It’s hard to imagine that Soccer Soap Box is back. But after attending my third-ever World Cup game, it felt like a good time to let some words fly.

The first, Italy vs. Ireland in 1994, fueled the situationship I’m forever stuck in with the game that has had me travel, yell, scream, read, and yes, write.

The other two were the 2026 USA opener vs. Paraguay in Los Angeles and yesterday’s loss to Belgium.

Still smarting from that tepid performance, I was in search of perspective, something I pride myself on keeping.

However, a loss like that hurts.

But, for me at least, not exactly the way some passionate fans are feeling the disappointment.

Yes, that was a gut punch. The loss, and maybe worse, the manner of the loss, was a sad ending to a promising World Cup with promising players.

It’s that promise that got to me.

It turns out that I’m NOT actually the most passionate fan.  Let me explain.

I have attended US Men’s National team games since 1995.  Not nearly as many, though, as some of the mega-fans I’ve befriended or met along the way.

I can only guess though at what percentage of USMNT games I have missed watching in some format (usually on TV) since World Cup ’94.

I’d guess it’s around 10%.  Or less.

I sometimes attend.  But I nearly always watch.

Heck, I’m a card-carrying American Outlaws member and have been for as long as I can remember. And was a Sam’s Army member before that, if memory serves me.

Why does this matter?

When it comes to the US, I’ve been through some highs and lows. 

What hurts is not that we didn’t win the World Cup.  That was not happening in 2026.

It was that the team struck a very positive nerve, but for far too short a time.

It awoke soccer fans that had turned away from the team.  Some after 2018’s failure to qualify.  Some because they can’t be bothered if it’s not the Premiership.  Some, just because they aren’t “the best” in the world.

It created bandwagon joiners.

It put fuel on the fire the World Cup started that showed we are indeed a soccer nation – it’s just that like in our politics and so many things, we are many nations that don’t always acknowledge one another exist.

And the promise that we could be so much more.

As I said, I’m not the most passionate fan.  I’m a dedicated fan.  I’m a fan of the game.  I’m almost more of a fan of the sport succeeding than I am of any one team.

When Mrs. Soap Box and I participated in the pre-match festivities, marched across Seattle to the stadium and took in the crowd.  It could not have felt more different than when I struggled to find games to watch, had more than enough room in stadium lots to kick around (even with my bad passing) and attended so many “away” feeling home matches.

It felt like I was transplanted to another world altogether.

It was an emotional experience.  About progress.  About promise.  And about (soccer) passion.

The gut punch was knowing what another few news cycles could have done.

What a young talented bunch of players could do with more time in the limelight to turn more fans onto the game.

What more watch parties could mean for the next generation of players.

And it ended on a sour note because the team was, well, not great.

Don’t fret the loss. 

The real loss wasn’t advancing in the tournament; it was losing possibility of more breakthrough moments for soccer in America.

It’s OK to lose. This team wasn’t as good as Paraguay made them look. Losing was inevitable at some point.

One wishes they could have lost without looking lost, though.

It’s the risk that 90 tepid minutes of a US performance dampened that possibility for progress and soccer passion that was the gut punch for this old guy.

Newbies’ hopes were raised because of the hype, and lackluster showing created quite the fall from grace.

I hope the bandwagon stays full. That they continue to expect too much.  Continue to show up. And continue to support. Continue to criticize. Continue to march. That a young US jersey-clad player believes they have what it takes to fix what ails us.

If even some of that happens, then we can call this failure at least a partial success.