Thread: Howard seething as Mexico's fans and players prove too much

Howard seething as Mexico's fans and players prove too much
By Jahmal Corner, Reuters
13 hours ago


PASADENA, California — Tim Howard made the long walk from the United States locker room to the departing team bus Saturday, fuming over his team's CONCACAF Gold Cup final loss to Mexico and their second rate status on home turf.

Once Mexico had recovered from falling two goals behind early on to claim a 4-2 victory, wild celebrations broke out at the Rose Bowl Stadium that reaffirmed the Americans' feeling that they were visitors in their own home.

"I think it was a... disgrace that the entire post match ceremony was in Spanish," a seething Howard told reporters. "You bet your ass, if we were in Mexico City the ceremony would not be all in English.

"CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves."

The U.S. were swallowed up by the sea of green and red worn by many of the Mexican fans that made up the passionate crowd of 93,420.

But the Americans did not lose the match because of crowd support, they lost it because Mexico proved to be the better, more dynamic side for the second Gold Cup final in a row.

The U.S. will take away a few positives from the tournament, including the continued progression in Bob Bradley's new possession oriented focus.

But in the end, the Americans confirmed what they already knew before being exposed by Mexico - there is a lot of work to be done to close the gap.

"We have to take it up another level," said U.S. attacker Landon Donovan. "In these games we want to even things out a little more and not have them (Mexico) have the possession the whole time.

"They showed that they're the team to beat right now. We have to go catch them."

TOUGH NIGHT

The disappointment of letting slip an early two-goal advantage was a big disappointment to the U.S. side, who again failed to close out a final from a winning position.

In the 2009 Confederations Cup Final, the U.S. led five-times world champions Brazil 2-0 only to lose 3-2 loss after faltering late on.

This time the Americans were caught before halftime with Pablo Barrera, Giovani Dos Santos and the rest of the Mexican attackers taking over the match in the second half.

"We're most disappointed that we went up 2-0 and ended up losing. It's a tough night for us," said U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo, who suffered an ankle injury in the 11th minute and was substituted.

Cherundolo was replaced by Jonathan Bornstein, a development that hurt the U.S. backline as the substitute struggled to deal with the pace of the Mexican attack.

"They have a lot of skilled attackers but I thought we did well for the most part," Bornstein said. "We could have done better as a team defense."

Howard was far less analytical after his team was once again overshadowed by the Mexicans.

"It's beyond me how they rallied back, because we hit them (early)," he said. "It all hurts when you get your butt kicked. And that's what happened today."

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/spo ... NCACAF-US/

I was just going to post this! The La Razas are out in full force, with a new found sense of arrogance and bravado that could only come from winning a soccer game. It seems as if they are ready to conquer the world after winning a soccer game. Amazing!
Check out the comments!

I can't find any comments, did they take them down?

Here's the link to the LA Raza Times aka La Times:
Plenty of comments
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-062 ... 114.column

Here's another link to Yahoo Sports covering the story. Plenty of comments to ponder as well:

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/...urn=sow-wp2785

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Here's the link to the LA Raza Times aka La Times:
Plenty of comments
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-062 ... 114.column

Here's another link to Yahoo Sports covering the story. Plenty of comments to ponder as well:

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/...urn=sow-wp2785

That game opened a lot of American eyes. The more the illegals and Americans of Mexican decent put their ethnocentric loyalty first the more pissed off and non sympathetic Americans will become.

Tick tock, tick tock . . . . the clock is getting louder.

Originally Posted by WhatMattersMost

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Here's the link to the LA Raza Times aka La Times:
Plenty of comments
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-062 ... 114.column

Here's another link to Yahoo Sports covering the story. Plenty of comments to ponder as well:

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/...urn=sow-wp2785

That game opened a lot of American eyes. The more the illegals and Americans of Mexican decent put their ethnocentric loyalty first the more pissed off and non sympathetic Americans will become.

Tick tock, tick tock . . . . the clock is getting louder.

I definitely agree WMM! People are getting sick and tired of the arrogance and misguided bravado these people are famous for. These people are invading our country and yet we are told that we must be tolerant and accept this invasion and their behavior under the guise of "multiculturalism and diversity.â€

Here's the LA Times article Nobueno gave a link to:

In Gold Cup final, it's red, white and boo again

Mexico rallies for a 4-2 win over U.S. behind overwhelming support at Rose Bowl. In what other country would the visitors have home-field advantage?


