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Pride in losing? It's difficult to watch

In 50-plus years I have gotten over the fact that soccer in the U.S. was played by those who could neither hit a baseball, shoot a basketball or make a tackle. While not the first to say it, I find it curious that the game's greatest skill is one's ability to trip and fake being mauled by your opponent.

What's worse is a lackluster effort against the Germans that led the U.S. team to a backdoor pass to the next round in the World Cup. Have the rules always been that way? Or has a generation that played sports without winners or losers finally come of age?

My 9-year-old daughter wondered aloud why the U.S. was not trying to score for most of the game. Those watching with us at the Sugar Bowl counter in Des Plaines wanted to know where the effort displayed at the end had been the entire game.

Most appalling is waking up Friday morning to a television nation glorified in our loss and advancement strategy. Losing with dignity is one thing; losing with swagger and pride is hard to watch. To quote Carlos Zambrano, "We stinks."

Brian DeValk

Palatine

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