“The Season of the Underdog”
It was the 91st minute in the U.S. vs Ukraine game. The Ukraine team was winning 2-1 but I was running down the field with the ball at my feet. I looked up and seen Clint Dempsey the U.S. striker who had just beat his defender and now was racing down the field. I kicked a through ball that just escaped the grasp of a Ukraine defender. All Clint had to do was one touch the ball softly in the back of the net but that is not at all what happened instead he tried to drill the ball and it sailed 5 feet over the net. As soon as the Ukraine goalie got a new ball the referee blew his whistle and the game was over. Clint had his head down slowly jogging to the tunnel. I jogged over to him and said “well get em’ next time,” even though me and him knew that we wouldn’t be playing that team for a long while because they did not even qualify for the World Cup. He said “Landon what happened i never miss those.” I said “it’s fine lets just go get some sleep back at the hotel then get back to work tomorrow back in America. The date was January 14th, 2014. We were 6 months out from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, South America.     
     When we got back to America we had about the worse practice a team could have missing everything easy and hard. We ended up just running the whole time. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann who had played on Germany’s national team and now coach the U.S. national team was very unhappy with us. He said that if we played like this then we would be lucky to win even one game in the group stage of the world Cup. He told us all that when May 18th came and we flew down to Brazil that we better all be ready to play like we never have because our group otherwise known as the group of death was going to be good like we’ve never seen before. Our Group E was Argentina with their own star Messi, Portugal with their own star Ronaldo, and Mexico with their own star goalie who I had heard had not be scored on in 2 years. But he also said that he believed in us.
     So when May 18th came we flew down to Brazil and on the flight me and Clint sat beside each other, we didn’t say much. When I finally broke the silence I asked him if he thought that we had any chance of actually winning this thing. He then asked me if i was crazy and I said I think we can win with a couple of lucky things happen to us like we beat Portugal and Mexico because we both knew that we had no chance against Argentina. I said “well maybe this year will be different we may come out 3-0 in the group stage and surprize everyone. I was badly mistaken about the 3-0 thing though because our first game on June 15 was against Mexico and it was 2-0 going into the 31st minute. Me, Clint, John Brooks, and Jozy Altidore were all playing in the midfield. Clint had gotten moved back to try to make something happen because our Mid-Field had broken down when the game had first started. Mexico came out with two things a good strategy and a lot of luck. They were beating us to every ball and their to goals had been rockets past Tim Howard our own star goalie but no one was playing like stars today on the U.S. team at halftime Jurgen didn’t scream at us like I thought he would but rather he gave us pointers on how to fix our mistakes. So when the 2nd half came we would be ready but we weren’t we got drilled even more and when the referee blew his whistle the score was 7-0. It was the worse lose in U.S. and World Cup history.We just all went to the locker room changed no one said anything because we all knew that we had just lost all hope of winning the World Cup it was probably over for the U.S. team who now in order to advance had to win against Portugal which was possible but not for our other game which would be the powerhouse Argentina who had beaten Portugal 4-0 in the other game earlier that day.
     So when practice came that next Thursday only a day after the terrible lose to Mexico. But before we stretched out something unusual happened coach Jurgen who was usually the first one to practice was no where to be found. After waiting about 45 minutes some players started to get agitated at the coach. John Brooks said “What’s the point on waiting on him? We all know that we are going to get beat by Argentina Next Saturday even if we do beat Portugal we are done against them.” I was about to retaliate against him but just then this loud noise came into the dome where we were practicing and this big float appeared out of nowhere.
     It said “GOOOOOOOOOOO U.S.” Coach Jurgen with a big bullhorn said come on in everyone one and just then about 85,000 people filled the dome all standing and all shouting U.S.A. at the top of their lungs. I never seen so many people so fast. Then Coach Jurgen came jogging over to us while talking on a walkie talkie to someone. When he got off of it we all heard this loud voice come over the overcome and it said “Welcome everyone to the U.S.A. practice facility and to this session of the U.S. teams practice. He said a couple of other things that I couldn’t make out over the noise. Coach Jurgen didn’t say anything and we just all looked at him for about 5 minutes. He finally said “Well are you all just going to look at me or are you going to practice,” then he yelled “Captains.” So we jogged around the field then we stretched out for about 20 minutes. After that we went straight into drills for 2 hours everyone doing everything right no one wanting to make the first mistake. After that we scrimmaged the last 10 minutes. My team ended up winning.
