Trick is making U.S. soccer lovefest last

IRENE, South Africa — The United States' all-too-brief run at the World Cup was a smash hit.

Record numbers for TV broadcasts, Internet traffic and ticket sales. Bars and restaurants packed with fans, no matter the time. So much World Cup-related traffic it temporarily brought down Twitter's whole operation. Soccer not only went mainstream in the one country that's resisted the charms of the beautiful game, it became the center of attention.

Now the trick is making the love last.

"Without a doubt, the game has grown in our country," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said Sunday, a day after the Americans were eliminated. "We understand that every four years, to some degree, that growth will be put to the test by the results of that World Cup. That's just the way it is. ... If we do take it further, then maybe that shows people the progress. When you don't, then you still have to keep going. So we've got to keep going."

Soccer has its core of die-hard fans in the United States and, every four years, there's a standing-room-only crowd on the World Cup bandwagon. But the tournament in South Africa had blockbuster potential, with all the pieces in place for a surge — and a lasting one at that — in the game's popularity in the United States.

The wall-to-wall coverage by ABC and ESPN is unprecedented. The U.S. team is a talented, entertaining bunch with its best players — Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey — in their prime. An opening game against England's glamour boys provided six months' worth of hype.

The first-round games only fed the fervor, with each game more gripping than the next, and the Americans soon found themselves riding a wave of unprecedented hype. By winning its group, the United States avoided traditional powerhouses Germany, Argentina, Spain and Brazil, and set up what looked like an easy road to the semifinals.

Rather than seizing what Donovan called a "massive opportunity," the Americans came out flat and needed only five minutes to fall behind Ghana on Saturday night. They managed to tie it up, only to give up another early goal in extra time.

"There's things there that when we look from inside, we know we responded well, a lot they can feel very good about," Bradley said. "At the same time, there's a pretty empty feeling right now because I think coming out of the first round, we felt there was a real chance of doing something bigger."