Revolutionary War, part 2

So, ever since December when the World Cup draw occured and the US and England were drawn in the same group, I have been waiting for this day. England vs the United States in their first game of the 2010 World Cup. Now, in the past weeks, the press in both countries has been hyping this up. References to the Revolutionary War have abounded. Americans were pretending to care about soccer and recalling the 1950 WC in which the US stunned England beating them 1-0. England has been going on about how the US knows nothing about football and England will have it easy in the match. High quality journalism and commentary all around.

Now, to be fair, pretty much both sides are completely wrong. Going into the match, England was coming off a strong qualifying campaign but was lacklustre in their warm up matches. That being said, they are still considered one of the strongest teams in the world and have a good chance of going all the way in this tournament. On the other hand, the United States has developed nicely in the last four years. Their 2006 World Cup disappointment has fueled their desire to prove their worth on the big stage. Despite an iffy start, they performed well at last summers Confederation's Cup, famously ending Spain's unbeaten streak and then forcing Brazil to come from behind in the final. They are a strong team with a core of players with big international experience. Less than 10 spots separate the two teams in the world rankings and it really wasn't a "done deal" for either team.

Now that I've set the stage (although unless you've been living under a rock for the past 6 months you didn't really need that), I will say that I too was very very excited about this match. However, this wasn't because of any existential or actual battle between the US and England. It was simply because these are the two teams that I support most vehemently in international football. Furthermore, as I am currently living and playing football in England, I have a vested interest in both American and English football and have lots of friends who feel the same. I was very excited to watch this match with my English and American friends and teammates and simply enjoy it for what it is.

And now, for the pregame setup. I was expecting about 20 people at my house for the game. My house isn't small, but its not really ideal for 20 people watching a sporting event. However, we fixed this problem by borrowing Neal's giant tv. We moved some tables around in the house, taking the big dining table outside (and turning it into a beer pong table) and moving the smaller patio table inside to leave room for people to sit. The set up worked well and I think everyone was able to see the screen and didn't miss out on the match. For decor you can see our lovely American flags.

The Americans of course got the Beer Pong going. I need to take a moment and comment on the fact that Ian K Helms is wearting "Jorts". Yes, those are cutoff jeans that he made into disgustingly short shorts. That ensemble turned Ian into his alter ego, Chuck Thunder. Since his creation, Chuck Thunder has been a sports agent (I'm apparently his first and only client), an owner of a Car Dealership, and at certain times a super hero. I don't know, I've stopped asking when it comes to Ian.Jeanie brought facepaint, so of course that had to be busted out. Yes, I am quite proud of our american flag faces. It did, however, take ages to wash that off, especially the blue. I may still have some blue in my hair.


Now, the reason that this whole event occured in the first place: the game! It didn't start out well for the US or for me. I was very very emotionally torn throughout the pregame and the match itself because I am invested in both teams. That didn't help when, 3 minutes into the game, England scored. Not just that England scored, but that Steven Gerrard, my all time favorite player of all time (yes, thats redundant but thats how much I love him) scored to put England ahead. I had to be happy but couldn't be happy but still sort of wanted to be happy. Anyways, I was torn. It didn't look good for the US and they looked disorganized and unsure of themselves. We all got really scared (or maybe just the Americans or Everton fans) when Emile Heskey slid into American goalkeeper Tim Howard and he lay on the ground in considerate pain for quite some time. Thankfully he recovered because, were it not for good old Timmy, the score would have been extremely lopsided in England's favor.

Just before half time (with England having the slight majority in terms of possession and overall chances), Clint Dempsey took a shot from outside the box that looked like an easy save for English keeper Robert Green. Well, I guess not because the poor poor man had the ball spin out of his hands and into the net, tying the score. All I could think about was the absolutely dreadful attention he is going to receive in the disgusting British press and I feel so bad for him.

The second half had a few chances each way (again, with England as the slight majority) but with the exception of a few players (Stevie, Clint, surprisingly Steve Cherundolo, Michael Bradley, Glen Johnson) it looked like nobody really wanted to win the game and they were sort of going through the motions. I was disappointed by the performances of several players (Wayne Rooney, Landon Donovan, Frank Lampard, although I shouldn't be surprised by that) and on the whole was hoping for a slightly better match. Granted, with all the hype leading up to it, its quite possible that only a thrilling 4-3 victory for one team or the other would have lived up to the pre-game attention the match got.

After the game, most of my teammates left, leaving just a few Brits and the lovely loud Americans. Simon and Liz got their first taste of Beer Pong and Liz was quite the rookie threat, giving Neal and Blaine a run for their money. By the end of the night (and if you want to know, I'm completely sober throughout this entire event), this is what Neal, Blaine, and Ian had degenerated to....

On the whole, quite a fun evening. Neal cooked up some AMAZING food, it was a good atmosphere in the match with lots of fun banter, and the result was a good one for both teams and I got to see my boy score. So, I was quite happy with the result of the epically ridiculous night that I was foolish enough to attempt to pull off.

To end, I'd like to show you all my favorite moment of the evening. Following international matches, players tend to exchange shirts with the other team. Usually, they just go straight into the changing rooms so they walk in shirtless. However, Stevie was asked to do some interviews on the pitch (oh the burden of the Captain) and so he put on the US jersey. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is Steven Gerrard wearing an America kit. Gotta love it.... :)