Game day for U.S. soccer team: what it looks like
by Steve Davis on Jun 26, 2010 8:26 AM EDT
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You’re about to play the biggest soccer game of your life.
You may be eight hours from landing in a World Cup quarterfinal, which would the second time at such a point in modern times for your beloved land. Your country as a whole has been pinned to the mat a little bit lately, with a sniffling and sneezing economy and an oil spill that just won’t freakin’ quit. So it’s hard to feel very "can do" about it all.
But as a soccer player, you’re on the business end of an effort that is making everybody feel a bit better about things, re-inflating the balloon of national pride a little bit.
Of course, you may also be eight hours from crashing out and disappointing a suddenly interested nation.
What are you doing in the nervous hours before? How are you staying calm in the maelstrom of angst, trying hard to "play the game, not the moment?"
One way to keep some "chill" about it all is through a predictable structure. Game day for U.S. Soccer, in a lot of ways, is all about routine, which creates a predictable exercise. I wrote about it all here at SI.com; it’s what game day looks like from wake-up to kickoff for the
Six hours to kickoff …
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Really enjoyed the
step by step pre-game happenings of the team. Read that and felt like I’ll be with them the whole way.
With a little over 3 hours to go, I find myself right in the middle. I’m a little nervous but I’m also confident that we are the better side and can pull this one out. I think we will, but even if we don’t, I’ll still be proud of our guys and content with this WC…I will not be happy but probably content.
That being said, let’s beat the crap out of them and move on to the Quarters. GO USA!!!!
by I need more Esteban on Jun 26, 2010 10:21 AM EDT reply actions
USA vs Ghana game thread today!!
Come over and hangout during the game, just leave you vuzuvelas in the Jetta.
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With supporters like this, we simply can't lose.
(Mrs. Clint Dempsey, for those of you who don’t know.)
by vineyarddawg on Jun 26, 2010 12:45 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Well, blankface bob finally showed up. Did he forget that quickly why he went away from Clark after the first game? What did Findley do to deserve automatic starter status? Why wait until overtime to use the last sub? We had so much momentum in the second half, DESPITE the ailing Altidore, why not use the substitution to try and capitalize on it?
I’m so proud of the players on this team and the effort they put forth. This team made me so certain in the ability and heart of American soccer players. I’m so excited for 4 years from now to see if our coaching catches up.
