Thoughts on US-Brazil Friendly

It's hard to continue to argue the point that Americans don't care about soccer after witnessing the New Jersey crowd during last night's US-Brazil friendly. While a good portion of the crowd was composed of Brazilians, the US support was overwhelming. Did this support have more to do with the fact they were playing Brazil, or what some perceived as a successful World Cup campaign?
It doesn't really matter either way. The important thing is that the fans showed up. The crowd was excited, knowledgeable, and passionate. The American fan base will continue to grow as the US talent on the field does.
Unfortunately, that talent paled in comparison to Brazil. The young Brazilians were reminiscent of the young kids on the basketball court who know they're way better than the older guys they're playing against. So they have fun just toying with them. That's really what this match was about.
The US came out aggressive and actually played a pretty good first 20 minutes. Brazil, on the other hand, was a little sloppy with their touches and passes. After that 20 or 25 minute mark though, Brazil stopped playing around with the US and finally started looking like the Brazil we all expected.
The positive that the US fans can take out of their initial push is that they didn't give up a goal. They probably should have gave up a few, but let's look over that.
What more is there to say about Neymar? I'm not going to lie, I had no idea who he was before this game. I found out pretty quick. Neymar reminded me of the kid in high school who listened to a bunch of punk bands you'd never heard of and spent his study hall drawing skulls on the desks. Add that to a body that I refuse to believe has eclipsed the 140 pound mark, and I learned not to judge a book by its cover.
For me, Neymar has already eclipsed any other player as the most exciting in the sport. He's fast with and without the ball. He made smart passes, knows how find the open spot on the field, and even showed he can score through the air. He'll be the best player in the 2014 World Cup. You can bet on that.
It's pretty incredible that the combination of Neymar and Pato (ages 18 and 20, respectively) scored both goals and overshadowed Robinho on the right. When Robinho is being overshadowed, you there's an incredible amount of talent on the pitch. It's unfair for one team's forward trio to have the skill set these three have.
Speaking of forwards, Jozy Altidore continues to disappoint. He came in for the second half of yesterday's game and performed in similar World Cup fashion. The problem with Altidore is that he can't dribble. His first touch is atrocious. I can't even count how many times he's received a good ball and hasn't been able to control it. Altidore will only be successful if he's free to roam without the ball, and someone can set him up to score. Unfortunately, the US does not currently have the personnel to make that happen.
Altidore is the perfect example to counteract all these people that say the US isn't a soccer power because our best athletes don't play the game. Altidore's body type most resembles the NBA and NFL players these people are clamoring to see take up soccer. Being big and strong doesn't hurt, but isn't a precursor to success in soccer--look at Neymar, who's giving up about 80 pounds to Altidore.
The highlight of the match for me was finding out that Saturday's Tottenham-Manchester City match up will be televised on ESPN2. I'm saved from watching an online stream that resembles scrambled porn--for one week at least.