     Then we all got our stuff and ran back into the locker room as everyone started to file out and the voice on the overcome told everyone “Thanks for coming out today.” When we got back to the locker room everyone sat and waited for Coach Jurgen. When he came into the locker room he said “well I know that i just broke about every rule that I have ever made for this team but i want you all to believe in yourselves and I figured you could all use some extra help today.” The next thing that happened was rather surprising to me we all got up and broke it down but when we yelled U.S.A. I’m pretty sure that everyone within a mile or two heard it was the loudest I’ve ever heard us and there was a sense of urgency in all of our voices.
      Saturday came sooner than I had expected and before I knew it the ref was blowing his whistle and he waved his hand signaling for the start of the Portugal vs. U.S.A. game. In the first five minutes we were playing like a different team to everyone it was 3-0 by halftime with me having 1 goal, John having 1 goal, and Clint having 1 goal. When we went into the tunnel we were all hyped up and you could feel it in the air that this game was ours and in the second half my team proved me right adding on 4 goals. Portugal ended up getting 2 goals when we took most of our starters out but it didn’t matter because the final score was 7-2 U.S.A. I came away with 2 goals, John had 2 goals, and Clint ended with a hat trick 3 goals.   
     Cristiano Ronaldo one of the games great players had both their goals at the end. He came over and talked to me before we went to the tunnel which was rather unusual but he said “Landon your team played better today than mine and I just wanted to congratulate you.” I said “thanks.” Then what he said next surprised me because I had not heard this yet he said “I think that you and the U.S. team can beat Argentina they didn’t play well against us we have just played bad in this World Cup.” I said “thanks and good luck wherever he went next.” Then he jogged off. I then went into the tunnel showered , changed clothes, and went to the bus for the hotel.
      That next morning we all went back to the stadium to watch Argentina vs Mexico. Argentina won 5-2 Mexico in 2nd place and keeping us in it. So this is how the group of death lines up after the 1st week Argentina is in first place 2-, Mexico is in 2nd place at 1-1 because they beat us, We are in 3rd place at 1-1, and Portugal is 0-2. Portugal is also eliminated from title contention. The week went by fast like the last one and before I knew were once again out on the field, the ref blew his whistle and the game was on.     
     Now before I tell you what happened next I want you to know that I had our only goal because that was the only good thing about what happened to us. We played like we had never seen a soccer ball. It was pretty bad but my goal is the 44’ minute is what held us in the game. When we ran into the tunnel it was 3-1 Argentina.
     We were all seated on the benches when Coach Jurgen came in and and once again he didn’t yell at us but he did tell every player that they better be thankful for me because without that goal he said that this game would have been over. So then captain Clint Dempsey stood and said that we should not count ourselves out . He also said that if we played hard and gave it our all then there would be no reason for disappointment. So when we walked down that tunnel there was another sense not one like last games but a new one. It was a sense of confidence in everyone but before I tell you about the 2nd half it was like the 1st half except for one thing. We Scored Goals.
     The final score came up on the scoreboard 5-3 us. I don’t know how and I will never know how but we put down Argentina; just like that I guess you could say. When we got back to the locker room Coach Jurgen told us all that the only reason that we just won that game was because of heart. I think every single person believed him because we all knew that we had just played terrible and still won.
     When I got out to the bus the most surprising thing actually that day happened to me Messi of all people came over and said “Your team is going to win this thing because your team has the most heart.” He also said that “he never wanted a team like us to be in the World Cup.” I was a little puzzled and ask him “why not.” He said because “we were going to upset everyone that we faced.” He knew he said that his team had no heart that they all thought that they were the best but his team no now they had heart and they came together today and that is why they beat them.” His last thing he said to me was this “I wish I were on your team landon because in the next few weeks something magical that no one will ever be able to explain is going to happen to team U.S.A.

Epilogue… Its funny in life how things can just happen to you, things that sometimes people even think are impossible. I will never forget that World Cup, not because of how Messi’s prediction was exactly right or how we beat Argentina 4-2 in the semi-finals and then went on to take down Germany 2-1 with me and Clint dividing goals. It was how we all came together as one team and played together as one. I guess you could also say that it was “the season of the underdog.”