Fans’ View contributor Seth Finck woke up this morning feeling inspired and sent the open letter to the USMNT along for your consideration.
Dear USMNT,
Last week, I read an “article” saying soccer was a sign of the moral decay of the United States. At first, I reacted with anger. Then I realized, that just meant soccer had arrived. When Elvis Presley shook his hips and Fats Domino wailed, people said the same thing about rock & roll. Last I checked rock & roll was pretty American.
This team isn’t much more than a group of guys banding together with a common goal in the face of a greater power. Sounds like a few other guys I’ve heard of.
So don’t give into this negativity. Instead, me and my fellow supporters ask of you only a few things:
- Give us belief: That the badge on the front of your jerseys means more than the names on the back. That a small contingent of the right players mean more than having the best ones. That facts and figures are just that, facts and figures, and you don’t win a game with facts. That 11 can work as one. That heart, determination, hard work, and courage pave the way to victory. That you will soon walk that path.
- That feeling. We remember it: O’Brien vs. Portugal. Donovan vs. Algeria. Brooks vs. Ghana. Chitwood vs. South Bend Central. Write your own Miracle on Ice. That feeling that for 90 minutes, Blue Devils and Tar Heels, Yankees and Red Sox, Republicans and Democrats are united as one. Let us high five our neighbors and hug strangers. Give us reason to shout, cheer, riot.
- Your All. Do not feel pressure. We are NOT a nation on your shoulders. We are a nation at your back. We are beside you and behind you. You have already made us proud. We revel in the knowledge that within you lies not one ounce of quit. That the whole is greater than the sum of your parts. Leave nothing to chance. Wear your badge on your chest and your heart on your sleeve. Let that field be the place you leave no doubt.
Thank you for what you have already done, but let this not be the end.
90 minutes. 100 Percent.
One Nation. One Team.
Well said. I believe!
With tears in my eyes, a scarf around my neck, I am ready to believe!
Damn fine piece!