Playing in the World Cup is an amazing experience.
It’s great to be associated with, not only the No. 1 sport in the world, but the No. 1 sporting event.
The world is watching you.
It might not be looked at in the U.S. as the greatest sport, but when people live and die with the sport, it’s amazing.
It was a lifelong dream of mine, ever since I was a kid, to play in the event. I remember when I was 9 or 10 watching (Diego) Maradona in the 1986 World Cup. I told myself that’s what I wanted to do.
It’s hard to put into words the feeling when you step up and represent your country. The event itself, to put in layman’s terms, is like the difference between playing in an NFL game and the Super Bowl. All eyes are on you. There are millions of people watching the game.
The thought of, “Hey, this is the highest level, the biggest tournament, the best thing you want to win in your sport, not just in the U.S., but worldwide,” adds to the pressure and the excitement.
More people knew who I was. The great thing about that is I’ll speak in these terms: If you are a college basketball fan, you end up watching March Madness. If you aren’t a soccer fan, everybody is still watching the World Cup and rooting for the U.S. or their country. Not only the avid soccer fans are watching.
Scoring is something I’ll never forget. I’ll get to tell my kids about it.
It was an amazing feeling. Everybody asks me how great the feeling is of playing in front of 80,000 people. The better feeling is having 80,000 people rooting against you and silencing them. That’s what happened against South Korea.
About the Author
