contributed to the high hopes of
the U.S.
Then the problems struck. The United States began to struggle in its
warmups to the World Cup. By the time it was time to head to Germany,
no one really knew what to expect.
Then the groupings came out.
Group E.
The hardest group in the World Cup and look who was in it, the United States.
The Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana were the other three members of the
group. It would be a tough road for the U.S. Could the Americans handle
it?
It did not look like it at the beginning. If they got lucky, they might have a shot.
Well, luck was not on their side. After a 3-0 defeat by the Czech
Republic, people were already saying it was over. It sure seemed and
felt like it after watching that first game.
A tie with Italy, when the U.S. only had nine players on the field was
amazing to watch. It seemed that America should have won the game, but
the referee seemed to not agree, calling off a goal that would have put
the U.S. in the lead.
After that game, the boys in the red, white and blue had the chance to
move to the next round. The door was open; all they had to do was win.
What happened? Of course, a 2-1 victory by Ghana sent the United States packing.
It was not surprising. I mean, 2002 was amazing because no one thought
the Americans could move that far in a sport that is not popular in its
country.
Some countries close down to watch. I believe the Ivory Coast even put
a cease-fire on a civil war that is going on there so everyone could
watch and pull for their team.
In America, what do we do? Go on with our daily lives, watch the game if we can or just catch the highlights later.
Until soccer becomes popular in America, we will not see the United States do well in the World Cup.
If you think
soccer is popular in America already, you may be right. But compared to
other countries, we are not even close to loving soccer as some people
do.
I??m not saying there will be a time when the United States of America
cancels everything for a week or two because the World Cup is happening.
Perhaps it will happen when kids growing up decide to play soccer, instead of Little League baseball or a football team.
Maybe it will be when Major League Soccer games are sold out and games
are actually shown on television. When they get to the same level of
every other major sport in America.
Until then, the World Cup and the United States of America are not in the same league.
?ΓΏ
Erik Rhyne, who
writes a weekly column for the Daily Planet, is the sports editor of
The Appalachian, the twice-weekly student newspaper at Appalachian
State University.
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