Do You Believe in Miracles (again)?

Before anybody says anything, yes, I know this wasn't an upset anywhere close to that of the "Miracle on Ice." According to the FIFA's world rankings, it wasn't an upset at all. The rankings currently have the United States women listed as the team atop of their rankings, while Brazil is number three. However, that doesn't make the United States' win over Brazil any less miraculous.

Before I further discuss the "miracle," let me first briefly explain the game of football (soccer in the United States). Games consist of two, 45 minute halves of continuous play (i.e. the clock does not stop). At the end of each half of play, they add on stoppage time (or injury time - both terms work), which is approximately the amount of time that play was not going on during each half. This is done to ensure that there is 45 minutes of actual play during each half. All in all, most games are 90 minutes in length (two 45 minute halves).

In most cases, if teams are tied after 90 minutes of play, the game will end in a draw. In later stages of tournaments, such as the World Cup, there has to be a winner, so teams play what is called extra time. Extra time consists of two 15 minute halves (they also add stoppage time to each half of extra time as well). In most tournaments, during extra time, there is no such thing as a "golden goal" (first goal wins). Teams play the full 30 minutes of extra time regardless of the score. Once extra time is added in, the game is 120 minutes long.

If teams are tied at the conclusion of extra time, teams will participate in a penalty shootout to decide the winner. For American sports fans, this is very similar to shootouts in the game of hockey, even though the game of soccer has done it much longer. A penalty is a shot taken from the penalty spot, 12 yards from the goal. It is one on one, shooter against goalkeeper. One rule to keep in mind about penalties, because it will become an issue later, is that goalies must remain on their line (i.e. goalline) until the ball has been kicked. The penalty shootout is a best of five penalty competition between teams. Each team alternates shooters until the end of the shootout. At the end of five rounds, the team with the most goals wins the shootout and the game. If the teams are tied after the five rounds, it pretty much goes into sudden death, with each round being important. If the first shooter scores in every round after the fifth, the second shooter must score in order to keep the game alive. If the second shooter scores the game continues, if he/she doesn't the game is over. If the first shooter misses, after the fifth round, a goal by the second shooter wins the shootout and the team. Overall it is a pretty simple concept.

Now that that has been explained a little bit, let me get back to the miracle that was the United States win over Brazil. After 90 minutes of play, the United States and Brazil were tied 1-1, which meant the game was headed to extra time. In only the second minute of extra time, Marta, who is probably the top female player in the game today, scored an absolute beauty of a goal. That left the United States, who were playing a player down due to a red card in the second half, 28 minutes to either score and equalize the game or go home. It wasn't until the 122nd minute when Abby Wambach of the United States did just that. Let me say that again, the 122nd minute, which means the game was into stoppage time at the end of the second extra time period. This goal could not have possibly come any later in the game. If Brazil gains possession, or if the ball goes out of play for a goal kick, the game is probably whistled over right there. Had it possibly gone out for a corner kick, they probably would have allowed the corner to be taken but nothing much further than that.

For me personally, the Wambach goal is my favorite sports moment of all time, passing the Landon Donovan goal from last summer's men's World Cup. I really never thought that I'd see anything pass the Donovan goal in the near future, let alone only a year later, but the Wambach goal did just that. The thing that made the win over Brazil much sweeter was the fact that the United States was given a rough go of things by the referee all game. I'm not saying that because I'm an American cheering for the United States either. I'm saying that as a fan of the game of soccer. The ESPN commentators were sayting the same thing as well.

It wasn't going too bad until the 65th minute of the game. At that time, Rachel Buehler (of the United States) pulled down Marta inside of the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick for Brazil. Not only was Brazil awarded a penalty and an opportunity to equalize the score, but Buehler was also given a straight red card for the foul, which meant the United States had to play a person down for the remainder of the game. There was a huge outrage as to whether the play should've been called a penalty or not. I personally tend to side with the referee on that one. It was a questionable call but Buehler did have a handful of Marta's jersey at the time, which is a foul anywhere else on the pitch (field). So again, I'll give the referee the benefit of the doubt on that one. However that foul was in no way deserving of a card, let alone a straight red one. That put the United States at a HUGE disadvantage for the remainder of the game.

