I never thought I would write about soccer, much less women's soccer, but I do feel compelled to discuss the United States' women's team's remarkable comeback win over Brazil on Sunday 5-3 on penalty kicks.
I knew this game was on at 11:30 this morning so I turned it on when I got home from church. I've never been a fan of the game of soccer but I like to keep up with the men's and women's teams when they get in the World Cup.
This Cup has been especially compelling for two reasons: First, being a sports copy editor now for the last year (I started last July 5, right in the middle of last year's Men's World Cup), I've had to keep fairly close tabs on the Women's World Cup, so naturally, I've been drawn to it. Second, one of the papers I work on a lot is the Northern Virginia News & Messenger in Manassas. Ali Krieger, a defender on the women's team, is from Forest Park High School in Northern Virginia, so that paper has an even bigger interest in the Cup, given they have a local in it. That's also drawn me in.
So I had the game on this afternoon and I was watching it off and on while I did other things. I really started watching it though when I was understanding that we were getting screwed by the officials. I don't know much about soccer so I won't pretend to know exactly what kind of calls were going against us, but it made me watch. (As an aside, isn't it funny how when the referees are bad, it draws you in even more? Why is that? It should turn you off. But it happens when I watch Virginia in football or basketball -- you want the win all the more badly when you feel like you've been dealt an injustice by the officials.) My pride as an American made me watch as I rooted for the women, much like the crowd -- even the non-Americans in attendance -- rallied around the US.
As dramatic as this match was, I was also reminded why I don't really care for soccer. First, it is an extremely frustrating sport to watch as time and time again, the offense is turned away and the viewer is left unfufilled. The lack of scoring is simply boring. There are probably other aesthetic reasons people love watching the game of soccer, but it just doesn't draw me in from an action standpoint, and I don't get the beauty of the game. And it doesn't help that I don't always know what's going on or understand the rules (that's my fault). The other main reason I don't like soccer is the gamesmanship of it all. Players flop, referees make strange calls, extra time is added at the end of regulation (but no one really knows how much or why a certain amount is added). During the US' match today, the play-by-play announcer, Ian Darke, and the color commentator, Julie Foudy, couldn't even explain some of the calls, and they are knowledgeable about soccer -- especially Foudy, who is one of the more famous women's US soccer players in history. In extra time, neither knew exactly when the game would end but they knew the US was running out of time. The flop by the Brazil player, Erika, right before the US' tying goal was inexcusable. The stretcher was brought out and even before the trainers got her off the field, she got up and ran back on to the field. Foudy and Darke said Erika was trying to break up the rhythm of the US' comeback try and banking on the officials not adding back all the extra time that could be allowed since she had been flopping around.
But all complaining aside, the match was undeniably exciting and dramatic. I leapt out of my chair and cheered when Abby Wambach put in the game-tying goal with perhaps less than a minute to spare in extra time. Then, in the penalty kicks, Hope Solo turned away Brazil's third attempt, meaning the US just needed to make the final two to ensure victory. The US made its fourth PK, as did Brazil, meaning it came down to that fifth kick.
And who stepped up to take it? Of course, it was none other than Krieger, the girl from Northern Virginia. I'm sure the sports editor at the News & Messenger bursted with excitement when Krieger tucked the game-winning PK into the left side of the goal. I am eagerly looking forward to see how the paper plays up the match and Krieger's goal.
The match really does speak to the American spirit of never giving up. The US was playing 10 on 11 for the final 55 minutes of the match because Rachel Buehler was issued a red card in the 65th minute and ejected. The Americans were down a goal and nothing seemed to be going their way. The balls weren't bouncing their way, the offense was getting denied in front of the goal again and again, and the officials seemed to be on Brazil's side. But the US women kept fighting and were able to come back to tie it in the nick of time. And then Krieger punched the US' once-unlikely ticket to the semifinals. More Americans will probably rally around the team because of this match and tune in for the rest of their run. I think the country will rally behind this team. I will certainly tune into the semifinal match vs. France at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Also, it's quite fitting that 12 years ago to the day, the US' Brandi Chastain knocked home the game-winning penalty kick for the US in the 1999 World Cup final. Creepy.
The US, one of the favorites to when the Cup from the beginning, was on the verge of extinction but managed to scrape and claw its way to a victory. Now, the Americans are right back in it, and the dream is alive.
