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Might I remind Ms. Solo that Briana Scurry was once considered the best goalkeeper in the game. And, if she is now passed her prime, this is simply part of being a professional athlete.

 

 

Ugliness in the Beautiful Game

The United States Women’s Soccer Team Loses to Brazil

By Amin Sharif

I divide sports fans into two categories: those who love football (soccer) and those who don’t. The former are the majority of sport fans in the world. The later are mostly myopic American males. These are men who think that the World Cup is something to pour a bottle of beer into while at a tailgate party. They have no idea that more people watch the World Cup than the Super Bowl, baseball, and basketball play-offs, and the Stanley Cup combined. Not even the appearance of a phenomenal talent like David Beckham, perhaps the most famous athlete in the world, will bring these American men to the game.

When it comes to soccer, they just don’t get it. And, since the number of African-American males who have an appreciation for the game is minuscule, I often find myself with no one with whom to share my passion for the game. I feel like a lone addict with no one to share my high.   

Presently, the best men and women’s football teams in the world are attempting to qualify for the next World Cup. So naturally when the United States National Women’s Team was scheduled to play Brazil, it was a game that I knew I had to watch. The United States team is a juggernaut, ranked No. 1 in the world and the winner of 51 straight matches. The team includes Wamback and Lilly—threats to score at anytime and from anywhere on the pitch. Their goalkeeper, Hope Solo, has been phenomenal. She has not given up a goal in over three hundred minutes.

On the Brazil side stands the formidable Marta and Cristiane—a deadly duo whose abilities with a soccer ball is unmatched. They are to women’s soccer what Serena and Venus Williams are to tennis. Marta is a particular deadly foe and is considered by many to be the best female player in the game. Thus, the stage was set for a clash between arguably the two best teams in female football. It was the kind of game that make fans of the “beautiful game” salivate.

But all the anticipation and expectation for this monumental showdown were soon dashed when Greg Ryan decided to start Briana Scurry as goalkeeper and not Hope Solo. This seemed to be a huge blunder, as Brazil went on to defeat the United States 4-0. In NFL terms such a score would be equivalent to losing the Super Bowl by a score of 63-0. It was a humiliating defeat by any standard.

What was perhaps more disturbing than the score of the game were the comments of Hope Solo after the game. She flatly stated that if she was in goal instead of Scurry that she would have prevented many of the goals scored by Brazil. Such comments are typical of American athletes who constantly cry for the ball or to be put in the game regardless of the situation. Solo’s comments were wholly unfair to Scurry and simply don’t reflect the facts of the game. For what Solo fails to acknowledge is that even if she prevented every goal scored by Brazil’s team, the US side did not score a single goal—and you can’t win if you can’t score. Casting aspersions on one’s coach and by implication on Briana Scurry may be emotionally satisfying but shows a lack of maturity on Ms. Hope’s part. But there is a lot of that going around today—just ask Mike (Bro. can you light that joint for me?) Vick.

Might I remind Ms. Solo that Briana Scurry was once considered the best goalkeeper in the game. And, if she is now passed her prime, this is simply part of being a professional athlete. But, when Briana was on top, she was a thing of beauty. She was a part of the1999 national team that won the World Cup which put American women’s football on the map. She was an Olympic gold medalist. And, she has 54 shutouts in her career.

This is a black woman, who along with her teammates, made women’s soccer fashionable. Without her, no one but a few diehard fans would even care if Ms. Solo was in goal against Brazil. And what of the Brazil team that beat the US team, Ms. Solo talks as if it was a given that the US would even beat them—an assumption that reflects the height of arrogance when one considers the talent of the Brazilians. 

One can easily dismiss Ms. Solo’s comments as a momentary lapse in judgment of a disappointed young woman. She may wake up tomorrow or the next day and regret her statements. She may even apologize and go on to have a great career. But, there are too many self-absorbed athletes in the world today. And if Ms. Solo does not want to be counted among their numbers, she had better spend some time reflecting.

After all, you did not win a single game by yourself. There were ten other players who made the US team great. Instead of pouting over not being played, she should be consoling her teammates and preparing for the next match. If it is all about the team then she will show up and be ready to do her best to help them win their next match. But, if it is all about her, then she will continue to complain and let her teammates down when they need her the most.  

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posted 28 September 2007 / update 2 July 2008

 

 

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