There are inarguably more American fans here than at your average home game for the USA -- which is kind of scary. At the moment, everyone is fairly deflated after seeing the guys give up two goals so early on. Unfortunately, history is not the Americans' side -- they have never been able to recover from a deficit and now must try to claw their way back to a draw or hold on for goal difference.

Prior to the game, you saw a lot of American and Czech fans cavorting with one another. Coca-Cola parked a truck near one of the entrances with a full sound system, and it was pretty great to see the Czechs singing along to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". Who knew the Velvet Revolution had such Southern flair?

Inside the stands, there was a large crowd of Czech fans watching the AUS-JAP game prior to this one. Best scene: the canny fan, dressed in Czech red, who had brought his blow-up doll with him. He parked it on the next seat, and had it dressed up in a full Czech kit.

A guy leans over to me and says, "Hey, the USA is about to play Croatia."

What a collapse by Japan. How many times can this team fall apart in the last 10 minutes?

On the other hand, it improves our picks to 8-1... not a good sign for the BIG GAME.

The U.S. team received a good luck phone call from President George W. Bush Monday, only three hours before opening Group E play against the Czech Republic.

The team and coach Bruce Arena took the call via speaker phone at their hotel in Essen, Germany, about 20 minutes from Gelsenkirchen.

"You've been doing a great job in preparation," Bush said in the call that lasted about one minute. "The whole country is behind you. Give them (Czechs) hell."

Arena thanked the president for his well wishes and related that while he could not predict the outcome of the match, he was sure Bush would be proud of the team the U.S. fielded.

-- with thanks to correspondent CHRIS COWLES

Jack Yorke writes, in part: "Jamie, you need to promote and celebrate American soccer and its progress. The world no longer wants to play the US. As you and I have watched American soccer grow from nothing into a contender for the Trophy, we need to bring these positive points to the forefront in order to drown out the insular ignorance that spews from people like Jim Rome and Tony Kornheiser."

This is a common complaint among American soccer fans: "Why doesn't Jamie Trecker write more so-called "positive" articles?" So, let's address it.

First off, I'm a reporter, not a p.r. guy. I get paid to report on things that occur in and around the sport, and offer what is hopefully an informed opinion. I've never claimed to be an "expert" (though that tag has been stuck on me) but I do spend a lot of my time watching games and doing the leg work. I am fortunate in that I am able to write clean copy quickly (a real bonus) but the bottom line is that I come in and watch a soccer game pretty much like y'all do, with one big difference:

I am NOT a fan. Oh, I like the game fine. But as for caring about who wins or loses? No.

This is a hard thing for fans to grasp. I get a lot of letters saying, "Man, I wish I had your job," (you don't, trust me) and the popular conception of a sportswriter seems to be that we get to experience the game just like y'all do - with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other, or down in the front row. The reality is quite different, and without going too much into it, please believe me when I say that while there are far worse jobs out there to have, covering soccer can be time-consuming, arduous, frustrating and at times downright dangerous. This is work, after all, and just like you have the big boss and the spreadsheet or the fryer and the angry customer; I have the 250 pound+ jocks and the police, the editor on the night desk, and the pressure of deadlines on top of a lot of travel and time away from my wife.

Do I enjoy it? Hell yes. But it's still work.

Now, as for the "positive" (or "celebration") thing: That isn't my job. Honestly, that's yours, the fans. That's the job of MLS and U.S. Soccer. That's FIFA's job.

The unfortunate thing about covering this sport is that I have to pack my fan side away. As it happens, I'm a big fan of Arsenal and Dundee United; I also would love to see my national team, Scotland, appear at a World Cup. And I'll admit, when you cover a team - such as the USA - for some time, you do start to get to know the guys and want them to succeed. But to be fair to you, the reader, and to the players and coaches as well, you have to stay neutral. So, I usually recuse myself from covering games in which I have a conflict of interest; or, if it's unavoidable (such as this year's Champions League final) I let you guys know up front. Anything else is unfair to you and to the players, coaches and teams.

See, in this gig, there are times when I have to tell truths that aren't pleasant. I have always tried to praise guys when they deserve it and call out faults when I see them, just as I would if I were covering basketball or NASCAR (two other sports I've covered in my career). I think that is the most honest and respectful way to cover the sport and show folks that it is just like any other sport being played and enjoyed in the USA; I have a real problem with folks who write nothing but happy-happy crap about the game because I think ultimately - whether people admit it or not - it comes off as patronising and phony.

Does that mean I agree with the Jim Romes or T.J. Simers (look for more on him later, BTW) of the world? No. I think that ripping a sport because you don't happen to like it or have some weird prejudices against it is both unethical and, well, kind of bizarre. But pointing out that, in many cases, soccer isn't doing the things it needs to be doing to win over casual fans? That's doing my job, and being honest to a sport that, again, I think benefits from being treated like a "real" sport. This is because I believe - despite what some folks say - that soccer is a real sport.

So, in conclusion, I think so-called "positive" coverage hurts rather than helps, and I think that what soccer really needs is the same respect every other sport gets. I try every day to give it that, and while some days I do better than others, overall, I feel pretty good about what I do.

Hope that answers your question, Jack.