ALO ALTO, Calif. - The debate began as soon as the Women's World Cup semifinal match was over. It's always like that in sports. Two people watch the same event and then shock you by coming up with completely different explanations for their team's win or loss.
I easily could have ended a debate like that yesterday at Stanford Stadium. I could have reminded both parties that since Team USA defeated Brazil to advance to Saturday's Rose Bowl final against China, there should be no argument. ''People,'' I could have said in my British soccer voice, ''It was 2-nil. The Yanks are supreme. Now clear this pitch immediately!''
Obviously that didn't happen. On one side of my mind, a flag-waving patriot talked about the dominance of the US team. On the other, a finger-wagging skeptic warned that the Americans will have silver medals flashing in their eyes if they play like this on Saturday. They went back and forth for hours. I thought of throwing a punch myself, just to end the chatter. Instead I listened.
Patriot: Did you see that? Another US shutout. I'm telling you, that Briana Scurry is the best keeper in the world. More than 73,000 people saw that today.
Skeptic: Please. What you should say is that more than 73,000 people saw the refs give the game to the Americans. Did you hear what Wilson de Oliveira, Brazil's coach, said after the game?
P: If he didn't say, ''Their team is better and they beat us,'' his words are irrelevant. Blame the refs. Yeah. That's original.
S: He spoke the truth. He said: ''There was no necessity for the refereeing to be so bad. Because the United States is such a great team, they don't need that kind of help.''
P: I take it he was referring to Elane's foul on Mia Hamm?
S: You mean Mia's flop?
P: Hamm was on her way to a goal in the 80th minute and Elane clearly tripped her. You saw it just like I did.
S: You're such a homer. That play changed the game. Why call that then? It's like calling a foul in the final seconds. Yo, let 'em play. Michelle Akers gets a penalty kick and that's the game, 2-nothing.
P: Match. It's called a match.
S: You're a pretentious homer, too. Did that not change the GAME?
P: I will agree that it sealed it. But with you and your boy from Brazil ref-bashing, you forgot to mention the first goal. What about that?
S: Uh ... I think the biased American refs greased the ball.
P: Right. It was only the fifth minute when Maravilha - which ironically means ''Marvelous'' in Portuguese - made the real play of the game. Basically, she was in goal when the ball slipped out of her hands. All Cindy Parlow did was put in a header and that was the match, friend.
S: You should wipe that smile off your face. China won its game, 5-0. If the US plays Saturday against China like it did against Brazil, that's the silver medal for the home team.
P: I asked Tony DiCicco, the US coach, about that. He said his team didn't play its best and that ''Soccer is a game of mistakes.'' He also said, ''We will have to be a better team Saturday than we were today.''
S: So why are you still smiling?
P: The Americans played in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. They had an emotional match against the Germans there and then had to fly six hours here, across three time zones. They had no legs. And it was hot. Combine all that and they still win, not playing their best.
S: That's true. But look at some of the saves Scurry had to make. It looks good when a keeper flies through a crowd and smothers a ball. Hey, I wish Maravilha had done that. But spectacular saves like that usually mean there has been a breakdown. The US defense has been pathetic at times.
P: Excuse me? Brazil did not score. Do you understand that? Sissi had come into the match as the highest scoring forward in the Cup. She did nothing. One time, I even remember her pouting when a teammate didn't deliver a cross pass to her.
S: Listen to me. I think China is the best team in the world. You can make silly mistakes against the inexperienced teams and get away with it. You know what the US record is against Brazil? 9-1-1. They own this team. They won't do this against the Chinese.
P: Give those women from Brazil their props. They hadn't been shut out in eight years of Cup play. They have terrific individual players and, once they begin to anticipate things as a team, they'll be dangerous.
S: Now you're starting to make sense. The Brazilians need a player like Akers.
P: Yep. She's a warrior. She was kicked in the face. She got a lump on her head. After the match, she had a bandage on her right hand and a bleeding sore on her right knee. She has 12 goals - and 12 knee operations - in her Cup career.
S: Yeah. But Hamm looks a little shaky.
P: That's it. I can't argue with you. You're thick-headed. Do you understand that she was the reason for the 80th minute sequence?
S: Yep. Tell her to stop by Hollywood before she goes to the Rose Bowl. If she had really been taken down hard, she wouldn't have been smiling like she was after the GAME. I didn't see a bruise on her.
P: Goodbye. Elane did a terrible thing. I'm glad the crowd booed her every time she touched the ball after that. I'm out ...
S: Hey, I'm sorry. I'll be civil. Just one more innocent question. Please?
P: All right, go ahead.
S: Can you believe John McNamara had the nerve to take Roger Clemens out of Game 6 in '86?
