Ole, ole, ole, ole, USA, USA!!!

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June 17, 2010

I adore the World Cup with every bone in my body. I obsess over it the same way I obsess over a perfect photo — it sticks in my head and I can’t get it out.

I played soccer from 2nd grade up through my senior year of high school. I didn’t suck too bad. Then in college, I coached a high school team. Then I did an internship with the United Soccer Leagues (they run the U.S. semi-pro leagues) And on study abroad in Chile, I played for La Catolica’s university team — though by that point I was so out of shape/practice from not having played for 4 years, that I really, really sucked. At this point I probably couldn’t score a goal anywhere, anyhow, even if Green were the goalie.

Point being, I love the sport. My mom, being the super (hot) mom that she is, supported my brother and I in this obsession. My mom paid for my expensive club teams, drove me all over the state for games, sat out in the pouring rain to cheer me on, screaming, “Kick far, Kyle, KICK IT FAR!” She woke up with us at 4am to watch the World Cup in China and even let us stay home from school if that pesky little thing called “getting an education” interfered with with an important game. I would watch every single minute of the World Cup, the U20 World Cup, the U17 World Cup, the Woman’s World Cup — and something would be amiss if I didn’t mention my undying love for Briana Scurry and Brian McBride. They’re my two favorite players in U.S. history, though Clint Dempsey has also wormed his way into my heart. Bless his soul, that’s boy’s not scared of anything or anyone, even superstar Brazilians whose names translate into the best butt jokes ever.

When I moved to Chile, in a cruel twist of fate, I married the only South American in the world who cares less about soccer than most Americans. To give you an idea of just how little he cares, we didn’t watch the Chile game yesterday. Though it was an accident — he thought I had set the alarm and I thought he had set the alarm. But still. When I found out the U.S. opened on June 12th, a Saturday afternoon, I wrote it on my calendar to make sure I didn’t book a wedding that day. If we were playing at 7:30am you better believe I’d have ten alarms set.

What I love most about the World Cup is actually the agony of it. I’m a total masochist. In case you live under a rock, the U.S. tied England 1-1 in their opener. You could say that the hardest game is behind us, as England were supposedly Cup favorites — though I don’t think even the Brits really believe that. But the U.S. historically wins against all odds and then chokes against the little ones. We’ll beat Goliath every time — we were the Spain’s first lost in 35 games in the Confederation’s Cup, we were the only team aside from Runner’s Up, France, to score against Italy (in what was surely the ugliest game in the history of soccer, played 10 v. 9 almost the whole game because of red cards), the eventual World Cup winners in 2006. But when it’s David versus David, man do we struggle. I don’t even dare to get my hopes up about our game against Slovenia.

Of course, I wish we were one of the big World Cup superpowers.

But, you cannot choose your patria (unless your patria didn’t qualify, in which case, go nuts). That’s the entire point of the World Cup — it’s like a marriage vow. In sickness and in health, in the good times and the bad, ’til death do us part, through blatant obnoxious fouls, missed opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net, and horrible defending, I will stand behind my country.

It’s not that I don’t like the Chilean soccer team. I love them under Bielsa. Before I was embarrassed by the players’ crappy attitudes and lack of professionalism and refused to root for them because they were classless. But, El Loco has turned them around. Gone are the days of sexual harassment and destroying public property at hotels, getting drunk the night before a game and playing half assed on the field. Hello to the days of beating Argentina and making this country a better place to live in, and making a splendid qualifying run to this year’s big show (which I totally predicted).

But if the U.S. played Chile, I would root against Chile with every fiber of my being. Because if you’re a real soccer fan you know that you can’t choose your patria — or call it soccer, for that matter :) Fortunately, the odds of having to make that choice are slim to none. If both teams get out of their group second, they’d have to meet in the finals.

And I’m pretty sure that if there were a Chile v. U.S. World Cup final, it would create some kind of black hole that would suck the entire earth down and we’d all stop existing.

Who knows, though? Maybe, just maybe, one of the two will get out of their group 1st. Spain’s loss and England’s tie have opened up some doors. But we’ll see. I’m certainly not making any bets on either team just yet.

And that’s the beauty of it all.

When your country takes the field, you agonize because you know you’re playing a team that’s sure to beat you, but still you still wish against all odds that your boys surprise you and tough it out. You hold your breath for 90 minutes. You yell and throw things at the TV. And you think, if you Just. Hope. Hard. Enough. that will make the difference and your country will win.

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22 Comments

  1. Oh Kyle how I adore thee!!! Haha, what a fabulous post! I’m watching the Frace/Mexico game as I write this. I’m so freaking pumped about Argentina’s win this morning. I woke up at 7AM just to watch the game!!! Congrats on Chile’s win and GO USA TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Comment by Andi — June 17, 2010 @ 11:42 am

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  2. Reading what you wrote makes me wonder (even more), how on God´s earth the Americans haven´t yet embraced this game the way everyone else in the whole planet has.
    It has EVERYTHING to do with national pride, with suffering, agony and the few seconds of ecstasy with every single goal your team scores.
    Also, I´m glad to know you´ll root for the US team in a match against Chile. That means you really and actually like football (I´m sorry, but soccer is almost a bad word in my Chilean/Spanish structured mind).
    And… Everytime that Brazilian striker was mentioned on TV, we tought “oh man, this guy surely has a bizarre talent!”

    Comment by I_Marmo_I — June 17, 2010 @ 3:00 pm

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  3. If the US plays Chile in a game (though unlikely) with blood, sweat and tears I'm behind the red, white and blue. With 50 stars, that is. Not just one lame one. ;o)

    Comment by Andrea Gonzalez — June 17, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

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  4. Girl, you know I love you to death and you know that I feel EXACTLY the same way about the Wold Cup and Futbol in general, word for word. I am living the same conflict here in France. You can't fight against your patria and with every fiber of my body I'll root for Mexico against France tonight (to Hubby's utter horror – you got the only Chilean who doesn't like futbol, I got the only Parisian who does!!), or any other country, even the US (sorry hon). I honestly believe that this World Cup could turn into a toss up at this point: barring Germany, none of the “favorites” have been convincing so far, so maybe this will be the year that an outsider will make it to the top….

    The beauty of the game is the way it makes the world stop, because it does stop, I've felt it, while that little ball is bouncing around the field.

    Fned.

    Comment by Fned — June 17, 2010 @ 5:30 pm

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  5. Girl, you know I love you to death and you know that I feel EXACTLY the same way about the Wold Cup and Futbol in general, word for word. I am living the same conflict here in France. You can't fight against your patria and with every fiber of my body I'll root for Mexico against France tonight (to Hubby's utter horror – you got the only Chilean who doesn't like futbol, I got the only Parisian who does!!), or any other country, even the US (sorry hon). I honestly believe that this World Cup could turn into a toss up at this point: barring Germany, none of the “favorites” have been convincing so far, so maybe this will be the year that an outsider will make it to the top….

    The beauty of the game is the way it makes the world stop, because it does stop, I've felt it, while that little ball is bouncing around the field.

    Fned.

    Comment by Fned — June 17, 2010 @ 5:30 pm

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  6. Australian lost against Germany 4-0. Boo! Expected but as you say, still heartbreaking. I don't normally watch sports but I do love world cup. We go to bars to watch the games. I love the atmosphere and love hoping that Australia may just suprise us…

    FYI. USA-England. I was cheering for USA in an English bar! Go the underdog!

    Comment by kristyleaperkins — June 17, 2010 @ 10:15 pm

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  7. “…in a cruel twist of fate, I married the only South American in the world who cares less about soccer than most Americans.” You'll have to edit that to say “one of only two South Americans,” because Daniel couldn't give a rat's ass about soccer. I'm not a huge fan either, but I admit that I find the World Cup exciting. So with that said…

    ¡Vamos Argentina! ¡Aguante Estados Unidos! and…yeah, go Chile. I guess. ;)

    Comment by Katie — June 17, 2010 @ 11:57 pm

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  8. Es interesante como en EEUU solo es importan los partidos (de lo que sea) entre estados y a copa del mundo tiene muy poca publicidad. Aca CADA programa es sobre el mundial y todos hablan de eso por un mes. Creo que es el sentido de mundo que existe en todos lados menos en USA. No es una crítica, pero hay que admitir que a la mayoria los gringos en Estados Unidos les importan mas sus compatriotas que el resto del mundo.
    Recuerdo una vez en EEUU que me preguntaron de donde era, y cuando dije Chile, la resupuesta fue CHILEEEEE, WITH WACAMOLEEEE, VIVA MEXICO.
    :p
    mejor lo escribo en inglés asi no se ofenden algunos lectores del blog.

    Comment by Anita — June 18, 2010 @ 1:54 am

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  9. “But, you cannot choose your patria (unless your patria didn’t qualify, in which case, go nuts)” — that's right and that's what I'm doing. And my favourite in Group C is USA, as I think England team is so overrated (no offense to Eng Supporters) but hey, who knows right? anything goes esp during this final rounds of WC. Even favourite team like Spain has failed to prove their mettle so far. Enjoy the matches!

    Comment by shue — June 18, 2010 @ 4:22 am

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  10. AWESOME GAME TODAY!!! Yeah for the US!!!!!

    Comment by Fned. — June 18, 2010 @ 7:43 pm

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  11. I love that you have always been so passionate about soccer. Even more ironic that you say that you married the only South American who could care less! I love it…I have experienced a lot of this in my dating life as well. I am a super crazy Cubs fan and it's almost like it's a part of the script now on the 1st or 2nd date. Wait for it…”Well, I'm actually not much of a sports guy.” Seriously? How can I be a female sports nut and only seem to attract guys who could care less!!!

    Comment by hawolf — June 18, 2010 @ 11:35 pm

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  12. No es que los EEUU solo les importan los partidos entre estados. Por ejemplo, los Olimpiados son bastante populares y mucha gente los ve. Es que los canales de tele solo compra derechos a deportes que tienen mucho espacio para comerciales. Futbol tiene un solo descanso entre los tiempos, no es como el basquetbol o futbol norteamericano que para cada 5 minutos y pueden vender todo ese espacio para avisos. El futbol (soccer) no es tan lucrativo asi que no lo dan nunca porque no ganan plata los canales, en turno no ha sido muy popular, en gran parte por eso.

