Between the Lines
by JASON GORDON
Last year I wrote an unflattering column about men’s World Cup soccer and received quite a bit of flack about it.
Maybe it was the noise from the vuvuzelas, or those annoying kazoo thingies as I liked to call them that filled the stadiums in South Africa, that got to my head during that 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Whatever the reason, I just couldn’t get into the event.
My attitude did a complete 180-degree turn during the Women’s FIFA World Cup in Germany this summer.
Maybe it was the fact the United States actually had a realistic chance to win the whole thing, unlike the men’s competition. Maybe it was the fact that little else is going on in the world of sports this summer, or maybe it was the fact that U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo is smokin’ hot.
Whatever the case, the 2011 U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer team was one of the most exciting squads to come along in any sport in a long time.
This wasn’t a team that was favored to win the tournament by any means. Teams like Germany and Brazil were the favorites.
It was thought that the days of U.S. dominance in the sport that culminated in a victory over China in the 1999 World Cup finals were long gone.
Coming into the 2011 World Cup, the U.S. hadn’t made it further than the semifinals in the last 12 years.
Staple players from the U.S. glory days like Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers and Brandi Chastain, who stole the show at the 1999 World Cup by nailing the game-winning kick in the finals before proceeding to make her own personal sports bra commercial by removing her jersey in exhilaration immediately afterward, were all retired and enjoying life after soccer.
The 2011 version of the U.S. soccer team was filled with names hardly anybody knew, but they quickly became household names with their heart-stopping style of play.
Expectations were still low for the U.S. squad after a loss to Sweden in pool play right before the medal round began.
The red, white and blue were expected to get beat against Brazil in the quarterfinals, but in what many analysts are calling one of the most thrilling soccer games – played by men or women – of all time, the U.S. made a comeback for the ages.
After Brazil took a 2-1 lead in injury time during the 121st minute of the match, the U.S. rallied back down the field in furious fashion and scored on a header from Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute with literally seconds to play in the match.
It was the latest a goal has ever been scored in World Cup history and the U.S. would go on to win the match in penalty kicks.
Wambach’s goal was replayed dozens of times on local and national news and sportscasts as the single moment the U.S. Women’s Soccer team was thrust back into the world spotlight.
In the semifinals against France, I snuck home from work at lunch to watch a U.S. team that was being thoroughly outplayed by the Frenchies, somehow figure out how to sneak two goals into the back of the net in the second half to advance to the finals.
Me planning my lunch break around women’s soccer, hard to believe but true.
In the finals Sunday against Japan, the U.S. team’s luck finally ran out as Japan stole the comeback magic.
Twice it looked like the U.S. had the match won, having only to kill off less than 10 minutes in regulation and then three minutes in extra time to secure the World Cup title, but twice Japan, who ultimately won on penalty kicks, found the will and a way to tie the score.
It was a sad ending for a U.S. team that had fought so hard to make a new name for itself and seemed like it was destiny’s child at the World Cup.
Still, in the end it was hard to feel any animosity toward a Japanese team that gave a country still suffering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that caused so much damage earlier this year, something to be optimistic about.
One thing’s for certain, I learned I can stand up and cheer for any team that shows the heart and courage this year’s U.S. Women’s Soccer team did at the World Cup.
