There Is No Cat

Insomnia has its benefits

For some reason, my eyes popped open at four a.m. this morning, and after 20 minutes of trying and completely failing to fall back asleep, I gave in and got out of bed, figuring I could watch a World Cup match that should be starting in a few minutes. I didn’t even realize that it was going to the United States’ opening match against Portugal. I stumbled downstairs, turned on the TV, and was rewarded with one of the most exciting soccer matches I’ve ever seen. John O’Brien’s goal in the fourth minute was a complete shock, and if I was at all sleepy before that, I sure wasn’t afterward. The game was riveting, and I had to keep my cheers down so I wouldn’t wake Laura, who was getting all the sleep I couldn’t. Landon Donovan looked as stunned as Portugal when his cross was deflected into the net; I think "sheepish" best describes the look on his face. Brian McBride’s goal at 37 minutes was just a thing of beauty. That first shocking goal seemed to take all the air out of Portugal, who never really played well. The last five minutes or so were dull as the US tried to run out the clock, but aside from that, it was wonderful. I’d have to disagree with those who said this was a bigger upset than Senegal over France; that had politics and history and stuff involved that made it more than a game. But this was pretty darned huge itself.

The game that followed, Germany vs. Ireland, was pretty good. I thought Germany totally outclassed Ireland, who played mostly a defensive game and never seemed to do much more than thwonk the ball as far as they could out of their own area when clearing. That was about as far from The Beautiful Game as you could get. But it sure ended amazingly, with Ireland scoring a goal mere seconds before the end of stoppage time. Ireland stole a point, and Germany missed out on a chance to cruise into the second round while hardly breaking a sweat. Sure, it was a tie, but you wouldn’t have known that by the way the Irish team whooped it up on the pitch afterward, nor by by the way the Germans slunk off.

I keep waking up between 4 and 4:30 am this week, and I keep getting to see the World Cup as a result. This morning made it worth it.

Posted at 3:39 PM