Chicken Little Expects
I’ve been having a lot of fun with my English friends the last few months leading up to yesterday’s big USA-England match. The result was fair and both sides should be encouraged by the other group match as to their chances of moving on.
However, back in England, there seems to be a plan to undermined England’s chances of reaching their full potential. I’m talking, of course, about the Chicken Little media they have in the UK.
Yes, Robert Green had a bad moment. But so did Ricardo Clark when he let Steve Gerrard get goal side of him. Had Clark held his positioning against Gerrard, there’s no way he would have got the ball past Howard. However, instead of YouTube videos of Clark getting burned, we have Green montages. Though the viewership of Gerrard’s goal was boosted by the fact that many in the UK didn’t get to see the goal live.
We should also consider that it was Gerrard who lost Clint Dempsey and allowed him enough room to get the shot off which leveled things…but Green is still the easy target.
Now the English are worried that things aren’t what they should be. That if they can’t get 3 points and dominate the US, perhaps they aren’t that good. Here’s a thought for our cousins on the other side of the pond, perhaps, just perhaps, the USA are a decent side and earning a point against them isn’t a bad result.
Yes, the US doesn’t have the tradition that other countries have in soccer. But that doesn’t mean we can’t put a decent team on the field these days. Most of the players on the pitch for the US are playing with clubs at a pretty decent level. The core of the team has played together for a while and is pretty comfortable together. Also, it’s not as if we haven’t put some decent results together recently.
Yeah, we aren’t a shoe-in to go all the way. However, the US is lot better than it’s been given credit for by the British media the last 6 months.
So, it’s time for the English to stop worrying about the sky falling and accept that things aren’t the way they always have been. The sun sets on the Empire every day and it’s been 44 years since England won their only World title. Expecting to win might just be unrealistic.
So England, the sky isn’t falling. Nothing is over. You still have everything to play for. But then again, what do I know; I’m just a Yank.
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