Soccer Shows America It Isn't Special… And That's Ok

Even Tim Howard's record-setting performance couldn't save the US against Belgium.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The US Men's National Team fought with everything they had. Superhuman goalie Tim Howard made a World Cup-record 16 saves, and young lightning Julian Green scored on his first touch of the tournament, late in extra time, to keep the boys alive…

But America still lost.

That's soccer, or football as the rest of the world calls it, and if this World Cup has shown me anything it's that, while I still believe my country is great, we aren't special.

Bob Lobel: My Growing Appreciation for "The Beautiful Game"

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

I must be going crazy. 

Here I am driving home from a haircut listening to soccer play-by-play on the radio. There is a first time for everything, I guess. This was the first time for that thing, and until another World Cup comes around, it will be the last.  

Chatter about new found popularity of the most popular sport in the world, minus the United States, will ring out across our great land. But, the only thing you need to remember about the relationship between the beautiful game and the “oh beautiful, for spacious skies” country, is that we just couldn’t fall in love with a sport that belongs to the rest of the world. 

Belgium vs America in Things Other Than Soccer

  
By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Ok people, you know the deal. Just like last week against Germany, I am taking soccer completely out of the equation and determining whether the USA is superior to its next World Cup opponent off the pitch.

Without further ado, here is America vs Belgium in random things that popped into my head.