The World Cup 2010 - What A Ride

I loved the run the USA had in the World Cup this year. Unlike in 2006, I think our coach and team did the best they could have done. Were they perfect? No. No one can be perfect. But the games were just fantastic. A tie vs. England what a good (if not lucky) start. The comeback goals against Slovenia were enough to bring tears to our eyes. And the stoppage time goal to beat Algeria left us jumping and screaming. Wow. What excitement.

When I saw the starting lineup for our round-of-16 game vs. Ghana, I was very surprised to see Clark starting in the midfield. I know Clark plays hard, but I've always thought we had to find someone who could step it up a notch. Edu played well in the tournament, though he had also made some mistakes as well. Despite that, I assumed Edu would be starting. (I liked Torres a lot in qualifying, but I have to admit he looked really bad in the tournament.) When Clark's mistake in the midfield lead to the first goal for Ghana and his subsequent poor decision to make a hard and late tackle got him a yellow card, I knew the coach had to pull him. What I didn't know is that it would be the most memorable part of the tournament for me. When Coach Bradley called Clark over to the sideline midway through the first half to take him out of the game, the camera captured a hug and some words between Coach Bradley and Clark that showed how great a coach this man is for our team. That moment, that hard, hurting moment for both of them, turned into a moment of rare honesty and love that brought tears to my eyes. Nothing else I'll see in the World Cup will compare with that.

-Bill