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By: Adam Bielamowicz
In 1990 when the United States qualified for the World Cup for the first time in forty years, they were just happy to be there. So was the case in 1994 and 1998 as well. In three World Cups in the 1990s the Americans went 1-8-1 in ten matches.
Tell them it wasn’t easy.
When they look back on their 16 wins, tell them we never took a single one for granted.
Teach them about our passion and our patience.
If they ask who was our star, give them 20 names.
If you forget our names, just tell them we were Warriors.
And in the season of our lives, we became a team.
A team that made people believe that baseball could be magic.
And men could be perfect.
Remember comedian Jay Mohr’s talk show on ESPN back in 2002? Of course you don’t. It lasted only 16 seconds, but that was long enough for him to get in the one line that pretty much captured how the good ol’ U.S of A. has felt about the rest of the world’s favorite quadrennial sporting event:
“So, I hear the World Cup started this week. In a related story, my stones itch.”
It’s not enough that we simply ignore the beautiful game, we go out of our way to abhor it, to knock it, to dis it every chance we get. Not only do we dislike the sport, but we’re pretty damn proud of it.
It is time to put aside my disdain for the sport of soccer and instead show it the respect that it commands as the World Cup gets kicked off.
I thought there were many interesting stories this week in sports and I figured I would chip in my two-cents. They are arranged in order from least important to most important (in my opinion).
Phil Mickelson had forty-two chances to win a Major, but even with all of the talent and potential in the world, he couldn’t put every aspect of his game together until his birdie on the eighteenth to win The Masters in 2004. At that moment, his mystique of being the ultimate underdog vanished that Sunday afternoon at Augusta and since then, Mickelson’s achievements have silenced his critics and captivated his fans through his sheer determination as someone who can not only keep up with Tiger, but beat him.
Alex Ferguson looks at who HE thinks is the top 10 sportsmen in the United States. Forget about their actual ages- we’re talking about those playing in their first three years of professional sports…
Although homerun stats have been watered down, Pujols continues a mind-boggling pace. Consider this: five players have hit 60 HR in a season, but only one has knocked in over 190 RBI, even in the recent “steroid-era” of baseball. Albert Pujols is on pace for 82 HR, but more impressive, would be if he could maintain his pace for 203 RBI.
His Cards drop a spot behind the red-hot Tigers, and the only thing keeping the Tigers from climbing on top of the whole sport is reputation. The big question this week is whether or not the Tigers are truly the best team in baseball.
By Matt Waters
They called him a “Philadelphia Fighter” a definition that may require further explanation of its rather blunt meaning. A Philadelphia Fighter doesn’t quit, a Philadelphia Fighter never stops throwing punches, bobbing and weaving, never ceases to extract all the flight and fury his body could possibly handle. A Philadelphia Fighter never plays it safe, never allows his score on a card to dictate strategy, and most importantly, until he collapses, a Philadelphia Fighter answers the count.
Always.
It’s a big enough disgrace to merit the immediate removal of the state of Maryland from the union.
Saturday, at a little past 6:00 p.m., Pimlico Racecourse allowed Barbaro to race after he broke through the gate without even glancing at him to see if he were all right solely to protect millions of dollars invested in this race that would have to be refunded if Barbaro was scratched. If this were any other race, they would have made sure the horse was still fit to run. But in order to save their business, they cleared the horse without examination.