Soccer is not just about scoring goals - it’s about winning.

On my way out of a Real game one night last year, PJ and I overheard a guy talking to his young son about the sport. The son was told that Real isn’t very good because they get most of their goals in stopped play. Now, for those of you who don’t follow the sport, this means that instead of scoring during regular play, they score during a penalty kick or free kick. (These might sound like the same thing, but they are not) At the time, we laughed at him. He is right, to some degree, and he definitely is trying to teach his son about the sport (in his own kind of way) but the thing is, it’s not just exclusive to Real. Most of the teams in this sport score this way, its how most of the scoring in this sport take place.
As I was watching the USA v Poland game last night, (which the US won, 3-0) 2 of our goals were scored off of free kicks, and the other goal was scored off a corner kick. Now, according to the previous guy, this would mean the USA isn’t very good, right? Now, to that I say a resounding no! They are the cream of the crop of the United States, the best we have to offer. We might not be as good as some other countries (Mexico and England are a few that come to mind) but that’s because as a nation, we’re still pretty new to the sport, in comparison. Yes, we’ve been around for many years, but in comparison to other countries, we’re still newbie’s at this. But we’ve gotten better. We’re not ranked in the top, (we’re currently in 28th place, ouch) but we’re improving, year by year. Just look at some of the people we have had and currently have, and you can’t help but be impressed! Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, Clint Dempsey, Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, Eddie Pope, Eric Wynalda, these guys are amazing to watch. They have undeniably awesome skills, and they understand everything about the game. I can’t wait for the next world cup, so we can see how awesome we have become.
So it doesn’t matter if you score your goals off a play or off a kick. A goal is a goal, and to get any in soccer means you have what it takes. So play on, dear Real, and don’t worry about the haters. Score the goals any way you want, and I’ll be there to cheer you on.