U.S. team enjoying newfound success
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist
Could it be that this year's new Boys of Summer use their heads to hit the ball?
Sort of like Jose Canseco, but intentionally and with uncanny precision.
Can it be that these Boys of Summer also use their feet to kick the ball?
In ways of accuracy and purpose the New York Mets' infield never dreamed of.
For the first time since 1930, we are in the midst of baseball, that most traditional of seasons, and a U.S. men's soccer team is not only kicking up FIFA World Cup interest, it is capturing headlines and imaginations.
Normally, the U.S. team has been long gone by the quarterfinals.
But as this U.S. team underlines with each trip to the pitch, this is not your normal quadrennial exercise. Not when the Stars and Stripes are still represented while the big boys, like perennial power Argentina and defending champion France, have already made their way home.
If there is disbelief in Buenos Aires and Paris over the turn of events in this topsy-turvy Cup where Senegal, Turkey and the U.S. are so far among the surprising survivors, then there is growing wonder on these shores.
Indeed, here is a team, albeit with a new coach, new approach and some new faces, that was a dead-last, 32nd out of 32, red-faced embarrassment in the last World Cup.
Four years later — light years, really — here is a red, white and blue team that opened with few expectations and at 300-1 odds to win the thing, according to London bookmakers, now at 33-1 and growing more confident with each outing.
Even President Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers and an admitted recent convert to futbol, is calling the U.S. team and predicting victories.
"It is like a dream," said U.S. forward Landon Donovan after yesterday's 2-0 victory over Mexico.
One that has yet to stir the U.S. team — even with Friday's match against three-time World Cup holder Germany fast approaching.
A Chihuahua in historical terms on the world soccer scene, no longer can the U.S. team be so easily dismissed now.
This has been a long time coming for a country that hasn't gotten this far since the inaugural World Cup, a modest convening of 13 countries in Uruguay 72 years ago. That the reward was a 6-1 spanking by eventual runner-up Argentina seemed to deter subsequent efforts.
Now, every time it plays, the U.S. team seems to be reaching some milestone. Its upset of Portugal in this year's opener, looking less and less stunning with each match, was the first opening win in 20 years. And its shutout of Mexico was its first in 52 years — and the biggest win ever.
At least until the next one comes along, that is.
