Sick To My Stomach.

by Chris Kamalski

We should have won that game.

We don’t make it past quarterfinals of FIFA tournaments, let alone dethrone the #1 ranked team (Spain) in a semi-final of dominant play, let alone go up 2-Nil against Brazil of all teams at the halfway mark.  In the delirium of the first half (“Will we actually win a tourney?” “Am I actually watching this go down LIVE?”  “Were Dempsey and Donovan’s goals insanely beautiful or what?”), I turned to the guy sitting next to me and gulped ‘I won’t feel comfortable until we are up by 3 goals.

Friggin’ prophetic words.  Cue Fabiano’s score barely 2 minues into the second half, and the US’ strangely lackadaisical play (YOU HAVE A SHOT AT WINNING A TITLE!!!), and I knew we would lose.  The question sports fans of the ages ask: Why do you play conservative and back off to protect a lead, when aggressive play has gotten you said lead in the first place?  Although the real Brazil showed up and dominated us in the 2nd half, I feel we gave away the championship more than they won it.

Curtis Love drove home with me tonight, and said he heard Landon Donovan reply to a commentator on TV who said that the US had finally earned the respect of the football world:

“We’re at the point where we don’t want respect, we want to win,” said Landon Donovan, whose goal in the 27th minute gave the United States a 2-0 lead. “There’s no guarantee we ever get back to a final game like this, so it’s disappointing.”

I don’t think I’ll ever see a US Fifa final (let alone win) in my life again.

So agonizingly close.  

Yet I remain SO PROUD OF OUR BOYS!