My Divided Loyalty

9.0 earthquake. 600mph tsunami. Radiation fallout. 25,000 deaths or missing. Thousands injured. 400 aftershocks. Entire towns wiped off the face of the earth. 500,000 people displaced. Costs of damages in excess of $350Billion. This all happened to the densely populated east coast of Japan on March 11 when a trifecta of disasters descended upon the land of the rising sun.

Arguably, it was the worst human disaster in the modern history of our planet. And the horrible memory of this natural cataclysm of events and the ongoing suffering of the Japanese people hangs grimly over this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup 2011.
Tomorrow, Sunday afternoon on ESPN (check local listings), the superior USA team, #1 in the world, meets the heavy-hearted Japanese national team, #4 in the world, in the women's finals from Frankfurt, Germany, to decide the winner of this World Cup. For me, as much as I want the red, white and blue to win, I equally, if not more so, want Japan to win.

For America, a win would be another well-earned and deserved victory against the very best in the world. Their trophy case which already includes two previous World Cups in '91 and '99 would have to make room for another. America is stacked with talent. Led by two anchors: the ancient warrior, 5'-11 forward Abby Wambach from Rochester, New York (#20 above in the picture heading the ball in for the deciding goal against France in the semi-final), only 31 years old yet old as dirt in the world of soccer; and, by the headstrong and eristic goalie, Hope Solo from Richland, Washington. This team is defined by their Swedish coach, Pia Sundhage, who said, "We are never down and out. We may lose our legs. Our legs may get heavy. But we win. We have alot of heart." They are a team described as fast, physical, big play gals, determined and they play as a cohesive unit. They are on a 9 game winning streak at crunch time. If they defeat the Japanese team, they will party like it's 1999 all over again.

For Japan, if they win it would be their first victory ever in World Cup play but, more importantly, it would mean so much more to an entire damaged nation. As their coach Norio Sasaki said, "So many victims were hit by the disaster. Even little things, like a win, can give people courage and hope to move on." But they, little David, face tough odds, against the huge Goliath. In 25 tries, the Japan team has never beaten the Americans. They are small. But what they lack in size, they overcompensate with technical brilliance, adept passing and ball control. With foot magicians and scorers like Sawa and Sameshina (who worked at the doomed Fukushima Daiichi Nuke Plant), they remain in games until the final whistle. But what really binds them all together is the hopeful recovery of their motherland. They play in no small measure to help heal a broken nation. That's a heavy load to bear. As Hope Solo said about the Japanese team, "The Japanese are playing for something bigger and better than the game. When you are playing against a team with so much emotion and heart, it's hard to play against that."

So the stage is set for an incredible contest tomorrow. In fact, it's the event in sports for the year to date. Will pure talent and the collective will of teammates prevail over a team that plays with great emotion, skill and joyful purpose? Millions around the globe will be glued to the tube as this question is answered.

In closing, before every game the Japanese national team have played since that fateful March day, they display a banner held by teammates for the world to see. It reads simply:
To Our Friends Around the World. Thank you for Your Support.
They use the world's stage to thank us for something much larger than a game. With the utmost respect and love for my own national team, how can I not root for a team with such humble gratitude?

DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT!