The soccer game was great.
The USA totally thronged Costa Rica, 3-0. The place was pretty full: 40,585 fans, and I made it 40,586. We had good seats about 20 rows up in the North end zone, just to the left of the goal. The first goal happened right in front of us. A pass got deflected and just rolled slowly to the top of the box, and everyone in the crowd just gasped, waiting to see who'd get to the free ball first. The USA's Landon Donovan won the race and deposited it in the upper right corner. Then it was mayhem. I swear the place was louder than Cougar Stadium after a BYU touchdown. And the noise lasted for minutes. Huge American flags, covering eight rows of fans, were unfurled. People threw red, white and blue streamers onto the field; I mean, they were strewn all over the place, and they kept playing with streamers on the field for about three minutes, until one of the players slipped on one; then they cleared them off. And, just in case the Costa Rican fans had missed the goal, the gracious American fans let them know the score with a loud chant of "uno-cero."
The whole first half, the USA had opportunity-after-opportunity, and it was exciting each time they came down and took a shot. The American strategy was this: As soon as they won the ball, they would kick it downfield to a midfielder, and then on to Landon Donovan, who would decide who would take the shot. Only some remarkable play the Costa Rican keeper kept the Americans from adding to their lead.
Right as the second half began, it was really quiet, and American keeper Kasey Keller was warming up right in front of us, so I yelled as loud as I could, "You're the man, Kasey Keller!" We were close enough and it was quiet enough that I think there's a chance he heard me. And over the next 15 minutes, he proved he was the man, making some of the best saves I've ever seen: Practically cart-wheeling to somehow keep out a point-blank shot, diving to his right and fully extending to just punch out a would-be goal, etc. But the Costa Ricans kept pressuring until ...
The Americans got a counter-attack, and Brian McBride, one of my favorite U.S. players, sent a wicked header toward goal. The Costa Rican keeper dove and knocked it down ... but right to the feet of Donovan, who scored his second goal. It was great to see Donovan get two goals in Salt Lake, since he loves Utah so much.
After that, it was all U.S. And McBride capped the day with a goal in the 87th minute.
The final three minutes were just awesome, as 40,000 people chanted U-S-A, U-S-A at the top of their lungs. It sent shivers up my spine. Really, it's one thing to go to a game to root on your high school or your college or your favorite pro team; but it's quite another to go to a game to root for your country.
And right before the game ended, a Costa Rican player got sent off for a cheap shot on the USA's Steve Cherundolo. And this guy kept wanting to shove people before he left. So it was quite exciting to see someone (1) get a red card, and (2) refuse to leave.
One of the best parts was watching Damarcus Beasley, dance around Costa Ricans with the ball. That guy is amazing. I just can't believe how can spin so effortlessly past a defender with the ball at his feet. Every time, he got the ball; I expected him to use some exceptional move to elude a defender; and almost every time he got the ball, he did just that.
Of course, it was also nice whenever Eddie Pope, the one Real Salt Lake player in the U.S. lineup, did anything, because the crowd just loved it.
So three U.S. goals and a red card for Costa Rica--not a bad day!
All-in-all, one of the best sporting experiences I've ever been to, and I hope they come back.
