American soccer fans should remember these great moments of dominance and perceived divine right.  In fact, enjoy and relish in Sundays game and marvel at what was done because it won’t last forever; it is not sustainable for many reasons.

Hearing people talk (myself included) after this past Sunday, after the game against Brazil, you would think that God lives and routs for American sports teams and its athletes alone…of course there are many things wrong with that idea but that is the mentality.  Added with the idea that we are better because of some divine right- then again we shouldn’t be surprise; that is ingrained in American culture.

It works to the benefit of America of course in these great moments where you think they have no hope and our teams manage to pull out improbable victories, it is because American athletes (the good ones) believe in the idea of some kind of close relationship with god and also the arrogance that goes along with believing this.  I’m not saying they believe they can fly or walk on water, they just believe that god is somehow on their side and there is no way they can lose; a great mentality in sports but dangerous off the field of play.

All I’m hearing is this idea in sports and maybe that is something built in every athlete around the world but I think it speak s to American Arrogance in sports all together. It’s funny but when the U.S is bad at a sport, we simply say the sport sucks or ridicule those who are considered great… especially the media.

Sticking to on the field though, I want to make it clear of course; no mentality no matter what the belief, means anything without the skill and financial backing to become good at what you do.

For example, the American women’s team is great and they will be good for a while but we must look into why that is and let’s leave divinity aside for now.  Let’s take a team like Brazil and how good they have become with little to no support back home.  America spends so much money on developing its athletes and it’s a year round thing.  We also reward these athletes with equipment, fields and money but a place like Brazil has only recently come to accept the idea of women playing the same sports that men play and the fact that they can play it very well.

We’ve come to expect great things in all our athletes but not all countries we compete with make these kind of investments; why do you think a great player like Marta comes to play in the U.S during the season…the financial backing and development is there in women’s sports in the US in a way that is not present in other countries.

So the bottom line is, at this point in the development of Women’s sports, we should be far ahead of every other country given how much money we spend and invest in these sports.  The dominance we see or the improbable comebacks and the great wins won’t be there in 10 to 15 years because the rest of the world will have caught up.

The same way other countries have caught up with us in basketball is the same thing we will see in Women’s soccer.  That arrogance will have to turn to respect in order to stay on top; the same way American basketball players have learned to respect their European counterparts.

Like everyone one else, I was in awe at the performance from the Women’s team against Brazil. But after hearing people talk, I caught myself saying things like, there’s something about American athletes; that is the wrong way to look at this victory.  We should look at this victory in the realm of the idea of what sports are.  There can only be one winner and the American team wanted it more than Brazil did and they had the talent to get it done; that’s it, nothing more nothing less.

Sports are about making history as did the Japanese team the day before on Saturday or any other team that has done great things in sports around the world.  The Brazilian men’s team has won many tournaments because they have the talent and support that the women’s team lack at this point, the American men’s team doesn’t win for the same reasons; sports are simple,  so let’s examine sports the right way and leave out the unnecessary.

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Watching Japan face Germany yesterday showed me once again why soccer or Football as it is called around the world is such a great sport.  No, it was not the greatest soccer match I’ve seen nor was it the most anticipated, it didn’t include the biggest names of the sport; what we got to see was the same thing we see on the men’s side.  There is such skill involved in the sport, that the seamless transition from  watching the men play to watching the women is remarkable…you’re either good or you’re not , and the women are good.

There was such excitement and the underdog won-the underdog being the Japanese team 1-0 playing with heavy hearts against a stacked home team in Germany.

The most anticipated match of the knockout round or quarter finals is between Brazil and USA, two teams who are very familiar with one another.  Brazil beat the U.S team 4 years ago but has not had much success against the U.S with an overall record of 4-22.  Brazil shows up of course confident in what they do and the loose style in which they play…in fact they got off their bus singing  and playing Brazilian instruments that sort off resemble dancing on the field.  Indeed, a match worthy of a final.

For the U.S, Heather O’reilly is back after not being available and for Hope Solo this is a chance to let her play speak for her after the debacle 4 years ago in which she felt she belonged on the field.

At 11:30, the match was officially on the way and it didn’t take long for someone to strike…Yes an own goal, but a minute into the match the U.S goes up 1-0 in an unexpected eventful beginning.  The Brazilian defenders look very jittery early on and it cost them, the frustration starts early for the Brazil side but it has been an unorganized game for both sides during the first half of the match.  No one has been able to hold on to the ball and Marta continues to show frustration which eventually led to a yellow card for mouthing off.  The first half was played poorly by the Brazilians who didn’t get many shots on goal and their opponent didn’t seem to want to capitalize on the poor play.

The defense was good on the American side considering the talent level of the opponent but how long they will keep a zero on the Brazilian score sheet.

