Yesterday, Japan won the Women’s World Cup in amazing fashion, coming back from behind twice and winning on penalty kicks. They beat the American squad that I raved so much about last week.
The Japanese displayed their own brand of “never quit” attitude. It was tough not to root for them as the spirited underdog.
The entire match was riveting, with the US squandering chance after chance in the first half, only to score in the second half and overtime, before Japan would equalize with the Americans minutes from victory both times. Japan didn’t have many chances, but when they did, they made the most of them.
Watching the game, you could almost sense that Japan would win. You could see their fighting spirit, their will to win. After all, the players were doing it for their friends and family back home, and for a recovering nation.
Photo credit: Franck Robichon/EPA/Lanov
Just several months ago, on March 11, Japan suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 23,000 dead. The nation needed a team to get behind.
As Japan made its way through the tournament, it gained fans all around the world. After each game, the team held out a banner saying, “To our Friends Around the World – Thank You for Your Support.”
The World Cup win capped a storybook ending.
Sometimes, that’s the amazing thing about sports. It can bring a nation together at the worst of times.
Earlier today, I saw one of the best soccer games I’ve ever seen.
In the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals, the US Women’s National Team beat Brazil 5-3 in penalty kicks after playing to a 2-2 tie after regulation and overtime.
It was a very back and forth game featuring two of the top teams in the world. But it was the way one side played that was so inspiring. The US squad, despite being down a player for most of the game, kept fighting and pushing. It looked like their efforts were all going to be for naught when this happened in the very last minute of extra stoppage time in overtime:
The way the US was playing, they deserved to win. But after having watched so many sports events over my life, I knew that the best team didn’t always win… Moments before the tying goal, the TV commentator even said that it looked like the Americans would go down in their worst performance in Women’s World Cup (they’ve never lost before the semi-finals). I was starting to give up hope too.
And then a kick here and a header there, and GOALLLLLLLL! Such an exciting and exhilarating play. Scoring in the 122nd minute, it was the latest goal scored from the run of play in Women’s World Cup history.
The rest of the game highlights:
Recently, US national soccer teams sure have a flair for the dramatic.
President Barack Obama will be holding a live town hall using Twitter on July 6.
It’s going to be a live webcast with Obama fielding questions from the Twitter about jobs and the economy. Anyone can participate in the talk by submitting questions via the askobama.twitter.com website or by using the hashtag #AskObama. There’s also an official Twitter account for the town hall, @townhall that users can follow to get more updates.
I think this town hall is remarkable and groundbreaking. Town halls and political debates have moved from in-person to radio to television to the Internet. I’m glad that we elected a president that is so willing to embrace innovation and change. Active on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Obama is connecting with the American people all over the social network landscape.
The event next week speaks to the power of social media and how it is becoming a legitimate tool for communication and dialogue. I’ll definitely be tuning in. Check out the live webcast July 6 at 11am PT (2pm ET).
Technology and social media are amazing.
This past weekend, I was at Portola Redwoods State Park for a San Mateo High Cross Country reunion campout!
It was really great to see Coach Tuff and her family and all my running buddies from high school. We went on a hilly hike and joked about how we weren’t in shape anymore haha. Back in the day, we ran up those hills everyday, over and over again.
Being a reunion of sorts, I enjoyed catching up and just being in everyone’s company once again. I can’t believe it’s already been over four years since I graduated from high school and the team. We shared a lot of “Remember when…” and “I can’t believe we used to do that…”
I think Alex put it best by saying, “When I run all-out now… and remember the feeling of the races, I do kind of wonder sometimes why I kept doing it. I think it was mostly the team dynamic.”
We all came out for cross country, each for similar or different reasons, and ran hundreds to thousands of miles together. We pushed each other, raced each other, supported each other. All those mile repeats, hill workouts, long runs, and races brought us together, as a team and as friends. I joined cross country because it was the one sport that fit my schedule, but ended up loving every part of it.
The aches and pains of running so many miles probably wouldn’t have been so tolerable if it were not for my teammates toughing it out through beside me. There was almost a natural camaraderie, from shared effort and struggle. Somehow we all survived, with the best words to say about it too.
Let’s make this reunion campout an annual event :)
Photo credit: Carrie Peralta (Thanks for organizing!)
A few days ago, a news story broke about a man in North Carolina who robbed a bank in order to get medical care in jail.
According to the article, “Earlier this month, James Richard Verone, a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up.
He’s now in jail and has an appointment with a doctor this week.”
In the economic downturn, Verone had recently lost his job as a Coca Cola deliveryman and had difficulty finding new permanent employment. His labor-intensive work had taken a toll on his body and he started experiencing back ache and had problems with his left foot, making him limp. Verone also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. When he noticed a protrusion on his chest, he couldn’t wait any longer and thought up the bank robbery plan to get health care.
James Verone (Photo credit: Ben Goff/The Gaston Gazette)
I’ve always believed that health care is a basic right and that everyone deserves medical treatment if needed. I think it’s sad that Verone had to make the choice that he did. If it wasn’t apparent before, his story cements the fact that the US health care system is broken.
It makes me wonder how petty politics can be sometimes, that it takes such a long battle for health reform bills to pass through government. I mean, a man broke the law, in order to get medical treatment… America spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, and this happens? Clearly, big changes are needed.
Hopefully this can serve as a wake-up call.
Verone committed a crime and is going to jail for it. But I’d argue that it’s a crime against humanity and our society that an honest, hard-working citizen of the United States was pushed to this point just to get what should be a fundamental right: health care.