It was a shot that had millions across the country updating their Facebooks and Twitters, people hugging strangers, and heck, even had me running outside for a little headfirst slide on the grass.
But more importantly it may have been the shot that changed the future of soccer in this country forever.
The USA soccer team had had chances all day long. Clint Dempsey even had a goal early on, but it was called off because of a wrong offsides call. It felt like it would be Slovenia all over again.
If you name a US striker or midfielder, chances are that they had at least one solid shot on goal. The US had 22 shots, 10 on goal but it was a different story every time. Either they would hit it right to Algerian goalie Rais M'Bohli Ouhab every time or they would sail it high or they would just completely miss. They just couldn't buy a goal.
Yet with just a few minutes left in the game, with England beating Slovenia, and the US's chances ticking down with the clock, it seemed as if we would have to wait another long four years. The chances were still there but the feeling of anxious anticipation that had been there all game, waiting for a shot to finally go in was replaced by worry and distress. It seemed like it would be another World Cup gone by, another U.S. elimination in group play.
But Landon Donovan, the face of American soccer came through, in the 91st minute, the first minute of a four minute stoppage time period. After a Clint Dempsey shot and deflection, Donovan got a gift-wrapped shot attempt and converted, following it with a headfirst slide into the corner and an ambush by his teammates.
No one could have waited another four years for World Cup success. The American team couldn't have waited, the American people couldn't have waited, the future of American soccer couldn't have waited. Had the U.S. lost, it would have been the second straight Cup where we had had a chance and fell apart in the group stage. Americans don't like finishing second in anything, let alone being awful at anything, and if the U.S. wasn't able to beat countries like Slovenia or Algeria, the sport probably would have never gotten big here.
The U.S. team has done it, they won their group in a sport that's always gone by the wayside in this country. But now that it seems like everyone has a little World Cup fever, it's just a matter of how long it will last.
The U.S. only scored one goal in the game, but had plenty of scoring chances and another goal that was wrongfully taken away from them. If there's one thing that this team has shown everyone, it's that they're not rolling over for any team. They can score and score heavily, if
they can just start converting. And their goalie, Tim Howard has asserted himself as one of the best goalies in the world during this tournament.
Another bright spot for the team was their effort for the whole 90 minutes of this game. In their games against England and Slovenia, they really only played the last 45 minutes of the game at full effort, giving up easy scoring chances early and struggling to give themselves any good looks. This game against Algeria they persisted, giving themselves good scoring chances early and often.
This is a scrappy team. Their passing is anything but fluid, they don't flop (today Clint Dempsey took a mini punch to the face, got right back up, and stayed in the game, mouth bleeding and all), and their shots are anything but pretty. They're not as talented as Argentina, not as flashy as Portugal, and of course not as good at flopping as almost every team you can think of, but if there's one thing this game against Algeria showed us, it's that they're going to fight the whole game, and have more heart and grit than any team that they face.
This team brings out the rowdy patriots in all of us, making us feel like the underdog instead of the frontrunners we're used to being. This run may not last for long, as even though the U.S. can beat Ghana and either Uruguay or South Korea after that, they can't avoid the titans forever. But one thing's for sure, going from soccer zero to hero is not impossible; nothing's impossible for this team, this country or Kevin Garnett (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dk7Il3EqI0). The only thing fans need to do is to have realistic expectations and just enjoy the ride while it lasts.
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