Soccer and Some Reflection…

After watching the U.S. soccer team get booted from World Cup competition I went for a run to get some of my pent up emotions released. My son is a pretty good soccer player and we love the game. I suspect like many of you (who watched these past 3 games) had similar reactions. I was flabbergasted by some of the officiating. Today’s final game was no different. The penalty kick call before half should have been a no-call.

During my run I was able to reflect on the games. The U.S. team simply was not good enough to advance; we all know this. They are not yet at the same level as the top teams in the world. Today’s game was an example. A good team does not put themselves in a position where a poor call by an official can kill them. The U.S. team had already given up a goal because of a mistake, which they were prone to do in every game and each time, it seems, the other teams capitalized, as good teams do. Had the U.S. showed up in game one and scored a couple goals or got a tie, today’s game would have had a completely different look. Not that Ghana would have lost, as they are a very good team. (I am also happy for them and hope they do well in the second round.)

As Americans we too often, it seems, like to blame others and point fingers and usually at other Americans. Sometimes we need to accept the fact that we are not as good as we thought, and that we have made some mistakes. Did we have the right team or the right coach or the right strategy? Think about Iraq in a similar fashion.

I do congratulate the U.S. soccer team for getting to the World Cup as it was not an easy task for them. Perhaps with some changes and new young players coming up, they can build on their 2002 success.