So it's all over

Well, that was pitiful.

The U.S. national soccer team decided once again not to show up on Thursday, letting Ghana--Ghana!--walk all over them in a 2-1 loss. The U.S. gives millions in AIDS relief to the tiny African country, but our biggest export is now easy wins and World Cup glory--it seems we'll give them to anybody that's interested. With the upset, Ghana romped into the second round of the tournament in their first-ever appearance, setting the players up for life as millionaires and national heroes--I think they even named their coach President.

But in the U.S., it was just another pathetic display. Even the 1-1 tie that we salvaged with powerhouse Italy last Saturday (to avoid total humiliation) was just another slap in the face from the U.S. team, as if to say "Look, we're perfectly capable of competing. We just don't want to."

Clint Dempsey was the only player that even earned his jersey in Germany, baffling defenders with step-overs and hip fakes, running hard throughout and scoring the team's only real goal. I mocked him before the tournament for his ridiculous rap video and even worse nickname--"Deuce"--but hey, he backed them up. It's a shame he didn't start the first match, and it's an even bigger shame that he was often playing 1-on-11. Landon Donovan left his scything runs and ball-handling skills back in the MLS (Kobi Jones still plays there, right?) and passed up at least one wide-open net. Demarcus Beasley, he of the blazing speed, forgot he could run with the ball and mostly looked lost. And Claudio Reyna, the old vet, the Captain, Uncle Sam, giftwrapped Ghana their first goal and then lay there pitifully clutching his leg--and that was the first time I'd noticed him all Cup. Heck, even stud goalkeeper Casey Keller was beaten easily on more than one occasion.

In all, the U.S. managed just that single score (and one Italian blunder), four shots on goal (two of those hit the post), and an awful 6-2 final tally. But it wasn't so much that they were losing--I half-expected that from an overrated and untested side--but that they didn't seem to care. After the last match the team uniformly blasted the referee, who awarded Ghana a penalty kick on an admittedly dubious call. But how can you complain when you didn't force the opposing keeper to make a single save?

Back in Ghana, nobody cared how they got their goals. There was pandemonium. Their government, flush with exuberance just because they had a chance to go through, proclaimed a national holiday. They shut down their gold mines so they could save enough electricity to power their televisions, because who needs one of the country's largest industries when you've got Brazil coming up next? Everyone just seemed to care so damn much about the outcome.

And then there was the U.S. sideline, where Coach Bruce Arena sort of weakly flopped his forearm at his team, turned his back to the field and walked into the tunnel. He'll go back to whatever he does when there isn't a World Cup going on--fishing, perhaps?--and the nation will go back to not really caring.

In the team's case, maybe they never did.