And now we can stop pretending we care about soccer.

Weeping! Wringing of hands! Gnashing of teeth!

Open up the faucets and let the heavy-handed words about "What now for American soccer?" spew forth!

Sure, it's a downer - I'm sad that the Americans failed to advance to the knockout round of the World Cup, but only because they're our team, representing our country, and not because of any vested interest in the sport. We're latecomers to the game, but at least the gap between the Americans and more established countries can be measured in years, not decades.

But I'll sleep well tonight knowing that it will be sooner rather than later that soccer will, once again, be an afterthought on the American sports landscape. And I can stop blogging for another four years about how it gives me narcolepsy.

Still, it sucks that Ghana - Ghana! - eliminated the Americans. (The nickname for the Ghana-ian ... Ghanamanian ... Ghana-ese ... uhhhhh ... national team representing Ghana is the "Black Stars." Isn't that a movie channel?)