What so proudly we hail
Posted on August 10, 2012 10:12 am
This was a very divisive and controversial Olympic tournament, but I think we can all agree that it was a truly wonderful moment in the medal ceremony, when rival fans from all over the world came together to boo Sepp Blatter.
I wasn’t so much a blogger watching the US in the Olympics, as a fifth columnist. Now that this cycle is over, I can admit it – I fell in love with this Japan team last year. While you were all wondering if you could get Alex Morgan jerseys in men’s sizes, I was curious about getting an Aya Miyama jersey in something larger than extra-extra-small.
(Although the Olympic jerseys differ significantly from the usual national team jerseys anyway. And I don’t think the USSF is in a big hurry to sell commemorative shirts with no hint of either nation or federation.)
(And I’m always amused when a Far Eastern nation wears jerseys with Latin letters on the back and the English-language exonym in the front. In case anyone forgot exactly who won the war.)
Japan will be remembered as just another very good team, instead of a dominant one, which is fine. Hey, maybe they should have kept trying to score goals. They were pretty good against the United States, but they needed to be great, and weren’t. The better team won.
But, as the song says, fat-bottomed girls, you make my rockin’ world go round – get on your bikes and ride. (…wrong Queen song?)
Hey, I have an idea for a commercial. We open with a shot of a fat blogger, and he’s squinting at the screen going “Hope Solo is overrated, Hope Solo is an attention whore, Hope Solo makes everything about her,” and we zoom in on the bottle I’m – I mean, he’s drinking out of, and it’s labeled “Haterade.” And then Solo barges in, kills the blogger, spills the Haterade on the keyboard to produce a satisfying shower of sparks, drinks a refreshing swig of her sponsor drink, holds the bottle up to the camera, and says with a smile, “Brandi Chastain is the worst ****ing announcer in the whole ****ing world.”
Yes, I agreed with Fake Sigi. I thought this team had feet of clay. I thought this was, by USWNT standards, a very difficult team to like. As the Fakester noted, this wasn’t even a particularly solid team. The defense was and remains deeply flawed. One of the most significant near-misses for Japan featured Abby Wambach backing into Solo. Christie Rampone nearly jeopardized the gold medal, if not her red jacket, with that giveaway to Tanaka in the final ten minutes. Solo jumped all over Chastain for the only thing Brandi was right about.
I mean, Chastain even tried to trot out the “2-0 is the most dangerous lead” canard after the Japan goal. No, Brandi, that 2-0 lead made sure it was a 2-1 win, instead of extra time, penalties, and God knows what else. That’s how math works. Brandi Chastain is one of America’s soccer treasures, and I’d listen extremely attentively to her thoughts after she has had a chance to gather them. But her virtues and the qualities that make a good color commentator make up a Venn diagram of two separate circles. Okay, she’s better than Harkes.
And as it turned out, Alex Morgan put on exactly the right amount of blue body paint on her pubis in order to win the gold medal. That was one sweet assist, and am I going to sit here defensively and say most of her actual shots were much more sour? Of course not. Now’s not the time to say that future Hall of Famers shouldn’t send most of their shots in a final into the Van Allen belt.
Solo got personal redemption in her ill-considered slapfight with Chastain – or, rather, her considered attempt to deflect media criticism away from her defenders. (Which, if it was meant to help them concentrate and raise their game, didn’t work. Sinclair shredded them in the semifinal, and they easily could have forced Solo to face two penalty kicks before an hour was done.) Now this generation of players, who lack a nickname as well as an easy era definition, can hold their heads nearly alongside the 90′s/turn of the millennium team.
I say nearly, because this team still doesn’t have a player quite on the level of Michelle Akers. I happen to think no team ever will again, though, so in this case comparisons are particularly unfair.
The other edge the 90′s team has will probably be longevity. If you define this version of the USWNT as the Wambach/Boxx era, then this generation might claim credit for three consecutive gold medals (although Wambach selfishly skipped the 2008 Olympics because of a broken leg – Akers woulda played on it). But the 2004 gold medal game featured Hamm, Foudy, Chastain, Fawcett, Scurry, Lilly, Markgraf, Rampone – all associated with the 90′s team. The first six of those players started for the US gold medal team eight freaking years previously in the other Athens. It may not make sense according to the calendar, but I consider 2004 part of the Golden Generation.
So comparing this group to the “1999″ team” is a complete non-sequitur – this team won’t accomplish what the Akers-Hamm era did, because they won’t stay together as long. Remember how excited Arlo White was about Japan being the first team to win the Olympics after the World Cup? The US is the only team to win the World Cup after the Olympics. That was the Golden Generation.
Because of the women’s soccer calendar – i.e., see you in three years! – 2012 will probably be remembered as the tail end of the Wambach/Boxx/Solo/Rampone/Lloyd era, and the beginning of the Morgan era. (And hopefully the Rapinoe era.) (Plus whoever takes the place of Wambach, Boxx, Solo, Rampone and Lloyd. They may not all be gone by 2015, but it’s pretty unrealistic to expect them all to be here for Canada – and if they are, it will be pretty unrealistic to expect much beyond the quarterfinals.)
