U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard: Man of the Year?

PRETORIA, South Africa – As if you needed more reasons to cheer for Tim Howard, more bullet points to like and respect the talented and inspirational U.S. No.  1 ... 

Soccer players from the United States aren’t generally so firmly attached to the facilities of self-importance jack-assery as some of the check cashers from other sports. On the other hand, there are some rascals and just plain unlikeable dudes around the game.

Then there’s Tim Howard.

If someone knows a more gracious, thoughtful athlete at his level, they’ll sure have to point ‘em out to me.

That man was raised right, no doubt about it.

Watching him patiently answer questions, attempting to give each and every one a serious going-over (whether it deserved one or not) you get the feeling that Howard pictures his mom standing over him, ready to swat him right upside his bald head if he gets out of line with anyone.

Going way back to his days in Major League Soccer, Howard was always appreciative and polite. As he’s been the property of sides in the venerable English Premier League since 2003 – including a time as the No. 1 for one of the world’s biggest clubs, Manchester United – it would have been easy for him to become jaded about it all. Plenty of U.S. Soccer performers, especially those who moved overseas, over the years have dutifully answered questions and tried to reach the U.S. fan through media without being a particularly good egg about it.

Some do their job – but you always get the feeling they’d prefer to be elsewhere; they don’t regard the men and women of the fourth estate as equals, so they prefer not to deal with them if they can avoid it. I think they call it, "Big Time" syndrome.

Howard was one of the prize "gets" at Wednesday’s U.S. Soccer press availability; every player over the last two days has spent time at a table, with reporters free to broach pretty much any topic World Cup related.

Howard began his part by laughing at himself, at the way some of his teammates were poking fun at him because, for all the injury concern, he emerged with a couple of small band aides. (Clearly, the real damage was in tissue, not skin … still, the players had some fun with it.)

He patiently answered every question about his injury, pointing to spots beneath his shoulder, discussing treatments and even good-humoredly lifting his arms when one reporter seemed skeptical that he could do so.

At one point, a foreign journalist asked, in very broken English, if Howard would like to be Man of the Match again, as he was Saturday against England? It’s the kind of question that makes everyone cringe, not only because it’s kind of silly, but because it wastes precious time; seriously, what is the man going to say?

Well, Howard tried to give it a go, managing not to belittle the foreign reporter along the way.

Howard is as honest as he is respectful. Too many athletes would never admit to being nervous before a contest. You know; they’ve been there before. Listen to what Howard said about the way he approaches warm-ups and the admittedly tortured minutes prior to kickoff.

"My nerves get shot, you know? I hate all the hype and I hate the day before the game. And I hate warming up before the game. Because I think too much. When you get into the game, it’s all instinct. You don’t actually think. So I yearn for the moment that whistle blows and you can just go do what you do. Because the mind takes you to all types of places you don’t want to go. You think about wins and losses and good plays and bad plays and I don’t want to go there."

Finally, Howard also has perspective. When asked about how the experiences at Manchester United helped shape his career, here is what the hero of Saturday’s match had to offer:

"Those experiences where great, because I had a few highs and I had a few lows," he said. "But that’s life. That’s not Manchester United, that’s not Tim Howard, that’s just life, and you learn from it."