Soccer’s moment in the South African sun

We were sitting at McNellie's in Oklahoma City. We arrived early to make sure we got a good table. We sat there and watched with 150 of our newest friends as the United States lost 2-1 to Ghana on Saturday, knocking the Americans out of the World Cup.

Soccer has always been my sport. At 6-foot-8, I should have been more interested in basketball or football. Well, that's what my parents think. It only takes one former high school classmate, albeit a grade below me, being drafted into the NBA for my parents to say, "We told you so." By the way, Blake, my parents wish they were your parents.

But I always preferred soccer.

That's how it always was: an oversized defender/forward/midfielder traipsing around the soccer pitch two heads too tall.

The World Cup is what I look forward to watching every four years. That I was excited for the World Cup is one thing. That I had four friends with only a marginal interest in soccer watching with me was another. That I watched the USA-England game with them and two others meant more.

The fact that we all gathered in a friend's living room a year earlier to watch the U.S. lose 3-2 to Brazil meant more.

I'm not one to say that soccer has finally arrived in this country. Record-breaking TV ratings are one thing. Cultural importance is something else.
I am saying the average U.S. sports fan knows who Clint Dempsey is. I can say that my friends who know almost nothing about soccer knew that the U.S. would fall apart if they conceded an early goal.

I can say that my friend Kevin asked me before the game, "Did you see David Villa's goal yesterday?"

In a country where most sports fan are like Kevin and prefer football and basketball, the U.S. soccer team was temporarily embraced. My parents, who long stood confused on the sidelines at my soccer games, have conversations with me about referees. As I sit here writing this, the O'Colly's general manager told me he thinks Argentina can win it even without superstar Lionel Messi playing well.

Has soccer replaced baseball, football and basketball in the hearts and minds of most Americans? No. Will it? I don't know. Probably not. But I do know that during these past few weeks I've seen people who don't care about soccer develop an opinion on whether Edson Buddle or Robbie Findley is the best strike partner for Jozy Altidore.

I've seen people realize just how good of a defender Carlos Bocanegra is.

And I've seen my parents, who always wanted me to play basketball or football, finally care to understand what "offside" means.

And maybe that's enough.