Rarely do I agree with the NY Post but this time they got it right
In the USA, the World Cup is always almost the only portal to the sport for the non soccer fan.
There are hundreds of thousands who come alive every four years and take to the forums, some to understand this other world phenomenon. Mostly to call bullpucky on a sport that they do not consider a sport played by puny mortals who score few goals and seem to dive a lot.
But irrespective of their levels of abhorrence, bemusement, or ignorance about the game, they understand two things. A magnificent fightback and getting robbed by a referee. It happens in every sport.
The USA with their second half brilliance and the machinations of Koman Coulibaly to deny them a win have united a country behind their team.
There is a seismic shift when MLB forums are discussing how Jim Joyce could teach Koman Coulibaly a thing or two about sporting etiquette. It is strange to hear “our team” on the lips of friends and colleagues who have never taken the USMNT or the sport seriously. The picture of Maurice Edu scoring that called back goal and Michael Bradley being mugged is now indelibly etched on the sporting psyche of this nation.
Koman Coulibaly might have done the popularity of the sport in this country a whole lot of good as pointed out by Brooks Peck.