Wednesday, June 23

Took it easy today because of 7 v 7. We "warmed up" by pushing the lawn mower from the practice football field to the storage shed. I had killed it the night before while aerating it (after aerating the practice soccer field). For some reason, diesel fuel doesn't work in regular unleaded engines. We then played futsal for about 30 minutes.

Then it was game time. The United States versus Algeria. After 91 minutes of nail-biting, gut-wrenching action, one of the most important goals in US history was scored. The reaction of the boys wasn't caught on film, but the pure elation seen in this video fairly captures our response:

What an incredible moment to have shared with the boys. When I was their age, I was the only one in my school to have even the slightest interest in the World Cup (we didn't have a soccer team). So, I watched the 1986 World Cup final alone in my parent's basement, with only the barest understanding of the sport's history and global importance. (The final was Argentina vs. W. Germany and featured Diego "The Hand of God" Maradonna. Argentina won 3-2.) Things have certainly changed since then. ESPN has (finally) fully embraced the World Cup and with the strong performance of the American team, Americans have taken notice. As the video above shows, the U.S. has truly become a "footballing" nation. It's nice to have company. Now, it's on to the Round of 16 and Ghana on Saturday.