They will not be remembered nearly as fondly as the team they’re allegedly so jealous of. Not necessarily because they weren’t as good – Wambach at the very least would have started up top for the Golden Generation with little argument. But they didn’t win as much – without Carli Lloyd going big in big games, we might now be talking about the USWNT going a freaking decade-plus with no trophies whatsofreakingever. Fortunately, greatness has been found.
It would have been found on care packages to the South Sudan if Heath and Buehler had been more harshly judged, of course, but it was clearly too late to print shirts with “Whew!” on them.
And that’s the other reason this team will be honored, but not adored. The 90′s team was cheerfully and ruthlessly commercialized, but the gloating factor was nowhere to be seen. (One suspects this is because of Mia Hamm, since Foudy and Chastain were and are at least as controversial as Wambach and Solo.) This is also a team who seemingly spends more time choreographing goal celebrations than practicing defense on set pieces, although fortunately Lloyd didn’t spoil the occasion with anything foolish.
The best way to remember this team is its amazing rivalry games with Brazil and Japan. The real hate between Brazil and the US, and the emotional abyss that opened up after Greg Ryan replaced Solo with Scurry – well, those aren’t pleasant memories, but it showed what the US was able to come back from. (Even if their woes were largely self-inflicted.) The Olympics and World Cup wins over Brazil after the 2007 faceplant were among the most satisfying in the history of the program.
And I could watch the US-Japan games over and over. Unlike the 1999 final that was ruined by the Southern California heat in July, the two finals against Japan were both entertaining, dramatic classics. Both teams were shown at their very best. Japan too will not be the same by the time 2015 rolls around, either. I’m looking forward to the next few years of Marta v. Morgan, too, but let’s appreciate what we just had, because it was fantastic.
Another feature of the fantasticness was the attendance and venues. Classic matches in Old Trafford and Wembley.
…and had the handball been correctly called for Japan and they converted the subsequent PK, this might have been a very differrent article.
I’m sad and fairly certain that we won’t see Homare Sawa play a competitive game ever again. I’m old enough to remember watching her be the classiest, smoothest player on the Atlanta Beat (which wasn’t hard, as the other world-class field player was Cindy Parlow).
…or if Japan had converted one of their other half dozen close calls, this might have been a very differrent [sic] article
Solo would also have been a starter for the team of the 90′s. She is better in almost every phase of play for a keeper over Scurry. After that Maybe Rapinoe, Rampone, and Morgan make the team but probably do not start. Biggest difference though is that the 90′s team had much better defense and as you stated “Akers was the best player ever for the US”.
Watch the Nadeshiko and Challenge Leagues for the japanese talent pool… Unfortunately one of the big talents was injured during a leeague game and couldn’t make it to the Olympics, but I am certain we will see a lot more coming out of the well funded japanese women’s leagues.
In honor of Alex Morgan, here is the video about her body painting photo shoot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXQjTrIdDlk
Here’s our boy Sepp getting a London hello from the adoring crowd:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysjZYIeeMP8
I’m going to remember this squad for their appalling lack of class.
Don’t let Solo’s ego skew your assessment of the team. As far as appalling lack of class goes, I think Lady Andrade and Melissa Tancredi have set the bar rather high in that particular category.
I assumed they all had romaji on their shirts so the ref could read it, and FIFA (or FIVB or whoever) rules apply at enough levels that they still use romaji in the J-League, CSL, etc. even though it’s less salient to domestic refs than kanji would be.
I’m with Golazo – I’ll miss watching Homare Sawa. What a neat thing for such a classy player to have her national team “catch up” to her in terms of quality, since she was virtually alone in the late 1990s.
Dear Dan – There’s a pretty good reason for transliterating Japanese names on jerseys that doesn’t have anything to do with wars. Only about 1% of the population of the viewing world would be able to read the Japanese characters. Even peoples who use other than the Latin/Roman alphabet are nominally familiar with it.
Stilton, that was his point
“2-0 is the most dangerous lead”
Doesn’t that have more to do with the whole idea that if you give up a goal it is not as much of a momentum swing as giving up two goals? So while it’s not a more dangerous lead, you will more likely win if you give up a one goal lead as opposed to a two goal lead.
Or… whatever.
WHERE IS THE DISCUSSION ABOUT MEXICO WINNING A GOLD MEDAL AND THE U.S. FAILING TO QUALIFY? WHERE IS U.S. SOCCER ON THIS? DO THEY JUST WANT US TO CONCENTRATE ON WOMEN’S SOCCER FOR THE NEXT DECADE?
I CAN’T HEAR YOU! COULD YOU SPEAK UP?
Someone needs to speak up. The discussions are pathetic. No one is addressing the actual problems at U.S. Soccer.
Someone needs to speak up. These discussions are pathetic. No one is addressing the actual issues at U.S. Soccer.
@CSURAM FC – eyeroll.
Yes Dan, why didn’t you post something yesterday morning about Mexico’s victory today…slacker!
I just want to know what the hell he’s talking about.
The irony is the guy does not post to the blog above that DOES talk about the Men’s victory. Go figure.