Fans cheer prior to the Gold Cup Final at the Rose Bowl. The U.S. team was roundly booed as a vast majority of attendees supported Mexico, which won 4-2. "We're not booing the country, we're booing the team," one fan said. (Kelvin Kuo / US PRESSWIRE / June 25, 2011)

By Bill Plaschke

June 25, 2011, 10:15 p.m.
It was imperfectly odd. It was strangely unsettling. It was uniquely American.

On a balmy early Saturday summer evening, the U.S soccer team played for a prestigious championship in a U.S. stadium … and was smothered in boos.

Its fans were vastly outnumbered. Its goalkeeper was bathed in a chanted obscenity. Even its national anthem was filled with the blowing of air horns and bouncing of beach balls.

Most of these hostile visitors didn't live in another country. Most, in fact, were not visitors at all, many of them being U.S. residents whose lives are here but whose sporting souls remain elsewhere.

Welcome to another unveiling of that social portrait known as a U.S.-Mexico soccer match, streaked as always in deep colors of red, white, blue, green … and gray.

"I love this country, it has given me everything that I have, and I'm proud to be part of it," said Victor Sanchez, a 37-year-old Monrovia resident wearing a Mexico jersey. "But yet, I didn't have a choice to come here, I was born in Mexico, and that is where my heart will always be."

On a street outside the Rose Bowl before the Gold Cup final, Sanchez was hanging out near a motor home that was hosting 17 folks — 15 of whom were Mexico fans. Inside, that ratio held, there seemingly being about 80,000 Mexico fans among the announced crowd of 93,420.

This was Staples Center filled with Boston Celtics fans. This was Chavez Ravine filled with Giants jerseys. This was as weird as it was wild and, for a U.S. team that lost, 4-2, it had to be wearisome.

"Obviously … the support that Mexico has on the night like tonight makes it a home game for them," said U.S. Coach Bob Bradley, choosing his words carefully. "It's part of something we have to deal with on the night."

It wasn't just something. It was everything. I've never heard more consistent loud cheering for one team here, from the air horns to the "Ole" chants with each Mexico pass, all set to the soundtrack of a low throbbing roar that began in the parking lot about six hours before the game and continued long into the night.

Even when the U.S. scored the first two goals, the Mexico cheers stayed strong, perhaps inspiring El Tri to four consecutive goals against a U.S. team that seemed dazed and confused. Then when it ended, and the Mexican players had danced across the center of the field in giddy wonder while the U.S. players had staggered to the sidelines in disillusionment, the madness continued.

Because nobody left. Rather amazingly, the Mexico fans kept bouncing and cheering under headbands and sombreros, nobody moving an inch, the giant Rose Bowl jammed for a postgame trophy ceremony for perhaps the first time in its history.

And, yes, when the U.S. team was announced one final time, it was once again booed.

"We're not booing the country, we're booing the team," Sanchez said. "There is a big difference."

Mexico soccer fans have long since proven to be perhaps the greatest fans of any sports team that plays in this country, selling out venues from here to Texas to New Jersey, dwarfing something like Red Sox Nation, equaling any two SEC football fan bases combined.

But eventually, the rules for their unrequited love get tricky. Because eventually, Mexico ends up playing the U.S. team on U.S. soil. And then folks start wondering, as they surely did Saturday, is it really right for folks who live here to boo and jeer as if they don't?

"I know, it's strange, and when we got here, we were a little worried," said Roy Martinez, a U.S. fan who wrapped himself in an American flag and led "USA" cheers to passing cars outside the stadium before the game. "But, you know, it works."

It was truly strange but, in the end, it indeed worked, perhaps because there is pride in living in one of the only countries where it could work.

How many places are so diverse that it could fill football stadiums with folks whose roots are somewhere else? How many places offer such a freedom of speech that someone can display an American flag on their porch one day and cheer against the flag the next?

I hated it, but I loved it. I was felt as if I was in a strange place, and yet I felt right at home.

Certainly, for the U.S. team, it undoubtedly stinks. But then, well, to be honest, the team stinks.

All the misguided hopes that surrounded their advancement into the second round of the 2010 World Cup — We beat Algeria, whoopee! — have come crashing down in recent lackluster play under Bradley.

If this were any other country, Bradley would have been relieved by now. But because U.S. expectations remain sadly low, he is allowed to continue guiding a team whose mistakes and missteps led to the Mexico comeback.

Long after that comeback was complete, when the stadium was finally cleared and the party had moved to the parking lot, the Rose Bowl field contained scattered patches of blue and gold celebration glitter. It was messy, and mangled, and beautiful.

bill.plaschke@latimes.com

twitter.com/billplaschke

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-062 ... 114.column