U.S. soccer team's last-minute win is for the ages, fans say

Moments after the U.S. team's thrilling 1-0 victory against Algeria in World Cup play, Jason Snyder stood outside Fado Irish Pub in Rittenhouse Square on Wednesday morning, reeling over Landon Donovan's game-winner in stoppage time.

"It was 90 minutes of frustration, 10 seconds of absolute elation," said Snyder about how the United States avoided elimination in such dramatic fashion.

"I was in the stadium when the Phillies won the World Series. I was there when we beat the Falcons to get to the Super Bowl, and that was comparable - and I wasn't even at the event," Snyder said. "The atmosphere in here was unbelievable. It was the next best thing to being in South Africa."

Snyder, 37, a high school soccer coach in Lindenwold arrived with his father and friends, who made camp in front of a flat-screen TV near the bar area. Once critical of the U.S. midfielder, Snyder's admiration for Donovan has grown considerably. In fact, he was wearing a Donovan jersey.

"I haven't really been a fan [of his] until this World Cup," he said. "I always thought he was above the hype. But the goals he's scored lately, you can't put a price on that. He is the American hope."

The match even garnered interest from British fans watching the England-Slovenia match, which was being televised on other monitors. But the pub went into a frenzy when a scoreless tie was broken in the 91st minute.

"I was born and raised a soccer fan in this country and this is something which doesn't come around too often," said Steven Garrett, a 22-year-old from Philadelphia. "With the buildup to it, I was about to cry. The emotions went from sadness to happiness."

Some fans saw Wednesday's win as atonement for questionable calls in their team's two previous matches, both ending in ties. Against Slovenia, the U.S. squad forged a tie after trailing by two goals, but a third score was disallowed by a controversial call from the referee.

Those mishaps added more significance to the win.

"I was scared that [final] goal would never come," said Ivo Rodriguez, a 39-year-old avid soccer fan from New York, who took a month off from his job at UPS to watch the World Cup.

"I mean, being robbed of another goal would have broken my heart. But the U.S. had more desire today and it was an incredible feeling when they scored, jumping up and down and screaming here."

Not that there was too much wiggle room at Fado.

"I can't remember the last time it was this full here for a sporting event," said Marie Prouse, the pub's assistant general manager.

Afterward, one fan tried to put to rest the debate of where Wednesday's win ranks among other memorable sports victories.

"I think this tops the Phillies winning the World Series in '08," said Chris Groeber, 32, of Conshohocken. "It was the best sports moment of my life. Just in terms of one single moment, because we went from complete depression to elation.

"Rooting for your hometown team is always good, but rooting for your country certainly gets everyone going."