World Cup Fun

Of course, I come up with a fantastic idea for a great column in the Echo sports section, and it comes after I graduate. I get the opportunity of a lifetime to combine my history major with my love of sports, and I cannot even get it published on paper anymore. God damn it.

Anyway... yesterday's World Cup match between the United States and England is a dream come true for a writer who also happens to be a proud American, a soccer fan, a history buff, and a lover of sports in general. Going into the game, this was a win-win situation for a person like me. After all, if we won, well, then we kicked the crap out of the redcoats, just like in the American Revolution. If we lost, well, we saved the Brits in two world wars, so they still owe us. But a 1-1 draw!?!? The soccer fan in me would have loved the win for the Stars and Stripes, but the history major will not complain, because now I have the chance to bust out a War of 1812 reference! (Although, this does deprive me of the opportunity to compare goalkeeper Robert Green, who lost the game for England, to General Charles Cornwalis, who lost the Revolutionary War for England...)

Yes, the last time the U.S.A. and England were at war, it ended in an entirely indecisive draw. England was expected to remain the most powerful nation in the world, until the U.S. asserted its dominance during World War I. I hope soccer works the same way. England was expected to dominate Group C, but just maybe the United States can shock the world and emerge on top.

With Slovenia and Algeria up next for both the U.S.A. and England, look for both teams to move on. And in the round of 16, odds are one of those teams will be taking on Germany. And if either team successfully beats the Germans, well, both the sports fan and the history buff in me will be going nuts...