GIVING DOUBTERS THE BOOT
Detractors motivate U.S., even as it gains foothold
RECIFE, Brazil — The whole day was disorienting, crazy. The U.S. players kept hearing about all these wonderful celebrations back home, about watch parties that were closing down streets in New York. But here in Recife, there was only toil and trouble, the gurgle of water, water everywhere.
The rain wouldn’t stop, kept flooding everything. Roadways were blocked or clogged. People were walking along, waistdeep in water, carrying their bicycles, searching for drier, higher ground. U.S. fans slogged through mud and water as if this were Woodstock, walking that final mile to Arena Pernambuco. That is what the American players saw out the bus windows behind their police escorts Thursday — a great swamp of hope and despair.
A FIFA official scouted the field, decided there could be no warmups on the pitch in order to preserve the grass. The players had about 200 friends and relatives in the city, hoping to share in this watershed moment. Many never made it. Some stayed in their hotels, banding together, watching grainy televisions. Omar Gonzalez was disappointed to discover his family missed what turned out to be his first World Cup start. The players didn’t know the whereabouts of wives or kids. They naturally worried, even while they loosened up behind the back line.
“It was weird preparation,” said Clint Dempsey, whose wife and daughter were here. “There were a lot of families not getting to the game. We couldn’t take shots before the match. A lot of conditions made it a difficult game.”
Germany made it difficult, too, winning 1-0, but in the end the Americans did just well enough, managed to keep the party going with the help of the Portugal-Ghana score in Brasilia. The whole U.S. team has become acutely aware of how June Madness has caught on back home. How the team’s prime-time success has boosted the sport to new heights, how it has proved some people wrong, how it has caused the likes of cranky Ann Coulter to declare in her desolation that soccer’s new popularity demonstrates “a sign of moral decay.”
The results on Thursday meant a longer ride on the wave, more moral decay for Coulter.
“We get four, five, six more days, hopefully more, of intense interest in the States,” said Sunil Gulati, the U.S. Soccer president. “It’s huge for the sport. That translates into more fans, more casual fans. I’m not going to say it’s a bonus, because we expected it, but it’s obviously a big plus. They closed down 34th St.!”
The players, same as most athletes in every sport, have found a great deal of
motivation in this tournament not only from the support they’ve received; they mine it from the doubters as well. Jermaine Jones gets a tremendous kick out of supportive tweets from U.S. women’s team star Alex Morgan, who shares his No. 13 jersey. But he also was quite pleased to prove wrong both Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman, ESPN commentators who had understandably predicted the demise of the Americans in this tough Group G.
“We showed them both they weren't right,” Jones said. “We heard a lot about the coach, ‘Why he take this guy? Why this guy?’ We showed people. Portugal and Cristiano (Ronaldo)? We left them behind us.”
Jones was told that Lalas had already tweeted his concession speech, admitted he had been wrong.
“He has to say that now,” Jones said, unforgiving.
Lalas isn’t the only one who questioned these guys, and quite possibly overrated Portugal. It’s still easy to think the Americans got very lucky here to advance, because they did. Good fortune is a big part of this tournament, always has been. Belgium, the next opponent, is another side clearly better on paper. There is no logical reason to pick the U.S. in that match, either. The Americans will try to feed off the next set of predictions, as they did off the last ones.
The players climbed back into their bus in late afternoon, when the streets were starting to drain and dry. They headed back to Sao Paulo Thursday night for training sessions, then have a scheduled Sunday flight to Salvador for the match on Tuesday. Salvador is a great old city, a tourist's heaven.
These particular Americans now think they are much more than tourists in this tournament.
“We have a lot left in us,” Tim Howard said. Don’t know how much more we can take.