04/24/24
December 19, 2014
Chris Wondolowski Relives That Shot: "Wondolowski went back to the locker room and showered and dressed. Moments later, he did something that no athlete in the aftermath of failure should ever, under any circumstances, do: He checked Twitter." Jordan Ritter Conn of Grantland catches up with Chris Wondolowski, six months after the World Cup round of 16 game-winning goal that wasn't.
I'm a pretty big USMNT fan, but if that shot goes in, the result is completely counter to the rest of the game. The Belgians should have beaten the US by five goals at least. I don't mind too much that the better team advanced.
posted by sbacharach at 02:25 PM on December 19, 2014
Bah. Brazil vs. Germany was a provincial matter for residents of those countries. Wondolowski's miss was a Wagnerian epic that will never be forgotten.
But I like him anyway for taking his lumps. So close!
It's weird to say we should've lost by five goals because our keeper was so good and he was tested again and again. Does anyone ever say that kind of thing when the person playing at the height of his talents is a striker?
posted by rcade at 02:26 PM on December 19, 2014
I don't mind too much that the better team advanced.
It's a different kind of disappointment than that. Wondo's miss stole a great story from us. The fact that Belgium was so good made Howard look that much more the magician and made the story that much better. The improbability of it was the draw. Then comes the improbable miss. The fact that Wondolowski is a grinder and an all around nice guy almost makes it worse as he would have made a great hero.
posted by tron7 at 04:07 PM on December 19, 2014
Does anyone ever say that kind of thing when the person playing at the height of his talents is a striker?
Sure. Pretty much every week on Football Weekly you hear some team should have won by 6 and it's not because the other keeper was amazing. It is strange in general a typically low-scoring sport inspires that kind of hyperbole though. No one post Brazil/ Germany was saying Germany should have won by 12, were they?
posted by yerfatma at 08:57 AM on December 22, 2014
To be honest, as a non-American I had completely forgot about that game (and that miss) until I read this headline.
The most memorable game for me is still the vivisection of Brazil by the Germans in the semi-finals.