Did you see the horrendous performance by the US team in their first game? I didn't either, but I read about it, and then watched part of the second half replayed on ESPN Classic after work. I'm not a soccer (football, whatever) expert, but I do know enough to know the names of many of the star players from Europe. And I know the rules of the game without the "Soccer: What the F*$k" article that likely ran in your local paper last Friday.
The analysis from the pundits is spot on in my opinion. The team lacked creativity, energy, and just looked tired and outmatched. But really, do we need to kick everyone's ass at soccer now too? What's next anyway, are we going to get wrapped into 6 Nations rugby or the Cricket World Cup? Wait, is the US still eligible for the Commonwealth games???
Soccer (football) is for the rest of the world to enjoy, let's let them have this one. If you are a fan of the game who happens to live in the US, I wouldn't argue if you told me rooting against the American team would be the right thing to do. Why get everyone excited about MLS when the level of competition is so much higher in the English Primereship, Spanish La Liga, and Italian Seria A (current scandal notwithstanding), etc. It would be like tuning in to see the score of the basketball game between Leceister City and Leeds instead of watching the Mavs beat the Heat in the NBA. Novel, but not worth most people's time.
Another note: American play-by-play announcing just doesn't mesh well with soccer. It's too formal for a game with so much riding on the anticipation of scoring, rather than the actual payoff. The best announcers are casual and conversational. It's more suited to the kind of broadcaster associated with color commentary in most US sports. ISU fans think Eric Heft only with a think accent, preferably Irish or Scottish.
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