Last week, Greg Ryan, the coach of the U.S. womens world cup team, made probably the biggest bone-headed mistake in the history of the game. He replaced his goalie, Hope Solo, who had won every game to date, with Brianna Scurry who had not played a single minute in the entire tournament.
This change led to a 4-0 drubbing of the U.S. women at the hands of a team that had never won the world cup, Brazil. The fact that Brianna Scurry allowed the U.S. team to take the worst beating in the 22 year history of women's world cup soccer lens nothing to her credibility and legacy which should have ended in 2004.
Taking nothing away from Brazil's play, it is the decision of Greg Ryan which created one of the biggest maelstroms in sporting history. After the match, Hope Solo spoke with the media, criticizing both Ryan and Scurry's play. While this might seem out of place and according to some, unacceptable, people are quick to forget that Scurry did the same thing in 2004. However the reaction was very different.
Now the U.S. team has isolated Hope Solo and doesnt even want to ride home in the same airplane with her. This type of reaction shows the type of team mates she has. People who are not only pompous asses, but also very vindictive little witches. Instead of accepting Hope Solo's apology a day later, they choose to cast her out and treat her exactly like they would in Communist China.
It is embarrassing that the team from the country which exposes free speech and freedom of press, is more akin to a pack of out of control witch hunters and Stalinist types. Maybe she should have been taken out and executed. Maybe that would have placated these sniveling little girls.
I for one will not be watching the U.S. womens soccer team until the wrongs done in China are corrected. Yes, Hope threw her coach and her team mate under the bus. But they definitely deserved it. And the way her team mates reacted is nothing more than mob law and wholely unacceptable.
