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USMNT

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SerenityNigh said:
U.S. buoyed by fan support back home

SAO PAULO -- The last time the U.S. played in a World Cup in Brazil, just one American reporter was on hand, using vacation time and paying his own way.

Sixty-four years later, about 100 credentialed U.S. media members are covering the tournament -- and that doesn't even include staffers from the networks broadcasting the games.

Back home, millions of people are watching on giant screens or office computers, at bars and public gatherings. In their protected Brazilian bubble, U.S. players find out about it via email, text, tweet, Facebook, cable television and all sorts of other inventions that didn't exist in 1950.

"All the bars and the pubs and restaurants are packed, and it's all over social media and people are taking off work," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "That says a lot. They do that for the Super Bowl. So the fact that they're doing it for the World Cup is special."


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U.S. VS. BELGIUM: TUESDAY, 4 ET

The Americans traveled Sunday to Salvador for Tuesday's second-round game against Belgium.

Chicago's Soldier Field will host a viewing party on for Tuesday's U.S. match. The watch party had been scheduled for Grant Park, but need a bigger venue for the anticipated crowd. Soldier Field has a 61,500-seat capacity.

Sunday also marked the anniversary of the famous 1-0 victory over England at Belo Horizonte, still considered by many the biggest upset in World Cup history.

Dent McSkimming of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the only American reporter there in 1950. Now every game is televised live back home, drawing audiences that would make every U.S. league other than the NFL jealous.

Stars in other sports are taking notice. San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum pulled on a U.S. road jersey after throwing a no-hitter last week.

This kind of attention and hype would have been unimaginable not just in 1990, when the U.S. returned to the World Cup after a 40-year absence, but even as recently as 2010.

"Obviously when we were in Korea, when we were in Germany, South Africa, the support has always been there, but it's just a lot bigger," said defender DaMarcus Beasley, the first American to play in four World Cups. "We get a lot more mainstream people that never really watched soccer or been a fan of soccer. And obviously people are going to say, 'Ah, people only come out during the World Cup. They don't support every game.' But we see it differently. We see what's going on behind the scenes, and we know our support is growing in the right direction, and us getting out of our group is a way to help improve our growth from a soccer standpoint."

Players have cited the large crowds at home and the thousands of U.S. fans in Brazilian stadiums as forces that motivated them during difficult moments.

"It is the reason we exist," said Korey Donahoo, president of the American Outlaws supporters group, "to inspire a difference in the team and to help spur the players on to greater things." The three U.S. group stage games averaged more than 18 million viewers between English-language ESPN and Spanish-language Univision. The 2-2 Sunday evening draw with Portugal was the most-watched soccer game in American history with 24.7 million TV viewers.

The finale against Germany started at noon EDT when much of the country was at work -- or at least supposed to be. A record audience of 1.05 million streamed that match on WatchESPN.

"Four years ago it was impressive, and the fact that it seems even bigger now is a testament to our country," Howard said. "I don't know if we can get that type of electricity every weekend. I don't think that's where we're at as a country in terms of the soccer fanaticism."

By comparison, Boston's six-game World Series win over St. Louis last October averaged 14.9 million viewers on Fox, San Antonio's five-game victory over Miami in this month's NBA Finals averaged 15.5 million on ABC, and Los Angeles' five-game win over the New York Rangers in the NHL's Stanley Cup finals averaged 5 million on NBC and NBCSN.

But "American football" is still the king in the U.S. The opening weekend of the NFL playoffs this past season averaged 34.7 million viewers for four games.

"This is a very special time for us back home in America and with the growth of soccer," defender Omar Gonzalez said. "With us getting out of the group, it definitely helps a lot. The viewership on different channels has been great, and we want to keep it going."

A win over Belgium would advance the U.S. to a quarterfinal against Argentina or Switzerland on Saturday at noon EDT, another potential record-setter.

"We're on a positive trendline in this sport. I don't think there's any denying that," U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said. "What this does is, it jumps up to a much higher trendline."
Click to expand...

Dent McSkimming? FFS...
 
Jurgen's Donovan decision revisited

FORTALEZA, Brazil -- When it comes to the U.S. national team, one name that hasn't come up lately is that of Landon Donovan.

That's what happens when you emerge from the group stage at a World Cup. Getting out of the first round tends to be the demarcation line between success and failure. That's not true for those countries occupying the stratosphere of the international game, but it remains the case for a team like the United States.

The same is true for managers. Advance and every choice a coach makes is cast in a positive light, especially when a team emerges from a group as difficult as the one that the Americans inhabited. Go home and the Hubble telescope is broken out to dissect every decision from every conceivable angle.

