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The Library of Congress Calls It "Globalization In Sports"

Cambridge is not Middle America and Central Square is to Cambridge what Cambridge is to Middle America. That said, at noon, there were lines outside half the bars in the vicinity waiting to get in to watch the U.S. - England soccer match.

My son and I met a co-worker of his and his co-worker's family at Asgard, a nice Irish place with surprisingly good food. We met them at 12:15, which was a good thing, because by kickoff, fire laws were preventing anyone from being allowed in the joint, a bummer for those who went ahead to hold tables for larger parties.

Not all the patrons were there for soccer. Many were Red Sox and (surprising to me) Phillies fans looking for a place to hang before the 4 p.m start. But I couldn't help noticing that when the U.S. scored its (fluky let's face it) goal, everyone, the soccer geeks and the guys in Mike Schmidt throwback jerseys, went bonkers.

I was a sportswriter for 30 years, and I was a cynical and alienated person long before I was ever a sportswriter. But what happened in that bar when the U.S. scored was astonishingly cool. If you didn't think that, you were legally dead.

Soccer is a fine sport, but it'll never be my favorite. I'm too old. But what I DO like is seeing Americans deal with a role we've been unaccustomed to my whole life long.

Being an underdog has its satisfactions.

posted by Michael Gee @ 4:24 PM