Hope This Experiment Helps

By Ben Knight Onward Soccer

Running into your ex
And so, for the first time since I fired England as the team I always cheer for in the World Cup, it was time to settle in and watch them play. And of all the sides they could be opposing on this achingly overdue occasion, wouldn’t it just have to be These United States?

This blog charts the match’s emotional ups and downs – and not because I seriously think anyone really cares who I’m cheering for. It’s more an examination of the whole issue of unconditional soccer support, and whether one can actually free oneself from an unhappy association with a team that drives you asinine, and diminishes your will to live.

Ing-er-land, Ing-er-land, Ing-er-land.

It’s a life sentence, they’ll tell you – and I desperately want that not to be true. I feel driven down and diminished by England’s narrow view of the world game. I’m tired of never being fully free to support bolder, more creative sides.

I could have done without it not being the Americans on the other side. But on the other hand, Major League Soccer is the league I directly cover. The thought that a briefly over-achieving upstart like Edson Buddle of the L.A. Galaxy could actually be in position to dent England’s World Cup dream is ironic – funny, actually. Buddle doesn’t start. Oh, well.

Odd how the universe can set you up, sometimes. Two days after I fired England, I actually encountered my long-lost ex-wife in St. George subway station in Toronto. Hadn’t seen her in eight years. She looked happy and well, and we had a very pleasant little chat. Quite gentle, given the huge emotional range that can be in play in such a situation.

Ah, but that was just real life. This is soccer. And here we go.

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