Drawing Board

As an avid sports fan, and an American sports fan, I am definitely not a fan of ties. At all. Except in soccer. Especially in the FIFA World Cup. Against a country the Yanks haven't beaten since 1950.

The way they tied wasn't even fair, but I will take it. Considering that the Yanks are famous for terrible starts to the World Cup (look at 06, with all the expectations, USA plays scared and the Czechs win 3-0), it wasn't a surprise to see a 1-0 England lead in the 4th minute. I immediately thought it was 06 all over again. Then our world famous keeper, Tim Howard, found himself the victim of a vicious collision with England's striker Emile Heskey. The collision looked so severe, many were wondering whether Howard could stay in the game. Not only did he stay, he dominated the English attack, constantly making breathtaking saves with relative ease.

Howard is the reason why the Yanks stayed with the Brits for 90 minutes.

Robert Green is the reason why the Yanks pulled out a tie and a crucial point in the opening game.

In the 40th minute, Clint Dempsey pulled his best Ronaldinho impression on a few English defenders before finding an opening beyond the penalty area, taking an open shot, albeit not getting the strike, that somehow found the area between the goal line and the back of the net. You heard me, the ball rolled so slowly off of English GK Green that it didn't touch the net until it finally rested on the ground bar.

No matter the excuse, Green simply misplayed it, impossibly letting it slip off his gloves, then stumbling while desperately trying to stop the slow-moving ball to no avail. The play took about five seconds, which is about the same amount of time it took for the American fans to give Green his new nickname.

Bill Buckner.

That would be Bill Buckner, the Red Sox first baseman that lost Boston a shot at the World Series in 1986. The man wasn't forgiven in Boston until 2004, when the Sox finally won it all.

Robert Green may NEVER be forgiven in his home country, even if the Three Lions do find a way to win the Cup. That's how massive of a blunder this was and that's how ferocious the Brit fans are. They're desperate for a title, and anything that stops them - or slows them down - for that matter, is immediately considered a brutal enemy.

Go to 1:00 into the video below to see Green's infamous blunder.



As a fan who loves both USA and England, the best thing I could have asked for is a draw, no matter how much I hate ties.

Looks like I got my wish, now let's hope my other wish (a USA-England World Cup Final) comes true!

In other news...

As you can obviously see, I changed my background to a more patriotic background. Kind of. At least the text is Red, White and Blue. But the background I chose is too perfect to pass up. Who knew they would actually have an option to have a BRACKET as your background? Dreams really do come true!:)