Eating Crow, Part 1...

Walsh and I will both be writing today, so I'll take the first bullet this morning:

They did it. Yes, I was stunned and amazed. Yes, I was happy and was smiling for a good chunk of the afternoon and into the evening. Every time the highlights came on ESPN while I was working out at the gym, I let out a loud "Woo Hoo! U.S.A. baby!!!" I didn't care what anybody thought. Still don't, even though this site has been particularly hard on the team these past several days.

Admit it; they deserved it after the previous 3 or 4 games. They looked like a 1-armed man in a rowboat, going 'round and 'round in circles.

But that has changed since Sunday. This team is still not a world superpower, but they played the way we've come to expect from the U.S. team; some decent skill, an unequaled work rate, and solid defense. All 11 players busted their asses for 90 minutes and showed they can beat anybody on the day.

Earlier yesterday, Walsh emailed me and gave me Bob Bradley's quote that "we're going to play American-style soccer." Admittedly, we weren't sure what that was anymore. On Wednesday, against one of the top 2 teams in the world, they rediscovered what that style was.

It's not going to win every game. I don't expect a win over Brazil Sunday (assuming that's who they play), but I do expect the same kind of effort we've seen in the past 2 games. Be competitive boys, and you will earn the respect you have lost in the past month and a half.

And with former Furman alumni Clint Dempsey and Ricardo Clark becoming mainstays with the team, I got this text message from former Furman player and current Richmond goalie Ronnie Pascale:

"Furman Paladins Baby!!!!"

To which I responded, "You're a dork!"

Maybe Furman is a soccer factory? Who knew?

Anyway, the most important thing we can take out of this is that we, as fans, and those in the media, should be able to EXPECT this level of effort from the Americans now. I think when Michael Bradley went off on his tirade the other day about shutting everybody up after beating Egypt, he seemed to imply we doubted the team's ability. We don't doubt it, Michael, we just don't see that ability often enough.

We need to see that against lesser opponents, such as El Salvador. We need to see it against better than average opponents like Costa Rica and Honduras. There was a certain fear factor that seemed to have gripped these teams over the past few years as the U.S. had undoubtedly become the regional powerhouse. That had slipped a little bit. Now it's time to put the pedal to the floor and mop up the competition over these next few WCQs, and re-establish that grip on our dominance. The next step? Europe...

So, with this lineup, and with the solid contributions coming off the bench, is it too far to think that maybe, just maybe, this team can go into Azteca in 2 months and put a dagger in Mexico's World Cup hopes? I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but it's no longer out of the question.