Skip to main content

Processing US Women's World Cup Final loss

Without a doubt, this year's Women's World Cup was the most entertaining (on this side of the pond, as they say) since the 1999 edition of the global tournament.

The USA's performance and "never say die" attitude endeared this team to many American fans rather quickly, which was no more apparent than when the team stormed back to tie Brasil in 120+ minute, before going to win in penalties.

Unfortunately, the dream ended in penalty kicks to a resilient Japanese side who was more fit for the task.

Here's my attempt to process and set expectations on yesterday's US loss:

1. The best team doesn't always win in soccer.

Sometimes, even the most dominant team in a particular game doesn't win that game. (HT: Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated)

2. Here are some notes on penalties ending this game:

(a) Tough on USA, since Japan had data on US shooters, since they had just seen them against Brasil. There are players that take their penalties the same direction/spot their entire lives, from high school through international level. Just saying, it's tougher when your opponent knows what you want to do.

(b) Penalties get saved. See Copa America matches over the weekend -- Brasil's senior team missed all their penalties vs. Uruguay, and Argentina's Carlos Tevez (EPL leading scorer in 2010/11 campaign) had his penalty saved, costing ARG the match. All that to say, having your penalty saved doesn't mean it wasn't taken well.

(c) Penalties are mental. On the world's biggest stage, the pressure is amped exponentially. Add an extra shot of adrenaline, and sometimes the ball just goes over the cross-bar. It happens.

Sometimes the journey itself is more fun than the destination.

I've never heard of someone hiking the Appalachian trail because of the endpoint of the hike, other than to say they completed the hike. Hikers do it for the enjoyment and experience of the journey.

Understand me, you always "play to win the game" (right, Herm Edwards?), but for the American soccer fan (however casual he/she may be), this tournament showed a great side of soccer that anyone with rooting interest could enjoy.

Popular posts from this blog

Player Evaluation from game vs. Czech

I am extremely embarrassed and disappointed. This is to understate my emotions toward the game today. Saying that, I do realize that the Czech are a powerhouse. They are without a doubt a top-3 team in the world. Pavel Nedved was brilliant; Cech was barely tested. Here is a grade for each player based on performance. Feel free to leave comments to vent or dispute. GK - Keller: Only had one save in 4 chances (shots on goal). Not much to say here, all 3 goals were spectacular! [B- -] D - Eddie Lewis: Quite possibly the worst game i've ever seen him play. Never looked comfortable. He seems to have forgotten how to play the ball on the ground. Totally ineffective. [D-] D - "Gooch": Possibly our lone bright spot all game. He did have a defensive error that led to the first goal, but that mistake was shared by Pope and caused by Lewis (left his area). Overall, very impressive. Should see a big payday after the Cup. [B] D - Cherundolo: Even though he scared me to near death sev...

Duck...Duck...(Oh Shoot!)

I don't often consider my life buzzworthy for personal stories, but I must make an exception for this one. I have worked lawn maintenance for 6 summers now, but no experience quite compares to this one. My crew was at the mall for the day to mow, trim, blow, pull weeds, and pick up 9 billion cigarette butts (which reproduce faster than an asexual insect). I was in the middle of a juniper bed, doing my best to weed-out wiregrass and the like. The juniper was almost knee-high. It was such a mundane activity that i didn't give it any second thought. Generally speaking, I am pretty aware of my surroundings. This time would prove to be an exception however. I was walking in the middle of the bed making my way to the far side, when as I stepped and reached for a weed, a UFO (denotatively, an "unidentified flying object") came from the juniper. A frighented moan ensued. (I'm not exactly sure how to describe the noise which proceeded from my mouth. I'm glad it was a s...

Time with Josh

Since Josh (Chandler, my friend who was severly injured in a car accident on June 2nd - chandlerupdate.blogspot.com) was moved to Charlotte for rehabilitation, I had not had the opportunity to see him, primarily since Charlotte is 3.5 hours from Rocky Mount. On the way back to school (figure it out), I passed right through Charlotte. Since I had no reason to be at school early, I had plenty of time to stop by the rehab. hospital and spend some time with Josh. As I drove through downtown Charlotte, I began to think about all that Josh had gone through. Sometimes, I am still tempted to ask questions regarding why Josh had gone through all of this. I'm sure part is sin and part is my finite being. However, I cannot view this "accident" through the lens of chance or "bad luck." God is SOVEREIGN. He performs all things after the counsel of His own will. (This would be God's sovereign will -- It cannot be thwarted, and not you and I can do nothing to change it.) M...