America: this is what soccer is really like. This is what it feels like to root for an underdog. This is what it feels like when your opponents are the mighty goliaths, and you are a puny David.
You think you’re about to steal a victory, about to make history. Then, in the blink of an eye, it all evaporates into thin air. Such is the cruelty of all sports, but especially soccer, where the low scoring totals mean everything can change in an instant.
All it takes is one moment of individual brilliance (or in this case one header) to completely alter a team’s fortunes. After USA's "snatching a tie from the jaws of victory" result against Portugal today, the team's many new fans now understand what this experience feels like.
The narrative will shift tomorrow to “everything is OK” with USA, considering they need only a tie in their next game to advance (among many other scenarios). But let’s not forget just yet how close we were to spending tonight celebrating the USA’s advancing to the knockout stage after just two games.
The less mature of us might blame others, in part, for jinxing the team and causing this unfortunate result. After all, following Clint Dempsey’s go-ahead goal in the 81st minute, many people took to Twitter to exult in what looked like an assured USA victory. Here is a look at 10 USA Soccer Fans Who Celebrated Just a Few Seconds Too Early.
RELATED: USA Draws with Portugal, 2-2 (GIFs)
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