One step back, then moving forward

There is nothing more frustrating than a buzz kill. And just as there is nothing more derisive than a German laughing at you, there are few things more condescending than being dismissed by an Englishman.

To whit: a good time was had by all when the US beat Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinal last Wednesday. Well, maybe a few (million) Spaniards, and some Liverpool fans (cheering for Torres and Alonso, hah), were put out. Most football watchers, however, enjoyed a good match. Who, after all, doesn’t enjoy watching an underdog beat the Big Bad Bully? Record-setting unbeaten Spain was as big a bully as they get.

So the reaction in the States about the win was over the top. Suddenly soccer was in the news. American soccer was in the news. One can excuse a little irrationality -- like some saying that the Men’s National Team were legitimate contenders to win next year’s World Cup -- from US soccer fans and media. They have been constantly overlooked, reviled, treated like third-class citizens. Heck, even ESPN, the channel fighting for international soccer broadcasting rights, seem to favor the X-Games more. Why else would ESPN condemn US fans to broadcasts with Tommy Smythe?

A good result against a Very Good Team was always going to be a release for long-suffering MNT fans. It would be the same anywhere, to be honest, to beat the top-ranked team in a FIFA tournament. Celebration and a little chest-thumping is the norm. Enter Football365’s sarcastic Mediawatch, buzzkillers.

The day after the historic win, Mediawatch wrote:

Perhaps understandably, the three people that care about football in America are quite excited this morning after their brave collection of Bobby Sues and Jimmy Maes beat Spain in the Very Important Confederations Cup last night.

'U.S. Victory Was a Miracle on Grass,' reads the headline from the usually sober New York Times.

The paper goes on to say: 'A performance like Wednesday's, if it can be repeated often enough, could change the way the world views American soccer and perhaps even the way American players view themselves, not as merely able to challenge the top international teams but to beat them.'

Hmmm. Steady on there chaps.

Sigh. “Miracle on Grass” is something that any American sports fan recognizes, echoing as it does the then-equally improbable 1980 Olympic win against the Soviet hockey juggernaut. And duh -- those are girls' names. Mediawatch piled on:

Finally, Fox News comes up with the goods to reassure any confused Yankee Doodle who didn't understand why they weren't picking the ball up with some textbook, utterly baffling and largely meaningless numbers:

'Meanwhile, the United States had been 1-7-1 against No. 1 teams, beating Brazil in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup and tying Argentina last summer in an exhibition at Giants Stadium.'

It is that last bit that really got to the CounterAttack. Yes, there are times when American soccer media resorts to the need for statistics but bringing up previous performances is legit. (And yes, we are fully aware it is a Sarcastic Site. No matter -- CounterAttack still wanted to punch the English column. Figuratively.)

The English football forums were little better. After the US let a 2-0 half-time lead slip away to Brazil in the championship match, even non-Americans were impressed. One forum started a ‘The US Comes of Age!’ thread. Most of the comments were positive, commiserative in the “join us in the bitter taste of defeat” mold, and supportive. Like most things, however, it was the few ruiners that, erm, ruined it (typos in original, but sadly, no way to properly convey the tone):

• Soccer ball rules. Fuck yeah!
• fuck football...its all about SOCCER!!!! get your baseball caps on lads and crack open your miniture cans of beer…
• What an awful thread
• They are just deluded

Ugh. It is tired. It is annoying. It is...frustrating because to a certain extent, it is still true. The irony is that the US does have a history. One of the oldest FAs, semifinalists in the 1930 World Cup and…. Ok, it is quite a thin history.

The US is on course to qualify for its sixth consecutive World Cup. Still, it is a no-win situation, those pesky results getting in the way of consistent respect. That is a bit galling. Weak confederation, never-win-in-Europe, Mickey Mouse tournaments…

The team is getting better. Media coverage is improving -- the Confederations Cup was the first time that the American soccer media went after the coach for poor tactical decisions. Never before has a USSF president had to give an MNT coach a vote of confidence. Players were criticized, and then responded by word, perhaps by deed.

Soccer fans in the US are great. They are often knowledgeable about the overall game beyond the shores of England, even as they are loyal to their (usually English) adopted clubs. On that note, Americans demonstrate an inspirational level of dedication to follow their adopted teams. East Coast fans get up as early as 7 am (that's 4 am in California) to watch those games.

But because they did not grow up in the shadow of a stadium, they are considered ‘plastics’, fake fans, by English media types looking for an easy target. Accidents of birth do not impress most Yanks, but this is another annoyance they have to bear.

Unloved at home. Dismissed abroad. A schizophrenic national team that alternates between flashes of could-be-good and embarrassing. One might ask: is it all worth it?

Last week in South Africa, for 90 minutes on a Wednesday evening, for 45 minutes and 20 seconds on a Sunday evening, including one world-class goal, it surely was.

Here endeth the rant, as the CounterAttack looks forward to the game v Mexico, and another chance for the MNT to make history. Again.

Photo via Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images, @Soccernet.com