Done and Gone

We out.

There's lots of chatter and criticism about the US performance in the World Cup, some of it justified, some of it not. Everyone's an expert, as a quick perusal of the 'Fan Chat' function of the FIFA website will tell you. But, as ever, the chatter don't mean squat.

At times, the US side played well. At times, dismally. At the bottom of it all, we had a solid team, a mostly solid coach, and a pretty questionable strategy. In the end, it was this overall solidity, or adequateness, if you like, that did it. Solid is good, but without something extra tacked on (see MJ and any Bulls team he played on, or the Ghana side in their match against the Czechs in this tournament), solid doesn't get you far against the best in the world.

The team that wins La Copa will not only have this solidity, they will have greatness as well. The US lacks greatness, so it makes sense that we are going home when we are.

Really, the unfortunate thing for my own experience of this World Cup is the change in the way Ghana played. They seem to have adapted to the Euro tactics all too well, as evidenced by the number of casualties littering the pitch at any point in the second half yesterday. Dudes were flopping so often and for so long that I'd bet even the Italian squad would have been a bit perturbed at it. You'd have thought the US were playing with brass knuckles and spikey shoes. It was ridiculous, and an aspect of this team that hadn't yet reared its ugly head.

At the start of the match, I had it in my head that if we lost, Ghana would be my team, the one I'd hope to cheer through the championship. So much for that.

Though the US-Ghana match leaves many question marks, as the penalty Ghana scored the go-ahead on was most definitely not a penalty, none of them would have likely changed anything going forward for the US. We needed more than just a single goal, as a win was all to keep us alive. And frankly, penalty or not, I don't think we had them in us.

What this match does change is the perception of the Ghana side. They are not beyond the European ritual of histrionic displays of false agony. They do it, and they do it well, and that's most unfortunate. Welcome to the world stage.

So, what? C'mon Brazil? Let's go Argentina? Where's the fun in that?

Perhaps Portugal, though the whispers of primadonnatude are worrisome.

I guess I'll have to hold my allegiance until further notice and until then just hope for quality matches. And whoever foregoes the flops will get my vote.