If you are a heart patient, please take your medications before watching the US.
All those missed chances in front of goal looked like they would come back to haunt us. And it just became more and more nerve wracking as time wound down. We are the cardiac kids of this World Cup, making life hard for ourselves. But we have shown time and time again, amazing resilience, amazing strength of character, and an ability to strike when least expected.
I am still sorting out the sequence in my head but Jozy Altidore had a lot to do with Landon Donovan's stunning strike in the 90th minute. Donovan disappeared in the second half but he was there when we needed him.
This was the shot that was heard across the world. With all due respect to Paul Caliguiri, we have a new one!
Team USA goes through. How can you not love them now? How can you not love the wonderful, crazy, exhilarating sport that is football aka soccer. We forgive all the puny mortals, the diving cheaters, the atrocious refereeing, the low scoring matches - the haters of this game throw at us at every opportune moment. 300 lbs steroid laden, armour clad linebackers have nothing on this sport!
Hey d, I hope you're correct. We maybe looking back at a turning point 5-10 years from now. You mention correctly that Caligiuri's goal jump started the US soccer renaissance but maybe Donovan's goal can lead them to uncharted territory- put them on the map as a soccer power, widen the appeal of the game, and bring them on par with the MLB, NFL.
you nailed it, SR.
after brief deliberation, i have decided that donovan's injury time strike has tied paul caligiuri's qualifier as dual-holder of the greatest goal in US history.
not for style or skill, or even importance (yet), but for sheer emotion. this is the first goal in US history that i think you could effectively argue sent our fans, not just the die-hards, into "rapture." i screamed until my voice literally would not work. people all over the bar who didn't know each other, probably don't even follow the sport on a regular basis, were bear hugging. i heard the fans in the stadium stayed well after the game singing and cheering like a bunch of crazy boca jrs. fans. donovan broke down in tears during the post-game interview a la martin palermo after his record breaking goal at la bombanera. it's seriously the first real evidence of top tier passion for a wider US sport audience.
all it will take for it to become the sole holder of the #1 spot is what happens next. both in terms of this cup and the sport's growth in the states. caligiuri's goal may not have the edge on passion and excitement, but for the moment it's still a bit more influential in that it basically jump-started the US soccer renaissance of the last 20 years. we wouldn't be here today without it. but then 4, 8, 12 years from now, we may be saying that about the donovan goal.
hopefully i'm not just on a post-game high.
Absolutely, Jesse G., - The US is fortunate that they have someone like Howard in goal. He is the heart of this team. Seriously speaking this US defense is not great but it is made better by Howard's constant vigilance, pushing them on, telling them to do better. And he wastes no time pushing the ball forward to someone free.
One of the keys to this goal was the most underappreciated goalkeeping skill: distribution. Tim Howard is a master at distributing the ball quickly and accurately from his position and his quick roll out totally paved the for this goal.