Bild Zeitung: Sports Journalism
I covered sports and entertainment for Bild Zeitung, Germany’s most read newspaper. Below is an article I wrote chronicling Team USA’s advances in the World Cup in South Africa.
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The USA’s do-or-die victory over Algeria on Wednesday put them in a position they haven’t been in for 80 years since their very first World Cup in 1930: winners of their group.
It certainly came as a huge relief to the team, and provided a massive boost back home where the sport still lags behind.
The 2010 World Cup has drawn plenty of US fans, however, and the results haven’t hurt. First up, they drew 1-1 with a fancied England team, a game which attracted a record number of American viewers for a group game with nearly 13 million. That ranks as the fifth most watched FIFA telecast, lagging behind the women’s World Cup final in 1999 amongst others.
But the 13 million is still a far cry from the 106 million who watched the Super Bowl in February.
Fans across the US, however, are starting to tune into their team’s story. A poor call in their 2-2 draw with Slovenia on June 18 denied the US a winner having come from two goals behind. The outrage stemming from that incident and the perseverance of the players in dramatically grabbing a winner in stoppage time against Algeria have finally brought football into the spotlight and onto the front page of newspapers.
Even former President Bill Clinton showed up for Wednesday’s match supporting the red, white and blue.
US Soccer President Sunil Gulati said after the game: “It is so trite to say but so true – the American spirit came through… To come back from being down 2-0 in the last game, to give up a goal early against England and come back, that’s the American spirit.”
And fans in the United States are starting to believe it.
“We’ve had unbelievable support here,” Landon Donovan said about US fans at a press conference earlier this week. “It’s not something I’ve experienced since I’ve been a part of the team, not to this level.”
American fans will surely be fully behind the players in their second round match on Saturday against Ghana. Donovan is set to be a presence as the tournament continues – the star midfielder has two goals already and has been close to many more. With midfielder Clint Dempsey and striker Jozy Altidore, the US have plenty of attacking options if they can hold up defensively.
They have already been down early twice, to England and then 2-0 to Slovenia.
This World Cup has been massive for football in the USA, and the team will fight for their American dream. The last 16 game on Saturday will go some way towards showing if their team is up to the task.