Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
We all knew it had to end eventually. We just hoped it would end with them hoisting that trophy over their heads.
In a hard fought game that saw it go into extra, and almost into a shootout had the U.S. tied it on a final attack, but the Americans lost 2-1 to Belgium. The U.S. surprised many by getting out of the group of death and thought they should be grateful for just making it to the knockout round, but something about this year felt special. I, among many, thought this U.S. team could go further. It just had that feeling that this team could do something special. It’s sad to see them go out, but they played their hearts out and you have to respect that.
Even though the U.S. lost (and they should keep their heads high after a good tournament), it’s an American who will be talked about when this game is discussed. That American, is goalkeeper Tim Howard.
We all knew Howard was a good goalkeeper. But I don’t think many knew just how good he really was. Well, now people do, as Howard set a World Cup record with 16 save on 17 shots on target. If you watched the game, you know that if Howard wasn’t in goal, this team had no chance of hanging with the Belgium team. The man jumped, slapped, dove, cartwheeled and pretty much anything and everything he could possibly do to make sure he kept Belgium off the board. But despite his record-setting performance, the opposition finally broke through his defenses and scored their first goal in the first half of extra time.
Even with the loss, fans from all over celebrated Howard’s performance, with Twitter exploding with countless tweets and turning him into an online celebrity for the moment.
https://twitter.com/Abercrombie/status/484090444381315073
I tried to follow Tim Howard on Twitter but I got blocked…
— I'm Shmacked (@ImShmacked) July 1, 2014
Tim Howard's wikipedia bio as of July 2014… Wouldn't argue with it #USA #WorldCup2014 pic.twitter.com/s3xsIHVyWg
— Balls.co.uk (@balls_uk) July 1, 2014
https://twitter.com/Zunair_Moh/status/484163298770681858
https://twitter.com/BBCSporf/status/484091401127612416
I can keep posting these forever, but then this post will never end.
When the next World Cup rolls around, Howard will be 39. If he retires or is not on the roster then due to age, then the new guy better take a look at this game and realize he has some big gloves to fill.
H/T: Twitter
