Pregame musings
Two hours and change until the US Men's Team meets Poland in Germany. ...
MatchNight has an interesting article about the hubris the of-late successes the men's team has been garnering might lead to a nasty downfall. Yes, the team is at its most successful in its entire history, but a comment posted with the story sums it up: "That's not saying much."
OK, so that's pretty cynical, but as a cynic and a realist, I'm inclined to agree. I'd love to shake off this attitude, but as I haven't yet seen the team face an opponent of any real mettle, I'm reserving my bragging rights. I don't know what it says that the team stomped two teams and tied with one that failed to qualify. I've seen Japan play much better than they did in San Francisco last month, and I wondered if they didn't let their belief in the US as a weak player override their game, although I dunno, it also seems that they're not nearly the team that they were and are having some troubles. I know that every team is supposed to look at a game -- any game, even a friendly -- in the spirit of true competition, but we all know how going up against a team with a less-than-stellar reputation can bring out laziness. The US has something to prove in every game and the players go out all-balls every time. That's definately an advantage and has been the deciding factor in the recent wins. That's the kind of attitude that I'd like the team to continue to cultivate. I'd hate for them to do the opposite of what their opponents have been doing, that is, let a taste of recent victory infect them with the kind of overconfidence that leads to a long, hard fall off a pedestal of overhyped expectations. Confidence is only as good as the results that back it up, and they've still got a ways to go yet before they can run on that kind of attitude alone. Their performance against Poland today and Germany later this month will go a long way toward either confirming the US reputation as an easy win or busting the chops of all naysayers who think that the US only plays good football with an oblong ball.
Me, I'd like my chops to be busted so I can finally shake off that pessimistic attitude. I harbor a little flame of hope that we're as good as we'd like to think we are, and I'd like that flame to go on to a full-on blaze. I think this is a team that can surprise some people out there, including me, and as long as they can keep going out to prove that yes, we DO play football in the United States, they can do it.
Two hours and counting ...
MatchNight has an interesting article about the hubris the of-late successes the men's team has been garnering might lead to a nasty downfall. Yes, the team is at its most successful in its entire history, but a comment posted with the story sums it up: "That's not saying much."
OK, so that's pretty cynical, but as a cynic and a realist, I'm inclined to agree. I'd love to shake off this attitude, but as I haven't yet seen the team face an opponent of any real mettle, I'm reserving my bragging rights. I don't know what it says that the team stomped two teams and tied with one that failed to qualify. I've seen Japan play much better than they did in San Francisco last month, and I wondered if they didn't let their belief in the US as a weak player override their game, although I dunno, it also seems that they're not nearly the team that they were and are having some troubles. I know that every team is supposed to look at a game -- any game, even a friendly -- in the spirit of true competition, but we all know how going up against a team with a less-than-stellar reputation can bring out laziness. The US has something to prove in every game and the players go out all-balls every time. That's definately an advantage and has been the deciding factor in the recent wins. That's the kind of attitude that I'd like the team to continue to cultivate. I'd hate for them to do the opposite of what their opponents have been doing, that is, let a taste of recent victory infect them with the kind of overconfidence that leads to a long, hard fall off a pedestal of overhyped expectations. Confidence is only as good as the results that back it up, and they've still got a ways to go yet before they can run on that kind of attitude alone. Their performance against Poland today and Germany later this month will go a long way toward either confirming the US reputation as an easy win or busting the chops of all naysayers who think that the US only plays good football with an oblong ball.
Me, I'd like my chops to be busted so I can finally shake off that pessimistic attitude. I harbor a little flame of hope that we're as good as we'd like to think we are, and I'd like that flame to go on to a full-on blaze. I think this is a team that can surprise some people out there, including me, and as long as they can keep going out to prove that yes, we DO play football in the United States, they can do it.
Two hours and counting ...
posted by MLS Fangirl @ 7:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home