Posts from June 17, 2002

I did it again. For the second Monday in a row, I was up at 1:30 AM CST watching the USA in the World Cup. This one was against Mexico.

I might have mentioned this once before - I am not a big soccer fan. I am an occasional fan who understands the importance of this event on the international stage. But more than that, I am an American. So I stayed up late, and what do you know...I couldn't have asked for a better reward than what the team provided, a 2-0 victory over Mexico.

Being a football fan, I am always weary of "prevent defenses", they always seem to give up more than the regular defense. However, in this match they got it right. In what ended up being a brilliant strategical move, the US focused on defense, and waited patiently for opportunities to present themselves. When the time came, they took advantage. By the later stages of the game, Mexico had worn down completely from trying to apply so much pressure for most of the game. They seemed to play right into the hands of the USA. Of course, none of this would have been possible without another amazing effort by Friedel. I'll say it again - amazing.

Next up Germany. This one starts at 6:30 AM locally, so I will get a bit more sleep.