Cheering on the Americans, for chrissakes

It’s almost 6 a.m. here and I really should be in bed — especially given I only had 3 hours of sleep last night — but the adrenalin is still pumping after two very exciting World Cup matches tonight (technically this morning).

First, Ghana completely outplayed the highly touted Czech Republic, winning 2-0 although really the low margin of victory was due two Czech’s goalie Cech and no one else. It wasn’t exactly the mastery that Argentina showed the night before in their 6-0 demolishment of Serbia and Montenegro, but it was still great stuff. Particularly pleasing was that the Black Stars didn’t play, after going ahead 1-0 in the first minute, 89 minutes of hold-out defensive soccer, but kept on attacking, all night.

There is invariably one of these sorts of upsets each World Cup, and in recent years it has been invariably one of the African sides. This time it was Ghana to come through, but based on their play tonight, and that of Cote d’Ivoire and Angola the night before, I can’t imagine it’ll be long before the African countries are feared (and patronized, it must be said) not for their “x-factor”-ness but feared simply because they’re damn good.

The next game I was going to record and watch tomorrow (well, it is tomorrow but you know what I mean) but I got so pumped up watching the Ghana-Czech game that there was no way I was going to fall asleep that soon, so I figured I’d watch the Americans get humiliated by the Italians. And indeed, as they showed the pre-game congregating of players in the locker room tunnels, the US players, especially Reyna, their captain, looking so wound up and tense that surely there would be no way to hold off the laughing, carefree Italians who seemed as loose as the Americans seemed tight.

But lo and behold, the Americans, and if you saw them get thrashed by Czech earlier this week you would know it was out of nowhere, were actually taking it to the Italians (granted, it is a bit of the Italian style to play defensively and then make the most of scoring opportunities). But when the Italians went up 1-0 after the 21st minute (off a free kick resulting from the predictable Italian flop by surprise, surprise Totti), I though the rout was on, for sure. However, not 5 minutes later, the Italians scored again, only they put the ball in the wrong net: an own goal by the Italians had just tied the game at 1-all.

Now, I wrote before that I could care a less for the US team, and in general that remains true. I have no country allegiance when it comes to the World Cup, I just want to see good, exciting matches. And I will root for the underdog, every time (except for perhaps Brazil matches, it depends on the mood I’m in). And oh yeah, I will generally smile very broadly if the Italians lose. No offense to anyone, but their football team — and indeed their whole professional soccer institutions — seems built around cheating. It’s no surprise that their is a huge scandal in Italy about match-fixing and referree-buying going on right now in the country. What is surprising is that some folks have finally said enough is enough, for this nonsense has been going on for years. On the field, as I’ve written before, they’re about the worst (and they do have stiff competition, mind you) when it comes to diving and flopping, and histrionics after getting love-taps on their Azzurri ankles and shins.

The own goal seemed somehow poetically justified, and I couldn’t help laughing my face off at the Italians, suffering the horror of actually letting the Americans (they actually play soccer in America? I can imagine some of those Italians thinking) equalize. Indeed, not a minute later, no doubt in frustration and some amount of shame and humiliation, the ugliest deed and in a rather ugly match — penalties and play both — occurred when the Italian thug De Rossi threw a vicious elbow to the American McBride’s face, like he was in a Sopranos episode and not a World Cup match (I stole that reference from the Guardian, I admit). De Rossi was red-carded and sent off, but before the half, in a questionable call, the ref apparently thought he ought to be fair and he red-carded the American Mastroeni, both sides now playing 10 vs. 10.

After that it was basically a war of attrition, another American got sent off (I thought for sure they would be goners then), and 9 US players basically did their best Rocky impersonation and slugged it out with the 10 Italians. It was, as I said, ugly — helped in no small part by the horrible referee, who does have some skeletons in his closet — but for me, thinking there would be no way to hold off the Italians, terribly nail-biting. I doubted the Italians would lose, but I sure as hell didn’t want them to win. And in the end, the Americans were able to hold off the Italians to save the draw and claim their first points of the World Cup. Because of the earlier Ghana upset, nothing in this Group E is decided, although the Italians are still one point clear at the top. As other pundits have noted, this is indeed now the “group of death.”

You’ll never ever catch me chanting “USA, USA” or waving a flag, but not since probably the Miracle on Ice way back when have I been so glad to see an American team win something. Good on them for denying those flopping cheats the win, and seeing how good Ghana was tonight, I guess I’m going to have to root for the underdog Americans again when they face off against the Black Stars next week. Alright, time for bed!