When it came time for the penalty, Cristiane took it for Brazil and was stopped by United States keeper Hope Solo. However the Australian referee stepped in and ordered that the penalty be re-taken. Three days later, I still have no idea why this happened. Did the referee, or one of her assistants, rule that Hope Solo was off of her line early (I told you that rule would become important later, and it will again)? Video replays showed that this wasn't the case, but that doesn't mean that that wasn't the call. Or did they call that a teammate had entered the penalty area before the kick was taken? This probably could have been called on the play but it's one of those things that's very rarely, if ever, called. For her trouble, Solo was awarded a yellow card which we also have no idea the logic behind. If I had to guess, I would say dissent, but I honestly have no idea. Needless to say, Marta buried the re-take to square the game at one goal apiece. That's how the game went into extra time.

There was even some controversy surrounding Marta's goal in the second minute of extra time. Many people, including the match commentators (Ian Darke and Julie Foudy) were arguing that the play should have been whistled dead before the goal for offsides (it mentions that in the original article). It was certainly close, but again I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the officials on the pitch. They were put in that position by FIFA for a reason. Again, I don't want to take anything away from Marta on that goal. It was an absolute thing of beauty and Hope Solo never had a chance. That set the stage for Abby Wambach's heroics only a half hour or so later.

I'm not surprised that an American writer for ESPN (Jemel Hill) managed to get this entire thing dead wrong. She does acknowledge that this is a great moment, but since the United States was one of the favorites coming into the tournament, this means nothing if the United States doesn't win the entire World Cup. Unlike Dicky Dunn, in the movie Slap Shot, she failed to capture the spirit of the thing.

She does know that in 1980 the United States men's ice hockey team beat Finland for the gold medal and not the Soviet Union, right? The win over the Soviet Union was the defining moment for the 1980 Lake Placid Winter games, yet 31 years later it's a popular myth that that was the gold medal game. That's not true. After the Soviet game, the United States had to beat Finland in order to win the gold. Had they lost that game, they would've finished fourth (out of four) in the medal round and wouldn't even have medaled, even after they defeated the mighty Soviets. It's amazing how details change over time.

Win or lose, I think the Abby Wambach goal will be the defining moment of the 2011 Women's World Cup. If the United States does win, I'll almost guarantee you that the same thing will happen to this game that happened to the Miracle on Ice. If the United States does win, and I'm not saying that they will, people will remember the final being the United States and Brazil because of Wambach's special, if not miraculous, goal. In reality, the final is on Sunday between the United States (who defeated France today) and Japan (who defeated Sweden - who already defeated the US in the 2011 World Cup - today).

The other thing that Jemel Hill got dead wrong is what this means for soccer in the United States. It's moments like the goals scored by Abby Wambach and Landon Donovan that get the American public excited about the game of soccer and their national team. Moments like this are HUGE (understatement) for the sport in the United States. The game of soccer will never be as popular in the United States as American Football, Basketball, and Baseball, however it's moments like this that put the game on the map. Just in the past week, I've gotten apologies from two different people because they said at an earlier time that the game of soccer was boring. Anything that gets people looking at the game in a positive way, like the Wambach goal, will never be relegated to just a footnote in American sporting history if the Americans don't win the whole thing. At this point, a majority of the American people probably have no idea that the United States is the top ranked team in the world at the moment anyways. But it's moments like this that get them to this point down the line.

I for one will probably always remember where I was and what I was doing when that goal was scored. For those watching the World Cup, this very well may be their JFK moment. I've heard several people over the years who know exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. I personally remember that for 9-11 and, to a lesser extent, the Landon Donovan goal a year ago. It's just a fantastic sporting moment that I, and those watching will never forget.

Let me close by telling you how popular the United States - Brazil game really was (I got this from the Hill article). The REPLAY of that game on Sunday night drew a rating of 2.6. This was a higher rating than the NBA Draft, which only had a 2.5 rating on the same channel. Basketball is more popular than soccer in the States, but not on this occasion.

