So, I saw the United States men's national [soccer] team in person for the first time ever last week and let's just say that it did not go to plan. I originally had a long and thought out post drafted about this special moment, but I decided to scrap that post in favor of this one. Therefore, I present: The good, the bad and the ugly of my first USMNT match.
The Good
Brian McBride - I had the opportunity to have a photograph with USMNT and Fulham legend Brian McBride (I would post the photograph, but I like my anonymity).
Hanging with my BFF - No, I'm not a teenage girl, but I do have a best friend that I have known for years and that I still hang out with despite him being married with two children (though I have never seen the youngest--so they may have just made her up). But seriously, it is cool because life tends to get in the way of us getting to hang out and kick it like when we were younger.
USMNT - I finally--FINALLY--got to see the USMNT play in person because for one reason (U.S. Soccer refuses to have their senior men's team play in cities with stadiums featuring artificial surfaces--unless you are Seattle or Portland--and the Georgia Dome and the new stadium feature [and will feature] artificial turf).
Panama - Damn it if the Panamanians did not play their hearts out during their match against Mexico. Sure, there were moments in which they reacted out of line, but considering the circumstances they endured; they earned a new level of respect with me. Also, they had the balls to call out CONCACAF officials as being corrupt crooks and that is okay to me.
The Bad
USMNT - They lost to Jamaica. Seriously? The only I may ever see the men play in Atlanta and first time they have played in Georgia in about four decades and they lose to a side that at the start of the match was given an 11% percent chance of advancing to the finals.
U.S. Supporters - I know that Atlanta is an El Tri supporters city, but the lack of butts in the seat during the USMNT match and the less than vibrant atmosphere conjured by the American Outlaws was not surprising but still disappointing (I wanted to be wrong).
The Ugly
CONCACAF - I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but the events surrounding Mexico's berth into the semifinal and eventually final match of the tournament reeked of something foul and this was made even more evident by the horrendous officiating decisions toward the conclusion of the Mexico/Panama match.
At some point, CONCACAF officials must have realized that a Jamaica/Panama Gold Cup final match was not going to sell tickets to Lincoln Financial Field and that is when Mexico was handed a bullshit penalty call in the 89th minute of the match that allowed them to draw level with a 10-man Panama and force extra time.
Of course, the initial straight red that dropped a man from the Panama side was rather suspicious too and include the harsh second penalty decision during extra time to hand Mexico the victory and one could see that something appeared particularly peculiar about it all.
El Tri Supporters - It really pains me to say it because the supporters of the Mexican national teams are passionate and create an incredible environment, but they (not all, but more than sizable contingent of their support) are terrible, poorly behaved supporters. For starters, one should NEVER insert oneself physically into the game (i.e. - quit throwing shit onto the pitch). Honestly, it was disgraceful and embarrassing to see that sort of behavior and the fact that this is hardly an isolated incident is what makes it incredibly frustrating. Why so mad?
Because the Atlanta soccer scene is very rarely the center of the American soccer landscape, but on the one night in which it is in the spotlight; it completely screws it up because Mexican supporters do not know how to keep their shit to themselves. In my opinion, CONCACAF must punish El Tri by forcing them to play World Cup qualification matches in an empty Azteca Stadium and perhaps, further penalize El Tri by handing a point deduction at the start of qualifying. Of course, this will never happen because El Tri generate too much money for the confederation and its own football association.
Overall, my first USMNT experience was disappointing, but I am happy to finally earn my first USMNT supporter's CAP.
