A teaspoonful of perspective should easily dilute the gallons of outrage generated by Wednesday night's cut-tail.
To be fair, it was only in 1985 that the teams first met in pursuit of a place in the World Cup finals (we lost 2-1 and 1-0), so we can only speculate how earlier sides, like the 1973 one that was robbed in Haiti or the squad of the late 1960s that earned a silver medal at the 1967 Pan American Games, would have fared against the fledgling American outfits of that era.
But that is supposition. What is fact is that whenever we go up there to play a World Cup qualifier-the notable exception being 1989 when Hutson Charles' strike earned us a 1-1 draw-we lose. Sometimes narrowly, sometimes agonisingly, but we still lose.
However, in the context of the recent run of encouraging results (beating El Salvador 3-1 in a warm-up in Washington DC, taking three points off Cuba with another 3-1 result in Havana, and even last Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Guatemala), it is still reasonable to ask what went so badly wrong in this game that we were made to look as if the semi-final stage of CONCACAF qualifying was a step too far up for us?
Before we address the issue of personnel, which is significant, it is only reasonable to expect that coach Francisco Maturana explains why he opted for such an overly-defensive posture?
By giving up so much space and possession to the Americans, it was at times a virtual backs-and-forwards exercise. And it's not as if we have a history or even a recent reputation for sturdy, well-drilled defences.
Look, every man Jack and his tantie know that we have always been vulnerable to aerial crosses, whether in open play or dead-ball situations. So why give the Americans ample opportunity to exploit those glaring weaknesses?
Okay, so there were a couple of chances which, if capitalised upon, would have presented a different picture. But honestly, the way we were scampering and scrambling in defence, you just felt that if they really had to push for an equalising or winning goal, the Americans would have gotten it.
It just didn't seem to make sense. But I will happily defer to Senor Maturana, via his interpreter presumably.
Hopefully, the head coach will also do what West Indies cricket selectors hardly ever facilitate the public with: specific reasons for team selection and, more precisely in this case, the omission of Dennis Lawrence from the heart of the defence.
Was he injured? Did he pass on his gold filling to a teammate without the boss' approval? What?
Of course, we also have to take into consideration the fact that previous captain and key midfielder Aurtis Whitley has been sidelined by injury. Also, Stern John has apparently been discarded for good, while Chris Birchall was dropped for the last two qualifiers. But those were choices, not unwanted situations forced upon the technical staff.
In contrast, the absence of Dwight Yorke was out of their control and, not surprisingly, Roy Keane has been promoted to public enemy number one among the local football following because of the Sunderland manager's decision to recall the influential veteran player immediately after the Guatemala fixture, even though the FIFA regulations mandate that players must be released by their clubs to represent their countries in competitive fixtures like World Cup qualifiers.
I don't know if the Irishman is just another pompous English Premier League boss who really has no respect for small nations such as ours. He consented to Carlos Edwards staying on, didn't he?
Somehow I suspect there is more in the mortar than just the pestle on this one as it is quite possible that Yorke's one-year extension of his contract at Sunderland was conditional, as a then retired international footballer, of him being totally committed to the cause of the club up in the north-east of England. Then again, Keane might just as well be a heartless, arrogant so-and-so. Maybe we'll find out the truth before October 11.
Why that date? What happen? Allyuh give up already?
That's the day qualifying action resumes for us with a potentially decisive trip to Guatemala City to face the team that is now in second spot in Group One, five points behind the runaway Yanks, and ahead of Trinidad and Tobago only by virtue of a better goal-difference.
Even with a home game against the United States to follow four days later, a draw against the Guatemalans will definitely keep us in the running, especially as the opposition in our last semi-final round qualifier--at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on November 19--will be the cellar-placed Cubans.
So our fate is still very much in our hands to claim the runners-up spot in the group and advance to the final, six-team phase of qualifying for South Africa 2010.
It may seem so after Wednesday's dispiriting performance, but all is not lost.
There's no leeway for any more performances like that, though.