Germany? Spain? Uruguay? Netherlands?
Who To Root for When Your Team is Done
2010-07-06

Now that both the United States and Ghana are out of the running to win the 2010 World Cup, it’s perfectly fine to admit your moment of treason. As much as you may have been pulling for the United States to win, in your heart of hearts you were kind of hoping Ghana would swing a victory. If the US v. Ghana game had been in an earlier round when teams could just rack up points, then it would’ve been just a good battle, but with the stakes so incredibly high and the loser out for good, you can forgive yourself for having mixed feelings. Ghana was, after all, Africa’s last hope in the first World Cup on the continent.

As usual, World Cup watchers have been switching allegiances on an almost daily basis. From the beginning, Cameroon was my choice. Not because I thought they would win, but because my DNA test said my ancestors were from the Ewondo of Central Cameroon. Family comes first, but Cameroon got knocked out quickly, though not as quickly as South Africa., Which, if you have any heart, you had to be rooting for sentimental reasons alone.

I can’t say I cheered too much for Nigeria, especially after that Harlem Globetrotters-style “It’s my leg, it’s my leg” act. Fair play trumps the African connection. Still, if you’re anything like me, your ace in the hole was Brazil. You could have solace in early losses by the U.S. and the African teams as long as you knew Brazil, the most African place outside of Africa, was going to take it all. But then….damn! Brazil you hurt our hearts.

And Argentina? At least it’s close to Brazil, right? Nope. Out!

So what’s a sometime soccer fan -but only at this level - to do now? Germany? The Netherlands? Spain? Uruguay? You have to find some small thing to grab onto to develop an allegiance, even if it’s irrational.

Can you find it with Uruguay? If underdogs are your thing and the idea of Europe winning the World Cup galls you, then that’s the team to go with. But can they really pull it off? Stranger things have happened, but my gut tells me their luck has run out.

Spain? Love the country, love the food, but the team, frankly, leaves me cold. They have speed, but not the stunning speed of the Africans and the Brazilians. They have skills, but not the big play skills of a Brazil or an Italy. If they win, it’s because the other guys lost.

Germany. They’ve beat everyone to a pulp. You can’t deny their domination of the field. Wait. Germany? Domination? No thanks.

That leaves the Netherlands. Lax marijuana laws. Good beer (Oops, sorry, that’s Belgium). But on the soccer front, they’ve been a sleeper from the start with solid, fast, coordinated play, domination of the ball and victories against probably the toughest mix of teams in the rounds. They’ve won consistently, without a ton of penalty kicks (which, let’s be fair, is about the cheapest way to a win in any sport), and without a ton of red cards. In style and temperament, they’re the closest thing to the U.S. team you can find in this last round. If the trophy must go to Europe –and this year it’s looking like it will – then the Netherlands is a team you can feel good cheering for.