My Heart Goes Wandering

What up world,

The Twins continue to swim in the pools of mediocrity, refusing to capitalize on the opportunities that they've been presented with. Two errors tonight lead to a humiliating loss at the hands of the Brewers. We're never supposed to lose to the f-ing Brewers! Let alone in such an awful fashion. I leave my computer in an attempt to prepare a delicious salad, returning 10 minutes later to find us down a run and losing the game. It's gross. Much like my salad.

In an effort to cheer myself up, I tuned into the US men's soccer game today. They are currently playing in the Confederations Cup in South Africa. I've sat down for each of the games throughout the tournament, watching the team lose miserably to Italy and Brazil, and the subsequent victory against Egypt.

There is no sporting event that creates greater amounts of excitement for me than watching the US team play in international competition. The World Cup shuts down my life for a two week period every four years. I have grandiose dreams of traveling to South Africa next summer to experience the amazingness that the Cup offers.

I played soccer throughout high school, and have continued to play on various intramural teams in the many years since that time. I love playing the game, but this isn't the reason for my adoration of the National team. I think the biggest reason is my love for the underdog.

Every team that I've cheered for in my adult life have been underdogs. The Twins, Timberwolves, Vikings, and Badger football and basketball teams have always showed promise, but haven't ever been considered overwhelming favorites. There are no dynasties in the world of my fandome. The only team that was considered to be a championship lock was the 98 Vikings, and everyone knows how that turned out. Even writing "98 Vikings" has caused me to start weeping and cutting myself.

In any competition, I will always find myself rooting for the underdog. Even if I'm watching professional bowling, I'm still rooting for the guy with the dirty mustache and bad polyester shirt, who can't roll a strike to save his life. I may stay to watch the entire contest, just to see an upset in the making.

The US men's team has been underdogs in nearly every match that I've ever watched. Their limited success against European or South American teams over the years have caused me to live and die with every game. Today, I watched as they took on the #1 team in the world, Spain.

I studied in Spain for a semester and saw many of the team's players in different clubs around La Liga. I saw Fernando Torres at Atlectico Madrid, Sergio Ramos in Sevilla, and Cesc Fabregas at Barcelona. I picked them to win the last World Cup in my pool. I love watching them play, and didn't think the US stood a chance against them.

That's why, after the first goal, I jumped off my couch and danced around the house. After the second goal, I ran outside and embarrassingly yelled at the top of my lungs, drawing the attention of my neighbors dogs and a homeless man in the alleyway. I didn't think that they stood a chance after the first two games of the tournament, and now they were headed to the championship after beating the supergiant.

I will be locked in on Sunday, cheering for the underdog once again (they will most likely play Brazil in the final). So, while the Twins continue to waste late inning leads and the prolific season of Jo Jo Ma, one of my teams is taking advantage of the opportunities that they've been presented.

USA!!!