The surprising truth about what motivates us. Great info and perfect animation.
The beginning and end are golden. America’s love letter to Great Britain
What was the funniest thing you’ve read about the World Cup this month?
I liked Michael Davies’ take on England’s demise: “Americans will never completely understand how crap it is, most of the time, to be English. We might have cute accents and be good at cocktail parties. But we are mostly losers.” That slayed me. England’s fatalistic, self-loathing, S&M-style attitude toward its national team tops Buffalo Bills fans, Minnesota Vikings fans or even Cleveland fans.
More gold…
If you could change anything about soccer, what would it be?
I hate how teams milk leads in the last 15-20 minutes by faking injuries and taking forever to sub players. When that Ghana player had to be carried off on a stretcher at the tail end of the America game, then hopped off like nothing ever happened as soon as the stretcher was out of bounds, I thought that was appalling. Actually, it made me want to go to war with Ghana. I wanted to invade them. I’m not even kidding. That’s another great thing about the World Cup: Name another sport in which you genuinely want to invade other countries when you lose.
Conclusion…
Regardless, the U.S. completed Stage 1. Soccer is no longer taking off. It’s here. Those celebratory YouTube videos that started popping up in the 24 hours after Donovan’s goal — all unfolding the same way, with a stationary shot of nervous fans watching the game in a bar, going quiet for a couple of seconds during the American counterattack, reacting to Dempsey’s miss (“Nooooooooo!”), holding their breath for two beats (“Wait a second …”), exploding on Donovan’s finish (“Hi-yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”), then chanting “USA! USA! USA!” afterward — tapped into a collective American sports experience unlike anything since Lake Placid.
I would never compare Donovan’s goal to Mike Eruzione’s goal, or compare the significance of an early-round World Cup game to the best American sports night ever. But you can’t tell me Donovan’s goal was a fleeting moment or a lark. Each celebration clip that landed on YouTube could have been any American bar, any group of American friends, anywhere. Like John Cougar Mellencamp’s annoying Chevy commercial sprung to life. Only it wasn’t annoying. I thought it was glorious. Those clips choked me up. Those clips gave me goosebumps. Those clips made me think, “I forget this sometimes, but I’m glad I live in the United States of America.”
Rasheed Wallace loved to say “ball don’t lie.” YouTube don’t lie, either. We will always have the Algeria game. Always.
Reading the whole article is well worth it…
I liked Michael Davies’ take on England’s demise: “Americans will never completely understand how crap it is, most of the time, to be English. We might have cute accents and be good at cocktail parties. But we are mostly losers.” That slayed me. England’s fatalistic, self-loathing, S&M-style attitude toward its national team tops Buffalo Bills fans, Minnesota Vikings fans or even Cleveland fans.
More gold…
If you could change anything about soccer, what would it be?
I hate how teams milk leads in the last 15-20 minutes by faking injuries and taking forever to sub players. When that Ghana player had to be carried off on a stretcher at the tail end of the America game, then hopped off like nothing ever happened as soon as the stretcher was out of bounds, I thought that was appalling. Actually, it made me want to go to war with Ghana. I wanted to invade them. I’m not even kidding. That’s another great thing about the World Cup: Name another sport in which you genuinely want to invade other countries when you lose.
Conclusion…
Regardless, the U.S. completed Stage 1. Soccer is no longer taking off. It’s here. Those celebratory YouTube videos that started popping up in the 24 hours after Donovan’s goal — all unfolding the same way, with a stationary shot of nervous fans watching the game in a bar, going quiet for a couple of seconds during the American counterattack, reacting to Dempsey’s miss (“Nooooooooo!”), holding their breath for two beats (“Wait a second …”), exploding on Donovan’s finish (“Hi-yahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”), then chanting “USA! USA! USA!” afterward — tapped into a collective American sports experience unlike anything since Lake Placid.
I would never compare Donovan’s goal to Mike Eruzione’s goal, or compare the significance of an early-round World Cup game to the best American sports night ever. But you can’t tell me Donovan’s goal was a fleeting moment or a lark. Each celebration clip that landed on YouTube could have been any American bar, any group of American friends, anywhere. Like John Cougar Mellencamp’s annoying Chevy commercial sprung to life. Only it wasn’t annoying. I thought it was glorious. Those clips choked me up. Those clips gave me goosebumps. Those clips made me think, “I forget this sometimes, but I’m glad I live in the United States of America.”
Rasheed Wallace loved to say “ball don’t lie.” YouTube don’t lie, either. We will always have the Algeria game. Always.
Reading the whole article is well worth it…
∞ 11:30 am, by borah
Minus the cheesy music and closing titles, perhaps one of the greatest montage videos ever. Enjoy.
∞ 7:52 am, by borah
Woke up this morning too depressed and shamed to leave my bed
Cant stand to see my own reflection so I hang my head
feel like a disappointment like the scum of the earth
I’m so hurt I know you see I cant cover my dirt
my souls dying hearts weak and I cant even cry
I’m sposed to run to you but WHY I’m such an evil guy
The sun’s shining but for me it’s the darkest of days
Try to pretend it never happened but the guilt remains
I leave the house it feels like everybody knows I did it
Feel like they reading my mind and know the sin I committed
Through your blood I’m aquitted but my heart doesnt get it
Oh God I’m desperate for Help cause I’m grieving your Spirit
I couldn’t sing in the sunday service, Lord I felt fake
and when they started communion I just made an escape
I’m in need of your grace/ feels like you hid your face
Lord Lead me back to cross and show me my sins erased
Cant stand to see my own reflection so I hang my head
feel like a disappointment like the scum of the earth
I’m so hurt I know you see I cant cover my dirt
my souls dying hearts weak and I cant even cry
I’m sposed to run to you but WHY I’m such an evil guy
The sun’s shining but for me it’s the darkest of days
Try to pretend it never happened but the guilt remains
I leave the house it feels like everybody knows I did it
Feel like they reading my mind and know the sin I committed
Through your blood I’m aquitted but my heart doesnt get it
Oh God I’m desperate for Help cause I’m grieving your Spirit
I couldn’t sing in the sunday service, Lord I felt fake
and when they started communion I just made an escape
I’m in need of your grace/ feels like you hid your face
Lord Lead me back to cross and show me my sins erased
∞ 11:18 am, by borah
