Just four years ago, I was in my driveway at my high school graduation party without a care in the world of the people there to see me. I was glued to a TV which I had tuned to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was the Round of 16, where the United States, coming off of Landon Donovan’s heroics against Algeria, took on Ghana. People wanted to talk and congratulate me, but I was too bummed that the U.S. lost 2-1 and were eliminated from the World Cup.
I couldn’t believe I had to wait four years for this to happen again. I watched as many United States friendlies as I could. I attended coach Jurgen Klinnsman’s first ever match against Mexico in 2011. I tried getting friends and family excited for the Women’s World Cup, Olympics, Gold Cup, friendlies, World Cup Qualifying, and anything that had to deal with the United States soccer program.
After qualifying for the World Cup, winning dos a cero against Mexico in the fall 2013, supporters were riding high. That high dramatically changed when the US was drawn into the “Group of Death” with nemesis Ghana, world power Germany, and Cristiano Ronaldo powered Portugal.
The send-off series leading up to the World Cup was exciting, albeit with many questions. But the World Cup began in absolute style for the United States, with Clint Dempsey scoring 31 seconds into the game, and John Brooks cementing himself in US folklore with his game winning header for a 2-1 win over Ghana.
The US dominated Portugal for most of the game, with Jermaine Jones scoring an “absolute cracker,” and Dempsey scoring as well before ultimately drawing.
They played eventual World Cup winner Germany to a 1-0 loss, and almost pulled off the biggest miracle in soccer history before falling to Belgium in the Round of 16.
It was too early of an exit. With all the excitement surrounding this edition of the World Cup, everything felt so special. As a diehard supporter of the United States, and just soccer in general, I was sad that this run ended.
Imagine, the United States beats Belgium. They get to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. A date with arguably the best player in the world in Lionel Messi and Argentina, the day after the Fourth of July. What a script.
Alas, it was not to be. Germany took down Argentina in the final 1-0. Brazil 2014 is over. And to many, that means the end for international soccer. For some, that means the end for soccer in general. It’s a shame, because soccer was really taking off in this country.
The United States – Portugal match was the most viewed game of all time in the U.S., with 24.7 million viewers. Which is insane. The Germany-Argentina final drew 17.3 million viewers on ABC. Viewership is up, soccer is growing, and it really brings joy for me to see my favorite sport grow.
I saw tweets and heard people saying how they’re happy the World Cup is over, and how excited they are for real American football to be back. I’m excited for it too, I love American football. But there’s something so special about an event that truly engulfs an entire nation once every four years.
For the crazies like those in the ever growing American Outlaws, there still are many United States to look forward to aside from the World Cup.
Well, okay, the next big event is another World Cup, except the women’s edition led by the likes of Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan.
In 2015, the United States Men’s team will compete in the Gold Cup, a regional tournament with the likes of Mexico and Costa Rica. Should the United States win, they’ll automatically qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup, an enormous tournament with one representative from each region around the world.
2016 may be the best summer of soccer not called the World Cup ever. For one, the women’s team will compete in the Rio Olympic Games.
But for the first time in it’s history, the legendary Copa America tournament, a soccer tournament between the best teams of South America, will be held in the United States for its 100th anniversary. That means the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia will compete against the US and Mexico in cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York.
Later that year, World Cup qualifying will begin. Qualifying for the World Cup should be expected for the US, but regardless of expectations, it is not easy especially in the CONCACAF region.
The United States received unbelievable support in Brazil. Jermaine Jones said that they were motivated and pushed to come back with chants of “USA” at the end of the Round of 16 loss to Belgium. Soccer fans from around the world learned of the American Outlaws and the passion of soccer in the United States as a whole.
And with that support and excitement from Brazil, I hope it springboards into an even larger following than ever before. The team deserves it. Soccer deserves it.
So to help do my part, this blog will turn from general World Cup coverage to focus mainly on the United States (I’ll mix in other things as well). I want to help you get to know what’s going on with the team, when new friendlies are announced, and any and everything as best as I can about the United States.
Four years ago, I was looking forward to Brazil. Somehow, the best tournament ever contested has come and gone. I miss it already. But I’m already looking forward to the next time the United States takes the field.
And that’s a lot sooner than you may realize.
The Nestel Cup 