The reality is that a team's World Cup journey, and the decisions that go with it, is rarely so black and white. A choice that turns out poorly might have been rooted in some cast-iron internal logic. And sometimes a team succeeds in spite of decisions rather than because of them.

In looking at the broader context of Klinsmann's choices, it's clear he has gotten plenty right.

"You can't complain," said ESPN television analyst Alejandro Moreno. "If we had to put money on it, none of us would have said that the U.S. would've gone through. The proof is right there, and to some degree Klinsmann has proved himself correct."

There was much scratching of heads, in this space and elsewhere, when the final 23-man roster was announced in May. But two of the more controversial elements -- the inclusions of defender John Brooks and defender/midfielder DeAndre Yedlin -- have paid off.

It has been stated before but bears repeating: Brooks' game winner against Ghana was the pivotal moment of the first round for the Americans. If the U.S. ties that match, the pressure would have built, throats would have constricted, and doubt would have crept into the team's psyche. Instead, the Americans got three points, a jolt of confidence and some precious breathing room thanks to Brooks' heroics.

Yedlin, too, has acquitted himself well, settling into a super-sub midfield role that has used his speed and seen him be effective in each of the last two matches. His late run down the right wing helped create the havoc that eventually resulted in Clint Dempsey's goal against Portugal. He nearly duplicated the feat against Germany with another low cross, although on this occasion the sequence ended with Alejandro Bedoya's shot being blocked by Philipp Lahm.

In terms of Donovan's absence, matters aren't so cut and dried. If the U.S. emerge from a group of death, has Donovan really been missed? Given that there is another level that the U.S. team can reach, a compelling argument can be made that Donovan hasn't.

Looked at another way, however, it seems clear the U.S. would have benefited from Donovan's presence. After the match against Germany, Klinsmann bemoaned his side's inability to be calm with the ball under pressure and maintain possession. Such traits have long been a staple of Donovan's game. It stands to reason that Donovan could have aided an attack that generated the second-fewest chances during the group stage.



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Landon Donovan may have been useful in Brazil, but a lack of cover for Jozy Altidore has been a bigger concern.

"The argument about Landon Donovan is not whether the team has missed him or not," said Moreno. "I think the argument is that, at some point, you could use his talent. I think even the players would tell you it's nice to have that option."

Yet even if one takes the view that Donovan's omission was a mistake, it doesn't come close to being the biggest one Klinsmann made. That would be not having adequate cover behind injured striker Jozy Altidore. Ever since Altidore fell to the Arena das Dunas turf against Ghana, the U.S. has been backed into a tactical corner where Clint Dempsey has been forced to fill the lone forward void, a role that doesn't play to his strengths. It points to Eddie Johnson or Terrence Boyd as being a significant omission.

"Donovan gives you a different dimension, but he doesn't give you holdup play," said Moreno. "The areas of need the U.S. has aren't what Donovan does best."

Of course, there is at minimum another game to be played. It will constitute another chance to tilt the prism in which Klinsmann's decisions are viewed, providing a different perspective.

If the U.S. manage to defeat Belgium, no doubt the verdict on Klinsmann's choices will continue to veer even more toward the positive and the choice to omit Donovan will continue to recede into the background.
 
In solidarity, I will be boycotting all things Belgian until tomorrow. That means no Hercule Poirot novels and no Blue Moon beer. One must draw lines in times like these.
 
Boycotting the Belgian bakery down the street where I like to get breakfast sometimes.

But why do we have to play all the countries with the best beer?! FFS I'll just have Coors.
 

Re: Miscalculation on not taking Eddie Johnson or Terrence Boyd.

The truth is we don't really have good target forward options. Jozy is a good player, but clearly out of his depth in the Prem. He can succeed on the international stage where defense isn't as rough.

I think both EJ and Boyd would have struggled big time at the World Cup. Johnson is past his prime and off-form, and Boyd still has some work to do on his game.
 
I still would have taken Johnson, likely over Green. Or anyone who I thought would get a second of playing time over Green. Especially since Yedlin is being used as a midfielder.
 

hopleaf said:
Am I allowed to drink Belgian-styled beers, an Allagash White perhaps? I'm bad at this nationalism thing.
Click to expand...

Yes. So long as an American craft brewer. There is NOTHING more American than taking someone else's thing and making it our own.

I would also argue you can get waffles provided you go the 'Murican way and get Chicken & Waffles drenched in hot sauce.

waffle.jpg
 
johnnydawg68 said:
In solidarity, I will be boycotting all things Belgian until tomorrow. That means no Hercule Poirot novels and no Blue Moon beer. One must draw lines in times like these.
Click to expand...

I'm with ditching the Blue Moon, but what about Ommegang, a (truly) American brewer that makes Belgian-style brews?


I guess Sam Adams is the safe choice. I hope you're ditching all InBev as well?
 

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