The second half starts and we see the play pick up and the Brazilians have made an effort to apply pressure which has led to many more opportunities already within the first few minutes of the half.

After the 60^th minute, things took a turn from bad to worse for the Americans…After a beautiful move by Marta reminiscent of Ronaldinho, another famous Brazilian player in which she was being guarded by two back defenders in the box; she was awarded a penalty kick.  A controversial red card was given to Rachel Buehler which left the American side with 10 players against a resurgent Brazil team.

The penalty kick taken was blocked but in another controversial twist, the referees determined that the kick would be taken again because a player encroached prior to the kick being taken.  Marta now was given the opportunity to finish the play she started, which she did with nice placement of the ball at the bottom right corner tying the game in the 68^th minute.

The U.S played very well given their lack of a full squad on the field but playing with 10 players in this humidity will be challenging.

A touch of brilliance again from the Brazilians which resulted in a goal from Marta in the 93rd minute, putting them up 2-1 early in over time…She being the best player in the world, placed the ball where Solo could not reach it.

With 2 minutes left in extended time, Abby Wambach saves the U.S for the time being and ties the game in the 120^th minute with a tremendous header.  After being quiet for the first 119 minutes, the lone striker came alive tying the game…and play continues.

So now we watch penalty kicks, the second in as many games in this tournament in what has turned out to be a great and exciting game.

This is by far the tensest situation in sports aside from bottom of the ninth, man on second with 2 outs in the World Series in Yankee stadium…yes it’s that tense.  But after the Brazilians missed their 3^rd penalty kick, it started to look bleak.  Then Wambach came and calmly placed the ball in the back of the net, it was pretty much over.

After playing 55 plus minutes with 10 men, now they must face France in a game that will have a hard time living up to this epic and classic game.

You just couldn’t write this any better for the U.S…we will see if there is a story book ending, after this game in the words of Wamback “we must win.”

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Who can forget the goal heard around the world that introduced us to the most famous sports bra ever? Brandi Chastain became an instant celebrity and so did her bra when she ripped off her jersey in dramatic fashion after clinching the World cup title in 1999. Chastain’s stripping goal act did not only win the United States the World Cup, but she brought attention to Women’s sports; an improbable task. 40 million Americans tuned in to watch Chastain and the US girls step into world soccer immortality that day; more viewers than the NBA finals. That was twelve years and three world cups ago. Today, the United States is the world’s number one team and has a good shot at winning this year’s World Cup; who knew?

The sixth ever, Women’s World Cup kicked off last week in Germany on June 26^th. An astronomical 18 million viewers in Germany tuned in to watch their beloved German women take on Canada in the Cups opening game. With all the success in host country Germany; maybe there would be improved interest in the United States right? Wrong. The US viewership of the opening game came in at just under one million viewers; pathetic. Women’s soccer has been unable to catch the eyes of American viewers since 1999. Clearly, we need more sports bra cameos.

Where is the allure of the Women’s World Cup? Where’s the American pride? It doesn’t make sense that that 15^th and average at best, men’s squad receives nationwide support. Yet, the US women, the world’s number one team, are treated as if they’re irrelevant. Something’s not right here.

Maybe it’s the slower speed of play from the Men’s game. Or maybe it’s the myth that women soccer players are less aggressive and intense. Either way, the last two World Cups (2003 and 2007) have been rating nightmares causing ESPN to swallow some pride. In search of a change (miracle), ESPN hired popular former US stars, Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brianna Scurry to commentate the cup. Every cup game will be aired on ESPN and broadcasted live on ESPN3.com. 2011 is supposed to be the year US women’s soccer relives its glory days of 1999; we’ll see about that.

Why you should watch:

• America.
  • It’s a world-wide phenomenon displaying if our country is better than theirs. If you’re a true American you’ll throw on the red, white and blue, eat some wings, and watch some soccer babes win one for the US of A. Go America

• The United States is the world’s number one team.
  • Listen, we actually have a shot at winning this thing. We’re number one because we’re really good and we have come in at least third the last three world cups. We can do this.

• The girls
  • Guys, in what men’s sport can you commentate on who has the nicer butt? Well in the World Cup you can do that in every single game. Did I mention US goalie, Hope Solo, is single?

• Women’s soccer is on the rise
  • This world cup is going to be extremely competitive. Hosting the tournament is reining back to back World Cup champions, Germany. The US is looking promising to win it all, while England has its deepest squad ever. Don’t look past Brazil, who has the world’s best player in Marta.

• What else is on TV?
  • Nothing interest is going on in sports right now besides the World Cup. The NFL and NBA are in a lockout, baseball is in its boring mid-season stage, and tennis, well who really watches tennis?

Cyril Hou / Shutterstock.com

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