Kind've fitting that the American goalie's first name is Hope.
I knew this game was on at 11:30 this morning so I turned it on when I got home from church. I've never been a fan of the game of soccer but I like to keep up with the men's and women's teams when they get in the World Cup.
This Cup has been especially compelling for two reasons: First, being a sports copy editor now for the last year (I started last July 5, right in the middle of last year's Men's World Cup), I've had to keep fairly close tabs on the Women's World Cup, so naturally, I've been drawn to it. Second, one of the papers I work on a lot is the Northern Virginia News & Messenger in Manassas. Ali Krieger, a defender on the women's team, is from Forest Park High School in Northern Virginia, so that paper has an even bigger interest in the Cup, given they have a local in it. That's also drawn me in.
So I had the game on this afternoon and I was watching it off and on while I did other things. I really started watching it though when I was understanding that we were getting screwed by the officials. I don't know much about soccer so I won't pretend to know exactly what kind of calls were going against us, but it made me watch. (As an aside, isn't it funny how when the referees are bad, it draws you in even more? Why is that? It should turn you off. But it happens when I watch Virginia in football or basketball -- you want the win all the more badly when you feel like you've been dealt an injustice by the officials.) My pride as an American made me watch as I rooted for the women, much like the crowd -- even the non-Americans in attendance -- rallied around the US.
As dramatic as this match was, I was also reminded why I don't really care for soccer. First, it is an extremely frustrating sport to watch as time and time again, the offense is turned away and the viewer is left unfufilled. The lack of scoring is simply boring. There are probably other aesthetic reasons people love watching the game of soccer, but it just doesn't draw me in from an action standpoint, and I don't get the beauty of the game. And it doesn't help that I don't always know what's going on or understand the rules (that's my fault). The other main reason I don't like soccer is the gamesmanship of it all. Players flop, referees make strange calls, extra time is added at the end of regulation (but no one really knows how much or why a certain amount is added). During the US' match today, the play-by-play announcer, Ian Darke, and the color commentator, Julie Foudy, couldn't even explain some of the calls, and they are knowledgeable about soccer -- especially Foudy, who is one of the more famous women's US soccer players in history. In extra time, neither knew exactly when the game would end but they knew the US was running out of time. The flop by the Brazil player, Erika, right before the US' tying goal was inexcusable. The stretcher was brought out and even before the trainers got her off the field, she got up and ran back on to the field. Foudy and Darke said Erika was trying to break up the rhythm of the US' comeback try and banking on the officials not adding back all the extra time that could be allowed since she had been flopping around.
But all complaining aside, the match was undeniably exciting and dramatic. I leapt out of my chair and cheered when Abby Wambach put in the game-tying goal with perhaps less than a minute to spare in extra time. Then, in the penalty kicks, Hope Solo turned away Brazil's third attempt, meaning the US just needed to make the final two to ensure victory. The US made its fourth PK, as did Brazil, meaning it came down to that fifth kick.
And who stepped up to take it? Of course, it was none other than Krieger, the girl from Northern Virginia. I'm sure the sports editor at the News & Messenger bursted with excitement when Krieger tucked the game-winning PK into the left side of the goal. I am eagerly looking forward to see how the paper plays up the match and Krieger's goal.
The match really does speak to the American spirit of never giving up. The US was playing 10 on 11 for the final 55 minutes of the match because Rachel Buehler was issued a red card in the 65th minute and ejected. The Americans were down a goal and nothing seemed to be going their way. The balls weren't bouncing their way, the offense was getting denied in front of the goal again and again, and the officials seemed to be on Brazil's side. But the US women kept fighting and were able to come back to tie it in the nick of time. And then Krieger punched the US' once-unlikely ticket to the semifinals. More Americans will probably rally around the team because of this match and tune in for the rest of their run. I think the country will rally behind this team. I will certainly tune into the semifinal match vs. France at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Also, it's quite fitting that 12 years ago to the day, the US' Brandi Chastain knocked home the game-winning penalty kick for the US in the 1999 World Cup final. Creepy.
The US, one of the favorites to when the Cup from the beginning, was on the verge of extinction but managed to scrape and claw its way to a victory. Now, the Americans are right back in it, and the dream is alive.
Kind've fitting that the American goalie's first name is Hope.
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