Fans call it "the beautiful game." Well, you don't have to be a fan of futbol at all to recognize art on the pitch, because the match-winning, catch-and-kick of Ghana's Asamoah Gyan to defeat the USA was one of the greatest moves in sports that I can remember — the gymnastics of White Sox pitcher Mark Buherle being the most phenomenal in recent memory (and that was in April).
I guess part of what made Gyan's play so exciting to me was how it reminded me of American football in its execution: a player, hounded by a defender, running full-bore down the field to make a miraculous catch (in this case off his shoulder), withstanding a body-blow and then drilling the ball past a pulled-out, freaked-out goalie. It was just stunning.
Yes, I wanted the USA to win; but losing like that was no shame, not on a play like that.
Otherwise I don't know how to explain this other than I think Japan is going to win the whole thing. In the highlights I've seen of them they look just relentless at all times. We'll see. The whole continent of South America looks like they've come to play.
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