Landon Donovan's Exclamation Point

As the minutes and seconds ticked away on the Unites States chances of advancing in the World Cup, it would have been easy for the Yanks to throw in the towel and accept the agonizing thought of coming so close to blowing the game wide open but never capitalizing on their chances. But like they did against Slovenia last week, the Americans continued to pound the opposing keeper and attacking the midfield with the same ferocity and swagger as they did early in the game. When Tim Howard started a breakaway in the 91st minute, Landon Donovan and three other Americans attacked as if they were in the first minute of their first game, not in the 91st minute of their third game in which two potential game-winning goals had been disallowed and countless other chances had been sent away. The result was Donovan putting a rebound in the back of the net, sending the Americans on to the knockout round as winners of their group for the first time since 1930 and announcing to the world that American soccer (not football) is a power to be reckoned with.
The Americans finish against Algeria illustrated the power of positive thinking in sports, in which athletic performance is greatly improved when a player is playing to win instead of trying not to lose. As we saw last week in game 7 of the NBA Finals, the team feeling the least amount of pressure was able to play without the creeping doubt that comes from thinking about the consequences of the result instead of the process of getting there. Even casual fans could see that the Celtics were playing not to lose instead of going after the win in the 4th quarter and the doubt started to enter their heads as the lead shrunk. After all, it is a normal human reaction to be much more terrified of the criticism that comes from underperforming than from seeking the praise that results from achievement. To say that people have a fear of failing is to say that they are human. Harsh criticism has much greater effect on the cognitive processes than being praised for doing something great.
As far as the Americans go in the World Cup, they proved that playing to win is much easier than playing not to lose. After they fell behind 2-0 in the first half against Slovenia, the pressure was off and the Americans played like they should have been playing the entire time: attacking without the incoming thought of negative consequences. To further illustrate this point, ESPN looked at every shootout from the World Cup, UEFA Champions League and European Championship and found that when a player has the opportunity to clinch the game, their success rate is 92%.When they take a shot that will cost them the game, their success rate falls to 62%, a staggering difference so great that it simply can’t be credited to chance or any other type of selection bias.
Recent research has shown that negative experiences activate the right prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is most often associated with fear and sadness. Once a person has failed in previous attempts, the thought of it happening again allows doubt and fear to creep into their cognitive process which often causes physiological as well as mental lapses. When those areas of the brain are not activated, the brain is able to concentrate on what it has trained the body to do, which for professional athletes, results in performing at a world-class level.
After the excitement and agony of the group stage, the Yanks have nothing to lose and are simply playing to win. A scary thought for the rest of the world.