Soccer - Team Usa - Coming Of Age - 2002 World Cup

Rating:
Summary: A mediocre presentation of an unforgettable event
Review: The sad thing about being a soccer/football fan in the USA about our national team's fantastic showing in Korea/Japan 2002 was that by the time people in this country actually started to follow the team, the Germans had already broken our hearts and knocked us out. Such is the fate of a sport most people play but rarely follow due to a B-level professional league in an A-level country. And the fact that all the games were played in the morning here couldn't've helped matters, either.

Anyway, this 60-minute DVD is a nice keepsake of Team USA's run to the Last 8 of the world's most prestigious sporting event. It is a bit pricey (only true fans need apply), and for some reason there are no player interviews or other soundbites following the Group Stage games (and no interviews at all of Bruce Arena, the architect of this adventure and a man whose stature rose enough due to its result that none other than the Italian FA was considering his hiring for their own national side...thankfully he's still here, as there is unfinished business at hand). Hearing the players' and the coaches' reflections upon passing farther in the tourney than any US team since 1930 (the first year the World Cup was contested) would have been a nice addition.

There is plenty of action, though...significant game footage is shown of all the USA's matches (especially the opener with Portugal, one of the best matches of the tournament), naturally all the goals and replays from various angles...and the commentary if from the UK coverage of the event (which saves us from listening to ESPN's), so we get to watch the highlights without listening to too much unnecessary blather. For the money there should be more; I'd like to think FIFA would have approved a better package for one of the best World Cups ever, but I'm sure their bottom line was the determining factor. At close to thirty dollars a throw someone's doing pretty well from it.

Followers of USA Soccer and members of "Sam's Army" can't do without this one, to be sure...see you in Germany in 2006; we owe Ballack & Co. a little somethin':-)

Rating:
Summary: US Soccer's Proudest Moment
Review: Whether you stayed up till the wee hours of the morning to watch our first match of the 2002 World Cup against HEAVILY favored Portugal, who at the time were ranked 4th in the world, or not, this DVD is a must for any supporter of real Football. Re-live us going 3 nil up on the Portugeese as Figo and company could do nothing, Clint Mathis' settling then hammering of our first strike that temporarily silenced the partisan Korean crowd, the EXPECTED thrashing of Mexico, (we've been running them ragged since the early 90's), and the heartache of the wrongly disallowed goal we put in against Germany that sent us home, (thanks Hugh Dallas, grrr). There was a match vs. Poland too, aparently...I think, (-; ...it's here as well and it looks like we lost that one??? (The cover of this DVD has Landon Donovan celebrating a goal against the Poles that was called off-sides! Oops).
Arena, Donovan, Reyna, Friedel and company laid the Fluke of '98 to rest, making this DVD worth every cent to Americans who love the beautiful game. Now we have to follow through by qualifying for Germany '06 and doing better than 2002. Come on you boys in white!!!