DAVE KINCHEN ONLINE

It was a tough loss last night for American soccer fans but what a journey it has been, and what a national following at that!

The United States mens national soccer team fell 2-1 to the Belgians in the end of the Round of 16. In typical form for this year, Belgium rallied towards end to put some points on the board after going toe to toe, 0-0 for most of the game.

By many accounts, the US of A already scored a soccer victory despite the loss.  Quite a few analysts didn’t expect us to make it this far, yet here we were with a chance to reach the World Cup quarter finals for the first time since 2002.

Yet, something else happened.  Did you see all of that red white and blue?

It was everywhere, and beyond t-shirts and flags.  I saw it in the form of sunglasses, face paint, capes, even full bodysuits while covering a game watch at a Center City bar.

Sure, some of it was…creative, and then there were the fun “I believe that we will win!” chants which were greatly assisted by these guys.

It was fantastic to see that enthusiasm, and not just for our soccer team but for our country.  The fans I saw ranged in age from 20 somethings, to people a bit older.  There was so much excitement and a common bond.  We don’t see that too much these days.  We are constantly divided by politics, other issues and our different walks of life.  But none of that mattered in recent weeks.

We were united as Americans and many of us actually became professional soccer fans for the first time!

We don’t always find these moments of unity and I think we should treasure them when they pop up.

(And if it’s any consolation, at least we can go back to our Belgian waffles without shame!)