Bigger than miracle on ice?

[AlphaGriz1]

There is a big correlation between how memorable the Miracle on Ice was/is, and the fact that it was played during a very tense period in U.S. history against the country that caused much of this tension. Frankly ignoring this whole fact and trying to seperate the hockey game itself from the historical events surrounding the hockey game is just ignorant. If Britian would have been the 30 year hockey power that the USSR was, and we had beaten them, yes it would have been hugely memorable and significant. But what truly elevated it to legendary status was the patriotism displayed by the country for the hockey team. The team gave the country hope in a time when they had none. I think you severely underestimate how important sports are to this country; they give you something to root for when there is nothing else to root for.

Sports fans will remember the victory over Spain yesterday for years, decades. Americans will remember the victory over the USSR forever, sports fans or not.

Trust me I've slammed soccer as much as the next guy in the past, except I have respect for soccer players whereas Alpha has none. They are great athletes, and to think that a professional soccer player is only playing soccer because he couldn't make the curling team is an absolute joke. The only sport that Americans come close to rivaling Europe in fandom for "football" is indeed our football. They are absolutely insane for it over there. It bores the crap out of me, but I respect the sport. But then again I'm a respectful person, not a well-disguised troll.

I would have respect for these guys as athletes if they were in track, they do have great stamina and athletic ability.

They are crazy about it over there because they have third world mentalities.

I was 10 when the US soccer team beat the USSR, granted now I am very aware of what goes on politically but back then I was kind of pissed my dad made me watch it with him. I had no idea what it meant politically.

Now I am glad he made me watch it with him.

[SACCAT]

There is a big correlation between how memorable the Miracle on Ice was/is, and the fact that it was played during a very tense period in U.S. history against the country that caused much of this tension. Frankly ignoring this whole fact and trying to seperate the hockey game itself from the historical events surrounding the hockey game is just ignorant. If Britian would have been the 30 year hockey power that the USSR was, and we had beaten them, yes it would have been hugely memorable and significant. But what truly elevated it to legendary status was the patriotism displayed by the country for the hockey team. The team gave the country hope in a time when they had none. I think you severely underestimate how important sports are to this country; they give you something to root for when there is nothing else to root for.

Sports fans will remember the victory over Spain yesterday for years, decades. Americans will remember the victory over the USSR forever, sports fans or not.

Trust me I've slammed soccer as much as the next guy in the past, except I have respect for soccer players whereas Alpha has none. They are great athletes, and to think that a professional soccer player is only playing soccer because he couldn't make the curling team is an absolute joke. The only sport that Americans come close to rivaling Europe in fandom for "football" is indeed our football. They are absolutely insane for it over there. It bores the crap out of me, but I respect the sport. But then again I'm a respectful person, not a well-disguised troll.

I would have respect for these guys as athletes if they were in track, they do have great stamina and athletic ability.

They are crazy about it over there because they have third world mentalities.

I was 10 when the US soccer team beat the USSR, granted now I am very aware of what goes on politically but back then I was kind of pissed my dad made me watch it with him. I had no idea what it meant politically.

Now I am glad he made me watch it with him.

So was that a bigger upset than the US Hockey team beating USSR?

[Egg Salad]

I'm pretty excited about the US beating Spain. It is a significant accomplishment.

It's impossible to compare this to the Miracle on Ice though. However, one would wonder how the hockey team would have fared at a neutral venue? I think the home ice advantage in that situation was huge-I think the team was lifted by entire nation embracing them. But the upset over the USSR and going on the win the gold medal was on a whole different level.

The soccer team did win this game at a neutral venue against a Spanish team that hadn't lost in about 3 years. But our soccer players are all professionals now, and pretty much home grown-unlike our national teams in the 80's and most of the 90's that were made up of a bunch of college players and a few naturalized citizens (mostly aging veterans).

The Confederation's Cup is a tournament made up of the winners of each of the world's regions-plus the host nation South Africa. So it's a very exclusive tournament. We qualified by winning our region's title (the Gold Cup) with a 2-1 win over Mexico in Chicago in 2007. It's also kind of a dress rehearsal for the World Cup which will be in South Africa next summer.

The real excitement for me is world cup qualifying. So far the US is doing very well and should qualify easily barring a complete collapse. Our next world cup qualifier is on August 12 against Mexico at Azteca Stadium (seats about 105,000). Mexico almost never loses at Azteca, but they've been struggling mightily in qualifying so far this year-with a revolving door of head coaches, so this might be our year to beat them down there.

This post is pretty much spot on, in my opinion. The soccer team beat a very good Spain team, but it's not like our players are amateurs. The vast majority play in the top flights of European leagues. But this tournament isn't really seen as one that decides the best team in the world, unlike the Olympics do for hockey. This is a dress rehearsal for next years big show.

I agree about the excitement of world cup qualifying. It is just as much fun as the world cup itself, I think. Being able to play in front of home crowds, and see the passion of teams and fans when the US is on the road is special. Some of those places are a zoo, like in Costa Rica or at Azteca, where we've played in front of 115K. The US is halfway through the final round of qualifying, and if anyone has caught the bug the next home game is in Salt Lake, a game that could almost push the US into the world cup. It's on Sept. 5th (which looks like an MSU road game) and will definitely be sold out, as the last game there sold 40k, and the new stadium seats about half of that.

edit: Brazil won today so the US gets to face them again on Sunday.

[GrizinWashington]

a well-disguised troll

Well-disguised??

[CelticCat]

a well-disguised troll

Well-disguised??

Well, comparatively to the nerdier sites I visit anyway.