It's Time to Start Panicking About the World Cup

It's time to panic.  We're awful.  This team is a huge disappointment, and we're going to crash out of the first round in June. We can't overcome all of these injuries, and we're just not talented enough to beat good teams outside of CONCACAF.

I urge every fan, blogger, journalist, podcast host, and TV pundit to be very vocal with their displeasure and lack of belief towards Bob Bradley's squad.  All of those sorry excuses for soccer players wearing those nifty new uniforms need to know just how little faith we have in their ability.

I mean, they might as well just save the USSF some money on airfare and forfeit all the group stage matches, right?

OK, so clearly I'm being sarcastic, but there is a point I'm actually trying to make (believe or not).  As much as all of the injuries and the three straight "A team" friendly losses (Slovakia, Denmark, Netherlands) are not exactly what we'd like to see in the months leading up to the World Cup, are they really a bad thing?

Let's think about for a second: when did the USMNT turn in it's best performances over the past year?  When they were facing the most adversity.  After an embarrassingly lopsided loss in Costa Rica and a shaky home win over Honduras, the US went down to the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where things only got worse.  A 3-1 loss to Italy and an awful showing against Brazil brought American frustration and disappointment to a boiling point, with every message board and credible soccer publication expressing serious doubt with the current coach and crop of players.

With all of that being thrown upon them and with an injury to captain Carlos Bocanegra throwing a wrench in the lineup, what did the USMNT do?  They turned in their most impressive game of the year, defeating the two-time defending champions of Africa comfortably and miraculously moving on to the semifinals. 

Was it a coincidence that the team turned in their most inspired performance in the wake of so much doubt and adversity?  Well, when you look at what Michael Bradley had to say after the game, it's pretty clear that it did:

"To do something special like that, where everything is against you, everybody wants to say how bad you are, everybody wants to write you off, to leave all that bull s*** outside the locker room and just be committed to the team, to leave everything on the field, to run for each other, to fight for each other, that's what we did."

"All the f***ing experts in America, everybody who thinks they know about soccer, they can all look at the score tonight and let's see what they have to say now. Nobody has any respect for what we do, for what goes on on the inside, so let them all talk now." 

Yeah, I think they were listening, and I think it played a huge part in bringing them together and pushing them to their strongest performance in months.  

How'd they follow that act up?  Just a victory over Spain and last-minute loss to Brazil.  Not too shabby at all.

When their backs were against the wall, this team came out fighting, and it propelled them to one of the greatest runs in US soccer history.  So maybe all of these injury woes and a few disappointing results ahead of South Africa isn't the worst thing that could happen.  

Maybe they'll lose against the Czech Republic and Turkey and set the panic into full swing once again.  All of the questions and doubts would fester for two weeks, giving Bob Bradley and company plenty of time to get a good earful from all the haters.

It'd be perfectly timed for another one of those "f*** the experts", determined performances against England that just might earn us another miraculous result.   

So if things aren't looking up over the next couple of months and the national team looks destined for an early exit, be sure to let everyone know just how upset you really are.  But, on the inside, know that this team is at its best when all the chips are stacked against them.  

----