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U.S. fans cheer as Korea helps out
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- "Ko-rea! Ko-rea! Ko-rea!" is not a common chant to be heard on the streets of the American capital. But U.S. soccer fans were belting it out on Friday morning as South Korea's 1-0 win over Portugal put the Americans through to the second round of the World Cup, despite their surprising 3-1 loss to already-eliminated Poland. "I feel like I've aged five years in the last 20 minutes," graduate student Seth Kamens said, as the final whistle blew in Washington's aptly-named "Lucky Bar." Handwringing and slumped postures gave way to jubilant leaps and cheers as a 71st minute goal from South Korea's Park Ji-Sung offered a ray of hope for the Americans to banish their 1998 World Cup demons. Easily the worst team at France 98 after losing all three of their first round matches, the U.S. managed to scrape through to the last 16 this time around, notching up a historic 3-2 win en route against touted potential champions Portugal. But while fans in major European capitals have been able to commiserate or celebrate together in front of giant outdoor screens, supporters in Washington had to make do with meeting in the handful of city bars screening the match. "We came all the way from Annapolis to watch the game here in D.C. because no bars in our area were showing it," said Dave Bauer, a teacher who made the 35-mile (56-km) trip. In this bastion of globalization, the world's most global game is still considered a sporting minnow and trails baseball, basketball and ice hockey. To most Americans, football players are those wearing protective padding and scoring touchdowns, while soccer remains an arena for women and children. U.S. President George W. Bush has yet to cash on the soccer team's success as he does with traditional American sports and as world leaders from Britain's Tony Blair to Japan's Junichiro Koizumi have done since the World Cup kicked off. SUCCESS MAY POWER SPORT FORWARD But the die-hard soccer-fans, who hauled themselves out of bed for the 7:30 a.m. deciders, said they hoped the U.S. performance in Asia would power the sport forward and make the men's team as popular as the women's, which won the world title in 1999. "If we hadn't got through today, we would have had to wait another four years for people to get interested," 40-year-old Steve Pearcy said before heading in late to his job at the National Cathedral. "Americans are fickle. We only like a sport if we win it. That's why women's soccer is more successful," he added. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel, probably better known in England where he plays for premier league club Blackburn Rovers than in his home country, was singled out by many fans as the U.S. player of the tournament so far. "Friedel's now the hero, His penalty save against the South Koreans earlier in the week kept us in it," said Alex Hurst, one of the few fans sporting a U.S. soccer strip. It is not the first time the United States has progressed past the group stage in recent tournaments -- as hosts in 1994, they upset South American rivals Colombia 2-1 in the opening phase but lost to Brazil in the last 16. They now face an all-Americas clash with Mexico on June 17 but fans back home were cautious about their team's chances after Friday's sketchy performance. "Mexico are playing phenomenally and we'll have to raise our game from today's chaos," 26-year-old Kamens said. But whatever fate holds in store for the U.S. team, one thing is sure. Their passage into the second round will give soccer another week of local media attention -- a shot in the arm it desperately needs. Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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