World Cup hopes crushed?

(I was going to use a more creative title like "the US hopes are kept in Czech, but just about every other American blogger has already done that, so I'll spare you yet another pun.) I'm sure that by now, you are aware of the that the US was slaughtered by the Czech Republic Monday. If you're curious, you can see what the players have to say about what went wrong.

Thanks to summer classes and the day job, I was unable to watch the game live. I was able to briefly follow the match on Matchtracker while scarfing down a very quick lunch during a 5-minute break (the very beginning of the 2nd half), and the second that I saw that the US was down 2 goals, my first thoughts were, "We're done." For someone who is normally very optimistic, as soon as I saw the result, my first thought was that the US was out of the Cup. Statisically speaking, if you lose your first match, your chances of advancing are very slim. Several hours later, I happened to run into a guy wearing a shirt with the USMNT shield on it. Naturally, I asked him the outcome of the game, pessimistically expecting the worse, while simultaneously hoping that the US would for once find the nerve to get their act together. No such luck. I inquired if the loss was because the Czechs were that good or the US was that bad; after a couple seconds' reflection, he responded that it was both.

Glutton for punishment dedicated fan that I am, I decided to watch bits of the game after I got home. What happened to the team that surprised the world by beating Portugal, and was prevented only by a stroke of bad luck from beating Germany? (Yes, I still believe that the US played better than Germany did in that game.) What I saw was far more reminisceint of France '98. Even though I am a firm believer that most Americans should get more exereicse, Keller was far more active than he should have been. Where was the defense? Heck, where was the offense? Two weeks ago while lamenting the Crew's crushing loss to DCU, I made the comment that I had better NOT see the USMNT play a game like that in Germany. Unfortunately, my worst fears were realized. To reiterate what I've thought for years, once the USMNT is down a goal, they completey fall apart. Oh sure, there have been exceptions. There have been times when they still managed to pull together and win. However, those times are few and far between.

On much happier news, Germany and England, two of the other teams I've picked as favorites, have done quite well so far. From what I've seen of their games so far, they're doing quite well. Too bad I can't say that of the USMNT.

On a side note, if you want somewhere to watch World Cup games - other than than your own living room, that is - and if you happen to live close to a soccer store, and also just happen to "have" to buy something - anything - soccer related, it wouldn't hurt to pop in for a nice leisurely "look". I guarantee you that they will have the World Cup playing on a TV (or two), and there's nothing quite like watching a soccer game while being surrounded by everything soccer. Talk about a great enviroment. Just a hint.