Proud to be an American!

I know this is technically a Villanova blog, but on a day like day, it's more than appropriate to comment on what transpired this morning, both in the United States, and in South Africa.

Futbol (yes, I am a player and fan, and I'm calling it that) isn't the most popular sport in this country, but more than anything else, it has the ability to bring an entire nation together. And that is exactly what I saw while I watched the game at The Ainsworth in New York City earlier today.

Not all my friends are fans of the sport, but all of them were aware of what was going on, regardless of them trying to downplay the moment (for reasons I still can't fathom).

Americans everywhere spent 90 agonizing minutes watching our boys squander chance after glorious chance. Steve McManaman, the English ESPN color man in the studio put it best by saying, "For a while there, you just felt like it wasn't going to come."

But then it did. And it was BEAUTIFUL! Tim Howard, now a household name amongst Americans, threw a frozen-rope of an outlet pass usually reserved for Major League Baseball's top outfielders to Landon Donovan (who I now proudly have a man-crush on), and the break was on. Clint Dempsey yet again narrowly missed the game-winner, but Donovan was right on the spot for the goal, and it sent the bar I was at, and I'm everyone across the country, into mass-hysteria.

I'm so proud of that team -- they embody everything our country was built on, and what we pride ourselves on.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!