Reborn in the USA!

America's fine Confedrations Cup, where they beat spain before losing to brazil in the final, has done wonders to the sport's image back home

Reborn in the USA!

America's fine Confedrations Cup, where they beat spain before losing to brazil in the final, has done wonders to u00a0the sport's image back home

"Miracle on Grass" screamed a headline in the New York Times last Wednesday. And this wasn't about Wimbledon, Major League Baseball or the NBA Drafts. This was about the US men's national football team pulling off their greatest victory, against Spain, undoubtedly the world's best team, one that had gone 35 games undefeated.

Suddenly the dormant US fan emerged. Television stations found some time for soccer (some preferred 'Futbol') and online bulletin boards were ravaged with analysis. A few even went so far as to compare this to the Miracle on Ice in 1980, when the ice hockey team beat the mighty Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid.

Those wins
That might be stretching it but the win could proudly stand alongside USA's World Cup victories over England (1950), Colombia (1994) and Portugal and Mexico (2002).

Halfway into the final on Sunday, against formidable Brazil, the team were 2-0 up and threatening to do the unthinkable. Could lightning strike twice?

Restaurants and bars around the country were abuzz and TV anchors were amazed at the kind of interest the game was generating. ESPN later revealed that it drew the largest audience for a non World Cup game.

The dream ended a minute into the second half. Brazil nipped one back early and then took control. USA were clueless for the rest of the game and it told on their shattered expressions at the final whistle. Clint Dempsey, who scored the opening goal with an exquisitely timed deflection in the 10th minute, left the field in tears.

It's ironic that a Brazilian played a big role in the game's development in the US. A generation of Americans were introduced to the game through a video clip of Pelu00e9 scoring with a bicycle kick, which was part of the opening video montage of the popular sports TV series ABC's Wide World of Sports. His stint with the New York Cosmos club helped the game gain popularity and, though well past his prime in 1977, he led them to the championship in his third season.

Twelve years on, the national side broke a 40-year drought by qualifying for the 1990 World Cup but it was the 1994 event, staged here, that really fired the imagination. It prompted the start of Major League Soccer two years later.

Despite lacking consistency, they've occasionally shown the ability to mix it with the best. The 2002 World Cup, where they beat Portugal and Mexico en route to the quarter-finals, was truly a watershed but they reverted to type in the next edition, going out winless.

Soccer moms busy
But it only takes a couple of games for the volcanic enthusiasm to erupt. It should come as no surprise that USA leads the way in terms of tickets bought for next summer's World Cup in South Africa. Across the country 'soccer moms', religiously drive their kids to grounds and goad them to practice hard. The game has always been popular in schools some surveys show that the interest is on the rise but it is inspiring runs like the one at the Confederations Cup that will allow Futbol to compete with the far more glamorous Football in the national consciousness.

The writer is a graduate student in Chicago.

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