And yet again: The United States is a letdown at the World Cup.
Sure, we made it to the knockout round, finishing first ahead of the Brits in our qualifying group. Sure, we had a couple matches where we displayed last minute heroics, heroics that caused America's bars from Manhattan to Malibu to celebrate in ways that have, heretofore, been reserved only for basketball, baseball, and football. But all things considered, we Americans were, in this Cup, yet again, disappointing.
That said, there is one thing the U.S. takes away from this World Cup that portends only good things. It is something that, in this era of sports -- an era when branding is everything -- might just be the most important thing to ever happen to US soccer: We officially have a superstar, and his name is Landon Donovan.
While Donovan has, for as far back as I can remember, been hailed as U.S. soccer's great hope, he has never, on the world stage, delivered. Being Donovan's age and having grown up playing fairly competitive soccer (nowhere near World Cup level, but I played Division 1 in college), I've been aware of Donovan for at least fifteen years. Until this World Cup, he has never, in my eyes, done anything to warrant the media buzz that seems to have always surrounded him. But in scoring three goals in the Cup, all of which were at critical junctures, he has finally solidified his star status. He's lived up to the hype. And in so doing, he will finally become U.S. soccer's first brand.
And I don't mean that in the sense that he will become America's David Beckham. Instead, I mean he will become U.S. soccer's Michael Jordan.
Just as it took Jordan becoming "Michael Jordan" to change the entire approach to basketball, which ushered the NBA into its glory years in the 80s and 90s and which, ultimately, led to the insanely competitive levels it's at today, Donovan finally becoming "Landon Donovan" will have a similar effect on US soccer. The Nike-driven, Jordan brand changed the way we played basketball in America long before Jordan ever won a championship with the Bulls, just as the Donovan brand will begin changing our nation's approach to soccer, even though we've yet to come close to winning a World Cup. In other words, what the US has been in need of, for quite some time, is a national identity. The best (and only) way to find such an identity is to locate a personality we can rally around, a star with whom we can associate, someone who will help us understand what soccer in the United States is supposed to look like.
Donavan is now that someone. Though the media has been trying to sell him as such for the past eight years, it took this World Cup for him to finally assume the role.
Fittingly, we had Alexi Lalas in the booth providing commentary on Donovan and his successful Cup. I say "fittingly" because Lalas was, just as Julius Erving was before Jordan, the godfather of modern soccer. Without Dr. J there would be no Michael Jordan. Similarly, without Alexi Lalas, there would be no Landon Donovan. Lalas was our first marketable star. And I believe that, as we move forward, our soccer identity becoming clearer and more understandable, it is important that we, in extending the basketball metaphor further, remember the Bob Cousys and Wilt Chamberlains and Pete Maravichs of US soccer: people like Tab Ramos and Paul Caligiuri and Coby Jones, people like Eric Wynalda and Kasey Keller and Claudio Reyna. It was the contribution of players like these -- players only a small section of Americans remember -- who put Landon Donovan on track to become who he is today: the brand that will help define United States soccer for the next twenty-five years.
Follow Austin Carty on Twitter: www.twitter.com/austincarty
US vs. Germany in the Quarterfinal against the superb Goalkeeping of Koch. Notice the clear handball on the line to allow the Germans to go through
[Note: even an unintentional handling of the ball in the goal area results in a PK if it results in a shot on goal from being deflected...but it's clear that the arm was used to broaden the "blocking" area of the man on the post...and the ball would have scored if not "handled"].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQvQLUj6No
Guess which team eventually went on to the Finals?
I agree with you about the coaching. But I think that it was the team unity that kept this team together and look at what many of the vaunted coaches did with much superior talent. We have to avoid bringing in some manager that is more about THEM than about creating a team that is adaptable enough to win against teams playing "Cat-and-Counter" or full-bore attack.
And remember - Bird/Magic succeeded because those awesome players were surrounded by other awesome players.... they played on great TEAMS, something that LeBron, for example, does not.
Comparing Donovan and Lalas to Jordan and Dr. J ...... I think you better stick to less ambitious goals. Donovan may raise soccer to the heights that Lisa Leslie raised the WNBA ...
As far as branding, I feel it's worth noting that Nike had a vested interest in exalting the Jordan brand, particularly because Jordan happened along at a time where more and more people were wearing basketball shoes for any and all situations. (And I say that as one of more than a few guys who wore Air Jordans to the prom.)
There's a corporate aspect to branding in sports and a reason Nike pours a ton more money into athletes like Lebron than any NFL player despite the fact that the NFL vastly outpaces the NBA in audience and media coverage. You can only sell cleats to so many people..
Donovan may very well become the brand for American soccer, but ultimately how important that brand becomes will have a lot to do with factors that have no connection to how he plays.
And to hell with Lebron James, I am sick of that man right now!