At World Cup, signs of the American ethos

If you didn't see it or you don't follow soccer, then the Blunder means nothing to you.

If, however, you were even a casual soccer fan yesterday, you witnessed something that never or almost never happens: a soccer ball kicked straight at a tall, muscular, trained, professional goalkeeper that somehow managed to bounce by him, over the goal line, and into the net.

It was something my brother, a lifelong soccer player, coach, and fan, said he'd never seen "in professional soccer in my life."

I have seen it many times, of course, while hacking around on a soccer field with, say, seventh-graders. A ball gets kicked at a goal, and it hits a guy and trickles by into the net.

But this goal was at the World Cup Finals, the event in soccer that happens only every four years and means about 10 Super Bowls to everyone in the world but us.

And this goal was scored by the USA. We have a team, and they're pretty good by world standards, though yesterday against their opponents, England, they looked like eighth-graders playing against actual men, so tall and broad was England, and so tiny and wiry were we.

England was already ahead 1 goal to none, and by all rights with their tradition and physicality and all-starness they should've blown us away. But then this (little) guy by the name of Clint Dempsey, who comes from Texas, a hotbed of soccer, kicked a ball towards the goal, and it went in.

After that, England still should've blown us away, but they didn't. They kept on kicking balls straight at our goalie, Tim Howard, who didn't let the ball by. The game ended up 1 to 1.

After, Clint Dempsey explained, "It was one of those things where other people score goals like that and you say, 'why doesn't that ever happen to me?'"

I don't know if a non-American would've put it exactly that way.

The American ethos is defined by hope. Other countries say, "At least that didn't happen to me" of unfortunate outcomes. We always say, "Why doesn't that ever happen to me" when it comes to positive outcomes.

Alexei Lalas, a TV commentator, alluded to this national quality after the game: "The Clint Dempsey goal, that's luck, but it also comes from a belief and a confidence that this team has, and that Clint Dempsey has individually."

Dempsey himself is an American success story. He comes from "humble beginnings" as the video below explains, and he credits his parents and his hard work for getting him where he is.

America doesn't have a corner on the market of the "glass half-full" and "land of opportunity" way of thinking, but heck, we sure tell the story well. Congratulations, Clint, for believing that if you kick the ball on goal, it will go in.

Comments

[Laird Harrison]

One of the aspects I love best about soccer is the expression of cultural attributes in the style of play. Unfortunately, that's disappearing pretty fast with globalization.

[DF]

Brazil vs. N Korea today was a good example of contrasting styles and contrasting cultures.