    Yo estudie administracion de deportes y queria trabajar en el marketing del deporte en los EEUU. Obviamente la vida me llevo por otro camino pero es un tema que me apasiona mucho.

    No te niego que hay muuuucha gente en los EEUU que son bastante ethnocentrics. Pero en este caso no creo que eso sea la mayor razon por lo que el futbol no es popular.

    Y por otro lado, tambien tienes que pensar, si los deportes grandes aca fueran esqui y hockey sobre hielo por ejemplo, y Chile era excelente competitidores en esos deportes, y eran malos en el futbol, tu crees que la gente importaria mucho de la copa mundial? Eso tambien es un factor.

    Pero por todos los estudios que he leido, sigue siendo un tema de dinero y que en los EEUU los canales no compran los partidos porque no ganan mucho con comerciales. La platita manda…

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 12:51 am

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  13. Haha, you should just have that now be your opening question when you meet up with someone on a first date — deal breaker — do you like sports or not?!?

    But on the other hand, at least you haven't met anyone who'd be rooting against your Cub! My friend is Mexican and her husband is French and they had to agree not to talk to each other during the game when the two teams play each other. At least Seba doesn't care enough to root again me :)

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 12:53 am

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  14. U.S. and Mexico are REPRESENTING against those old European teams!!!! Actually all the teams from the Americas are, except poor Honduras. They're taking a beating.

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 12:53 am

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  15. England is terribly overrated. Actually I think even their supporters know that. I love the British fans, they're so funny and pessimistic!

    But you're so right, Shue, this World Cup has been really entertaining, precisely because all the big teams haven't done as well as they should be doing, according to stats.

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 12:54 am

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  16. Yeah, I guess like I was just saying to Heather in a comment above, at least Seba doesn't care enough to root against me! Actually at this point I kind of feel a kinship with all the teams from the Americas, as they seem to be dominating against the European teams. Me likey :)

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 12:55 am

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  17. That is heartbreaking :( I've yet to see a game, but I did hear that the Soccerroos haven't been playing as well as they'd hope.

    And yay, wasn't it fun to root against the English in their own bar?!? Haha, thanks for the good vibes for my team! I actually always root for Australia when they play too, as long as it's not against the U.S. because A. I also like the underdog, and B. I like their style of play. I think it's pretty similar to the U.S. Maybe Australia and the U.S. aren't the most tactical or skilled teams in the World Cup but we're sure as hell and will go out there and fight to the death.

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 12:57 am

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  18. And now…even Germany isn't on top of their group! This World Cup is definitely anyone's game.

    I do not even know how you and hubby's marriage made it through the France/Mexico game!!!

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 1:06 am

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  19. What, you mean you're not behind the Texas flag??? :P We should have a World Cup party or something for the finals. Not that I think Chile and the U.S. will make it that far…though a girl can dream :)

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 1:07 am

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  20. Lee el comentario que puse arriba para contestarle a la Anita. Tiene mucho que ver con negocios y por supuesto la plata. Futbol, para los canales de deportes gringos, no es un deporte que da muchas ganancias.

    And yes, I do really and truly like futbol. I've played since I was old enough to even know what the sport was. I loved it and I still do! I just wish I had the chance to play more. But I suck now. My glory days are over!

    Comment by kylehepp — June 22, 2010 @ 1:09 am

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  21. Kyle
    Hace ya algún tiempo había pensado, (pero siempre había olvidado escribirlo) ¿no has pensado en tomar fotografías deportivas? Tú tienes mucha pasión por el deporte, y en Chile toda la fotografía deportiva que he visto es bastante improvisada (nunca he sido un experto en fotografía) y se limita a sacar fotos durante los partidos o a una foto de frente donde sale el deportista mirando a la cámara.
    Con las fotos e imaginación que tú y Seba tienen, podrían sacar fotos SIDERALMENTE espectaculares para campañas de promoción deportiva, por ejemplo, y no hablo sólo de fútbol.
    Bueno, es sólo una idea loca, si “me fui mucho en la volá”, disculpa, pero hace tiempo tenia ganas de comentarlo.

    Comment by I_Marmo_I — June 22, 2010 @ 4:30 pm

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  22. Si, me encantaria sacar fotos del deportes, de los jugadores. Pero me ENCANTARIA.

    Lamentablemente, es bien dificil entrar en la area comercial de fotografia con tan poco experiencia como lo que tengo yo. Tienes que tener un portafolio para ganar los trabajos, y tienes que tener trabajos para tener una portafolio. Como decimos en ingles es un Catch 22.

    No se, con todo esto de la Copa Mundial me he puesto a pensar si me gustaria buscar pega en la area deportiva de nuevo o no. La verdad es que no se. Fotografiar jugadores yo creo que seria mezclar lo mejor de los dos mundos.

    Comment by kylehepp — June 23, 2010 @ 4:39 am

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