Blood and guts

music:
Bon Jovi - Living On A Prayer
Fiona Apple - Red Red Red

Left is right. Up is down. And nine is greater than ten.

Coconuts. Melons. Or whatever your choice of large spherical fruit, that' how you can describe USA's play against Italy. Balls, guts, all the cliches you can pull out. That was a 1-1 victory for the Yanks. That's the shit you tell your grandkids about.

Down a man for the majority of the second half, the US never looked like it was at a disadvantage and could have taken the lead depending on your interpretation of the offside rule. The eight American field players were Honda Civics and Chevy Cavaliers running circles around nine Ferraris and Alfa Romeos. The Italians looked like the final whistle couldn't come fast enough.



The game ended 1-1 and Italy is in a better position going into their final match, needing only a draw or better to advance while the US doesn't control its destiny. But the US showed it was better than Monday's debacle and with a better ref, with some lucky bounces, it could have taken all three points. At the very least, the US showed it can hang with the best. Maybe the Americans aren't Top 5 in the world, but they are very capable of beating the Top 5 on any given day on any given field.

On Thursday, the US has to beat Ghana and hope Italy beats the Czechs to advance to the next round. Easier said than done. But fuck that. Just win and let the rest work itself out. The World Cup died for me on Monday. Now it's back on again.

Oh, by the way, where was Eddie Johnson? Didn't the US have one substitution left?