The Underdog Appreciation Post

As I mentioned briefly last week, I think I can safely say that soccer successfully takes up a considerable amount of my time and in a sense, has become part of who I am. Or at least, how I identify myself, I suppose. A fanatic, if you will, and from what I've noticed while it is in fact the most popular sport around the world, soccer is still essentially the underdog of well-known sports in our country. And even more so,  the USA men's national team is also viewed in this way around the world but to me, I like to call them our unsung heroes. This weekend marked yet another epic event of Euro 2012 qualifier matches, as well as various International Friendly matches. As a fan of club teams such as Real Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal, it was only natural that I'd watch Spain and England play their way to victory in their respective qualifier matches, and USA tie the favored Argentina in a "friendly."

Because I boil down to being a college student with limited time and resources, obviously my only means of supporting our men in red, white and blue was thankfully through ESPN2, but even then watching any of my favorite teams and players play was exciting and somewhat emotional. I'm what one might call, an overly passionate fan of the sport but to me, it was mostly about the support our side saw from our fellow Americans soccer fans. There aren't many of us in comparison to NFL, NBA and MLB fans, but there are certainly enough to fill the majority of a stadium and sing our national anthem in unison -- loudly enough to overpower the poor man who was asked to perform in front of thousands. By the end, the crowd was clearly three beats behind the music and the performer but no one cared, all they wanted to do was be proud of their team and cheer them on to victory. It was awesome to say the least. But even then, ESPN's commentator (one who was a former player on our national team) didn't seem too confident that USA could overpower Argentina and the "international superstar" known as Lionel Messi, who also plays for the rival of my favorite team. The funny thing is, Messi didn't score for his team and Argentina didn't win, it was a well-played, well-earned tie and I think it's about time our national team was taken more seriously. But of course until we pull more people over to the dark side, we just have to keep proving ourselves and that we deserve to be playing against the likes of Spain, the current World Cup Champions and another team who seemed to be pegged as underdogs themselves.

Until 2008 when Spain won the Euro Cup, Spain's national team hadn't won anything significant since the 1960s. It would seem this team was cursed with disappointment and year after year, they too (like our fellow USA national team) couldn't seem to catch a break. Going into the World Cup in South Africa this past summer, they were the team picked to win it all, but even then no one really expected them to. However, they kept proving to fans and critics that they could go all the way and that there was no way to stop them. They were right, facing the Netherlands in the WC finals where it looked as though the match would come down to penalty kicks until Barcelona player, Andres Iniesta scored the goal for Spain in the 116th minutes and ultimately changed the fate of the game. For me, I had never been so excited for a team in my entire life. England turned out to be a disappointment, USA made an emotional and bitter exit after a 2-1 loss to Ghana in extra time, again. I'll be honest when I say I may have cried a little once the final whistle was blown and Spain won it all, because who would have thought that a team who has been the rising underdog for years could have finally won the World Cup?

To be honest it's become the number one thing to do on my bucket list, having the opportunity to attend a World Cup and more importantly seeing one of my three national teams play. Spain and USA play each other in June but of course I'll continue to dream and in the mean time, I'll continue to focus my attention on the month of "el clásico" (the name for matches for BIG rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona) and hope that los blancos can finally put an end to being the underdog to Barca and take back their title in La Liga. What can I say? I guess I'm a proud fan of winners and fighters.