What happens when you smash a clearance straight into some power lines? It’s a thought we’ve all had while playing on a rural pitch that has the conductors running along the sidelines. However, it’s a tantalizing question that few of us have ever acted upon — not even our resident scientist, who got his PhD in soccer science from Johnny Hopkins, knew the answer to this one.
An upset in sports is a tale of the split-screen day. One team — the emboldened underdog — rides the highest of highs, storming the field and reveling in its victory as it has just pulled off the seemingly impossible. The other team — the deflated heavyweight — is humbled and humiliated, slumping off into the locker room and being forced to grapple with a reality it had never considered.
November 5, 2010, was one of those split-screen days.
Mexico, the emboldened underdog. The United States, the deflated heavyweight.