The only thing worse than our girls parading around like shameless attention gluttons is the lack of uproar here in America. Are we so lacking in self-esteem that we summarily dismiss such actions after a win and see only the win?
Of course it’s reprehensible what Japan did at Pearl Harbor and unforgivable. But I got news for such folks, we nuked the living crap out of two Japanese cities, brought them to their knees and shaped their history forever. When was the last time any country conquered another by way of football? We should keep things in perspective and let war be war and football be football.
I know times change and all, but that doesn’t mean a lack of sportsmanship has to trump class.
The shirts were dumb, but maybe the lack of uproar over them here in America is a result of years of learning that sponsors call the shots.
I still think we collectively overrate the Golden Generation. Women’s soccer was a different game then. 90′s women’s soccer was about kicking and hustling; the game today is more technical and tactical. Go back and watch that ’99 final against China and really compare the quality of soccer to what we’ve seen in the two U.S.-Japan finals. Or just listen to Chastain’s commentary and assess her understanding of the game.
The Golden Generation was more dominant in their own era than this generation’s team is, and Akers is probably the best women’s player we’ve produced. That said, I’m pretty sure I’d say this team is stronger at goalkeeper, in the midfield, and up top. And Alex Morgan is well on her way to becoming the best women’s player on earth.
Still not figuring out what the issue with the shirts was. It was a great achievement. No one seems to mind when the NCAA champions don shirts. Or Super Bowl winners?
Has America become so politically correct we can’t celebrate a great achievement?
The shirts were a classless way to provide value to Nike. Dan Flynn needs to be fired. Mexico wins the gold medal on the men’s side, we don’t even qualify. When the women win, we put ugly Nike shirts on them and parade them around as U.S. Soccer’s only talking point.
At this point they pretty much are the only talking point. BTW, did you neglect to notice the topic of this article and hence the likely discussion afterwards? In an Olympics where the US women win gold and Mexico men with gold you think we should spend time talking about US men’s soccer?
Considering how little accountability there is in the U.S. Soccer apparatus, it might seem fitting for fans to point out the fact that we are managing our programs into the ground. I’m not seeing a thread that comes close to discussing the actual issues facing the American game, so I figured a post entitled “What So Proudly We Hail” came close enough.
I still don’t get what the deal is with this rageboner CSURAM FC has.
Is he/she/it resentful of the women? Is he/she/it angry that US Soccer doesn’t pay enough attention to the men? He/she/it just seems to be angry for his/her/its own sake, randomly touching on a talking point here or there, but mostly just angry that not everyone is on the same page in sporting enormous rageboners.
I don’t really pay attention to the women’s game. It doesn’t interest me very much. I recognize they’re good. I don’t have a problem with the Fed celebrating that. All one has to do to find out which sex is at the top of the heap is observe how much time and money gets spent in a World Cup year, how much attention gets paid tot he men vs. the women. Sure, in those weird, odd-numbered off years where the WWC happens there’s an spasm of “America’s darlings” BS followed by the usual Olympic overhype the next year, but both combined do not reach the attention and money paid to the men for most of the cycle.
I don’t understand why so mad.
Can someone bring back the edit feature? Jesus, I suck.
So the English fans had a go at Blatter and why wouldnt they?
I mean to say he is corrupt to the core but the real reason he keeps some order on the vultures in the premier league.Blatter may be bad but compared to Rous hes a Saint
Surprised the organizers didn’t find an electronic way to mute the boos for TV (unless they are so clueless they were surprised by them). At the opening game of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the president of Mexico was loudly booed by the crowd during his speech, but he got onto the world feed without the boos.
I think if they muted the boos it would become an even bigger story. Everyone knew Blatter was bood as it happened. Did it become in issue in 86? I imagine in some countries people never found out
I’m with cbj, the game has gotten better, our defenders just have not. You see much better play all around as opposed the the Golden Generation. They were the dream team, they were playing countries that had yet to take the women’s game seriously. As the world has woken up to the game, the playing field is leveling. We have to find a way to keep developing the women’s game to stay on par with the likes of Japan and an emerging England. Maybe a solid women’s league put together by people that can construct a realistic business plan would help.
I don’t believe there’s been much change in the level of WNT player that the US develops. For the most part we still have the cream of the crop in athletic talent that the US can provide and is still unmatched anywhere else. What we haven’t improved on is the technical side – giving young girls thousands of practice hours. We still follow the NCAA amateur BS. At this point we should be scared what Japan has been able to do with only 20,000 women players. Can you imagine what they could do if they every little girl in Japan wanted to be a soccer player? Oh that’s right, they will now.
@ Schapes. I think the issue with the shirts wasn’t about the simple the idea of shirts. If they had put on shirts that said the same sort of thing as the shirts that NCAA champions and other American sports champions have worn, I don’t think anybody would have noticed. But the shirts didn’t merely declare that we are the champions. They declared that we are wonderful. The phrase “Greatness Has Been Found” implied that it hadn’t been found before, and did so while the 2011 World Cup champions were standing right there. It would have been good if Nike had toned down the egotism.
Also re the shirts: it’s the Olympics, and you’re part of a larger US team. Some awareness of that would be appreciated.
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