Good Brooks: An Unlikely Hero Heads American Futbol Into the Spotlight

By: Kevin Saad

Five short months ago, John Anthony Brooks was training with the Hertha Berlin reserve team in Germany, struggling to make an impact on his mid-level German club. Last Monday, the German-American, born to a Chicago serviceman, became an American sports folk legend when he banged a header past Ghana goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey to give the USA a shocking lead and win against a Ghanaian team that had haunted the USA for 8 years.

It was a story that almost seemed like a Hollywood script.  The 21 year old kid was a surprising addition to Klinsmann’s 23 man roster for Brazil and wasn’t likely to see time with Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler making up the solid central defense pairing. But when Besler went down with an injury, Brooks was subbed in at the start of the second half and suddenly was thrown into an extremely tense situation.

It was the ultimate trial by fire. Brooks passed his test with flying colors and more. After snuffing out a flurry of crosses by Ghana for 35 minutes, the US defense finally let in a goal in the 82^nd minute and every USA fan began to feel that familiar feeling of struggle when it comes to playing Ghana. The Black Stars refused to go quietly.

However, Brooks’ defining moment was about to arrive. After Fabien Johnson won a corner kick, Sporting KC star Graham Zusi swung in a perfect cross to Brooks, who sent bars and watch parties around America into a frenzy with his powerful header.

The goal signaled an arrival of the national team in the United States. We hear all the time about “when will soccer arrive in America” and “the lack of excitement” in these games. These are both cases of lazy, old, out of touch journalists (Michael Wilbon, Bill Plaschke, Mike Francesa) who don’t expose the sport to the masses because they simply know nothing about the game and have no educated stance on the topic. If they attempted to have a serious conversation about the sport, they would be taken as seriously as a man from Belarus trying to talk about the NFL Playoffs.

For example, Francesa asked questions on his radio show Tuesday such as “Are there guys who kick with both legs?” to his “World Cup Expert”, the Saint John’s University men’s soccer coach. This incredibly stupid conversation just shows how some dinosaurs need to die off in order for this sport to truly hit the mainstream.

Even with this media trolling, Brooks’ goal still made waves around the country with clever headlines such as “Johnny Futbol” and gave ESPN their highest rated programming since Jameis Winston’s performance in the BCS title game.

A nation was captivated and in addition to the USA game, the entire tournament has been a major success. Besides the extremely scrutinized protests in Brazil during the tournament, everything else has gone off without a hitch. Goals aplenty from superstar players like Neymar, Arjen Robben, and Lionel Messi and instant classic games (USA v Ghana, Spain v Chile, England v Italy), have led to the ratings on both ESPN and Univision being through the roof and we still have more than half of the tournament to go.

The conversation around the water cooler has changed from MLB midseason games and NBA Finals talk to where to watch 6:00 PM ET World Cup game. It has become must watch TV and even the out of touch, aging sports media (Francesa) cannot deny that.

Now that Ghana has been defeated, the focus shifts toward a banged up Portugal side who were trounced 4-0 against Germany. This huge loss cost more than just three points and lots of dignity. Injuries to Hugo Almeida, Fabio Coentrao, and possibly Cristiano Ronaldo have Portugal limping into the huge match against the USA. Starting central defender Pepe was also red carded against Germany and will miss the USA match. With these huge stars missing or in doubt, things are looking good for the United States. Here are the important things to watch.

1.)    Michael Bradley - Bradley is clearly one of the standouts on this USA team and is the engine that makes it all happen. One of the reasons for the lack of chances after the early goal was the Ghana defenders smothering Bradley. His rare off night on the world’s biggest stage can’t carry over into Sunday if the USA want to leave Manaus with a W. All eyes will be on the Toronto FC midfielder as he tries to solidify his legacy with the national team by helping his team escape the Group of Death.

2.)    Set pieces (free kicks, penalties, and corners) - We all know how important the Brooks goal was for the USA, so continuing to create good chances from corners and free kicks is essential. Pepe’s suspension means that Portugal will have an inexperienced center back pairing, which means Alejandro Bedoya and Graham Zusi will need to be swinging in quality crosses all day long to challenge Portugal’s defense. If they can knock in an early set piece goal and catch Portugal sleeping like Clint Dempsey did to Ghana, the USA can dictate the pace of the game and really get their confidence to a new high. Conversely, Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler (or possibly John Brooks) will need to be on point for all 90 minutes of the match to hold off Portugal’s attack and specifically………

3.)    Cristiano Ronaldo- You know the name. You know the talent. You know the hair. And you now know about his nagging knee problems. Ronaldo has been nursing knee problems since the epic Champions League Final against Atletico Madrid in May and will definitely not be 100% for the game. Regardless of his health, Ronaldo realizes the pressure that he and Portugal are under after the Germany embarrassment and he will need to perform at his highest level to silence his critics. If he does come out with all cylinders firing, the US defense will need to swarm him, not allow him to create and essentially make his day a living hell. If not, we could be looking at another dramatic, shirtless celebration as Ronaldo leads Portugal to a big win.

Regardless of what goes down Sunday, the match will be a huge success for ratings around the United States. With the huge crowd already engaged from the Ghana match (more viewers tuned in than for the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, or the U.S Open), the interest and excitement is only growing for this USA team. Add in the casual fan, teenage girl, and Eurosnob fascination of Cristiano Ronaldo on a Sunday evening on ESPN in the summertime and you have a viewership gold mine on your hands. So enjoy a lazy Sunday this weekend and let’s hope Cristiano Ronaldo has the same idea, so that the Red, White, and Blue can keep marching forward.

Agree or disagree with Kevin's take on the excitement surrounding USA soccer? Leave a comment below the link.

Be sure to follow Kevin on Twitter (@KevinSaad93) and tune into his radio show, The Beef, on St. Joseph's University Radio in the fall.

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