By Cat Whitehill

As the end of group play looms at the World Cup, I think back to my experience watching these games and wow, I have had so much fun. My husband, Robert, actually told me that he thinks that I have probably watched the most World Cup games of anyone in the world unless it was there job to watch the games. And yes, Robert, you are right.

I have every game Tivoed, but even better, I have been able to watch most of them live because my "work" schedule has allowed me to do so. Every morning I would wake up to catch the early 7:30 a.m. game, then I would walk the dogs, come back and watch as much of the second game as possible (this is where I would have to leave for practice), come home and watch the 2:30 p.m. game and then watch the rest of the 9:30 a.m. game that I missed.

I look at each game as a way to get better at my own game. I really look at the center defenders and the outside backs just to see what they would do, their reactions to different situations, how they would go forward, tackle, and basically everything else that a defender must do and now I want to emulate these players.

Advertisement
The World Soccer Shop has the best selection of soccer jerseys and other soccer gear that you will find online. Check it out and the next time you need some soccer gear, please shop through links on Soccer365. The World Soccer Shop is based in the U.S. and provide replica soccer jerseys as well as team soccer kits to deck out the entire squad.

I REALLY loved watching Patrice Evra from France (yes, I know they are out way too early), but I think he is one of the best outside backs in the world. The way he defends, the way he goes forwards, and then to watch him captain the French during such a terrible time was quite interesting.

As for center defenders, I LOVE Pique from Spain. Spain is my favorite team besides the US and I just rarely see Pique get beat plus he is one of the few center backs that goes forward about as much as his outside backs. Of course I love the goals that are being scored, but there is a reason why, besides the Portugal game, most of these games are low scoring-DEFENSE!

By far the best moment of the World Cup is Landon Donovan's goal in the 91st minute. I actually gave a speech yesterday to the Boystown of Washington DC and I talked about perseverance. I talked how just about everyone in the country had discounted the US and was looking at going back to their work day discounting US Soccer once again. The sports shows in the US would have harped on the bad calls once again and that would be all that was focused on rather than the effort that the US gave us.

Instead, the United States kept pushing. Tim Howard threw the ball 300 yards (sarcasm) out of pure adrenaline, Landon finally touched the ball forward to set up his eventual goal, and the best player on the pitch that day Jozy Altidore made the run and the cross to Dempsey. This is when my heart sank once again. Poor Dempsey, he deserved a goal in that game because he also played amazing and with the bad offside call and the post being in his way, he fell slightly short. Then came Landon....Following the shot, he had the calmness to put the ball in the corner away from the keeper. I jumped up so high, scared my dogs from all my screaming, and called my mom right away so I had someone to talk to about everything. I saw the way the guys reacted after the game and chills ran down my spine and tears rolled down my face. I was such a proud American at that moment and I lived on cloud nine the rest of the day.

With Portugal, Brazil, Spain, and Chile closing out the end of a wonderful first round, I am sad to see my normal routine go. With that said, I am excited to watch these last amazing sixteen teams compete against each other where every second, every pass, and every touch matters All of these games inspire me and make me want to be a better player.

When I play Philadelphia this Saturday, I want to play just like some of these men play and I want to play with that same passion. These guys have persevered through tough seasons, long pre-seasons, and now their hard work is paying off. I have done the same in my career and I hope that my hard work and perseverance pays off in the latter part of this season. I know that I am going to do my best because of the inspiration from these men in this word cup, and I hope that you soccer players or whatever you do are also inspired by how hard these men have worked and persevere in whatever endeavor you may take. What an amazing World Cup already and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds in the next two weeks!

Until next time,
Cat