USA vs. Ghana 2010 World Cup: Tragic End To American Soccer Dream

For the second time in a row, the lowly African country of Ghana has knocked the United States out of the World Cup.

On a day when Americans were hoping for celebration, given all the speculation about how clear their path could be to the semifinals, they suffered their first defeat (and incidentally last as well) of the tournament.

Many emotions were shared by Americans watching the game, but the most overarching initial reaction is likely to be disappointment. This was the most united we have been as a country focusing on a single incident since probably 9/11.

And for everyone who was watching, expectations of last-minute heroics couldn't have been higher.

In the sport of soccer (as we call it, and no, I refuse to call it football because I am allowed to enjoy my own culture) America was living a fantasy that couldn't go on any longer.

New viewers thought that last-minute goals and major officiating gaffs were common place occurrences in the sport. They aren't.

Well, perhaps the officiating gaffs are.

But still, there are immediate thoughts to take away from this World Cup.

Firstly, team USA gave an outstanding performance for what we are equipped with. If we took all of our young people and trained them to be professional soccer players, we would likely contend at the level of teams like Holland.

We wouldn't, however, be Brazil.

As a country, and as a team, the USA has a lot to be proud of. We accomplished a great thing this time around by winning our group for the first time since 1930 (and that didn't really count because of the layout of the Cup in its first year).

I am afraid, that because of the way the last game turned out, many Americans are going to have a bad taste in their mouth.

We were never going to win this tournament.

If we had made it past Ghana, there was Uruguay, and then likely Brazil (maybe Holland). If we had somehow beaten Brazil, we would have had to face an opponent who had weathered the far more ferocious other side of the bracket.

We weren't going to win, and getting their was a lot of fun.

The game play itself was rather frustrating, however. Watching Ghana foul continuously (and watching it be permitted as it usually is in the sport) as well as watching them do everything they could to waste time in the end doesn't resonate with the American notion of fair play.

That goes to show that if we were going to be a soccer nation, we would have to transform our entire notion of how the game should work; we would need a massive education movement.

There is also the fact that getting knocked out by Ghana, a country that receives international aid from numerous USA-based organizations, is somewhat confusing.

It isn't really embarrassing, it simply is strange to observe.

However, there were 32 teams that entered this tournament and only one gets to win it, so we're in good company. Ghana will be knocked out as well shortly, as their theatrics and questionable decisions during the game won't cut it against more experienced teams.

We ended up getting knocked out as members of the upper half, between the 50th and 75th percentile of the pool. That isn't bad, even if the game was frustrating at times.

We do have a long ways to go though, and this loss might have been damaging to the concept of Americans falling in love with the game.

There will undoubtedly be cries from a small segment of the population claiming that America is becoming a soccer nation.

It isn't going to happen.

The segment of America that really cares about soccer already has a national team, being Mexico, and they likely have alliances for the rest of the year when they watch that sport at a club level.

America won't become a soccer nation because international matches are far too infrequent and the MLS management has the business skills of a fourth grader selling lemonade on the corner. Without the cuteness.

Rather than setting up their league's biggest moments in the dead of summer, when there are no other sports to watch, the MLS tries to have its season compete with the NFL, the NBA, and baseball's playoffs.

Why not play the season from February to August?

They could have their playoffs at a time when everyone has nothing to watch. That might work.

Even then they would need to get rid of ridiculous names like the New York Red Bulls. Is that some sort of joke? If I donate enough money can I have an MLS team named the Los Angeles Reid Brooks?

Also what the heck is Chivas?

As a sports fan, how am I supposed to get excited about my team playing something called Chivas? If I can't understand what your team is, I can't have a rivalry with it. Pretty cut and dry stuff.

There is a remote possibility that America could really like club level soccer in Europe, but the problem there is going to be that all of those teams are so far removed from our everyday lives that again, it is difficult to have rivalry.

That is what makes professional sports fun to watch.

That and winning, which Americans love to do.

My guess is that Americans will continue to keep an eye on international play, as long as the team is relatively decent, and that the country has definitely become big fans of the World Cup.

We always have been though because we were part of its inauguration.

Since that only comes around once every four years, and we look to play somewhere between three and five games every time, that doesn't leave a big chance for the sport to break through.

Not saying it absolutely won't, but it would be highly improbable if it did.

Ultimately, everyone in the States who cares about the sport still has another team they are cheering for as the Cup progresses and we'll watch it.

But will those weening moments of overtime when Landon Donovan couldn't put the equalizer up against Ghana replace the memory of the 91st minute when he could put the USA over Algeria?

Not likely, even though the teams we played won't be remembered.

For at least five days, and perhaps even two weeks, in the beautiful summer of 2010, America was a soccer nation.

Now, it seems like its about time for us to get back to baseball and NFL training camps, where we can crown a world champion domestically, because we're the only ones who play.

That is, after all, how we like it.