The Yanks

Wow what a crazy few days in sports. CU made it official today heading out west to the Pac-10. If you had told me 3-4 years ago that was going to happen I would've told you you're crazy. A lot has happened over that time span. The athletic department and the university need the revenue that will be generated by a new and improved Pac-10. The move also makes sense for a number of non-financial reasons. Boulder matches up better with other cities in the Pac-10. It has much more in common with Eugene, Seattle, and Berkley than it does with Manhattan, Ames and Lincoln. The campuses, university standards, culture and approach to athletics all mesh better in the Pac-1o then they did in the Big 12. The fans will miss the Nebraska rivalry, and the tradition, but in the end the change is the best thing that could have happened.

Is it me or does it feel nice to be part of a vision, part of someone's future plans, respected and sought after? It definitely makes me feel proud to be a Buff.

On to the World Cup.

Below is an excerpt from a blog post I stumbled upon a few months ago...

And so here we are again, just months away from the next big show. I’m reading, hoping certain young men heal quickly, heaping bad thoughts on the national teams of England, Algeria, Slovenia. I do my thing mostly in private, at computers, occasionally at a bar that shows soccer. I suspect there are others like me: fans who don’t wear jerseys, fans who’ve seen only a few games in person. We watch pirated games on the internet, scour the same five or six blogs, pull for the same fifteen Americans playing in the top leagues. Some of us follow Major League Soccer. I have one friend who wakes up very early on weekends to watch Liverpool games, another who flew to England to see a Chelsea game.

You’re forever hearing about soccer fans’ passion, about their love for the game. The idea goes that soccer fans somehow have more of it than Red Sox fans or Maple Leafs fans or fans of minimalist furniture. I don’t know if that’s true or not. What’s certain is that the only stuff you really know is the stuff that happens to you, and so I’ll say this: soccer has happened to me now. I’ve come to know it some and I’m learning more all the time. That is to say, I’m again a soccer fan. I am born again in it.

And that may not mean much in the same way that comic books may not mean much or how in the grand scheme being a Lutheran versus being a Presbyterian may not mean much, either. But one of the advantages about being a fan, of minimalist furniture or of soccer, is that you don’t have to care anymore what anyone thinks about what you like. You are, simply, a fan. Everyone else, simply, doesn’t get it.

Because here’s what it’s all about. I want the US national soccer team to win. And I want them to win because I want something to root for. I want, in the end, to feel as if I’m a part of something larger than myself. I want the feeling of being tapped into some current of energy, some collective wanting. My logic goes like this: If they win, somehow my fandom will matter. I know it’s just soccer, just one team from a country that discovered the game not all that long ago. But so what? It’s something to look forward to and isn’t that enough?

I think the author Seth Sawyers sums up my feelings pretty well.

I've said that nothing would surprise me for the Yanks over the next few weeks in South Africa. It wouldn't surprise me if the USA failed to qualify for the knockout stage and it wouldn't surprise me if we made it all the way to the semifinals. I really have no idea what's going to happen...Come out battle England for 90 and earn a draw and an important 1pt? Possible. Open up the tournament looking outclassed and end up embarrassed 3 or 4 to nil? Possible. Again, neither would really catch me off guard.

My best guess, we gut out enough points to advance out of group C behind England. We are then faced with Germany in the round of 16. The Germans simply have too much quality, are too efficient and confident on the world stage and we lose 1-0 in extra time. Would I be disappointed with that result? Deep down as a fan, yes I would be. But realistically, no I wouldn't be let down at all. I won't consider the outcome a failure as long as the team continues to show that they belong on this stage, that they can play with the world-class squads of England, Germany and whoever else they are matched up with. With those showings against the best, on the biggest stage, comes more respect. Respect from players and fans around the world and from the casual observer here in the States.

The fans' 'energy' that Seth talks about above is something that has grown immensely over the past 20 years and especially since the 2002 World Cup. It's close to a tipping point. A point when the entire country stops for 90 minutes when the US is on the pitch. The general public needs to be moved from merely observing the team toward a curiosity about what they can achieve. From there the expectations will skyrocket to "why can't we be the best at this sport".

That American spirit, confidence and self-belief is the reason that as a fan I always believe the US has a shot to win when we take the field. As athletes in this country you are brought up to think you can win, to know you are better than your opponent. By the time an athlete reaches the level of the World Cup, this belief is ingrained in everything they do in their life. On and off the field. So, like I said I have no idea what will happen over the next 3-4 weeks. I do know that I'll be a wreck, fretting over starting lineups, subs, formations, shots, saves, tackles and every word said and written before and after each contest. But I will rest assured, as a USA supporter that my team will always show the resolve, grit, determination and belief in themselves that makes them American at heart. It is that effort, that simple quiet confidence that can create the energy needed to make us all curious about what is possible.