Sobriety is a gift.
The USMNT’s 4-1 pasting by Belgium in Seattle broke the spell for fans who started to believe that this team, this time, could offer America what it thinks it desperately needs: a winner.
Why not us? At home, with a group of players who ply their trade in top European leagues, who finally appeared to be healthy all at once, and a coach with a winning resumé and competitive guile forged in Argentina’s soccer foundry. A megabucks investor told him to watch Miracle, and it made him cry.
He believed. The players believed. Fans believed, after the squad looked downright impressive in group play and gutted out a knockout win after losing their top scorer to a questionable red card. The business community believed, especially when those fans actually paid money for those tickets and bought the flag-draped gear and beer.
And the media certainly believed, only partly because it was good for ratings and clicks.
