1776. 1812. 1950. 2010. Four significant dates in the history of antagonism between the United States and England, two countries that share a historical lust for imperialism and sport. We all know the story of 1776 and the Revolutionary War that preceded American independence, a ragtag band of Americans drove out the mythical British army. In 1950, the United States defeated mighty England in the World Cup as the headlines read England 0 - US 1, a result famously misinterpreted by those in England as a misprint that surely meant to read England 10 - US 1. Just as American independence resulted in a long, hard slog to establish the foundation of a new nation-state, the American soccer victory in 1950 was followed by a dark, inward-looking era in which a fledgling sport was looking to find itself. Far from non-starters, these two victories set the stage for future American triumphs.
In the War of 1812, a cagier, more wizened United States repelled further British military advances. The British once again invaded the US, not only because it believed that the US had no right to be trading with France (who the British Empire was at war with at the time) but also to reassert its domination over a land that Britain still saw as its own. For the 2010 World Cup, the United States has come away with a famous draw against England. While the 1-1 scoreline isn't technically a victory, the very nature of the result shows just how much the US team has progressed. Falling behind so early in the match, the Americans kept their composure and had control of the match for much of the first half, eventually tying the match thanks to Robert Green's already infamous blunder in the England goal. In the second half, the team defended like lions and could very well have snatched a victory. For all intents and purposes, the match was a win for the Americans.
The significance of this 2010 England vs. US match is this: it shows that US soccer has now finally lifted the finger of its oppressor. So many English soccer fans have an unfairly dour view of the American team because, as the epicenter of the world's most popular league, they are allowed to set the discourse. That discourse has for the longest time seeped into the psyche of too many American fans, fans who would dare cheer for their oppressors, virtual Torries that have ingrained in them the view that American soccer always has been and always will be inferior to the English brand. But like any good subversive, revolutionary movement, the United States players have managed to change the nature of discourse to their advantage.
Many of our key players, plying their trade in England, have won over English fans and some in the English press, and Sunday's match will further imprint the image of America as an increasingly competent soccer nation. Anyone who seriously watched the game would see that although England were surely the better team with higher quality players, the gap is closing fast. One can point to the mistake of Robert Green as the key moment in the match but that would be denying the fact that England simply didn't have the requisite ability to go on and win like such a supposedly vastly superior team should be able to do. This hard-fought but well-played result against a team many feel to be amongst the World Cup favorites has shed an undeniably favorable light on the American soccer brand. While this was a massive result for the American team, it simply must win its next two matches and progress to the next round. Anything other than that will open the door for the discourse to be reversed, for the skeptics (American and otherwise) to howl at the moon about the inescapable inferiority of the American soccer brand.
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