Sad Day for US Soccer

Mexico 5 USA 0

The USA's high of a great summer ended with a beat down that you give to your little brother, and unfortunately that's what it looked like Sunday. In front a packed house of 80,000 fans mostly clad in the colors of Mexico, the USA was taught a very good lesson.

This was the final of a major tournament, but it was also bragging rights for both nations, pride, and finally momentum. Mexico had a great tournament but so did the USA. Up until this point the USA had been riding the way of Euphoria that carried them from South Africa to Seattle for the first game of the Gold Cup. Unfortunately those waves didn't carry the same players. For lack of a better description we called upon a group of JV or B squad players, with the exception of Brian Ching not a one of those players that represented us today will be on the field August 12th.

Now that being said this team played beyond potential, expectation, and at times skill level. It was truly a test for our fringe players and they responded by making it to the final, but the difference of skill, fitness, and maybe pride showed today in a big way.

Today's loss was the first loss in 10 years or 58 games on home soil for the USA. Now that was a very proud record for players, coaches, and fans! To have our noses rubbed in it the way Mexico did it to us today leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth that I almost have no words to describe my feelings. But as most of you know I can't stop talking (loudly most times!) So I have a few questions for the coaches, players, and Fans?

1) Bradley why wouldn't you call in some of your top players for a final with our
most hated rival? Feilhaber, Davies, Altidore, Adu ? They were all on the roster.
A little experience and passion would have gone a long way Sunday.

2) To the players I know some of you are young and inexperienced but do you realize
when you put the USA shirt on you represent everyone that is a fan, citizen, and soccer player? That alone should make you want to give everything you have until you can't walk or breath,I will have to explain to my kid why it looked like the USA quit today in thesecond half when Mexico pretty much had it's way with us.

3) As a soccer player, coach, parent, and fan I am getting really embarrassed by what
I have seen over an over again when the USA plays on home soil. There was
probably less than 10,000 American fans in the stadium today, this a game played
in New York at Giants Stadium.

Now we have seen this before in a sense. If you look back to the 2007 Gold Cup when we beat Mexico 2-1 in the Final (Which is why we played in the Confederations Cup) We used our A team and it showed on the field with the Championship. Later that summer we were invited as a nation to participate in the prestigious Copa America Tournament. In this tournament which was in the middle of the summer, and the off season for our top players. Bob Bradley elected to take a group of inexperienced players and give them some exposure. Well those young inexperienced players like Charlie Davies, Brad Guzan, Jay Demerit, Ricardo Clark, and Benny Feilhaber are now considered our A team. So in a way getting the younger players a chance is very good for the future of US Soccer. In another way not being able to put a team on the field that gives a good representation of US Soccer is a hard pill to swallow.

I will end it with this, In 2002 we beat Mexico in the round of 16 in the World Cup
arguably one of our biggest victories as a nation to date. The pride of winning in a World Cup and over your biggest rival carried American heads high for years. Shirts were made and references were used every time the two teams played, and for the last 6 years this has been a pillar that the USA leaned on in big games knowing they can really pull it out. Well today I believe Mexico has also found their pillar and soon we will see shirts with 5-0 on them and replay's before any USA vs. Mexico game for years to come? but.....

Soccer being a sport we will always have another game to prove ourselves and luckily for the Americans this game will be August 12th at 1pm in Mexico City. That's right in little over 2 weeks we can take this loss and turn it into a victory by simply winning in Mexico City. Now this won't be an easy game, we have the rivalry, we have the recent loss, and we have our own some what ambiguous record going on Mexican soil. The USA has never won in Mexico we are 0-22-1 and like our record of no losses on home soil for 8 years was a sense of pride. The Mexican record of never losing at home to the USA is a bigger sense of pride.

I hope we can take all the lessons of today and turn them into positives and demonstrate on August 12th why the USA is slowly but surely becoming a power in the world of Soccer.