The Game

I have no pictures suitable for the actual game. I was too busy being terrified. I was so angry after a blown offsides call disallowed Clint Dempsey's goal. There was a fair amount of profanity from Andy and I on behalf of our fellow Texan. Close attempts at both ends and some brilliant saves by Timmy.

However some context is necessary for those of you not following at home. Slovenia beat Algeria in the first round. The English tied the Algerians second round in a goalless draw. So Slovenia was at the top of the table with 4 points. We were ahead of the Crumpet-eaters on goals scored, since they had scored one and we had scored three. The Algerians were last. We needed to win to advance. We wanted the English to win to displace the Slovenes- guaranteed first with a win, but had to hope that the English did not score more goals than us (because their goal differential would be considered as the first tie-breaker).

We did not concede an early goal, so at least we had that going for us. But as halftime ended we were nervous. Then the second half started fast, but slowed down. at 75 minutes, we were on our feet (in SA, they yell at you if you stand. We didn't care). Without a miracle happening, we were going home after the group stage for the second world cup in a row. After a public had begun to take notice of our team and we had built a narrative to entice the nation, we were headed home after a dismal performance against a team that most Americans couldn't point out on a map (a low standard, granted). The 4 came up indicating extra time after 90 played. We put our arms around each other. 4 minutes for a miracle.

Then this happened. (It is better in Spanish).

Tim Howard distributed the ball with an incredibly accurate throw. We say Jozy Landon and Clint all sprint down the right. Donovan controlled the bounce and distributed it to Jozy. A hard cross that Clint redirected goalward caused the ball to break free from the otherwise incredible Algerian keeper. The ball rolled back and with a clinical finish Landon Donovan scored the most important goal in US Soccer history.

This photo album actually tells the story well.