Not again!

That's Sacha Kljestan as the wistle blew. I was in a similar position in my living room floor yesterday at 6:50am eastern time (most of China is 12 hours ahead of us).

If you know me at all, you know that I am a huge soccer (the real football) fan. One of the things I get the most excited about is international soccer. Players play their hearts out for the pride of their country. I am very pleased with the growth of our soccer program here in the USA, but I am continually disappointed with our results in the big tournaments.

The Olympics in Beijing are no exception. We started off strong with a win against Japan, a tie against the Netherlands (who are the favorites to win the tournament), and a heart breaking loss against Nigeria (above) that knocked us out at the group stage. We just can't seem to get passed the group stage!

I am in mourning with the team and coaches who represented us in China, and I really hope that at the 2010 World Cup I will have more than 3 games to cheer on my fellow countrymen. Come on South Africa!

p.s. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, that's ok. I know I care a lot more than most of you. But you should check out our national team, they have a lot more talent than most people give them credit. Dont' write them off like some, just because they aren't a perennial world powerhouse like USA has in basketball, football, baseball, hockey or a host of other individual sports. Try to cheer on your countrymen as theywork hard to be contenders in the world's sport!