It was as disappointing a loss as an American fan could face. Leading into the match, the anticipation was high. We left Cologne before noon, riding a train filled with other U.S. fans who were thrilled that this day, so long looked forward to, had finally come.

When we arrived in Gelsenkirchen after about an hour, we found thousands of Americans already there, singing and celebrating. There was an Elvis or two, a Captain America, several Uncle Sams, George Washington, and an inspired group of five dressed as the Harlem Globetrotters. Friends who hadn't seen each other since the last World Cup were getting reacquainted and the big thing on everybody's mind was how many more of us there were than before. When we finally arrived at our seats in the stadium, the fans were already in good voice, singing and cheering--not just the typical "USA, USA" chant, but some real live soccer songs that had been modified and otherwise adapted for our own use. It had all the makings of a watershed day for American soccer.

That dream began to crumble early on as Jan Koller headed a ball past Kasey Keller only five minutes into the match. The high point for the U.S. came when Claudio Reyna put a shot off the inside of the post, leaving us all to wonder later what the game would have been like if the ball had been just three inches to the right.

By the end of the match, it had all gone wrong. The anticipated excitement had turned into a nightmare. Every mistake the U.S. made was punished in the harshest possible way, with a goal by their opponents. The swing in emotion to bitter dread was dramatic, with the expectant fans left waiting at the altar by their team.

The worst part of it was that the U.S., generally speaking, just didn't seem to care. There was not enough fire in the team, not enough hunger. They had better rediscover it soon or it's going to be a long, long time until 2010.