Boiling Heat, Summer Stench, 'Neath the Black the Sky Looks Dead

If this was a sports movie, and it sure felt like one for the first 46 minutes yesterday, it played to a conventional script for those who love Sisphyean futility.

The plucky underdogs stepped out onto the field with a team that many expected to embarrass them (just as the Brazilians had done to the U.S. only 10 days before by a 3-0 scoreline), but through a combination of opportunistic scoring by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan in what were really the only two clear cut U.S. chances in the first half and bend but don't break defense led by Onyewu, DeMerit, and the stellar goalkeeping of Tim Howard, the U.S. of A. went into the break yesterday leading the legendary Samba Kings of Brazil, the only nation to have won the World Cup 5 times, by a 2-0 score.
The entire complexion of the match changed mere seconds after the teams had returned for the second half, however, as Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano snapped a left-footed shot past Howard in the 46th minute to bring the favorites within a single goal which seemed not to be a possibility but an eventuality.

It's hard to accurately describe that feeling that arises when you realize that something is inevitable, but from the moment that Fabiano scored, it was obvious to anyone watching the match that the Red, White, and Blue were already dead in the water.

When the tying goal came 28 minutes later, via Fabiano once again, one of the guys I was exchanging emails with as I watched the match summed up the fate of the U.S. in four words "Samba Kings will win" and I had no doubt he was right.
I say that you have to love Sisphyean futility to enjoy what happened yesterday if only for the fact that the audience for the Final likely included a large number of non-regular soccer viewers who were tuning in to see the U.S. take on the world's best and when those fans see their national team lose a (for soccer) seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead, I'm not sure if that does more to help or harm the support of the U.S. Men's team in advance of next year's World Cup.

The angel on my shoulder tells me that the mere fact that the U.S. made it to the Final is on-balance positive for soccer in the U.S., but part of me believes that Patton was right when he told us that "America loves a winner".
I do know one thing, however. At least Cris Carpenter is happy.