It hurts, America. I know. I feel it too. A dull ache in your stomach. The US Men’s National Team put up a valiant fight, one that I have never seen in soccer before, but they lost. No one wants to lose, but someone always has to eventually. Sure, there’s the occasional tie in soccer, but it’s a loss unto itself; you’re losing points that could have been gained from a win. It’s never easy to get over. You put so much time into watching the team’s every move, reading countless articles, and pondering over numbers.
But the question is, what do you do after a loss? Do you look back and criticize decisions made by the players or the coach? Do you ask yourself ‘what if he dribbled left instead of right? What if he passed instead of shot? What if he brought player X to the tournament instead of player Y?’ It’s a natural reaction to loss. You want to go back and question every decision you can. You want to justify why they lost. You want to put into words what could have been and why it wasn’t to be. You want to blame someone for why it couldn’t go the way you wanted it to go. You want answers.
The more questions you attempt to answer, the more questions you unearth in the process. What if they had Jozy? What if they brought Donovan? What if they brought Eddie Johnson? What if they injected Brian McBride with steroids and stem cells and had him play? What if they had Bob Bradley still as coach? What if they had Klinsmann, but they had a different assistant coach? What if they had 2 head coaches, but only one could talk and the other swung his arms around and got really emotional when you weren’t doing what the talking coach said? What if…
There are a million what-if’s, but those aren’t the answers to your pain. For every question you have about this team, there’s a ton of positives to come roaring out of this World Cup. Record television viewership, unwavering support, and an education in the beautiful game to the masses in this country. Amazing moments not soon to be forgotten, like John Anthony Brooks’ goal, DeAndre Yedlin’s tireless effort, DaMarcus Beasley’s relentless drive through four complete World Cup games, and Julian Green’s moment of flare. Jermaine Jones was dominant, Tim Howard was historic, and Clint Dempsey was fearless.
USMNT Dispatch: The Pain of a Loss in the Round of 16
These 23 men chose to represent this country. They showed the world that they may not be the most skillful or highest paid soccer players in the world, and they may not be the most popular athletes in the world, let alone their own country, but they love it all the same. From Iceland, Norway and Germany they came to join men from Texas, New Jersey and Washington. They put on the uniform. They sweat and bled for this team. And when it looked bad, they kept going. They never quit.
So look forward as a soccer nation, because the future is bright. The younger generation was baptized by fire this year, and they came out just fine. The pipeline has begun to get restructured, and America is already seeing a wealth of talent flowing through it. Our team will only grow, and the pain you feel as a fan is needed to keep pressure on the national team. Voice your opinions and let them know there are people out there that care. But always support them when times are rough, especially now. They played four grueling matches against some of the top teams in the world, all while traveling over 9000 miles to do it.
That goes for the coach too. You may not like him because of his coaching decisions, and you may not like him because he is German, but he needs your support right now too. He’s trying to change the entire way the US soccer system is set up, and guess what, it’s not easy. You’ve got pay-to-play youth systems that are pushing out players who can’t afford to join highly competitive teams. You’ve got a college system that plays by its own rules, including not even allowing players to practice with a ball in the off-season. There’s a ton of moving parts and twice as much red tape. If you think you can do it, send in your résumé to the USSF, but at least for a little while, give the man a break. Remember the group of death? They got out of it, and he played an important part in that task.
Soccer is a tough sport, both physically and mentally. Confidence is always discussed as being important in this game, and the USMNT has plenty of that. But right now they need support and encouragement. Let’s not forget how this loss feels as fans, because I can guarantee the players won’t forget. But let’s use that pain to push this soccer nation forward. Go see an MLS match, or watch one on TV. Check out a USL stream on YouTube, or visit an NASL game. There’s plenty of soccer to go around. As Bob Ley, ESPN’s soccer pioneer, said last night, 31 nations will feel this pain. But one day, sooner than you think, they’ll be that 1 nation that feels the joy of victory.
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