US-Belgium From My Nervous Spot

My side bio note says I get excited about things like the Duel in the Pool, so obviously I get excited about the World Cup and feel surges of national pride during it. I hate when people say the US is not good at soccer--I feel like being ranked 13th in the world, doing the best in North American qualifying, and making it out of difficult group stages at the World Cup twice in a row is pretty good. And boy, did the US Men's National Team put up a good fight, especially today against Belgium.

The view from my "nervous spot."

Well, it happened without me realizing it, but I have a "nervous spot," as in a spot I go during sporting events when my heart rate races to absurd levels and I just can't take it anymore. This spot is right behind my sitting spot, overlooking my couch (allowing me to lean on it) and with a direct view of the TV. During particularly fingernail-biting times, it gives me easy access to walk across the house, and I can jump and crouch from the spot without hurting myself or knocking anything off my walls or putting any dents into my walls. And when something good happens during a nervous period (like Greene scoring that goal against Belgium), I can go crazy with no fear.

This game against Belgium, I spent an inordinate amount of time in my nervous spot. I watched the highs and the lows from that spot. I wish the US had won, but it was a great effort by the men's team and I'm proud of how well they did. I'll continue watching the World Cup (of course), and then it's time to start getting excited for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, which probably require a lot more time in that spot!

And because despite the result of today's game I still love America (duh!), here are 50 Great Facts about the 50 States: