US Soccer

            Last night the stage was set for US soccer to jump from cute fringes to mainstream.  I was at Dan McGuinness, the official spot for Nashville's American Outlaws. ESPN, CBS and local news outlets were all there and the crowd didn't disappoint.  It was an electric atmosphere and packed to the rafters.

The crowd was filling in three hours before kickoff.

An hour before kickoff.

Singing the anthem.

            What you can't see is the 25ft TV outside the bar that was being watched by hundreds more.

            Again, the atmosphere was fantastic as it was part bar, part club.

            After the defensive gaffe, we played extremely well, Jermaine Jones provided a wonder strike,  and then Deuce scored to put us ahead. Here's the celebration after that goal. I love the guy rocking out on the snare drum.

            If you've ever wondered if soccer will be popular in the US then yesterday proved you don't have to wonder any longer.  More people watched the US vs Portugal game last night than any other soccer game in American history.  If you combine Univision then it surpasses the BCS title game.  That is beautiful to me.  What wasn't beautiful was the ending but that's soccer. I'm glad we played so well against a quality opponent with a massive audience watching. If we tie or win against Germany then we move on.  Not easy but possible.

            See you out on Thursday.