I'd lastly like to say good luck to the United States women in the World Cup Final against Japan on Sunday. I'll be behind you on Sunday, as will an entire nation that bleeds red, white, and blue. Go USA!

Texas Tragedy

Tragedy struck Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers tonight. During the second inning of tonight's game between the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers, a fan died after falling over a railing while trying to catch a ball thrown into the stands. According to the linked story above, the fan fell approximately 20 feet, into the visiting (Oakland) bullpen area, after going over the railing. This happened in the left field corner above the 14 foot tall video board at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.

Before I go any further with this, I'd just like to pass on my thoughts and prayers to the friends and family of this Texas Rangers fan (they have yet to release his name). I especially want to send out my prayers to the young son of the fan, who was at the game with his father and probably saw the entire thing.I can't imagine what that child is going through at this very moment.

Not to sound insensitive, but my first thought when I saw this story was sadly, "I'd hate to see the lawsuit that comes out of this." In the long run, we'll probably find out whether the fine print on the back of ticket stubs is worth anything. I've never been to a Rangers game, or the state of Texas for that matter, but I'm sure the print is the same on the back of all MLB tickets. I have a Cubs ticket from Wrigley Field in front of me and according to the print on it, the Cubs and Wrigley Field are not responsible for any injures that occur during the game or any time at Wrigley Field. I'm sure the fine print on the back of Rangers tickets say the same thing.

This happens to be the second fatal fall at a major league ballpark this year. Back in May, a fan at Coors Field in Colorado fell 20 feet after trying to slide down the railing to one of the many stadium staircases. This is also the second incident to happen recently at Rangers Ballpark. Last July, a fan fell 30 feet and suffered a fractured skull and a sprained ankle. Luckily, he survived the ordeal.

After watching the video of this incident, I have to say the fan is at fault here. That doesn't mean the Rangers and the other major league teams shouldn't make changes to their venues to make them safer. From the video, I see the fan in question lean over in front of another fan to attempt to catch the thrown ball. In doing so, his momentum carried him over the railing. I understand all fans want to catch a foul ball, but leaning in front of another fan, while also hanging over a 20 foot drop is not a good idea. It's way too easy, as evident by tonight's incident, for momentum to carry the person completely over the railing. Again, I don't want to sound insensitive, but that's what I saw in the video.

Going forward, teams should not be allowed to have uncovered gaps between the outfield wall and stands, like the one in left field at Rangers Ballpark, especially when there is a significant drop in between. Those should be covered up in some capacity. I'm not saying that it needs to be completely covered by something solid either. As I mentioned above, there is a bullpen there and fans feel closer to the action if they can see what is going on below. I would have no problem if they covered that gap, and similar ones around the league, with a section of chain link fence. That way it is almost impossible to fall through and get hurt and fans can still see what is going on below. That seems like a fair compromise to me. Hell, even a heavy duty net would do if they wanted to go that route. Either way, that gap, and gaps like it, need to be covered so that something like this does not happen again.

I also think that the league needs to mandate that taller railings be installed around the league. When I say railings, I'm talking about the ones at the edges of the playing field and the upper decks. Most railings are only about waist height for an average sized adult. As I said before, when you're leaning over the railing, it's not hard for your momentum ot carry you over the railing. Instead of making them waist height, I propose that the league mandates that all railings in those positions are a MINIMUM of four feet tall. That way (in theory) an average sized fan only has anything above their chest hanging over the railing. That should keep a majority of their body weight on the correct side of the railing, thus keeping them on the correct side of the railing.

I understand that this might create a bit of a vision problem, but that's the least of my concerns at the moment. If that's the case, there could be a slightly larger space between the horizontal railings to created a viewing window for the fans closer to the railing. If that were to happen though, I also propose that the install strategically spaced vertical bars in between the horizontal ones so that fans cannot lean through the bars easily. Besides, I'd much rather have a slightly obstructed view of the game than leave in a body bag.

In closing, I again want to send out my prayers and condolences to the friends and family of this unnamed Rangers fan. Major League Baseball needs to use this as a wakeup call to insure that something like this cannot happen again at a major leauge ballpark. If possible, try to turn this tragedy into something that can make the league and its ballparks safer. That should be the main objective here.