USA vs Japan

I'm not a huge soccer fan but during the last two world cups(men's and women's) I've become a little bit more of a fan each time. When I was kid I played soccer for about 6 years for the YMCA league in Ashland. Never really did understand the game then other than if the ball goes in the net, it counts as a point. For a year I played goalie and played really well, the next...I was terrible at that position.

Today's world cup final pitted the USA vs Japan. Both very prideful countries and both fighting to prove something. Today it went to Japan. After the devastation Japan has faced this year, I'm glad for them. It gives the country some hope and something to cheer. It kind of reminds me of New Orleans and the Saints after Hurricane Katrina. Honestly, if they wouldn't have been playing the US I would've been cheering for them and I tip my hat off to them. They played well, with heart, with desire and can now bring some semblance of hope to country that has had just about anything but.

I cant even begin to fathom how our women's team feels in this moment. To be so close, traverse a road less traveled and still be a competitor, seems so surreal. I hate it for them that they lost, but no one can deny what they've done or how the American spirit resides in all of them. Though I'm sure none of the women on the team will ever read this I have this to say: Hold your head high. You DID write your own story. Too overcome the defeat to Sweden and to overcome the red card against Brazil? You are amazing! You showed the world the heart of America and you did it in a beautiful fashion.

And the game today was absolutely beautiful. For the majority of the game no cards were given. Eventually Japan got a yellow card and a red card. Every time a player went down, on either team, the opposing team checked to make sure they were okay. Thank you to both teams for showing sportsmanship even when a world cup is at hand. I hope that other teams in every sport take a lesson from the class act that was displayed on a world stage today.