Moment of Strange

The USA women's soccer team takes on Japan on Sunday in the Women's World Cup final. The game will begin at 2:45 p.m ET on ESPN. In the quarterfinals against Brazil, the U.S. came back in the 122nd minute after Abby Wambach scored on an incredible header to tie the match at two. They went on to win in a penalty shootout and then dominated France 3-1 in the semifinals. Despite getting shut out by England in the group stage, Japan managed to crush Germany and then take down Sweden in the semifinals. Women World Cup Final Soccer

Kondo rose in his seat on the patio at Hobnob Neighborhood Tavern in Midtown Atlanta. He beamed, took a sip of beer, liked it so much he took a second. Then he smiled at the TV. Its big screen flicked back the facts: Japan, where Kondo was born, had just tied the United States, 2-2, in the Women’s World Cup Soccer championship. Let the record show that Kondo, celebrating his 39th birthday Sunday afternoon, also had something else to cheer: Japan beat the United States, 3-1 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw . It was the sort of game fans of soccer – or football, for you purists – like: The outcome was never a sure thing until the last moment. More than two dozen fans gathered at the bar Sunday afternoon to cheer for the two teams. Some knew the game well; others just watched the ball bounce and cheered when others did. David Quintero, a physician and native of Colombia, offered the highest praise a longtime soccer fan could muster: “I’m impressed,” said Quintero. “They play like guys.” The teams impressed Tricia Wisner. She doesn’t know much about soccer it wasn’t big where she grew up in Phoenix but she knows athletic effort when she sees it.